Castle gets seven-year leak fix

The National Trust was gifted the building in 1974

A National Trust-run castle in Devon is to undergo seven years of repairs in a major restoration project to try to stop leaks around the building.

Castle Drogo on Dartmoor was finished in 1931 after 20 years of work following its commission by original owner grocery tycoon Sir Julius Drewe.

Constructed of granite and pointed with lime, it has suffered from leaks since it was built.

The project will concentrate on its flat roof, plus walls and windows.

Water penetration through the roofs has been a problem since the original occupation The National Trust

The castle, built by Sir Edward Lutyens for Home and Colonial grocery millionaire Sir Julius Drewe, commands sweeping views over the moor.

The National Trust said the intention had been to create "a massive granite fortress on the outside, with the classic comforts of the 20th Century inside".

"Yet despite, or perhaps due to, the use of that period's new material, asphalt, water penetration through the roofs has been a problem since the original occupation by the Drewe family," a trust spokesman said.

The castle was the first 20th Century property accepted by the trust when it was gifted the building in 1974.

Problems with leaks have persisted despite several attempts to rectify problems by the Drewe family and later the trust.

Granite 'train'

Some of the problems have been down to its location. Situated above the Teign Gorge, the castle has always been susceptible to weather conditions.

Although the last major repairs were largely successful, "conservation risks remain to both the building and its contents", the trust said.

"This major restoration project will focus primarily on the castle's leaking roof and conservation of the walls and windows," said the spokesman.

A specially constructed "train" will carry granite blocks around the scaffolding that will surround the building.

The trust said: "It has taken over a decade to arrive at this point, as the challenges posed by Lutyens' designs and materials, as well as subsequent repairs, have been the subject of one of the most intensive conservation and building research projects conducted by the trust."