Castle Drogo - Dartmoor

High above the ancient woodlands of the Teign Gorge stands Castle Drogo. Inspired by the rugged Dartmoor tors that surround it, the castle was designed and built by renowned 20th-century architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. Nothing is normal at Drogo, as the castle is currently undergoing a major conservation project to save it, by making it watertight. (The castle opens on 9 March).

After a long winter the castle is open again for the season. see the work taking place to restore the castle back to a family home after 6 years of major building work to make the castle watertight

Woodscott Joinery at the castle

Our first site visit for the Woodscott team was on the 27th Nov 2017.

A regular supplier to us at the Woodscott workshop, came in one day and chatted about this major conservation project he was discussing with the site manager at the castle.

The guys were interested and said” what a great project that would be to work on”.

The National trust were looking for a specialist company to take on this technical, complex project, but many firms declined, our name was put forward and we had the opportunity to quote for the work requested, the project was for solid Oak internal doors and frames in keeping with the design of the original doors.

After many site visits and communications with the architects, Castle Drogo has now been fitted with some stunning Joinery work, which will sit comfortably for many years to come.

Some challenges for the team on this project were the weather conditions, as in a case of bad weather the castle is shut down, especially if there are high winds.

Blending old and new architectural styles, in keeping with the castle, being careful not to lose the ancient feel and blend the different periods together.

Multi agency communications, with there being so many people involved, trying to keep communications up to date and relevant and making sure everyone was on the same page, could be challenging at times, but soon resolved.

The architects plans were more an artistic version rather than technical drawings, so capturing both working styles (technical and artistic) was an interesting and progressive process.

The Woodscott team have created pieces of  HERITAGE  and are extremely PROUD of the outcome, its been a privilege.