21st Century
Until 2003 the intact Georgian buildings of the castle remained the seat of royal power in the county and served as home to Exeter's Crown and County Courts. As a result the castle was one of the least known and accessible parts of the city, and few local residents had set foot beyond its gates; it had never been accessible to tourists. However difficulties over disabled access on the steep castle site had become a major problem, and new courts were built in Exeter's legal quarter in 2004. Following the failure of a scheme for Exeter City Council to purchase the site, it was sold by Her Majesty's Courts Service in early 2007 to GL50 Properties, whose managing director said "Rougemont Castle is an amazing building which we will transform into the Covent Garden of the South West of England."
Today, the castle is subject to a high degree of legal protection as a Scheduled Monument, and its main structures are all either Grade I or Grade II* listed buildings. A statue, dated 1863, by E. B. Stevens of the 1st Earl Fortescue stands in the yard: it is Grade II listed. As the relevant planning authority, the city council explained its concerns about the future of the castle. It stated its view that whatever its future use, the castle should be opened up to reasonable public access and integrated into the cultural quarter of the city as a key element, the historic importance and quality of the site and buildings should be respected, and at least the impressive courtyard of the castle should be available for public events even if the buildings are purchased for commercial use. As an example of this new use, the band Coldplay played a charity concert in the courtyard in December 2009 during its Viva la Vida Tour.
In 2011, the former Court 1 reopened as the Ballroom, with its arched windows lowered to floor level; lavatories have been installed in the former holding cells for prisoners. Court 2 reopened as the Gallery, of 150 square metres. In addition, 12 new apartments have been created within the walls of the castle.
Read more about this topic: Rougemont Castle
Famous quotes containing the word century:
“In the nineteenth century ... explanations of who and what women were focused primarily on reproductive events—marriage, children, the empty nest, menopause. You could explain what was happening in a woman’s life, it was believed, if you knew where she was in this reproductive cycle.”
—Grace Baruch (20th century)