Hastings Castle Design Report November 2010 Terry Pawson Architects for Borough Council

Hasting Castle

Contents

• Location and site description

• The project brief and project objectives

• Description of proposed works for the new bridge to the East Gate

• Description of proposed works for the new ticket booth

• Description of proposed works for the new facilities block

• Cost analysis provided by Pierce Hill Cost Consultants

• Appendices

Drawing nos. 209-A-0501 [B] Context 209-A-0504 [B] New bridge, East Gate 209-A-0506 [B] New ticket booth 209-A-0508 [B] New facilities block 209-A-0511 [-] Visitor education / information centre

This report, which presents architectural proposals for the interpretive development of Hastings Castle, has been prepared by Terry Pawson Architects for Hastings Borough Council with the support of Barton Engineers and Pierce Hill Cost Consultants and LORD Cultural Resources.

The report will contribute to the Borough’s forthcoming application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for financial assistance towards the realisation of the proposals described herein. The report should be read in conjunction with LORD Cultural Resources’ Conservation Plan and Interpretive Plan, which are presented separately.

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1 2 The Town

Hastings is a town of approximately 85,000 inhabitants located in the county of on the south coast of England (1). The town lies 55 miles southeast of London and is linked to the capital via the A21 and frequent rail services to Victoria, Charing Cross and Cannon Street.

There is evidence to suggest that there has been a port here of some description since pre-Roman times. Indeed to this day the town retains the largest beach-based fishing fleet in the country. The town is best known however for its proximity to the site where King Harold II was defeated by during the most decisive battle of the Norman Conquest in the year 1066. The marked the end of Saxon England and it was during this period that William developed Hastings Castle into what became the first Norman keep in the country. The castle’s construction is recorded within the Bayeux Tapestry.

The castle’s presence encouraged the development of the town below but by the mid-14th century continual raids by the French, combined with the lack of a natural harbour, sent the town into decline. Despite the difficulties that the local coastline presented, the town did rise to become the administrative centre of the Cinque Ports, a trade and military confederation of ports and towns in Sussex and Kent whose influence reached a peak during the 15th century.

The power of the Cinque Ports declined with the development of the Royal Navy and Hastings did not grow significantly until the Victorian era when it became a fashionable seaside resort. The town also became known as a retreat for artists and still hosts many well-known writers, and painters.

The town is currently the site of a number of regeneration projects which include the development of the Priory Meadow Shopping Centre and the University Centre Hastings as well as the construction of a new railway station and transport interchange.

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Hastings Castle

The development of the visitor facilities at Hastings Castle is an important step towards fulfilling the ambitions of the Borough Council’s regeneration strategy for the town. The Castle occupies the head of the West Hill that dominates both the ‘new’ and ‘old’ towns. Over time however, the West Hill has steadily succumbed to the elements and sections of the Castle have been lost. Whilst the remaining Castle structures are not particularly visible from within the town centre, the Castle does offer unparalleled views over Hastings, the south coast and across the .

The Castle remains consist chiefly of the lower sections of the perimeter walls of the Collegiate Church which stood to the north of the site farthest from the southern cliff edge. It is thought that the Norman keep stood on the southeast edge of the site, but that it was lost to the sea during a major cliff fall around 1331. The southern boundary of the site is therefore open to the cliff edge. The north and east boundaries are still defined by the Castle walls, albeit in a semi-ruinous state.

Visitors approach the Castle either by road from the town centre, or using the direct link from the Old Town on the West Hill Lift, one of two historic funicular railways constructed during the town’s Victorian heyday. Once at the top of West Hill, the visitor currently approaches the Castle on foot from the north via a small path leading off Castle Hill Road. This path brings the visitor to where the Castle’s North Gate once stood. The path gives access over the fosse, the defensive ditch surrounding the castle, which is now very much overgrown with vegetation. The access path is not easy for a visitor to find and feels rather small to be a public access to such an important historic structure. This approach does not present an appropriate context leading to a Scheduled Ancient Monument, being down a small path along the back gardens of the residential properties facing Castle Hill Road. At present this is the only way in and out of the Castle.

On site interpretation of the Castle, its history, context and importance, is currently achieved by a number of graphic panels located around the site and by the ‘siege tent’ and a yellow and blue ‘faux’ historic tent containing an audio visual presentation.

Visitor toilet facilities are currently located near the entrance and are built within sections of the Castle that were ‘rebuilt’ to imitate the existing.

The much-reduced state of Hastings Castle combined with the current poor quality of approach and entrance and the limited on-site interpretation, make it difficult for the visitor to gain an understanding of how extensive the original Castle was, how it had worked and the importance and impact on history.

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Design Brief

The essence of the brief is to improve and develop the visitor experience of the Castle by developing its physical and intellectual access.

Important objectives to fulfil include:

• To improve the visibility, quality and accessibility of the public approach to the Castle. • To improve and develop the visitor experience of the Castle through improved education / information facilities. • The provision of improved access to the toilet facilities for the disabled, ambulant disabled, the infirm and people with young children. • Provide better physical access within the Castle • The provision of high quality and professional facilities for visitors and staff respectively. • The opportunity to present Hastings Castle in a way befitting its status as a place which is key to the foundation of modern England.

These objectives are to be achieved by the following works:

• Create a path running across Ladies Parlour between the West Hill Lift’s upper station and the new access bridge. The path to be re-graded in order to ease the ascent for a range of people with varying abilities. • The new path to be laid on top of the Ladies Parlour to retain and protect the archaeology and regulate the gradient across the area. This path will also become a visible and easy link to the proposed Castle entrance across the new bridge link. • A new access bridge spanning the eastern fosse, which will enable the visitor to enter the Castle via the original East Gate. The bridge will enable the visitor to gain a far better understanding of the Castle’s defences by offering improved views of the fosse as well as the heightened experience of entering the Castle via the original gateway. • A new ticket / souvenir booth will be constructed to replace the current ‘garden shed’ to the north of the site. The location of the booth, to the visitor’s immediate right upon entry from the bridge, will allow visitors to pause and take in the overall context. By doing so, visitors can begin to appreciate the commanding position of the Castle. • A new education / visitor centre to be provided, with in-depth interpretation about the Castle, its history, its links to continental Europe and its importance in the storey of the

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development of modern England. The currently proposed location uses the existing foundations of the ‘siege tent’, reducing any potential impact on existing archaeology, as well as giving an opportunity to provide an access lift from the new entrance bridge to the main lower Castle area – a route that is currently very difficult for less able-bodied people. Other potential locations for the education centre will be considered during the next phase of design development and assessed for their benefits and impact. • Improvement to the pedestrian link between the upper and lower areas. • A new facilities block is proposed on the northern boundary adjacent to the current entrance. This entrance will subsequently be used only for staff, service and emergency access once the new bridge to the East Gate is complete. The block will provide improved welfare facilities for visitors (including toilet facilities for the disabled). • New and improved interpretive signage will be strategically placed throughout the site. • New benches will also be provided throughout the site in order to offer seating for visitors.

Limitations

Whilst improving the physical and intellectual access to the Castle and its facilities is the primary objective of the project, it is acknowledged that, due to the nature of the site and history of the Castle, full universal access to all areas cannot be achieved without detriment to either the historic landscape or the remaining sections of Castle. Guidance issued by English Heritage for the development of historic sites prohibits the removal of soil which could contain historically sensitive material. The geography of the site does not lend itself to unrestricted wheelchair access and the subsequent invasive regrading works required to provide this would destroy the historic setting. Whilst a lift integrated into the Education / Visitor Centre and some re-grading works has been specified, all works must be sensitive to the conservation need. Re-grading it is by means of additional material being overlaid on top of the existing landscape in order to conserve the historically sensitive material below. In other areas the existing gradient is too great to alter. All of the works proposed therefore, maintain the integrity of the Castle and its setting whilst providing a level of improved access which is balanced and appropriate.

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Proposed works for the new bridge to the East Gate

Drawing reference 209-A-0504

The most visible element of the proposed works from outside of the Castle is the construction of an access bridge into the Castle via the remains of the East Gate. The provision of a new bridge will have a profound effect not only on the way visitors approach the Castle but also on their understanding of it. The introduction of a bridge across the fosse below (6) allows the visitor to initiate a truer understanding of how Hastings Castle functioned. The bridge will communicate the Castle’s military past by revealing the defensive nature of the fosse and the rounded bastions of the gate (7).

When developing historic sites, it is considered that any addition to the historic fabric should not mimic the existing structures, as this does not allow the visitor to differentiate between what is actually old and what is not. By building in a contemporary yet sympathetic manner new additions can only enhance the original structures that they present. In view of this, the new bridge will be constructed from cor-ten steel, also known as weathering steel. This material is at once modern and timeless. The patina of cor-ten steel (8) allows for a more mellow juxtaposition between new and old, offering an ‘aged’ look which is honest and natural.

The design of the bridge is important not only because of its positioning and context but also because it introduces the idea that a new family of elements has been added to the castle. Its role in communicating the very essence of how all the new structures relate to the existing historic fabric is also crucial. The bridge must display the primary qualities of the new architecture where each of the new structures strive to be as filigree as possible in order to avoid becoming overly dominant. The ruins are delicate and not particularly expansive. The new structures must have a degree of ambiguity, of mellowness, of geniality.

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Therefore, it is proposed that the bridge will be constructed with a Cor-ten steel balustrade which the visitor will steadily rise through in order to reach the higher west bank of the fosse. The deck, which the visitor will walk on, will be a steel grate suspended above troughs of wild grass. The grass is an important element, which conveys to the visitor the matured condition of the Castle and it’s surroundings, suggesting that what they will see at the other end of the bridge is neither a saccharine Disneyland nor a static museum piece.

When complete, the bridge will be the principal pedestrian entrance to the Castle and as such must be able to close. This will be possible via the use of a ‘drawbridge’ integrated into the end of the bridge structure facing the Ladies Parlour.

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Proposed works for the new ticket booth

Drawing reference 209-A-0506

The new ticket booth, located immediately beyond the East Gate, continues the architectural language introduced by the bridge. Visitors will leave the bridge where the Castle portcullis once stood, through the remainder of the bastions (9) to the ticketing booth. The new structure will be one of the smallest of the new structures and the most discreet. It is proposed that the booth will be tucked behind the northern bastion (10) in order to maintain the integrity of the East Gate and to present the open view to the south (11).

The ticketing booth will replace the existing entrance pavilion located outwith the old North Gate and will control, monitor and inform visitors as they leave and enter the Castle.

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Proposed works for the new facilities block

Drawing reference 209-A-0508

Within the Castle, the new facilities block replace the existing toilets that are interspersed within a section of historic ruins and are of poor quality and with restricted access. The new block will sit alongside sections of castle that were constructed in the 19th century which, due to their faux- ruinous state, are barely decipherable as later additions. The current proposal keeps these additions on the basis that they form part of the storey and development of the Castle to the present day. The new structure will provide accommodation for site staff as well as toilet facilities for visitors.

Here again the architectural approach used for the design of the bridge and ticket booth is again deployed. The new facilities block will be a permeable structure rather than a sealed, conventional building. Where there is a requirement for privacy (the ladies and gents cubicles, for example), planes of cor-ten steel will define the individual spaces. The cubicles will then be cloaked by a filigree structure composed of cor-ten steel fins which will act as an open screen for the common areas of the toilets. Outside of the cubicles, the sinks will be positioned towards the outer edge of the block that overlooks the cliff edge and gives the visitor a westward view whilst washing their hands.

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Proposed Education / Visitor Centre

Drawing reference 209-A-0511

The proposed new Education / Visitor Centre will provide on-site information and interpretation for the visitor to Hastings Castle. The content and presentation of the interpretation is to be determined and developed by specialists as the project develops.

The building also provides a sheltered and heated office location for staff manning the Castle.

The location of the new Education Visitor Centre is shown in this report as replacing the existing replica siege ‘tent’ containing the ‘1066 Story’ (15). However, this location is to be examined in more detail at the next stage of design development, with further detailed discussions with English Heritage and other stakeholders to assess the most appropriate place to locate such a facility; balancing the conservation and presentation of the historic fabric with the potential benefits for a wide range of visitor groups.

The current array of interpretive boards dotted around the site will also be upgraded (16).

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