Climate change poses threat to historic Lancaster Castle as experts predict more lightning strikes

The Duchy of Lancaster is seeking listed building and planning consent for the installation of a lightning protection system at Lancaster Castle.

In a report issued by BDP on behalf of the Duchy of Lancaster it said lightning strikes threaten historic buildings of the scale of Lancaster Castle posing a risk to the structure and its accommodation as they seek out the highest point in a landscape.

As a result of climate change, it is considered that the number and power of lightning storms is likely to increase and become more common.

As such Lancaster Castle is at increasing risk of lightning strike which could affect its structure and various use functions.

The Crown Court and Shire Hall, which are under a separate lease to Lancashire County Council, has a lightning protection system in place.

The works proposed seek to provide protection to all other areas of this important Grade I listed heritage asset.

The coordinated design has been tailored to the features of the castle with an installation which respects the building by selecting routes to ground which are as unobtrusive as practicable to minimise any visual impact.

These include aluminium conductor tapes covered in stone coloured PVC sheathing to be sensitive the tone of the stonework.

The objective is to reduce the risk of loss of heritage and to sustain the castle’s current uses which are consistent with its continued conservation by protecting its electrical systems with surge protection devices.

It ensures that the special architectural and historic interest of the building is sustained.

The castle remained operational as a prison up until January 2012 when HM Prison Lancaster Castle was formally closed.

Shortly afterwards it was vacated by the Ministry of Justice and reverted to the freeholder, the Duchy of Lancaster.

Phase 1 and Phase 2 repair and refurbishment works were implemented between 2012 and 2020.

The site is currently used for a variety of activities, such as café, offices, stone mason workshop, textiles workshop, education space, tours, etc.

The earliest surviving/standing structures of the Castle are believed to date from c1150, with developments of historic significance recorded through the thirteenth, fifteenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The Keep is the focus of the fortification and other early structures include the Gatehouse and Well Tower.

The castle served a judicial and penitentiary function and this lead to extensive alterations in the later 18th century.

In 1788 a Governor’s House was erected between the Gatehouse and the Well Tower, then, in 1792, a four-storey prison was constructed on the west side of the Gatehouse for women prisoners.

This was shortly followed in 1794 by a four-storey jail to the north of the keep for men, and a two-storey debtors’ prison on the south side of the courtyard.

In 1796, above the surviving basement and dungeon was constructed a new Crown Court, the ten-sided Shire Hall and a new round tower containing the Grand Jury Room.

The last major extension to the jail took place in 1821, and comprised Gandy’s Female Penitentiary, a five-tiered semi-circular panopticon monitored from a central control room at the apex.

The planning application for the installation of a lightning protection system at Lancaster Castle is still awaiting a decision.