Historic boat’s return to be ‘landmark for town’, heritage body says

Plans to return the world’s oldest schooner to a revamped museum will create a landmark for Castletown, Manx National Heritage has said.

Plans have been drafted for a £6.1m project to redevelop the Nautical Museum on Bridge Street to rehome the 18th Century yacht the Peggy.

Chief executive Connie Lovel said the project would boost both the town and the island’s broader visitor economy.

Built in 1789, the Peggy was owned by politician George Quayle and remained hidden for more than a century before being discovered in a walled-up cellar in the building in 1935.

Ms Lovel said MNH was investing “in the entire site” as the development was about more than just the vessel itself to incorporate the island’s “breadth of maritime history”.

She said while the museum would tell that story and those of George Quayle’s legacy, there were also “so many facets of fascinating history to bring into the site”.

The heritage body plans to raise half of the funds for the new project itself, with a funding bid to the Treasury for the remainder.

Ms Lovel said the project would be an investment for the future tourism economy and would “have an impact for the population as well as incoming visitors”.

She said although it was “an ambitious project” it was also “a realistic ambition”.

The ceiling of the proposed new building has been designed to look like a wave, with the vessel to be housed within it.

One of the architects behind the designs, Jonathan Parry, said the roof would be “stepped down” on the Bridge Street side, making it more sympathetic to the surroundings, while the view from the castle and harbourside opposite would be more “dramatic”.

Mr Parry said accessibility has been a large focus of the design, with the inclusion of a lift increasing accessibility to different several platforms to see the Peggy and the surrounding exhibition spaces.

He said people would be able to go “into the whole of the building”, including the basement for the first time.

From the highest level people would have a “seagull’s eye views down from the rigging into the boat itself” giving “views that haven’t been seen on the Peggy before”, he said.

Subject to funding being secured, the new facility is expected to be completed in 2025.