[MOC] Castle Mona Hotel, Douglas Isle of Man

[greg3]

The Castle Mona Hotel is a well known local landmark in Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man.

It was originally the seaside mansion home of the John Murray, the 4th Duke of Atholl and was built in 1804, shortly after the Duke became the Governor-General of the Island. It was designed by George Steuart and constructed on part of the Duke's estate about a mile from the town of Douglas.

Constructed of white free-stone (a form of granite) imported from the Isle of Arran, the main part of the building is roughly square and consists of 2, 3-storey wings connected by a 2-storey section and topped with a round tower. An annexe at the front of the building contained offices where the Duke's businesses could be run from. The building was set on a large, well kept lawn between the cliffs and the sea and reached via a half-mile long driveway. It would have been an imposing sight especially to those approaching the town from the sea.

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Link to period reference photos http://www.imuseum.i...erm=castle mona (knowing the area today, these pictures amaze me at how much it's all changed... apart from the building itself!!)

Following the Duke's death in 1831, the estate was sold off and the Castle Mona became a hotel. Since then, the surrounding area has changed dramatically as the nearby town has expanded. A main road, tramway, promenade and shops were built on the land between the hotel and the sea. More hotels and apartments were built on the surrounding land and on the cliff behind the Castle Mona. The hotel itself underwent a number of extensions: including the addition of more modern rooms, a bowling alley, restaurant, a nightclub and even a pole dancing club!!

Then in 2006 the hotel suddenly closed as it's owners went bust. A neighbouring hotel company bought the building a year later but it has remain closed ever since. A number of plans for the site have been put forward; reopening it as a hotel, turning it into a museum or art gallery, converting it to apartments, even using it as an IT training college but all have fallen through. It does get used occasionally as a film location and the local police and fire services use it for training but the once proud building is looking rather dilapidated and sad!! Hopefully someday soon it will find a use (I like the museum/art gallery idea best but anything that saves/preserves the building would be good!)

As it is now

17589034331 by g.nat, on Flickr

Aerial view showing all the modern additions to the original building.

FullSizeRender by g.nat, on Flickr

Anyway, as I live on the cliff overlooking the site and walk past it everyday so I decided to recreate it (but as it might have looked originally!!)

Front of the building...

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

The office block was the trickiest part of the build - I wanted to recreate the arched windows but keep the overall proportions looking right so there's less windows on the ground floor than there should be (there should be 5 archways altogether!) Might revisit this bit another day!!

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Aerial view

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Side view (this is the side that faces the sea) Most of this central section was taken up by a dining/ballroom which opened out onto a low balcony. The ground floor should really have tall rectangular windows but I had to make do with using 2 headlight bricks.

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

My least favourite view - I couldn't find any references to this side of the building and modern buildings block any view of it so I had to guess!! If I get the chance, I may pay a visit to the local museum and see if they have any more pictures/plans that may help.

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

My favourite bit is the main entrance... I was surprised at how well it came out!!

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

More views

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

I don't often attempt such small scale builds but I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to recreate this and while it's not quite perfect I'm pleased with how it came out. I may still tweak it a bit and try out some different ideas; especially on the office block section and the tower.

Comments are always welcome... thanks for looking.

Edited July 30, 2016 by greg3

[BrickCurve]

Nice one, there is some really great detailing and parts usage here.

[bricklover]

Great microscale! Cool use of the ski pole.

[Manx]

You've done it perfectly!