OttawaHerstmonceux Castle in East Sussex was abruptly shut down in November 2023 after serious structural issues were discovered and the building was declared unsafe.Report obtained by CBC found site had ‘suffered from a period of ad hoc maintenance’Dan Taekema · CBC News · Posted: Oct 07, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoHerstmonceux Castle is shown before the recent repair work began. The centuries-old English estate is a Grade 1 listed site, the highest level of protection available from Historic England. (Herstmonceux Castle Estate/Facebook)Queen’s University has pledged its castle campus in the U.K. will undergo comprehensive inspections every five years after it reopens in 2026, following significant repairs.Students will return to a historic building that’s undergone millions of dollars in restoration work, and to a new academic model at the centuries-old estate in East Sussex.Herstmonceux Castle was abruptly shut down in November 2023 after Queen’s said serious structural issues had been discovered and the building was declared unsafe.Almost all staff at Bader College, the university’s international campus, were laid off and students anticipating another semester abroad were instead sent home.No ‘significant repairs’ for decades: reportWhile the shutdown seemed to come suddenly, a report obtained by CBC through access to information revealed there hadn’t been significant repairs or conservation of the castle’s exterior in the decades since Queen’s took it over and reopened it as the college in the early 1990s.An architecture and surveying firm also found the building had “suffered from a period of ad hoc maintenance,” and that nearly 28 years had passed since it had undergone a detailed inspection called a quinquennial survey. (Quinquennial means every five years).The Queen’s University castle in the U.K. is crumbling. A report shows there haven’t been significant repairs in decadesHerstmonceux Castle, which serves as the university’s Bader College, was abruptly closed in 2023 after serious structural issues were discovered. A report obtained by CBC shows there are deeper issues with maintenance. At the time, Queen’s principal Patrick Deane promised a more proactive approach to repairs, while Historic England, which oversees protected sites in the U.K., said it was working with the university to come up with a recommended monitoring program to ensure the building is cared for.In a new statement to CBC, Queen’s said maintenance planning at the castle will be guided by regular quinquennial surveys “to assess the condition of the building and identify priority repairs.”Those surveys, along with recommendations from an architecture firm, will “provide clear guidelines for ongoing repairs, inspections, and preventative maintenance to ensure the site is well cared for now and into the future,” the university said.Queen’s said the restoration work is on track to be completed by mid-October.Scaffolding at Herstmonceux Castle is shown during repair work to fix structural issues at the site. The centuries-old estate in East Sussex U.K. is owned by Queen’s University, which uses it as an international campus. (Herstmonceux Castle Estate/Facebook)Among the repairs highlighted on the university’s website are rebuilt parapet walls, replaced stone corbels and reconstructed brickwork.”Their careful work ensures the long-term preservation of Herstmonceux Castle, allowing us to move forward with the return of educational programming, conferences, and events,” provost Matthew Evans said.Michael Doherty, a partner at Gould Baxter Architects and Surveyors, the company that completed the report obtained by CBC, said scaffolding that covered the castle’s red brick walls has also been removed.”The extensive and careful crack repairs are now obvious,” he said, adding the public can now “begin appreciating the scale and quality of the work undertaken.”Elaborate scaffolding was set up around the castle gatehouse to allow for repairs to be completed. (CBC)A separate notice from Queen’s University on Sept. 25 announced Bader College will reopen in 2026.Deane described it as an “exceptional place,” saying the castle’s European location and setting on hundreds of acres of English countryside “invite forms of teaching and research that cannot be realized elsewhere.”$10K for castle course proposals”Essential repairs” outlined in the quinquennial report should be completed this fall, and all areas of the castle should be accessible by the end of the year, according to the update.Additional work will occur over the coming years, but will not affect operations at the college, it adds.Meanwhile, administrators said they’ve been rethinking programming at the site, switching from a focus on Queen’s undergraduates to inviting cohorts of learners from all levels and other schools.Deane is also asking faculty members to envision how they might use Bader College and offering awards of up to $10,000 for successful course proposals.ABOUT THE AUTHORDan Taekema is CBC’s reporter covering Kingston, Ont. and the surrounding area. He’s worked in newsrooms in Chatham, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa. You can reach him by emailing daniel.taekema@cbc.ca.Follow @DanTaekema on Twitter