Birkwood castle critical after collapse.

[DJ Jumblemuppet]

Birkwood castle has suffered a catastrophic collapse of the highest tower and the walls and rooms on either side - a huge part of the building - around a quarter.
Work had just started on a 50 million transformation of the area into a boutique hotel.
It looks like sabotage to me as I've been there many times and there was no apparent structural damage.
Huge parts of buildings like this don't just 'fall down' after being derelict for 10 years.
There will be no proof, no one will get prosecuted and no one will be forced to rebuild it, the ghost will get the blame.
Looks like the area will be turned into houses now sadly.

 

[Dirus_Strictus]

Birkwood castle has suffered a catastrophic collapse
It looks like sabotage to me as I've been there many times and there was no apparent structural damage.
Huge parts of buildings like this don't just 'fall down' after being derelict for 10 years.

It is not the damage that is obvious that's the major problem. Many properties such as this were built to a price and along with the lack of remedial work for years prior to the 10 years of dereliction, untold hidden damage will have occurred. I have known this place for many years and the amount of damage indicates to me just how severely compromised the structure was. You may well be correct in your assumptions, but in my fifty years of wandering around old country houses I have come across a number of both partial internal and external collapses - due in most cases to ill informed or inexperienced contractors.

 

[Scattergun]

Just seen this. I reckon structural defects were identified by the developers while they were doing their remedial work and were serious enough to void the financial viability of conversion. It probably would have collapsed eventually, I think perhaps it was just given a helping hand.

 

[Dhavilland]

We had one like that, Peel Hall it was. A large building firm down Nottingham way bought it for £50k then it was all fenced of. Then one night it set on fire, how? can an empty building set on fire. So a local group was formed with a view to saving it, they raised £80k but the firm wouldn't sell it. Then one night a section collapsed, had it been where the fire was you could have said OK the fire caused the damage. But it was on the other side of the building. Next thing anyone knows it was knocked down and Redrow was building 3 and 4 bed houses on the land. So that was a big piece of local history gone for good.

 

[Scattergun]

We had one like that, Peel Hall it was. A large building firm down Nottingham way bought it for £50k then it was all fenced of. Then one night it set on fire, how? can an empty building set on fire. So a local group was formed with a view to saving it, they raised £80k but the firm wouldn't sell it. Then one night a section collapsed, had it been where the fire was you could have said OK the fire caused the damage. But it was on the other side of the building. Next thing anyone knows it was knocked down and Redrow was building 3 and 4 bed houses on the land. So that was a big piece of local history gone for good.

That does sound a bit dubious mate. Derelict buildings have a habit of bringing down real estate value. They're difficult to remove when listed and expensive to renovate. It's common in a lot of places but it does sum up the development in Glasgow pretty accurately, to the point where it seems to have become an inside joke. Vacant listed buildings spontaneously combust in the city all the time, usually just after purchase.

That's not to say there IS foul play concerning ol Birkwood but it wouldn't surprise me if there was.

 

[wolfism]

Vacant listed buildings spontaneously combust in the city all the time, usually just after purchase.

There's an expression, "brewer's lightning" that sums up what sometimes happens to former pubs, which are either too expensive to convert to another use, or located where land values are low. Same principles apply to other types of building…

Shame about Birkwood, it stayed in good nick for a long time after closure.

 

[tumble112]

I didn't manage to get into the castle during my couple of visits due to the on site security. I had been meaning to go back at some point. Very sad to hear about this as it was an impressive building.