was threatened by the unsafe wall and during works to make it safe, excavations in its floor revealed a number of human skeletons which were assumed to have been buried in the grounds of the chapel. Thomas Westcote wrote in around 1630 that the chapel was "ruinous" and a document of 1639 records that Bishop Hall was requested to assign the chapel precinct "for buryall of such Prisoners as shall die in the Gaole." Other notable events that took place at the castle included a Monsieur St Croix making the first hot-air balloon ascent in Exeter from the Castle yard in June 1786; and on 15 May 1832 the first Annual Exhibition of the Devon Agricultural Society, the forerunner of the Devon County Show, was held here. The County Council moved to Devon County Hall in 1964. Notable hearings in the Old Law Courts in the 20th century included the trial and conviction of an airline pilot, Andrew Newton, in March 1976, on charges of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life: the charges resulted from of a bungled attempt by Newton to shoot a former male model, Norman Scott, that resulted in the killing of Scott's Great Dane. During the trial Scott made lurid allegations against the then leader of the Liberal Party, Jeremy Thorpe, which ultimately lead to Thorpe's resignation as party leader. 21st century Until 2003 the intact Georgian buildings of the castle remained the seat of royal power in the county and continued to serve as home to Exeter's Crown and County Courts. As a result, the castle was one of the least known and accessible parts of the city, and few local residents had set foot beyond its gates; it had never been accessible to tourists. However difficulties over disabled access on the steep castle site had become a major problem, and new Law Courts were completed in Exeter's legal quarter in 2004. Following the failure of a scheme for Exeter City Council to purchase the site, it was sold by Her Majesty's Courts Service in early 2007 to GL50 Properties, whose managing director said "Rougemont Castle is an amazing building which we will transform into the Covent Garden of the South West of England." Today, the castle is subject to a high degree of legal protection as a Scheduled Monument, and its main structures are all either Grade I or Grade II*