castle was considered obsolete and the War Office transferred it to the Office of Works, who carried out restoration work and opened it to visitors. It reentered service during the Second World War, when it was rearmed with two 4.7-inch (11.9 cm) quick-firing guns, dating from the First World War and housed in concrete gun houses, to protect merchant convoys and the Philips' shipyard. The castle was manned by members of the British Army; officers lived in a nearby cottage, non-commissioned officers in the castle itself, and other ranks in the 19th century fortifications, and later in temporary Nissen huts. In 1955, the castle was transferred back to the Ministry of Works and repaired; the Dartmouth Point Battery, by now known as the Old Battery, was leased back to the town for use as a restaurant; and the site was reopened to the public. In the 21st century it is managed by English Heritage, with the Grand Battery displayed as it would have appeared in the 19th century; it received 37,940 visitors in 2007. The 14th-century gun tower is protected under UK law as a Grade I listed building, the 19th-century gun battery as a Grade II* listed building. Architecture Dartmouth Castle occupies a rocky outcrop, overlooking the entrance to Dartmouth harbour. On the north side of the site is the main gun tower, looking out across the River Dart, and Saint Petrox Church; to the south-east is the Old Battery, facing out to sea. In the south-west corner are the remains of the original fortalice defences, consisting of a corner tower, part of the moat and parts of the wall, thick and up to high. The gun tower dates from the end of the end of the 15th century, and is the oldest known purpose-built coast artillery fort in Britain. The tower is three storeys tall, with a semi-circular section made from limestone rubble that contained the mechanisms for the harbour chain, and a square section built from slate which contained the guns. Each level has two main rooms with a circular and rectangular shape respectively – this design was probably the result of changes in the plan during the construction work. Originally the basement held the castle's artillery guns, which had primitive gun-ports, originally protected from the sea by wooden shutters. The ground floor rooms would have formed offices and living space for the garrison, in addition to