Margaret Norgate Against Britannia Hotels Limited
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judge | Sheriff Peter J. Braid |
| Neutral Citation | [2018] SC EDIN 46 |
| Court | Sheriff Personal Injury Court (Scotland - United Kingdom) |
| Docket Number | PN/1767/17 |
SHERIFFDOM OF LOTHIAN AND BORDERS AT EDINBURGH
IN THE ALL-SCOTLAND SHERIFF PERSONAL INJURY COURT
[2018] SC EDIN 46
PN/1767/17
JUDGMENT OF SHERIFF PETER J BRAID
in the cause
MARGARET NORGATE
Pursuer
Against
BRITANNIA HOTELS LIMITED
Defenders
Pursuer: Forbes
Defender: Murray
Edinburgh, 7 August 2018
The sheriff, having resumed consideration of the cause, sustains the defenders’ objections
(a) to the evidence of David Wood, insofar as he purported to express an opinion on the
questions of law which are for the court to decide; and (b) to the evidence pertaining to
production 5/15 of process; thereafter, makes the following findings in fact:
[1] The pursuer is Margaret Norgate, designed in the instance. Her date of birth is
6 October 1931. On 20 July 2015, she was 83 years of age.
[2] The defenders are Britannia Hotels Limited, 253 Hale Road, Altrincham, Cheshire,
WA15 8RE. On 20 July 2015, they were the owners and occupiers of Adamton Country
House Hotel, Baird Road, Prestwick, KA9 2SQ (“Adamton House”).
[3] On 20 July 2015, the pursuer and her husband, Jack Norgate, were staying at
Adamton House. They were on a coach holiday.
2
[4] The pursuer had walking difficulties. Prior to arrival, she had requested a ground
floor room due to those difficulties. A ground floor room was duly allocated to her, in the
annex to the hotel, which at that time was not attached to the main building.
[5] Adamton House is a country house designed in Jacobean Revival style. It was built
in 1885 for George Alexander Baird, MP. It was at one time accommodation for the US
Airforce and British Aerospace personnel, but from 2002 it has been used as a hotel.
[6] Adamton House (excluding the accommodation wing) was designated as a category
B listed building on 28 October 2014.
[7] The original entrance, on the principal or north-western façade, is by way of a Tudor
styled porte-cochere. It is constructed of Ballochmyle red sandstone with segmental arches
and is open on three sides, having sufficient space for a carriage or modern vehicle to enter.
[8] The porte-cochere contains a flight of four stairs constructed in a dark stone
consistent with whin. Each step has a rounded bullnose front, with an indent below it. This
is a traditional detail to accommodate the way that stairs are climbed and is part of the listed
structure.
[9] Each stair has a rise of circa 150mm, going of 363mm and tread of 400mm (“tread”
being the length of the step from front to back edge, and “going” being the length from the
nosing to the vertical line projecting down from the next nosing). The width of the stairs is
about 4,275mm.
[10] In July 2015, the treads of the staircase exhibited signs of wear and tear. The
bullnoses on some steps were damaged and patchwork repairs had been carried out to the
stonework in some areas. There were no contrasting indicators beyond the inconsistent
colour of previous repairs. There was no handrail.
To continue reading
Request your trial