AFTER eight decades of disuse, an integral part of one of the great stately homes of North Yorkshire has finally been opened up once again.

The 19th Century coach house of Ripley Castle, near Harrogate, were bricked up 80 years ago for safety reasons when it began to collapse.

But at a cost of more than £750,000, and assistance from English Heritage, the building has now been saved for posterity.

The project has involved 18 months of painstaking structural repairs and renovation work, but the scaffolding has now been removed to reveal the building.

It has been completely re-roofed, structural timbers replaced, repaired or supported, and the windows either fully restored or replaced.

The building has spectacular views over the castle lakes and deer park on one side, and over the castle courtyard on the other.

"The renovation and restoration of the coach house was completed not without problems," owner Sir Thomas Ingilby said yesterday.

"The building has now been left structurally sound, and wind and watertight.

"We could not have completed this work without the valuable financial assistance and structural engineering expertise of English Heritage, for which we are eternally grateful."

The next phase of the project will see the building converted into a 120-seat conference centre and banqueting hall, for which detailed plans are now well advanced.