THE ruins of a medieval home built entirely of stone plundered from Hadrian's Wall opened yesterday to the public for the first time in its 600-year history.
Thirlwall Castle, a unique 14th Century hall house, underwent a three-year conservation programme designed to make it a safe place to visit.
The hall, near Greenhead, Northumberland, was the ancestral property of the Thirlwall family, who abandoned it in the early 17th Century, and was more recently home to bats and swifts.
Although principally a family home, it formed part of a network of watchtowers which were used to defend the border and repel Scottish attacks.
The property is now a scheduled ancient monument and Grade 1 listed building.
A ten-hectare stretch of nearby native woodland along the Tipalt Burn site of special scientific interest was also fenced and under-planted with more than 3,000 young hardwood trees.
The Northumberland National Park Authority, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Union and English Heritage jointly contributed the £450,000 to pay for the conservation.
The castle site is owned by brothers Robert and Michael Scott, who farm much of the surrounding land.
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