Repairs at road house where time took toll

The 30,000 programme of repairs has breathed new life into the Grade II listed Punchard Gill toll house, which stands on the remote road between Reeth and England's highest pub, the Tan Hill Inn.

Plans for the restoration were drawn up at the end of 2008, although work did not get under way until this summer after surveys had been completed.

The house had been used as an agricultural store for the past 100 years and was in need of major repair work. The restoration was carried out through a partnership between the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Natural England and the building's owner, Paul Harker.

It involved re-roofing, partial underpinning and rebuilding of stonework, repointing and renewing external joinery and guttering.

A total of 13 toll houses are recorded in the national park but their roadside positions make them very vulnerable and most have been demolished or converted almost beyond recognition.

The Reeth-Tan Hill-Brough road was turnpiked in 1770 to cope with increasing traffic, particularly from the coal field at Tan Hill, and the need to make it easier to transport smelted lead from Swaledale.