There was plenty of stone to be seen in the projects in the English Heritage Angel Awards but this one is owned by the stonemasons who restored it.

There is no reason why stonemasons should not own a medieval castle in Northumberland but, nevertheless, most don’t. So you cannot help wondering how Mike Simpson came to be the owner of Blenkinsopp Castle.

It turns out he inherited it from his father, the son of a gardener who made a success of an engineering firm and decided to buy himself a castle.

That was in 1955, three years after a fire, which started in suspicious circumstances, had reduced the castle to a ruin. Mike Simpson’s father bought the ruins for £2,000, which was about three times the average annual salary at that time. Mike grew up there and so, in due course, did his son, Gary. Both of them became stonemasons, building stone houses in Northumberland.

Mike’s dad renovated what would have been the servants’ quarters of the castle to live in, but did not pay much attention to the main body of the building. The fire had left it roofless and exposed to the elements with significant structural issues that only worsened over the years, eventually leading to it being added to the English Heritage ‘At Risk’ register.

It was being on the register that entitled it, once it had been removed from it, to be entered into the Angel Awards. Because to qualify for an Angel Award a building has to have been rescued from the ‘Heritage At Risk’ register.

The Angel Awards were introduced last year by English Heritage, supported by impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Telegraph newspaper, to recognise the contribution of volunteers around the country to saving the built heritage.

The idea is to gain publicity for projects that have been completed by local enthusiasts (normally paid for at least in part by their own fund-raising initiatives) to encourage others to do the same. It was a pragmatic ‘Big Society’ response by English Heritage to having its budget cut by 32%.

The first Angel Awards were presented last year to much acclaim at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End. TV sports presenter Clare Balding was compere at the ceremony and guest presenters included TV and radio star Graham Norton, film director Michael Winner and actress and singer Danielle Hope.

The Awards were back at the Palace Theatre this year on 22 October. Clare Balding once again fronted the event and for a second time Graham Norton was one of the celebrity presenters, this year with TV and radio presenter Melvyn Bragg, Government Culture Minister Ed Vaizey and Daily Telegraph columnist and journalist Charles Moore.

The work carried out by Mike and his son, Gary, on Blenkinsopp Castle was among the projects short-listed in the category for the Best Craftsmanship Employed on a Heritage Rescue – one of four categories in the Awards. It did not win, but Gary told NSS afterwards: “It was quite fantastic to get to the final, to be perfectly honest.”

Work to rescue the castle came about as the result of an unusual partnership in which Mike and Gary undertook to consolidate the castle themselves, while English Heritage provided expertise and contributed the costs of the scaffolding and supervision of the work by a conservation-accredited architect, Elaine Blackett-Ord.

The programme of works devised was expected to take three years. But this was time when Gary and Mike would not be earning a living and by working long days and many weekends, they completed the project in two years.

They enjoyed the project so much that it has given their lives a completely new direction. Once the castle was finished, Gary formed a company called Heritage Consolidation, with his dad working with him in the business. The company concentrates on conservation and consolidation work – and has found plenty of it.

Projects have included Cartington Castle, Thirlwall Castle, Prudhoe Castle and Brinkburn Priory, as well as various smaller projects. Altogether they have worked on 17 other historic sites since finishing Blenkinsopp Castle, nine of which were on the ‘Heritage At Risk’ register and two of which have also won various awards.

Because the work on Blenkinsopp Castle was largely about making the structure safe and rough raking the walls so they shed water rather than retaining it, all the work was carried out using the stone already on the site, which is a local sandstone.

At least some of it had clearly been taken by the medieval builders of the castle from Hadrians Wall, which is just across the valley.

“We found quite a lot of Roman altar stones with carving on them,” says Gary. The carvings had been turned to the inside of the wall so they did not show on the medieval building and were only revealed when the stones were removed. They have now been left on show in the castle.

Although no newly produced stone was needed, if it had been Gary says the best match would have been a stripy Blaxter.

Lime mortars were used throughout the project. Gary had learnt about lime mortars from Mike, who, in turn, had learnt about them during his apprenticeship.

The work largely involved stabilising the structure. Where stone had been burnt in the 1950s fire, turning it brittle so it was crumbling away, it was taken back to sound material. Walls were capped where necessary and there was a lot of structural stitching with stainless steel rods and resin. There was also a lot of digging out, because upper levels had fallen in and the aim was to open the site to the public, which has been achieved, and the ground needed to be made flat and safe to walk on.

Interpretation boards have now been added around the site to inform visitors about the building.

Gary says if he and Mike had carried out the project for someone else he would have costed it at about £200,000 over a

three-year programme.

The benefit of the project has been greater than conserving the Blenkinsopp Castle ruins and opening them to the public. It has even been greater than giving Gary a new company with a new direction. The extra benefit has come from that new direction leading Gary into working with the Heritage Skills Initiative (HSI).

With HSI he has delivered craftsman taster days for youngsters and those looking for new careers, continuous professional development (CPD) for professionals, masterclasses in conservation skills,

walk-and-talk tours, school activities and participation in heritage skills festivals and conferences – much of which he has done free of charge.

The success of Heritage Consolidation has also enabled the business to take on an apprentice and offer two bursaries in traditional building methods.

For Gary there is no looking back. “We have fallen in love with old buildings. It’s a lot more satisfying than building houses.”

For more about the Angel Awards and a video from the presentation ceremony click here.