The owners of an historic mansion house near Longtown have revealed more about their multi-million- pound plans for its future.

Since they bought Netherby Hall, Gerald and Margo Smith have been working towards the development and restoration of the Grade II-listed hall and its gardens.

The couple believe a mixture of uses will be required to provide a long-term, sustainable solution. They are exploring ways of marketing Netherby as a historical attraction, an archaeological attraction, an events venue and eventually a holiday destination.

They have also bought the Bridge Inn at Penton, which will now form part of the wider Netherby project.

Gerald said their philosophy is to restore things to their original functions, and that a string of ideas are now beginning to come to fruition.

The couple’s vision includes the ambitious restoration of the derelict stable yard to bring it back to life as a working yard with horses and carriages.

The one-acre walled garden will be turned back into a traditional kitchen garden and the hall will remain a home.

Occasionally, and in keeping with the past 12 months, the hall itself will be opened up for public events.

“It started with seeing the place and getting very interested in the history. The building has evolved over time and then there’s the Roman connection,” said Gerald, 54, a funds manager for Baillie Gifford.

“It’s been absolutely fascinating learning more about it and the more you learn about it, you learn about the area and the landscape. It’s a beautiful place.

“There’s an element of not really being quite sure why we started it, but now it’s starting to make sense.”

He added: “We’ve fallen in love with this area and the environment, so maybe we can try to encourage some of the people who live here to look at how wonderful the place is.

“I think sometimes if you’re familiar with things you don’t appreciate it.

“Hopefully we’re coming in and we’re excited from the outset and we can encourage people locally to have a look.”

Initial restoration work concentrated on the main house.

Development of the north wing into three holiday apartments is due to start – with the aim of completion by Easter 2017 – before 18 months of work can begin on the adjacent stable yard.

The coach house may also be converted into an additional holiday apartment and planning permission has been granted to build four new homes, near the walled garden, which would be rented to provide regular income towards maintenance costs of the estate.

Work is taking place to develop the walled garden which will eventually supply produce for the Bridge Inn.

The pub is currently open – for drinks Thursday to Sunday from 5pm – but there are plans to close and refurbish it in time to reopen before Christmas.

When it comes to Netherby’s history, an archeology investigation earlier this year revealed the foundations of three barrack blocks under the cobbles of the stable yard.

They are the only visible Roman remains at the hall and confirm the existence of the Roman fort Castra Exploratorum.

“Having found that was quite important,” said Gerald. “There’s a lot of Roman stuff in Tullie House Museum that was found at Netherby.

“They dug all this stuff up but it’s very hard now to actually see anything that shows you there was a Roman fort here, so I was quite excited they found these foundations.”

It’s thought the site was an auxiliary unit with a cavalry component trained at an indoor riding school.

The Smiths, of Dolphington, bought Netherby for £2.5m in September 2014.

They’ve taken on four members of staff and hired local contractors and suppliers. Job numbers will increase during the development, and others will be created at the pub.

Adam Pate, of Croft View Construction, said: “I think the restoration project that Gerald and Margo are undertaking at Netherby Hall is fantastic.

“They are restoring the hall and surrounding buildings sympathetically and returning them to their former glory, as well as providing a platform for it to sustain itself indefinitely.

“We are grateful that Gerald and Margo chose us to carry out a restoration of this magnitude. As a direct result of this work it has enabled us to further invest in ourselves and grow the business in a number of ways, primarily by employing more staff.”

Plumber Peter Brown, of PJ Developments, is also looking to expand his business due to the work.

Netherby Hall was once the focus of a large estate that dominated the economic and social life of the Longtown area but, like many other country houses, it fell into decay during the post-war period.

It became too expensive to maintain and was sold in the 1980s.