The castle was last occupied in the mid 1600’s when it was sold as a “source of stone and timber” becoming a romantic ruinous landmark in the area, painted a number of times by JMW Turner.
The building was placed on English Heritage’s “Buildings at Risk Register “before funds were raised in 2000 by English Heritage and the Harewood Estate in 2008. The restoration work was carried out by Historic Property Restoration and the castle taken off the register. Work involved the stabilisation of the masonry with structural supports, removal of vegetation, rebuilding of towers, consolidation of wall tops and "rough raking" and re-pointing along with works within the grounds.