A NEW £34,000 replica Saxon hall at the Bishops Wood Centre in Crossway Green has been built after the original was destroyed by fire.

Youngsters have begun visiting the newly constructed attraction as part of the Saxon Settlers programme.

Pupils ate Saxon bread, learnt to spin wool, to light a fire using the traditional method of flint and steel, make wattle hurdles and design Saxon jewellery.

The new Saxon hall was built by craftsmen from Hopewood Oak in Shropshire, a company that specialise in timber frame buildings usually of a more modern style.

John Rhymer, head of centre, said: "We were devastated when our Saxon hall burnt down. It had taken four years to construct, using the traditional methods of the period.

“We are grateful to National Grid and Worcestershire County Council for helping to fund the building of a new hall which was modelled on a Saxon building of the 7th Century, excavated at West Stow in Suffolk.

“Youngsters from schools in Worcestershire and beyond can once again experience life in Saxon times when they visit Bishops Wood Centre."

The previous reconstruction was destroyed in 2008, the result of an accidental fire.

Children from Finstall First School in Bromsgrove were the first to visit the newly constructed hall.