Villagers in Whittington received high praise from the Duke of Gloucester when he officially reopened their castle, after its £1.5 million makeover.

The duke, an architect, was impressed by the restoration of the Marches fortress castle and fascinated by the display inside, during his visit to the Oswestry area yesterday.

But it was for the villagers themselves, who through the Castle Preservation Trust, won lottery and other funding for the refurbishment, that he had the greatest of admiration.

“Castles are now out of date as we do not live in an era of conflict,” he said. “It is important that people understand why they existed and here the local community wanted to take ownership and keep the castle at the centre of their community.”

The Royal walk came under the microscope when the duke underwent gait analysisâ at Shropshire’s Orthopaedic Hospital.

He stepped onto a machine at the ORLAU unit to discover if there were any problems with his walking and took away a copy of the findings.

A regular visitor to the unit, 12-year-old Abigail Lawrence, from Dorrington, near Shrewsbury, who was sporting a denim-look splint, helped the duke to lay the foundation stone for the new Torch centre.

Earlier in a tour of the children’s ward he chatted to Tommy Davies, five, of Shrewsbury, and eight-year-old Joshua Towers, of Ryton, who both have muscular problems.

They will be two of the first visitors to the centre, which will help children with mobility problems. Their families have raised funds for the £4 million centre which will open next April.

The duke also visited Oswestry School and the Richard Burbidge company, to present workers Brian Stanley and Edward Critchell with 40-year service awards.