An historic former Cotswold prison has officially opened as a dining venue.

The Old Prison in Northleach closed over a year ago and has been transformed into a dining venue, open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea.

Formerly Northleach House of Correction, it is also available for private hire.

Under the guidance of owners, Friends of the Cotswolds, it has maintained some of the authentic settings, including cells, the old court room and the court yard that houses the Lloyd Baker Rural Life collection of agricultural equipment.

The Old Prison was built in 1792 to the designs of William Blackburn.

The buildings were extended in the early 19th century with a new female cell block being built in 1844.

In 1857 the status of the prison changed to a house of remand and in 1859 the local Petty Sessional Court moved onto the site.

The site ceased to be used by the police and court services in the 1970s.

A glass roof café area is now tastefully decorated with plants and shrubbery and there are comfy sofas and dining furniture positioned to give visitors a view of the grassy courtyard and stables.

Hannah Binder has been running the venue since it reopened on Friday.

She said: “We have already had a great response from the people of Northleach and a lot of passing trade.

“We want to showcase great local produce in this stunning location.

"This is the third café in our Cotswold Destinations series.

"We also run Jack’s in Cirencester and The Gateway at the Cotswold Water Parks.

"We work Bramley’s for great local veggies, Sherston free range eggs and Cotswold Honey.”