Hadrian's Wall had been built by members of the Roman army, over a six-year period beginning in 122 A.D. After the Roman withdrawal from Britain at the end of the fourth century, the wall fell into disrepair and was gradually abandoned. During the eighteenth century, for example, much of the stone was used for road-building. The impetus for restoration came from John Clayton (1792-1890), a town clerk from Newcastle, whose father bought an estate through which the wall ran. In 1834, he began buying up land along the wall, and was the first to bring tourism to the site, as well as to emphasise the true significance of this feat of ancient engineering.
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