Opening Hovingham's doors (From Gazette & Herald)

Opening Hovingham's doors

IT MUST be one of the most unusual stately homes in the region.

The lawn in front is a cricket pitch, said to be the oldest private ground in England, where Yorkshire legends such as Geoff Boycott and Len Hutton once played.

And you enter the house through a riding school, once used for exercising horses under cover.

But until now, stately home aficionados have had to pre-book as a party if they wanted to visit Hovingham Hall, located between Helmsley and Malton.

Up to 2,000 people have done so each year.

However, during the coming month, doors will be opened to the public.

Staff are preparing to collect admission fees (£5 for adults, £3 for children under 16, under-fives free), while guides prepare to welcome visitors to a variety of rooms, including the vaulted Tapestry Hall, built as stables and now a vestibule, and the ornate dining room and drawing room. Tearooms are also being prepared to offer refreshments to visitors.

The decision to open up to the public was made by William and Marie-Noelle Worsley after they moved into the hall last year with their three children, Isabella, 14, Francesca, 11, and Marcus, seven. (William's parents, Sir Marcus and Lady Worsley, had moved out into a house on the estate).

More than one reason lay behind the decision.

"Hopefully, we will make some money, of course," says William.

"But it's also because people are interested. They like to see round houses like this."

He doesn't know how many people will turn up during the month the hall is opened.

"It's absolutely impossible to say. We have no idea. It's a big question."

Numbers may be restricted somewhat by the decision to stay closed on Sundays, one of the most popular days of the week for day-trippers to Ryedale.

But William was quite determined the family should have some privacy on the day when the three children are all at home, saying they must come first. That is also the reason behind the decision to open for one month only.

He admits he is not offering the sort of attractions that lure families to some of the region's bigger stately homes.

"We are not a theme park. We are a family home."

The attractions which are on offer include a house built in the Classical style in the 1750s to 1770s by Thomas Worsley, who had a passion for architecture as well as horses.

In Victorian times, a descendant of Thomas had a dome in the staircase hall painted with a copy of Guido Reni's famous painting, Aurora.

In the gardens are yew trees more than 300 years old.

Amongst the portraits of family members displayed in the house is one of a three or four-year-old Katharine Worsley, who grew up at Hovingham.

Later, following her marriage at York Minster to the Duke of Kent in 1961, the hall was to become the scene of a grand wedding reception, attended by many of the crowned heads of Europe.

That must have taken some organising. And William, grateful for the help of his PA, Kathryn Lamprey, is happy to admit that opening the hall up to the public has been a pretty big organisational task as well.

Hovingham Hall will be open daily (excluding Sundays) from 2pm to 5pm, with last admissions 4.30pm, from June 2 to July 4. For further information, call (01653) 628771.

Updated: 16:28 Wednesday, May 28, 2003