VISITORS to Hovingham Hall have the opportunity to see a collection of historic comemorative mugs to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this month.

The hall’s annual monrh-long public viewing ends on June 28 and a highlight is the mug collection.

“We found the mugs in the attic so we thought it would be nice to have them on display for our visitors,” said William Worsley, whose family have lived in the hall since it was built by one of his ancestors, Thomas Worsley in the 1750s.

All but one if the mugs mark Royal events – coronations, weddings, jubilees, and even one coronation which never happened, that of Edward VIII, who abdicated before being crowned.

That mug, now a rare collectors’ piece, marks the end of the 1914-18 war, while another, part of a limited collection of just 40, commemorates the completion of the re-roofing of the hall in 2002, when each of the builders involved was given a mug by Mr Worsley in appreciation of their work.

Latest project by the estate is to have a holiday cottage to cater for visitors.

Mr Worsley is particularly proud of the estate’s conservation record but income is needed to maintain it, and the Grade I listed hall.

He and his wife, Marie Noelle, will welcome a steady stream of visitors to their home this month.

Mr Worsley said: “We usually get about 3,000 during the month of June when the hall is open.”

The couple have resisted opening it year-round because, Mr Worsley said: “It is very much a family home.” The hall, the childhood home of rhe Duchess of Kent, Mr Worsley’s aunt, will, however, be open for performances during the prestigious Ryedale Festival in July.

The hall is open daily this month, 12.30pm-4.30pm.

Hovingham marked the Diamond Jubilee with a big village event in the hall’s grounds last Monday, June 4.