Maister House: Georgian merchant's house in Hull Old Town to open to the public for first time in six years

Although the National Trust owns Maister House, which dates back to 1745, the property is leased as business premises and has never been regularly open to visitors.

Under its last tenants, a firm who occupied the old merchant's residence for 50 years before they went into administration six years ago, there was limited opening of some areas.

However, the building underwent conservation work following their departure and access has not been granted since.

The National Trust has confirmed that Maister House will be open for free tours as part of Heritage Open Days on September 9, 10 and 11. It is known for its ornate interiors including staircase and entrance hall, which visitors can look round in a rare opportunity to see inside. The upper storeys will not be accessible.

The Maister House has a tragic history despite its associations with one of Hull's wealthiest families, who made their fortunes trading with the Baltic ports.

Henry and his brother Nathaniel succeeded their father William Maister to run the business in the early 1700s, and in 1724 Henry married a vicar's daughter who died of smallpox soon after. His second wife, whose father was a baronet, and infant son died in a fire along with two of their servants in the High Street house which the current Maister House later replaced.

However, Henry did not live to see the Maister House's completion a year after his death and his brother oversaw the project. He also served as Sheriff and an MP in Hull. His son Henry was the chairman of the Hull Dock Company and a colonel in the local militia.

It was the younger Henry who occupied Maister House from 1760, but he and his wife did not have children and the property passed to the sons of his brothers William and Arthur.

As with many of the great houses of the Old Town's mercantile families, the business quarters were on the ground floor and the private living rooms on the upper floor. Henry's nephews favoured their country mansions by the time they inherited the house, so it was let as offices and the Maister business itself had declined by the late 19th century.

In 1880 the Maister House was rented to a corn merchant and it was bombed in the Hull Blitz. The National Trust acquired it in 1966 and restored it.

It was recently announced that a hoard of 17th-century gold coins linked to a daughter of the Maister family, Sarah, had been found by a couple relaying the floor of their property in the village of Ellerby, near Hull, where she lived as a widow. The collection of over 200 coins has been valued at over £240,000 and will be auctioned in London next month.