Nostell Priory opening its doors to winter wonderland ahead of Christmas

Nostell Priory‘s annual festive celebration is well underway, as the stately home and its 18th century doll’s house have been decked with elaborate decorations.

The National Trust, which runs the mansion near Wakefield, said visitors can also enjoy seasonal music, try some Christmas crafts activities and meet Father Christmas.

It added: “We are expecting Father Christmas to visit the house on most weekends during December.

"You might spot him as he walks around the house or, perhaps you’ll see him having a cheeky pre-Christmas snooze by the fire.

“We are not booking appointments with Father Christmas this year, but he will be drifting around, giving out plenty of waves and smiles.”

Tickets for adults cost £7.50 and Nostell will be open from 11am to 3.30pm each day, until Friday, December 23.

Nostell Priory is referred to by the National Trust simply as Nostell and is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton, close to Wakefield.

It dates from 1733, and was built for the Winn family on the site of a medieval priory. The Priory and its contents were given to the National Trust in 1953 by the trustees of the estate and Rowland Winn, 3rd Baron St Oswald.

The estate was purchased in 1654 by the London alderman, Sir Rowland, after its last owner, Sir John Wolstenholme, was declared bankrupt in 1650.

Construction of the present house started in 1733, and the furniture, furnishings and decorations made for the house remain in situ.

The Winns were textile merchants in London. George Wynne of Gwydir was appointed Draper to Elizabeth I, his grandson, Sir George Winn was created 1st Baronet of Nostell in 1660 and the family subsequently owed its wealth to the coal under the estate, and later from leasing land in Lincolnshire for mining iron ore during the Industrial Revolution.

The house was built by James Paine for Sir Rowland Winn 4th Bart on the site of a 12th-century priory dedicated to Saint Oswald.

Robert Adam was commissioned to design additional wings, only one of which was completed, and complete the staterooms. Adam added a double staircase to the front of the house, and designed buildings on the estate, including the stable block.

Nostell Priory is home to a large collection of Chippendale furniture, all made for the house and commissioned by Sir Rowland Winn 5th Bart and his wife Sabine Winn.

The Nostell Priory art collection includes The Procession to Calvary by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, William Hogarth's Scene from Shakespeare's The Tempest - the first depiction in a painting of any scene from Shakespeare's plays - and a self-portrait by Angelica Kauffman, as well as Rowland Lockey's copy of the painting by Hans Holbein (c1527 but now lost) of Sir Thomas More and Family.