Historic Beningbrough Hall near York opens to the public this weekend after a two year overhaul funded by a wealthy benefactor

So the closure of the property to facilitate a near two-year long, £2.3 million essential infrastructure project was a blow, though the grounds remained open, and now, the long wait is over and Beningbrough Hall opens its doors again this weekend on July 1.

It’s been a long haul but rewiring a 70 room historic house while carrying out repairs to the the roof, stonework and plasterwork is no mean feat and the pay off is that some of the more rarely noticed architectural features that saved it from the wrecking ball have become stars of the show.

A clever and subtle new lighting design highlights the decorative architraves, cornices, corbels, pilasters and friezes.

“Normally when visitors look round the house they rarely look up but this new lighting design takes your eye up and you see how wonderful those architectural details are,” says Alexa Buffey, collections and house manager at Beningbrough Hall, who has been busy unpacking the 2,000 items in the hall’s collection and getting the property ready for the big reveal.

Visitors will once again be able to take in the beautiful Great Hall and that gravity defying cantilevered staircase and along with friendly and knowledgeable guides, there are new information banners explaining each room and its contents.

Highlights include the outrageously tall four poster bed that was part of the state bedchamber before being used by Lady Chesterfield. There is also a collection of items found under the floorboards when the electricians were rewiring, including a vintage pack of chewing gum from Canada.

As for tales of those who lived at the hall, from the owners to the aircrew and staff stationed there during the war, notable characters include Sir John Bourchier who signed the death warrant of Charles I.

Beningbrough was also the setting for a wartime love story between WAAF Dorothy Preston, aka Gipsy, and Canadian airman Harry Olsen, Olie, who marked their names and drew a heart above the drawing room fireplace.

He was captured as a prisoner of war when his plane was shot down and when he came back to the UK, he sent Dorothy a letter. By the time it reached her, it was too late, he had flown back to Canada and she was unable to find him.

Along with preserving the past and its stories and celebrating its architecture, Beningbrough Hall’s other great draw was its partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, which began in the 1970s.

That has ended amicably and the National Trust team is continuing art exhibitions. On September 16, a new exhibition, Inspired by Italy, will open in the first floor gallery.

This brings together the work of Yorkshire based photographer Kate Somervell and Giovanni Battista Piranesi, an 18th-century Italian artist, both of whom have taken inspiration from Italian architecture. It highlights the romance and reality of Italy and the Italian influence on Beningbrough Hall and other great historic houses.

The late Ian Reddihough, who left a substantial amount of money in his will to support the conservation and care of Beningbrough Hall, would no doubt have enjoyed it greatly.

It was his bequest that funded this latest round of work on the building. Although his main home was in Switzerland, he had Yorkshire roots and made frequent visits to God’s Own County.

He died in 2015 at the age of 96 and the galleries on the first floor will be renamed The Reddihough Galleries in his honour.

For more information on the history, opening times and forthcoming exhibitions at Beningbrough Hall, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beningbrough.