Country house’s dormant asset unveiled to public

The West Bedroom, with pink flowery wallpaper from the 1950s, at Nunnington Hall, was used for years to store furniture, and staff are now asking visitors how it should be used in future, as the house already has four bedrooms.

General manager Mollie Dodd said: “It’s very exciting to be able to open up new spaces and allow greater public access to previously hidden areas. Over the winter we have had a major re-shuffle of some of the rooms in the hall, which has given us great opportunities, such as this.

“The thing the public really like is the wallpaper and the fact it is completely different to the rest of the house.”

As well as the West Bedroom, an attic room, once part of the servants’ quarters and most recently used as an office, has been turned into a second hand bookshop.

From Saturday until May 11, the hall will be displaying the short-listed and winning images from the British Wildlife Photography Awards, including a picture by York photographer Simon Roy of a vole peeking out of an old boot.