Restored antique silk pelmets back on show at stately home

The three silk damask pelmets – or upper valances – from the Blue Bedroom at Beningbrough Hall, near York, are known to be at least 250 years old.

They had to be taken down last September for emergency maintenance after previous unsympathetic restorations had left the pelmets in danger of permanent damage.

National Trust conservator Caroline Rendell and a colleague spent more than 100 hours restoring the fragile textiles.

Now the pelmets, which are part of an impressive set of bed-hangings and top off an equally rare Rococo four-poster, are ready to go back on display amid hopes that they will last another 250 years.

Ms Rendell said: "The fact the pelmets have survived in their original state is very rare, and with the bed itself being of a type that is quite unusual, we saw this as a conservation priority."

Bed-hangings were the height of fashion and luxury in their day and were typical of the type of grand interior dcor found in important country houses.

The hangings at Beningbrough Hall would once have been vibrant blue, but have dulled with time and age.