Oyster shells found in walls during Haddon Hall repairs

The shells may have come from a historical banquet, stonemasons say

Stonemasons working on the restoration of a famous stately home have found oyster shells in the masonry.

Haddon Hall, near Bakewell, Derbyshire, was largely built in the 16th Century and has been used in numerous films.

But one of its main features, the 110ft (33.5m) Long Gallery, has faced serious subsidence problems in one of its windows, threatening the structure.

The bulk of the £330,000 needed is coming from the Culture Recovery Fund and the Historic Houses Foundation.

The work is expected to be completed in the summer

While the origins of the hall, which is still privately owned, date back to the 11th Century, much comes from the Tudor period and it is viewed as a rare survivor of that era.

Alice Eaton, one of the stonemasons who is restoring the building, said its original foundations were unstable.

"It was built just on soil," she said. "So we are now making sure it has much better, more stable foundations.

"Having just soil has meant it has started to move and subside."

Stonemason Alice Eaton said the shells were found in the masonry joints

She said some surprising items had emerged during the work.

"We found some oyster shells in the joints of the masonry," she said.

"They could have come from maybe a banqueting hall at some point, but they were really nice to find."

The Long Gallery contains important survivors from earlier periods.

"What's happening is the bay is pulling out and twisting and it's got a huge amount of beautiful early, original glass," said the hall's owner, Lord Edward Manners.

"The important thing is to preserve the glass and the very, very intricate plaster ceiling."

The windows at Haddon have featured in a number of romantic stories and images

Haddon has been awarded just over £262,000 from the Culture Recovery Fund, with an additional £50,000 by the Historic Houses Foundation (HHF) and the rest coming from the Haddon Hall Trust.

A spokesman for the HHF said: "The Historic Houses Foundation were pleased to be able to support Haddon Hall with the restoration of the Long Gallery."

Much of the work focuses on the hall's Long Gallery

The project is expected to be completed by the end of July.