Call for community to save historic East Yorkshire country house

Burnby Hall was owned by local solicitors the Stewart family who gave it to the town in 1963

The public are being asked to save a historic East Yorkshire country house for the community.

Burnby Hall in Pocklington has been used by East Riding of Yorkshire Council as offices for 27 years.

Now the authority plans to dispose of the mansion and the town council is appealing for public support to turn it into a community centre.

The town's mayor Roly Cronshaw said there was a worry it could be bought by property developers.

"We've talked to East Riding council and there is an opportunity that we can get the hall back to the Pocklington community under a community assets transfer, but we do need help from the community," he said.

Mr Cronshaw said the plan was to turn the building into a museum and a space for local community groups.

"It hasn't been used for a number of years so would need work to bring it up to safety standards and disabled access," he said.

"The town council can't run it on its own. We're 13 volunteers and we don't have the necessary skills to put this all together."

A meeting is being held at the hall on 8 August to let local people suggest ideas and get involved in redevelopment plans.

The gardens house an national collection of water lilies

The house was owned by local solicitors the Stewart family who enlarged the building in the 1900s and expanded the surrounding garden which hosts a national collection of water lilies.

It was given to the town of Pocklington in 1963 following the death of the last member of the family.

The gardens are open to the public and are run by a charitable trust.

In 2007 the trust received National Lottery funding to restore the gardens and build a museum which houses items collected by the Stewart family.

According to the trust's website, almost 100,000 people visit the gardens each year.