Castle Howard to restore room destroyed in 1940 fire

The The 145-room property near Malton, North Yorkshire attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year

A stately home that featured in film and TV versions of Brideshead Revisited is to restore a room that was destroyed by a fire in 1940.

The Cabinet Room at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire has remained derelict since the chimney blaze 82 years ago.

Plans to return it to its 18th Century glory have been lodged with Ryedale District Council.

It would include installing tapestries, artworks, ornate plasterwork and furniture from the period.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the work would be carried out using pre-fire photographs as guides.

Plans include returning giant tapestries depicting the four seasons that were made for the room in 1706.

In documents submitted with the planning application, a Castle Howard agent states: "The proposal to restore this derelict interior into a new version of the Tapestry Drawing Room marks a very significant moment in the long and gradual recovery of these interiors following the fire of 1940."

The papers add it is hoped to recreate architectural features in "a manner that avoids the mistake of being slavishly archaeological or feeble pastiche".

Responding to the proposals, a Historic England spokesman said it was "a welcome step forward on the process of gradual reinstatement of lost interiors of this outstanding building".

The agency added: "We consider that the alterations proposed will on the whole have a positive impact on the special architectural and historic interest of the Grade I listed building."

The 145-room property near Malton was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year.

It was immortalised in the 1981 ITV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited starring Laurence Olivier and Jeremy Irons and was also used in the 2008 film version.

The house has also featured in the TV shows Victoria and Bridgerton as well as the 2006 film Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties.