A COUNTRY Hall has received global recognition with an award for excellence.

Rudby Hall, in Hutton Rudby, near Stokesley, only opened about a year ago, but the luxury venue has been named as a Service Excellence winner for 2015 by TripAdvisor.

The award celebrates excellence in hospitality and is based on the reviews posted by guests which gave top ratings for service standards. TripAdvisor takes into account the quality, quantity and number of recent reviews submitted by travellers as well as the organisation’s ranking on the site’s popularity index.

Rudby Hall is a luxury venue for events, weddings and accommodation which opened in September.

The hall was recently given permission to more than double its capacity to increase catering for people attending events from 72 to 150 and uses a range of local suppliers. It also aims to increase its team of eight staff to ten in the coming year.

The Grade II-listed country hall dates back to the 19th century and was a former royal residence built for King William IV’s daughter, Lady Amelia Cary.

The venue is run by husband and wife team Martin and Sandra Johnson, who also live on site with their family.

Mr Johnson said: “This is a brilliant vote of confidence for Rudby Hall as we continue to thrive as we approach our first full year in business."