By Ruth Adicott

RUDBY Hall, the latest exclusive venue for a wedding, private function or luxury break in North Yorkshire, has a wealth of history – and of secrets. There’s the beautiful carved oak bookcase in the drawing room which contains a door leading to a secret passageway, for example. And the fact that the Downton-style dining room used to have foot pedals under the table for summoning the servants.

Both the door and the old bell system were uncovered during a £250,000 restoration project. A former royal residence, built in 1838 for Lady Amelia Cary, the daughter of King William IV, Rudby Hall has been restored to its former glory and is open to the public for the first time.

The Grade II-listed property has been redecorated throughout, with the addition of six luxury suites on the first floor and space for up to 16 guests. There are also plans to create six more suites and a further bedroom in the tower, so by 2015, the hall will be able to accommodate up to 30 guests.

Designed by famous architect Anthony Salvin, the interior features some stunning architecture with Rococo plasterwork, huge Georgian windows, polished oak doors and a cantilever staircase in the hall.

“What we have tried to create is something very personalised,” says general manager Wendy Desiles, who has been living on site for the past two years with her husband, Eric, and their seven-year-old son, Etienne. “We want people to feel welcome, to feel that it's a home away from home. Everything has been completely refreshed and repainted, all the floors are sanded and shining. It is absolutely at its best.”

Wendy has overseen the restoration from the start, and was thrilled to find the bell system for calling servants, similar to the one on the TV series Downton Abbey. Various mechanisms and cables were found in the dining room and one of the bedrooms when they pulled up the floorboards. They also discovered holes in the floor under the large oak table in the dining room, which would have been from the foot pedals used to call for service.

Another stand-out feature in the dining room is an original hand-carved bookcase featuring the royal crown and letter A, for Lady Amelia.

“It has dragons and lots of detail which is wonderful,” says Wendy. “There is also a beautiful walnut fireplace which has carvings of ladies’ faces and bodies and matches the large sideboard, so they are very much in keeping with each other.”

The lounge has two original 1838 hand-crafted bookcases, one of which contains the hidden door and secret passageway leading into the drawing room. Although the owners had known about it for some time, it had been blocked up by thick carpet.

“It’s a really interesting feature and people are always surprised by it because it’s quite well done,” says Wendy. “If we are doing a wedding, we have the bride and groom in the lounge having champagne, then when we announce them in the drawing room where everyone is sitting down, they enter through the secret passage.”

The property, which was previously known as Skutterskelfe Hall, was built for Lady Amelia Cary, who lived there with her husband, the 10th Viscount Falkland. The house remained in the Falkland family for three generations until 1898 when it was acquired by the Ropner family. They added a porch, with Tuscan columns, along with the Ropner coat of arms, which can still be seen today above the entrance.

During the Second World War, soldiers were billeted at the hall and left their mark in inscriptions in the roof. In 1950, the building was divided into apartments and fell into disrepair, before being taken over in the 1980s and used as its headquarters by chemical company MTM, which carried out major renovations and changed its name to Rudby Hall. The building hosted a number of dignitaries, including former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The current owners, Martin Johnson and Peter Broome, of Middlesbrough-based Python Properties, acquired it 12 years ago and have a background in regenerating old properties.

All the suites on the first floor have been individually designed and named after a figure linked to the hall’s history. Among the most luxurious is the bridal suite, named after Lady Amelia, which has a balcony, chaise longue, original fireplace and ornate plasterwork ceiling painted blue and white. The room opens into a huge luxury bathroom with a chandelier, double shower and free-standing bath.

“We wanted it to be top quality so we changed the plumbing and installed high pressure showers, underfloor heating and heated towel rails,” says Wendy. “We also have high-speed wireless internet throughout. Although it’s an historical building, a lot of the renovations have been done to ensure we can offer guests everything they would expect from today’s technology and luxury.”

The Mrs Jordan suite, named after King William IV’s Irish mistress, with whom he had five daughters and five sons, is more boudoir in style with a red and white colour scheme. A lot of the decor has French influences and was chosen by Sandra Johnson, wife of co-owner Martin, who comes from the Alsace region of France.

Other artistic touches include a number of figurative bronze sculptures crafted by Wendy’s husband, Eric.

Surrounded by ten acres of private land leading down to the River Leven, with rabbits and a family of peacocks in the grounds, there is space to cater for 150 guests and a marquee. Rudby Hall already has 15 weddings booked for next year and is now taking bookings for 2017.

“For every couple that gets married we plant a rose in the ground and put up a plaque with the names and date of the event,” says Wendy. “We also planted a rose for a couple in their eighties recently, when they came to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary.

“We are very proud of the hall and look forward to sharing it with people.”

Rudby Hall, Hutton Rudby, North Yorkshire, TS15 OJN. Tel 01642-701839, or visit rudbyhall.com.