From country seat to Royal retreat – some of the mysteries of Himley Hall are to be revealed for a special anniversary.

It is 40 years since Dudley Council became involved with the former stately home and it is taking a step back in time to celebrate its rich heritage with a new exhibition featuring some rarely-seen items.

The hall – between Kingswinford and Wombourne – was bought 40 years ago by Dudley and Wolverhampton councils as a joint project before Dudley Council eventually took on sole ownership in the 1980s.

It started life in the 18th century when a medieval manor house on the site belonging to the Earl of Dudley was demolished to make way for a great Palladian mansion.

Read the full story in the Express & Star.

From country seat to Royal retreat – some of the mysteries of Himley Hall are to be revealed for a special anniversary.

It is 40 years since Dudley Council became involved with the former stately home and it is taking a step back in time to celebrate its rich heritage with a new exhibition featuring some rarely-seen items.

The hall – between Kingswinford and Wombourne – was bought 40 years ago by Dudley and Wolverhampton councils as a joint project before Dudley Council eventually took on sole ownership in the 1980s.

It started life in the 18th century when a medieval manor house on the site belonging to the Earl of Dudley was demolished to make way for a great Palladian mansion.

The 180 acres of grounds were designed by Capability Brown to include a great lake fed by a series of waterfalls from a higher chain of smaller pools. The hall, owned by the Ward family, received regular royal patronage.

In 1934 the Duke and Duchess of Kent honeymooned at Himley and Edward VIII spent his last weekend there before his abdication

From Saturday until September the exhibition looks at the history of the hall and people who helped create its ‘housescape.’ Things on show include the Earl of Dudley’s sale catalogue from when the home was sold and an itinerary book from the 1920s listing furniture then.

A £700,000 project has recently been launched to improve the north wing ground floor. This includes the swimming pool room and balcony and the private cinema, used by anyone who was anyone in the 1920s and 1930s including Churchill, Gracie Fields and the King and Queen of Spain, who all came to stay.

Initial works have started but the project will be fully underway by the start of next year – and could be finished before 2009.

Dudley Council cabinet member for Leisure and Culture, Councillor Charles Fraser-Macnamara, said: “As a stately home it experienced rebuilds on a greater scale than ‘Grand Designs’ and enjoyed more makeovers than ‘Changing Rooms’.

“The exhibition is a brief glance at the fascinating life and times of the Himley Estate, the changes that have taken place over several centuries and the vision for its future.

“As the Jewel in Dudley’s crown it is about to undergo a refurbishment of the north wing which will give Himley Hall its rightful place in the history of the Borough in the 21st century!”

The Hall is open 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm Tuesday – Sundays and Bank Holiday Monday. Admission is free and the Oak Room tea room is open for refreshments at weekends.