RICHARD FOSTER spends a pleasant afternoon at a manor house deep in rural Yorkshire where he is confronted by big game trophies and celebrities of the Swinging Sixties.

ENTERING Nunnington Hall is like stepping back to the heyday of the British Empire when English gentlemen proved their manhood by shooting game and fighting in wars.

The gruesome trophies lining the walls of the Stone Hall bear witness to the big-game hunting skills of Lieutenant Colonel Ronald D'Arcy Fife (1868 to 1946), who served with distinction with the Green Howards during the First World War.

He was wounded by shell blast that left him profoundly deaf, yet, despite this handicap, he continued to hunt, fish and shoot all over the world.

Specimens on display include elephant, rhinoceros, lion, tiger and many different types of antelope.

Nunnington Hall enjoys a tranquil setting on the banks of the River Rye. A house was first recorded on the site in the 13th century and the present building dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. It was mainly created by Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston.

The manor house was sold to the Rutsons, a family of Liverpool merchants, in 1839, but they mainly lived elsewhere. It was the heiress to the Rutson estate, Margaret and her husband, Lt Col Fife, who modernised the house in 1921, making it a comfortable family home.

Mrs Fife gave the house to the National Trust in 1952.

Nunnington Hall is reputed to be haunted by a presence that prevents any occupant of the Panelled Bedroom, which has an adjoining oratory, from sleeping until it has passed over the bed and out through the wall.

In 1937, a young French woman, Lilette de Foucauld, spent terrifying sleepless nights in the room, but, fearing ridicule, mentioned nothing to her hosts. She was eventually moved to another room where she slept soundly.

The restless spirit is believed to be that of the second wife of a lord who owned Nunnington Hall. She cruelly locked her stepson in an attic room, but her own son befriended him. After the captive escaped, his young friend fell to his death from a window while looking for him.

This tragic accident condemned his deranged mother to endlessly wander the hall in a futile search for her dead son.

Many people have said they have heard the soft rustle of her silk dress.

The attic rooms now house a fascinating collection of miniature rooms, fully furnished to reflect different periods. The collection was given to the National Trust by Mrs F M Carlisle in 1970.

Nunnington Hall is also noted for its tapestries, some of which were probably acquired by Lord Preston while he was in France as Charles II's ambassador to the Court of Versailles.

The National Trust property is also known for its programme of temporary exhibitions.

The present one, which ends on June 25, features the work of the photographer Terry O'Neill who made his name snapping the celebrities of the Swinging Sixties. He even married one of his subjects, the American actress Faye Dunaway.

The touring exhibition, entitled Celebrity, features, among others, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Brigitte Bardot.

The sheltered wall garden, with its delightful mixed borders, orchards of traditional fruit varieties and spring-flowering meadows, complements the mellow manor house. Its shop and tearoom are also worth visiting.

Fact file

Nunnington Hall, Nunnington, near Helmsley YO62 5UY

Tel: 01439 748283.

Opening hours: 1.30pm to 5.30pm. Wednesday to Sunday, Tuesdays in June, and Bank Holidays. Tearoom and garden, 12.30pm.

Admission: National Trust members free, adult £5, child £2.50, family (two adults and three children) £12.50. Garden only: Adult £2.50, child free

Updated: 16:37 Friday, June 04, 2004