After nine months of refurbishment, a new chapter has been opened in the long life of Pickering Memorial Hall.

Builders have been working flat out to restore the hall to its former glory, and have now completed their last job.

The keys have been officially handed over, and to mark the first weekend in public use, civic leaders in the town arranged a full weekend of events, including a public open day on Saturday.

Features in the renovated hall include seating for 130 people, two extra meeting rooms with a combined capacity of 85, five club rooms and kitchen and toilet facilities.

A major piece of the hall's history has been rescued, as experts were called in to restore a 50-year-old mural found buried beneath layers of paint.

The project to restore the hall was born in the mid-1990s, when a trust was set up to manage it and raise funds for restoration.

Since then, more than £800,000 has been collected from various sources, including the town council, the Countryside Agency and the National Lottery.

Every penny has been spent on the restoration, and, says trustee Angela McCall, the fundraising will continue.

She said: "While the hall is ready there is still some work to be done, in that we need to raise money for various fixtures and fittings. However, while that is important, the main thing is that the hall is open and it makes a truly spectacular sight."

Mrs McCall said the last five-and-a-half years had seen a lot of hard work for her and her fellow trustees, but the finished hall had made all the effort worth while.

She said: "I have been involved since day one, and the work has been extremely hard at times. But the Memorial Hall now looks beautiful and is a building the trustees, and hopefully the people of Pickering, feel very proud of."

Mrs McCall said the project has been "the talk of the town", and had had the support of the majority of Pickering's public since it began.

She said: "There have been one or two sceptics, but I suppose that is unavoidable.

"They are beginning to come around now as they have seen what we have done - transformed what was a rather drab-looking building into the spectacular sight it is now."

The project has had Royal approval, as Prince Charles gave the new hall the thumbs-up when he visited Pickering in October.

Mrs McCall said: "Prince Charles was hugely enthusiastic and seemed very impressed by the work that had been done at that stage.

"He said he would like to come back and see the finished article, and we will certainly be inviting him to do that."