THE festive season is barely over but spring cleaning is already underway at one of the National Trust’s North Yorkshire properties.

Specialist textile conservator Kate Stockwell is hard at work on the intricate task of caring for delicate fabrics at Beningbrough Hall near York.

She is delicately brushing and vacuuming tiny particles of dust from fabrics surrounding the great state beds that can usually only be shown in dim light to preserve their longevity.

House manager Caroline Hill said: “We’re charged with the care of these stunning state beds that are approximately 300-years-old.

“It’s a fine balance to enable rooms to be open and visitors to enjoy the pieces. Sometimes the details can be lost so it’s great to be able to see the delicacy of the fabric as the work is carried out.”

The beds are thought to have been made in the early 18th-century and were originally for the former seat of the Earls of Chesterfield at Holme Lacy in Herefordshire.