A PATCH of countryside that has been cultivated since before medieval times could be given more protection.

Although it is already in the North York Moors National Park, the site, which includes a hall, could be designated as a conservation area.

A detailed appraisal has been drawn up for the area surrounding Home Farm and Hutton Hall, two miles south-west of Guisborough.

When they meet next week, members of the park's planning committee are expected to agree that it should form the basis for consultation.

The area was mentioned in the Domesday Book, and remains of an ancient nunnery have been found close by.

The Home Farm site was once occupied by the Leper Hospital of St Leonard, which was founded in 1342.

The Home Farm building is thought to be important as a Victorian farm that has survived with little alteration.

Some of the meadowland has never been ploughed, reseeded or been artificially fertilised, and is a remnant of the disappearing landscape of botanically rich meadow that once characterised Britain.

Hutton Hall was built by the wealthy Pease family of Quaker industrialists and financiers from Darlington, who helped to create the Stockton to Darlington railway.

Hutton Gate Station was built in 1865 for the family and remained in their hands until 1903. It closed in 1964 and part of the track is now a footpath.