ON Thursday, July 31, 1952, one of Britain's most impressive country homes was opened to the public for the first time.

Castle Howard attracted 129 members of the public on that first day. 50 years on, a typical July 31 attracts 1,290 visitors.

With 200,000 visitors a year, the country house is one of the top attractions in North Yorkshire. But it could easily have not been so.

In 1940, a terrible fire destroyed much of the south front of Castle Howard, including the great dome.

As visitors will no doubt agree, the dome interior overwhelms you with its beauty, taking your breath away as you turn a corner and there it is, in all its splendour.

The house was a desolate shell and the ruins remained that way for many years.

The Howard family trust, assuming that it would never be lived in again, began to sell the mansion's remaining contents. However, the late George Howard had different plans.

He decided to move into the house on his return from the Second World War and in 1950 he began the extensive task of restoring the building to its former glory.

Together with his wife, Lady Cecilia, he set about revitalising and restoring the spirit and fabric of Castle Howard.

The country house gained extra fame and became known to thousands who may still not have visited when it became the setting for the highly acclaimed television series Brideshead Revisited.

The restoration programme continues today and the aim of the owners is to conserve their beautiful home, not just for themselves, but for the benefit of future generations.

Castle Howard's current resident, the young Simon Howard, shares and continues his father's dream of returning the house to its original splendour.

"I hope that by the time Castle Howard celebrates its 75th anniversary of welcoming visitors, all this restoration that started in 1950 will be completed.

"To me that will be the culmination of a lifetime of steady, but persistent, endeavour."

Since the fire and the decision to restore the house, the estate has constantly worked at improving, maintaining, restoring and developing all aspects of the house and the grounds.

Restorations include, amongst many other items, the Temple of the Four Winds, the dome in the house, 60pc of the roofs, the John Carr stable courtyard, Ray Wood reservoir, the Atlas fountain, the Prince of Wales fountain and the south lake and waterways.

More recently, work has been carried out on the Carrmire gate, Medici vase and, currently, the seventh Earl monument which stands at the end of the main avenue approach to the house.

These projects are estimated to have cost more than £20m and were funded with money raised through income from visitors and grants from English Heritage and the Countryside Commission.

More than 1,200 craftsmen, stone masons, specialist and skilled workers have been involved in these projects, ensuring the upkeep of Castle Howard, but also helping to preserve traditional skills and pools of talent.

One of the first projects was the restoration of the Temple of the Four Winds in the 1950s.

The dome, stonework, interior and floor were restored, but it wasn't until 2001 that the steps leading to the temple were completed.

Even the Castle Howard organ has been renovated, with each of the 7,000 parts removed and refurbished in 1990-91.

More than 100 paintings, furniture, textiles, books and sculptures have been restored or refurbished.

On average, a single painting and its frame costs more than £5,000 to clean and conserve.

The south-east wing was cleared after the fire swept through in 1940, and was re-opened as an exhibition area in 1991.

Since 1995, 16 life-size lead statues in the grounds, which had survived either intact or in part, have been repaired.

The original statues of Hercules and Antaeus and Pluto and Proserpine had disappeared completely, but new lead statues were commissioned and the second one of Pluto and Proserpine will be in place later this summer.

"Regeneration of this historic estate is vital, not only because of the importance of our buildings and landscape, but also for the sake of all those who live and work at Castle Howard," said Mr Howard.

"We live in a rural economy that has had to face enormous challenges, declining incomes and loss of jobs in recent years.

"I hope that the investment we are making now will also benefit the wider local community through the creation of more jobs and prosperity in the future.