THE new owners of West Layton Manor, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, welcomed guests to an afternoon tea to celebrate the refurbishment of the country retreat.

Pilot Richard Sharpe and Mark Devlin, who also worked in the aviation industry, spent six months revamping the accommodation, which has six beautifully furnished guest rooms.

The manor was built in the 1870s on the site of an old hall, once the seat of the Lords of Rokeby, for John Easton, who made his fortune in coal mining in the region.