A FIVE-MONTH project to give an historic hall a facelift gets under way on Monday.

The £50,000 scheme will see repairs carried out on the outside of the grade-one listed Bedale Hall, and a trench dug around the building to try to counter the effects of damp.

Environmental body Yorventure and Hambleton District Council have each agreed to give grants of £10,000 towards the work.

The hall dates back to the turn of the 17th Century and was once the home of the Pierse family.

It was later turned into a wartime Army base and offices for Bedale Rural District Council.

It now houses Bedale Museum, a tourist information centre, library, children's playgroup and business offices.

Arthur Bruce, vice-chairman of the Bedale Hall Trust, which runs the building and is providing the remaining £30,000 cost of the work, said: "We have spent around £300,000 on improvements to the building over the past 12 years.

"But there is always something that needs attention so the grants from Yorventure and Hambleton are very welcome.

"This will enable us to maintain the hall as a vital part of the Bedale community for many years to come."

The work will see the worn render and moulded plasterwork around the windows replaced, eroded stonework and leadwork repaired and the outside painted.

Bedale architects The Plan Shop will manage the project, with the work carried out by Northallerton contractors Moody Bros.