Oxburgh Hall 'genuinely excited' to be one of the first National Trust houses to reopen

  • Anglia

Watch a video report by ITV News Anglia's Natalie Gray

The National Trust has reopened a small number of its houses to visitors for the first time since they all closed due to lockdown - including Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk. By the end of this week, a total of seven properties will be open in England and Northern Ireland.

All visitors - including members - must book their day out in advance to restrict numbers and ensure social distancing guidelines are followed, the charity said.

Visitors have not been allowed inside Oxburgh Hall since March Credit: ITV Anglia

On Monday, Barrington Court in Somerset, Kingston Lacy in Dorset, Lyme in Cheshire, Oxburgh in Norfolk and Petworth in West Sussex all reopened. The Argory in County Armagh will welcome visitors from Wednesday and Packwood in Warwickshire will follow on Friday. Limited tickets for the following week will go on sale every Friday, according to the charity's website.

Roof restoration work at Oxburgh Hall Credit: ITV Anglia

Oxburgh Hall is currently part way through a major re-roofing project and so not all of the rooms will be open, but visitors will still be able to see parts of an exhibition created to mark the project.

More than 130 gardens and parklands have been gradually opened by National Trust since last month. The facilities were originally shut in March as the Government implemented strict social distancing measures to control the spread of Covid-19.