TWENTY one peacocks, 84 signatures and 400 hours of sewing have gone into making a commemorative quilt to mark the 50th anniversary of Nunnington Hall coming into the National Trust's care.

The hall near Helmsley was given to the trust in 1953, and in 2003, Helen Young, a keen quilter and a member of staff at the time, drew together a team of 11 staff and volunteers to create a special signature quilt.

The team has worked together on and off for the last three years, and now visitors to Nunnington in September and October can see the fruits of the quilters' labours for the first time following the quilt's appearance at the Harrogate Quilt show from today until Sunday.

As well as the signatures of the hall's staff and volunteers in 2003, the quilt has a range of other names associated with the hall that year. These include members of the donor family, National Trust director general Fiona Reynolds, and rock photographer Gered Mankowitz, whose classic portraits of The Rolling Stones were exhibited at Nunnington in June.

All the signature panels are interspersed with specially designed embroidered squares showing images from around the hall and the gardens, such as differing interpretations of the Nunnington peacocks, designs from the hall's 17th century tapestries, and topiary hedges.

Hoping to win a prize in Harrogate this weekend, Helen says: "It's really nice to see the finished product after three years of hard work by the team. It's been great fun and we're all very pleased with it. We've taken over 400 hours to complete it but it's been such a nice project and a great way to commemorate the anniversary.

"Hopefully, it will still be around telling its story in 400 years time. We all have our fingers crossed that the quilt may win something in the Harrogate show. I think people will be interested in the fact it's been a group effort and that only two of the team of 11 had ever worked on a quilt before. In a way, it feels like we have all been involved in making our own little piece of history."

Becky Jones, visitor services assistant at the hall, says: "We're really excited to see the quilt return and go on show this autumn. It's a great memento and is now a lasting testament to another small piece of Nunnington's long and varied history."

Nunnington Hall is open Wednesday to Sundays, the tea room and gardens open at 12.30pm, the main hall at 1.30pm; last admission is 5pm in September and 4.30pm in October.