Hagley Hall tours give glimpse of how the other half live

Visitors can get a glimpse of how the other half live as tours are now being offered around the impressive 18th century Hagley Hall.

Lord Cobham, 12th Viscount, whose family have owned the 300 acre estate in Stourbridge since the 18th century, said the tours are interesting as the hall is a 'family house and always has been'.

The tours will take visitors around the huge number of rooms and are available for a short time only.

In the meantime, the hall is used for weddings, conferences, and other functions.

"The house is full of little anecdotes and people love the tours, especially because it is a family house and always has been," said Lord Cobham, Christopher Lyttelton.

"The anecdotes come to life when people come along to one of the tours. I'm sure people will find them really quite fascinating."

The tours coincide with the proposals for a £2.5 million visitor centre which is set to be built in the grounds of the hall as part of a tourism project. The work is set to be completed in 2018.

The visitor centre will incorporate education and history exhibitions showcasing Hagley Hall and park through the decades inside study areas for visiting schoolchildren along with a children's play area. There will also be a restaurant, gift shop and outdoor seating area for visitors to gaze over the rolling hills of the parkland. Accommodation for a ranger is also part of the plans.

Other plans include a 178-space car park on land off the A456 and a new entrance.

Lord Cobham hopes income from up to 100,000 visitors a year will provide sustainable revenue aimed at helping pay vast costs associated with maintaining the hall and grounds.

He added: "I'm keen to see the place developed as a leisure estate because we want to keep people interested. Work is expected to be completed next year because you can't do things like this half-heartedly or you will go backwards and it's going to take some time to build.

"We hope that it'll be open soon though as it's all quite exciting."

Extensive restoration projects took place in 2014 to return many of the park's original features to their former glory. The ornate cascades, waterfalls and pools were painstakingly cleared and rebuilt.

Pathways which once led walkers on picturesque routes through the park were also remarked and relaid.

Tours around Hagley Hall will run every day at 1.30pm and 3pm until March 12.

Tickets are priced from £5 for children, £10 for adults and £25 for a family ticket.

For more information, call 01562 887290.