EAST Riddlesden Hall closed for winter at the end of November and we’ve been busy working hard behind the scenes getting ready for re-opening in February. We’ve got a full list of activities in the diary, exciting work taking place in the garden and ongoing conservation work planned .

The hall is packed full of history and the best way for our visitors to experience it is through hands-on activities. Throughout the year we make traditional gingerbread, churn butter by hand and dye fabric using plants and flowers from the garden. Our visitors love having a go and joining in with these activities, but we couldn’t run them without the help of our volunteers.

The National Trust is a charity, and each year volunteers give 3.1million hours of their time – the equivalent of 1,590 full time staff. At East Riddlesden Hall we have approximately 150 volunteers supporting us. Volunteers help in a number of ways such as: storytelling in the house, helping with office admin, setting up weddings, taking care of the collection, supporting the outdoors team, and brightening visitors’ days in the tearoom and shop.

We’re always looking for volunteers. If you want to try something different in the New Year and would like to join a warm, friendly team, we’d love to hear from you.

East Riddlesden Hall’s a local treasure that was saved from demolition in 1933 by the mayor of Keighley, William Brigg, and his twin brother John. They donated the house to the National Trust in 1934, an act of kindness that saved over a thousand years of local history. We think this is really special and we’d love to learn more about this history – what are peoples’ first and favourite memories of East Riddlesden Hall?

Next year we start an exciting oral history project that we hope to have completed by 2020, to mark the Trust’s 125th anniversary. We’re seeking volunteers who can help us to collect and document local peoples’ memories of East Riddlesden Hall. This will create an archive of stories that will be sent to the British Library. We’ll also share these memories with our visitors for years to come.

By getting involved with this exciting project you’ll be helping us to keep William and John’s vision alive and will be part of something very special. If you have a passion for history, like to meet new people and are happy to travel locally then we’d love to hear from you.

We’ll be recruiting volunteers for this project in January but please get in touch if you’d like to find out more before then riddlesdenvolunteers@nationaltrust.org.uk. There are many reasons to volunteer with us. Making new friends, working in a beautiful place and knowing that you’re helping a special piece of local history are just three great reasons to get involved.

To register interest in volunteering visit nationaltrust.org.uk/find-an-opportunity. East Riddlesden Hall will re-open at half term, February 16-24, 10.30am-4.30pm.