THIS year Leith Hill Place will be open for its fifth year to the public, and as visitor numbers are growing, more help is needed to give visitors a great welcome and care for the historic building.

When Leith Hill Place, near Dorking, opened in July 2013, a dedicated team of volunteers had put in hours of work getting the house ready to receive visitors.

Four years later, more than 54,000 visitors have been welcomed to composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’ former Surrey home, and have relished the freshly backed scones too.

The team has been looking for new helpers who are able to give a few hours or a day a week to ensure the visitor experience at Leith Hill Place is maintained.

Earlier this year the house opened for a volunteer recruitment event, which encouraged anyone interested in discovering more about volunteering at Leith Hill Place to go along, meet existing volunteers and find out what the work entailed.

Natalie Savage, visitor operations manager for the National Trust at Leith Hill Place said: “As the house is run by volunteers, with minimal staff, there are a range of opportunities for people to get involved, including, baking, maintenance, gardening, research, creating family activities, running events, leading tours and, most importantly, ensuring each visitor has a memorable time.”

During 2017, the house is open from 11am-5pm (Friday to Sunday), plus Bank Holiday Mondays, until October 29.

Outside of these dates additional events and special openings will be arranged, for which volunteer help will also be needed.

The long-term future of Leith Hill Place is still being decided.

A backlog of repair work means an estimated £2.5million needs to be spent on tasks such as repairing the roof, stripping out redundant services and repairing the façade.

New ways to use the house are being explored, with new trials being planned for future years.

For more information about volunteering or to register your interest in attending, call the house on 01306 711685.You can also email leithhillplace@ nation altrust.org.uk.