AN edition of Cranford, dated 1891, is among a collection of historic books on display at Arley Hall this summer.

The 120-year-old version of Elizabeth Gaskell’s famous book includes a character called Sir Peter Arley, who is said to be based on Sir Peter Leicester, of Tabley.

Inside the front cover is a handwritten list of the characters and the local people they are based on, although it is not known who wrote the list.

Simon Wilson, Arley Hall manager, said: “Cranford is such a well-loved story and a part of local history, so it is great to have such an early copy of it here, especially as someone has taken the time to connect the characters with their real-life counterparts.”

Cranford is set in Knutsford, and became a successful BBC costume drama starring Dame Judi Dench.

Visitors to Arley Hall and Gardens this summer will be able to admire its library of 5,000 antique books – some more than 250 years old – in top condition following a major clean-up operation.

Four volunteers spent an hour a week on the task – taking three years to clean all the books.

“The library is a part of the hall that visitors are always keen to see and find out more about,” Simon added.

“The team at Arley has a very important job in preserving the hall and its many artefacts for the future, and we couldn’t do this without the wonderful volunteers who give up their time to be a part of that.”

The helpers carefully brushed down each page and used special polish on the covers to preserve the leather.

As a result, the books will now not need cleaning again for another 30 years.

If the leather covers of the books are not cleaned, they will eventually become powdery with decay and fall apart. But with the oils used to polish them, they will last for centuries.

The books were collected from 1740 on by the family of the hall’s present owners, Lord and Lady Ashbrook.

The library holds around 30 different Bibles, along with books about botany, gardens, local history, architecture, travel and classic novels.