Chester House Estate, in Northamptonshire, was officially opened by the Princess Royal, almost a year after opening to the public.
Princess Anne was shown around the site by Jack Pishorn, Business Manager, before the opening ceremony, including being shown some of the archaeological finds.
Mr Pishhorn said 140,000 visitors had been to the attraction since it opened last year – 50% more than forecast – which he said was a “phenomenal start”.
He said the estate had “recruited a facilities supervisor, operations manager, catering manager and an education officer”, as well as hiring several interns, doubling the workforce since October.
“We need to ensure we constantly review and evolve what we’re doing on site to make sure we’re a sustainable visitor attraction and successful education and archive facility for many years to come,” he said.
Chester House Estate includes a large museum, free to enter 85-acre estate, café, bed and breakfast accommodation, artisan shopping village, wedding venue, conference facilities, learning centre, and is home to the second largest archaeological archiving centre in the UK.
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