Cider will flow from the courtyard fountain at Hellens at the stroke of midnight on Saturday, June 28, following the first community event to be held in the newly-converted Great Barn.

The historic Much Marcle manor house, which can boast Bloody Queen Mary as one of its distinguished guests, is undergoing one of the most remarkable periods of change in its 900-year history. The aim is to put the estate's revamped facilities at the heart of local life.

Adam Munthe, whose family has lived at Hellens since medieval times, said: "The idea is not to become Longleat but to use the buildings we have in a living context. My argument is everything will fall down if it's not used and this will give a boost to the economy of Much Marcle by creating a community, cultural and activity base."

The fundraising and care of Hellens is the weighty responsibility of the Pennington-Mellor-Munthe Trust.

All the work is being paid for without the help of Lottery cash and always there are unexpected expenses, such as the £10,000 needed to replace the supporting joints and electrics beneath the Music Room after damage caused by deathwatch beetle.

"I almost cried," said Mr Munthe.

The trust is more guarded about the considerable sums being spent on the restoration of three old barns in the grounds.

Central to the development is the 16th Century Great Barn, being renovated as a theatre, reception hall, cinema and arts event venue with a capacity for around 150 tiered but moveable seats. A barn dance and medieval celebration on June 28 will be its first test, with proceeds going to the Acorns Hospice Trust. Other attractions on the night will include fireworks, while Westons will be asked to create the cider fountain, a feat they managed in June 1953, during a ball at Hellens to celebrate the Queen's coronation.

The renovation of all three barns should be complete by 2005. The early 17th Century Wain House, built for the storage of wagons, could become an exhibition space.

The brick-built Victorian barn will become a retreat centre, where people will be able to make use of the "monastic-style" accommodation. One idea is to attract artists to the retreat, who could then offer workshop sessions in the Great Barn.

Hellens is also in the process of developing a Tudor and Jacobean resource library, which would be used as an aesthetic and cultural centre for students of history. Inside the house itself, the so-called Bloody Mary Bedroom has been restored in a style faithful to the 16th Century, after part of the original plaster ceiling fell down.

Mr Munthe said one of the aims of the restoration was to get close to the red and gold colours used to celebrate Queen Mary Tudor's marriage to King Philip of Spain. This is the room where a ghostly monk, actually a murdered priest, is said to walk. He is one of several ghosts reported to inhabit Hellens, where the eyes of the many oil paintings appear to follow the visitor around from room to room and along the shadowy corridors. One historical character, however, is looking far more cheerful these days. A contemporary portrait of Charles II has just been restored by Scandinavian expert Bo Killander.

Restoration work has also been carried out on the building itself. An early Tudor fireplace was exposed in the kitchen, together with beams that may represent the oldest end of the existing house.