IN PICTURES: Second World War old radar site near Whitby restored to five-bedroom holiday home

The Old Guard House in Goldsborough, part of the Mulgrave Estate, has been converted into a luxury five-bedroom holiday home.

The restoration of the building, which took 18 months to complete, has been undertaken by interior designer Sibylla Phipps.

Sibylla said: “We needed to restore the original building to exactly what it would have looked like during the Second World War.

"We were also able to put in a modern addition, which has been designed to work in harmony with the feel of the original building, but takes advantage of the sensational views over the sea.

“I was attracted to this project by its history.

"As a former RAF radar site, it was always a landmark and a point of interest in the area.

"In 2004 it was badly damaged by a fire and stood as a skeletal wreck until we began work on it last year.

“It always seemed sad to me that a building with so much historical value should be left in a state of total disrepair and disuse.

"My grandmother, who worked in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in the Second World War, had always been keen to restore it but all previous attempts - and there have been many – proved unsuccessful.

“It has been a great pleasure to work on The Old Guard House.

"We haven’t faced many challenges in the building process, mainly due to the brilliant work of our construction company Starline Construction.

“My only regret is that the underground bunker, in which the control panels of the Guard House were kept, was beyond repair.

"Having been flooded for many decades it was too dangerous to recover and is now sealed off for safety reasons.”

Sibylla said that, when decorating The Old Guard House, she had to decide between comfort and historicity.

"In the end I decided that a traditional 1940s look ought to be balanced with some more modern comforts,” she said.

"I don’t think many people would really want to sleep in a 1940s bed!

“The interior of the original Guard House I have kept as close to a 1940s interior as possible with the distinctive wallpaper of that era.

"I also managed to source some fantastic 1940s pieces of furniture and other vintage pieces from antique shops in Whitby.

“I wanted to do justice to the design elements of 1940s Britain and I’m pleased with how it’s turned out.

"The architect I worked with, Richard Waller of Peter Rayment Designs, was extremely talented and sensitive to the needs of the project.

“It’s been great fun to work on such a creative project and dig into some of the rich history of the RAF in North Yorkshire, of which there’s such an abundance.”

The Old Guard House was originally developed in 1941 as an Army station to detect enemy ships approaching Britain by sea in the Second World War.

In 1942, it was transferred to the control of the RAF, becoming RAF Goldsborough – part of the Chain Home Low radar warning system that was developed to detect low flying aircraft used by German forces.

The Old Guardhouse sleeps ten in five bedrooms with four bathrooms.