Frederick Hervey, 26, the eighth Marquess of Bristol, is now patron of the working group set up to save the house and its valuable collections.

Simon Pott, chairman of the Bury Society and member of the group, said: "I am thrilled that the Marquess of Bristol has agreed to be patron.

"He is really pleased to be involved and he is so keen on everything that is going on in Bury – he is a real breath of fresh air."
The threatened collections held in the Manor House could be lost when the museum closes its doors on March 31.

But the working group, which hopes to set up a charitable trust to run the museum on behalf of the St Edmundsbury Borough Council, presented a business plan to councillors this week.

To mark the marquess' association, the Manor House could be renamed Lady Bristol's House, in honour of Lady Elizabeth Hervey, for whom the house was built.

Martin Lightfoot, chairman of the working group, hopes the marquess' involvement will unlock the potential of the Georgian house with furniture borrowed from the Bristol estate at Ickworth.

He said: "It is the difference between houses that are lived in and a museum that contains a lot of things bundled in together.

"We can hopefully start to recreate that family feel which would shine through the whole collection."