By . Larisa Brown . PUBLISHED: . 06:08 EST, 8 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:24 EST, 8 August 2012 . A whale skeleton which featured in the classic novel Moby Dick has been brought into the spotlight after over £400,000 was awarded by the National Lottery to repair its final resting place. The remains of the 1825 sperm whale have been immaculately preserved since inspiring author Herman Melville to write his sea-faring classic. But after nearly 200 years of being kept at Burton Constable Hall in East Yorkshire, the whale's historic home is to be restored. House technician Gary Dewson with the skeleton of the sperm whale at its final resting place in Yorkshire . The 58.5ft skeleton was visited by Melville in the 1800s when he came to England to research Moby Dick. He was so taken in by an exhibit of the whale that he included a direct reference to it in his 1851 novel. The stable block at the Grade one listed stately home, where the whale is now housed, will benefit from £417,800 of funding. The sperm whale became a national sensation after it was washed up on a beach at Tunstall and found by a local woman on April 28 1825. Tourists travelled from far and wide to gawp at the astonishing sight, hacking off bits of the carcass to take home as souvenirs before science arrived at the scene. Hull doctor James Alderson performed a dissection on the beach and his findings were the talk of the Royal Cambridge Philosophical Society. After providing one of the first scientific studies of a whale, the remains were claimed by the Constable family, who occupied the hall for 700 years. The family also owned the title to the Lord of the Siegniory of Holderness. The Seigniory was a title founded by William the Conqueror in 1067 which made royal fish, as whales were called, the property of the holder. The skeleton was brought to Burton Constable Hall and set up in the park as a public attraction. Burton Constable: the stately home where the skeleton of the whale has been for nearly 200 years . The paying visitors included author . Thomas Beale who wrote up an account of the dissection in his hugely . influential The Natural History of the Sperm Whale. It was a few years later when Melville came to England to research Moby Dick that he was . so taken by the story of the exhibit he referenced it in his novel. The passage states: 'Moreover, at a place in Yorkshire, England, Burton Constable by name, a certain Sir Clifford Constable has in his possession the skeleton of a Sperm Whale. 'Sir Clifford's whale has been articulated throughout; so that, like a great chest of drawers, you can open and shut him, in all his bony cavities - spread out his ribs like a gigantic fan - and swing all day upon his lower jaw. An 1825 illustration of the beached whale that inspired Moby Dick, based on a drawing by Richard Iveson of Hedon . 'Locks are to be put upon some of his trap-doors and shutters; and a footman will show round future visitors with a bunch of keys at his side. 'Sir Clifford thinks of charging twopence for a peep at the whispering gallery in the spinal column; threepence to hear the echo in the hollow of his cerebellum; and sixpence for the unrivalled view from his forehead.' The remains of the skeleton were recovered from the park in 1995 and are now exhibited in the Great Barn in the stable block. The estate is now owned by the Burton Constable Foundation which manages it as a museum. Director Dr David Connell said the award was 'a fantastic opportunity' which meant the 'renaissance' of the Hall and its surrounding parkland could continue. Repairs will start later this year on the stable block which includes stalls, grooms' quarters and the stable master's room. It consists of two buildings arranged around two courtyards, one to stable riding and carriage horses, the other to accommodate farming stock. The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will restore the original 1770 and later 19th century features and create new volunteer facilities, community exhibitions and workshop spaces. Fiona Spiers, head of the lottery fund in Yorkshire and Humberside, said the stable block was 'of national significance'. 'This project, once complete, will bring to life the important role that horses played in our social and economic history,' she added. Records dating back hundreds of years . outline claims of various whales coming ashore, including sperm whales, which . were the most valuable because of their oil.
Author Herman Melville wrote about skeleton of sperm whale after visiting it at stately home in Yorkshire .
58.5ft beast washed up on shore of local beach near Burton Constable Hall nearly 200 years ago .
By . Larisa Brown . PUBLISHED: . 06:08 EST, 8 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:24 EST, 8 August 2012 . A whale skeleton which featured in the classic novel Moby Dick has been brought into the spotlight after over £400,000 was awarded by the National Lottery to repair its final resting place. The remains of the 1825 sperm whale have been immaculately preserved since inspiring author Herman Melville to write his sea-faring classic. But after nearly 200 years of being kept at Burton Constable Hall in East Yorkshire, the whale's historic home is to be restored. House technician Gary Dewson with the skeleton of the sperm whale at its final resting place in Yorkshire . The 58.5ft skeleton was visited by Melville in the 1800s when he came to England to research Moby Dick. He was so taken in by an exhibit of the whale that he included a direct reference to it in his 1851 novel. The stable block at the Grade one listed stately home, where the whale is now housed, will benefit from £417,800 of funding. The sperm whale became a national sensation after it was washed up on a beach at Tunstall and found by a local woman on April 28 1825. Tourists travelled from far and wide to gawp at the astonishing sight, hacking off bits of the carcass to take home as souvenirs before science arrived at the scene. Hull doctor James Alderson performed a dissection on the beach and his findings were the talk of the Royal Cambridge Philosophical Society. After providing one of the first scientific studies of a whale, the remains were claimed by the Constable family, who occupied the hall for 700 years. The family also owned the title to the Lord of the Siegniory of Holderness. The Seigniory was a title founded by William the Conqueror in 1067 which made royal fish, as whales were called, the property of the holder. The skeleton was brought to Burton Constable Hall and set up in the park as a public attraction. Burton Constable: the stately home where the skeleton of the whale has been for nearly 200 years . The paying visitors included author . Thomas Beale who wrote up an account of the dissection in his hugely . influential The Natural History of the Sperm Whale. It was a few years later when Melville came to England to research Moby Dick that he was . so taken by the story of the exhibit he referenced it in his novel. The passage states: 'Moreover, at a place in Yorkshire, England, Burton Constable by name, a certain Sir Clifford Constable has in his possession the skeleton of a Sperm Whale. 'Sir Clifford's whale has been articulated throughout; so that, like a great chest of drawers, you can open and shut him, in all his bony cavities - spread out his ribs like a gigantic fan - and swing all day upon his lower jaw. An 1825 illustration of the beached whale that inspired Moby Dick, based on a drawing by Richard Iveson of Hedon . 'Locks are to be put upon some of his trap-doors and shutters; and a footman will show round future visitors with a bunch of keys at his side. 'Sir Clifford thinks of charging twopence for a peep at the whispering gallery in the spinal column; threepence to hear the echo in the hollow of his cerebellum; and sixpence for the unrivalled view from his forehead.' The remains of the skeleton were recovered from the park in 1995 and are now exhibited in the Great Barn in the stable block. The estate is now owned by the Burton Constable Foundation which manages it as a museum. Director Dr David Connell said the award was 'a fantastic opportunity' which meant the 'renaissance' of the Hall and its surrounding parkland could continue. Repairs will start later this year on the stable block which includes stalls, grooms' quarters and the stable master's room. It consists of two buildings arranged around two courtyards, one to stable riding and carriage horses, the other to accommodate farming stock. The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will restore the original 1770 and later 19th century features and create new volunteer facilities, community exhibitions and workshop spaces. Fiona Spiers, head of the lottery fund in Yorkshire and Humberside, said the stable block was 'of national significance'. 'This project, once complete, will bring to life the important role that horses played in our social and economic history,' she added. Records dating back hundreds of years . outline claims of various whales coming ashore, including sperm whales, which . were the most valuable because of their oil.
at Burton Constable Hall in East Yorkshire, the £417,800 of funding. The sperm whale became a national sensation after it was washed up on a attraction. Burton Constable: the stately home nearly 200 years . The paying visitors included