CHARLES Dickens’ A Christmas Carol will be read in the same hall that the author used to perform in, as part of Knebworth’s seasonal festivities.

The ever-popular three-day Christmas Carol event returns to Knebworth House on Friday in the Jacobean panelled Banqueting Hall - where Dickens performed with a troupe of amateur actors on several occasions for friend, fellow author and Knebworth resident Edward Bulwer Lytton.

Actor Colin Greenslade will read an adaptation of the writer’s most popular work in front of a roaring log fire and a large decorated Christmas tree, in the true spirit of a traditional Victorian Christmas.

The seasonal festivities also include traditional Christmas Carols sung from the Minstrels’ Gallery by a choir of local singers and a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie.

Martha Lytton Cobbold continued, “This reading always sets the scene for Christmas and it is wonderful to think of Charles Dickens reading the same lines in this House so many years ago”.

Tickets for the event, which runs from Friday to Sunday between 7.30pm and 10pm, cost �21 and parking is free.

A matinee performance will also take place on Saturday.

To book tickets call 01438 810931, email cnichol@knebworthhouse.com or visit www.knebworthhouse.com