Pictured above: The Prince of Wales meets Robert Mayo, Development Director at the Welbeck Estates Company Limited at Carriage Court on the Welbeck Estate

The Prince of Wales' interest in architecture and rural diversification was confirmed during his recent visit to Welbeck Estate in the Bassetlaw District of Nottinghamshire.

His Royal Highness and The Duchess of Cornwall visited the latest phase in the Welbeck Project, an ambitious plan to create a sustainable community to include creative and media activity as well as the arts, education and rural diversification.

The Prince visited the recently completed £2.1m Carriage Court office development which provides offices for creative and digital media businesses. The Prince and The Duchess then undertook a tour of the School of Artisan Food, an institute dedicated to rediscovering the benefits of using local produce with traditional baking, butchery and cheese-making methods.

As well as meeting students from the college, estate workers and directors, the Royal couple unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark their visit.

Robert Mayo, Development Director at the Welbeck Estates Company Limited, said: "We were all honoured and very excited about the Royal visit. The Welbeck Project is an ambitious project which will be transformational for the estate, and will bring significant economic and social benefits to Bassetlaw District and the wider East Midlands region."

"The Prince of Wales has a well-known passion for architecture, and we were delighted to show him how we are finding new uses for the many historic and listed buildings on the estate."

Carriage Court, the 19th century former carriage house and stable yard is one of the model estate buildings built by the fifth Duke of Portland in around 1860, and has been converted to provide state-of-the-art offices.

A wide range of businesses are part of the Welbeck Project including the Harley Gallery, Welbeck Farm Shop, the School of Artisan Food and the Welbeck Bakehouse, and a micro-brewery will soon add a new flavour to the mix.

The Welbeck Estate covers more than 15,000 acres of rural North Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. At its heart stands the historic Welbeck Abbey and Welbeck Village, the site of the Welbeck Project.

For further details on Carriage Court project contact either Robert Mayo at Welbeck Estate on 01909 500211, Tim Bottrill at Knight Frank on 0114 272 9750 or Laura West at FHP on 0115 8411149.