Eastbury Manor House received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for Sustaining Eastbury – a two year project which will revolutionise the 16th-century gem.

A partnership and events officer will be recruited to help build relationships with new audiences and the heritage properties manager, Lisa Rigg, hopes to develop stories about the house’s previous tenants.

Cllr Darren Rodwell, leader of Barking and Dagenham council, said the funding reflects the council’s ambition to make it one of east London’s must see tourist attractions.

He added: “It’s a further sign that Barking and Dagenham is becoming one of the Capital’s cultural hot spots.”

Eastbury Hall, as it was known when it was built in 1573, is on Eastbury Square in Barking.

Today it attracts visitors with its Tudor architecture and 17th-century paintings and tells a story of changing fortunes – from a rural to industrial landscape and from a Gentry residence to tenanted farm.

The Elizabethan house, acquired by the National Trust in 1918, is little known to Londoners.

But the head of HLF, Stuart Hobley, hopes the project will put the property on the map.

“It has a wealth of heritage and a fascinating story which deserves to be more widely known,” he said.

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we’re delighted to support this project which will help Barking and Dagenham, with support from the National Trust, plan an exciting and sustainable future for the House.”