A B&B with a front door that could be described as one of the most significant in history has been bestowed with a top tourism award.

Porch House B&B, based on Northallerton High Street, has just been awarded 5 stars by Visit England in recognition of its luxurious accommodation. Which is all the more remarkable given that at one point the house was a prison for a king.

The building dates back to the 16th century and belonged to the Metcalfe family, cousins to Mary Queen of Scots.

It was a favourite stop-off point for nobility travelling between London and the North, but its most high profile guest was Charles I, who stayed there as both a guest and a prisoner. In 1647 he was arrested by the Scots and held at the home under open arrest for nine days. He was then handed over to the Parliamentarians and executed two years later.

When Charles I entered the building through its wooden porch door he was the sole source of political power in England.

When he left it was the beginning of parliamentary sovereignty and a turning point in the way the country was governed forever.

The current owners, Joanna Umpleby and Glyn Williams have just finished refurbishing the building after taking it over a year ago.

As well as walking through the original doorway, guests can still stay in the Elizabethan-style room where Charles I was likely to have slept and see the outline of the window where the Metcalfe children reputedly tried to help Charles I escape - into what is now a police station car park.

Ms Umpleby said: "When Charles I left through the porch door it was the end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional monarchy and it’s where Porch House gets its name. "It’s a special house with a special history."