TEN treasures worth an estimated £10m are to be sold by Castle Howard in a bid to secure the financial future of the historic home.

The items from the North Yorkshire estate are to be sold by Sotheby’s and come from the Howard family's collection – which the auction house has described as “among the finest private art collections in the world”.

The pieces range from Roman antiquities to Old Masters, including a £3.5million painting of Venice's Grand Canal by Bernardo Bellotto, which is estimated to be worth in the region of £3.5m.

Another item that is due to be auctioned in July includes a portrait of Henry VIII, estimated at between £800,000 and £1.2m.

It came from the studio of Hans Holbein and is dated 1542, the year that Catherine Howard - Henry’s fifth wife and ancestor of the current occupants of Castle Howard - was beheaded.

The items have been collected over 300 years by the Howard family.

Castle Howard’s spokesperson said they did not wish to comment on the sale, but according to The Telegraph newspaper, the works are being sold to secure the financial future of the house.

It comes after major change at the 18th Century estate, after it emerged last year that Simon Howard had been asked to step down as chairman of the board which runs Castle Howard. Simon, who last year overcame throat cancer, has run the baroque home for 30 years, taking over the running of the estate from his elder brother, Henry, who died in 2008.

He lived in the home with his wife Rebecca and their 13-year-old twins.

His elder brother, Nicholas had indicated he wished to move into the family home he grew up in, along with his wife Victoria Barnsley. She stepped down from her job as CEO of publishers HarperCollins and was appointed to the board of the Castle Howard Estate Ltd in 2014. They have now taken over the day-to-day running of the estate.

Both families now live in the 145-room house, occupying apartments in separate wings. The brothers have jointly sanctioned the sale to raise the funds.

Other items to be auctioned include Roman antiquities, including a Roman Egyptian vase, with a guide price of up to £600,000 and 17th century Italian furniture.

The collection will be auctioned, with a combined estimate in excess of £10million, at the Sotheby's London Old Masters and Treasures sale on July 8.