A RARE chance has emerged to own an entire North Yorkshire village – but the would-be buyer should be prepared to dig deep.

The West Heslerton estate, just a few miles from Malton, has gone on the market – with a guide price of £20 million.

However the potential purchaser will get a lot for their money – including some 2,116 acres of agricultural land.

And on top of that they will get a 21-bedroom stately home, 43 let houses, the village pub and restaurant, a garage, and sports and playing fields.

Cundalls of Malton are handling the sale – and while they admit some agents can be “over the top” with property descriptions they say West Heslerton is genuinely a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

The estate has been owned by the Dawnay family for more than 150 years and the last owner, Eve Dawnay, inherited it in in 1964 on the death of her father. She died five years ago at the age of 84.

She was a spinster and, as there is no immediate single heir, the family have decided the most sensible option is to sell the estate.

Cundalls’ Tom Watson said that in an ideal world the family would like the estate to remain as a whole – and added he doubted he would ever see anything like such a package again.

The vast majority of the land is farmed in-hand and includes three separate farmsteads all with grain drying and machinery storage buildings.

The land includes 1,528 acres of arable and temporary grassland, 426.6 acres of permanent pasture grazing and around 112 acres of mature woodland.

“For somebody who loves farming and field sports; finding an estate like this in a ring-fence has to be a dream come true,” said Mr Watson.

“With the exception of around 16 acres, all the agricultural land is farmed in hand with vacant possession.

“From a sporting perspective the various strategically placed shelter belts combined with the topography of the land would make a challenging and varied shoot.”

The in-hand farming operation on the estate comprises a mixed commercial arable enterprise, producing cereals, roots and pulses together with a large scale commercial sheep flock of around 400 ewes and followers.