AN HISTORIC house which has been lovingly restored from a state of near-dereliction has gone on the market – with a guide price of £1.45m.

Prospect House, on Palace Road in Ripon, was built around 1835 for the wealthy Kearsley family, who owned the city’s varnish works, specialising in paints and varnishes for the then-new railway industry.

The house was requisitioned during the First World War and acted as the officers mess for soldiers from the North of England, who were stationed there en route to the Somme.

By the 1960s however the grand house, which is set in an acre of gardens, had fallen into disrepair and it was in a bad state of neglect when it was bought by local couple, Barrie and Elizabeth Price in 1967.

“It was in a state when we first saw it,” said Mr Price. “The staircase and some of the ceilings had collapsed, but we could see what it could become with a great deal of work.”

Forty-eight years later and the Grade II-listed, five-bedroom house, still the home of the Price family, has been fully restored.

“The restoration has been a gradual process,” said Mr Price. “We’ve taken things a step at a time and the house has been a pleasure and a privilege to take care of.”

The house is being sold by Croft Residential and director Toby Cockcroft said: “Prospect House is a 19th century treasure”

For further details on Prospect House, contact Mr Cockcroft on 01904-238222