A HISTORIC moated mansion which was home to the region's leading families for centuries has gone up for sale for £110,000.
Pinchinthorpe Hall, near Great Ayton, which dates back to the 1600s, is being offered at the price for a leasehold sale, less than a year after being marketed at more than £2.5m for its freehold.
For £110,000, buyers could also purchase a one-bedroom retirement property in Long Street, Thirsk, a two-bedroom flat in Marlborough Drive, Darlington, or a three-bedroom terraced house in Pity Me, Durham, but its owners believe it could be relaunched as a hotel and also want the purchaser to pay an annual rent of £80,000, after a given period.
The property, which features views of nearby Roseberry Topping and the North York Moors, is grade II listed and its origins date to the 12th century.
The Norman Pinchun family are believed to created its moat, which are uncommon in the North-East England. Significant remains of the moat, which was built as a status symbol rather than for defence, survive below the ground surface.
The site has been owned by the de Thorpes, Conyers, Lee and Pease families, and has been home to several MPs including banker Sir Joseph and Sir Alfred Pease and Sir Penry Williams, who had Prime Minister David Lloyd George as a house guest.
The manor house traded as a boutique hotel, restaurant and wedding venue and attracted large numbers of couples until 2011, when the owners decided to close the business and live in the property.
Mark Worley, director of agents Christie & Co, said it was believed a business could be started at the hall "with minimal cost”.
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