A RARE opportunity has arisen to become the owner of a magnificent Grade II mansion house - providing you have a spare £3m to hand.

“The Castle”, in Castle Eden, County Durham, is up for sale at £2,990,000 after the current owners found it “too big for their needs.”

The sprawling nine-bedroom property is fit for a King or Queen, and comes complete with a medieval-style stone-flagged wine vault and 14 acres of “perfectly landscaped garden and woodland”.

Potential owners will be able to greet their guests in the gargantuan reception hall, which features a sweeping staircase, and will be able to entertain in either the formal drawing room or the games room.

The castle can comfortably house at least 18 guests at a time, with ample parking for a minimum of eight vehicles.

Both the first and second floors of the three-story property are well-light as a breathtaking cupola dome, which bares a striking resemblance to Rome’s Basilica, fills the house with natural light.

It also homes a beautiful “palm house” orangery - which would be the perfect place for the new owners to sit in and indulge in the fantastic country views.

The 1700’s building is packed with history as it stands in some 17.5 acres of parkland on a site with medieval origins.

The Georgian country house stands dominantly in front of the attached courtyard buildings recently converted into a select number of separate complementary houses of differing architectural styles.

According to estate agents Urban Base, the ideal owner would be perfect for an “executive family with three or four children”.

The Burdon family of Castle Eden had their origins in Stockton on Tees, where the first Rowland Burdon was mayor nine times in the 17th century. His great-grandson Rowland Burdon III, a merchant banker, purchased the manor of Castle Eden in 1758, and in about 1765, with the assistance of architect William Newton, built the house which came to be known as The Castle.

  • To arrange a viewing, contact the Durham City Office on 0845 6431186.