A unique opportunity to purchase a piece of Cumbrian history has arisen and it could be yours for just £15 million.

The whole Corby Castle estate including the 14-bedroom main house has been put on the market with the estate agent describing the sale as a “rare opportunity to acquire one of Cumbria's most historically important mansion houses and arguably the finest sporting estate in the area.”

The sale of the estate also includes the gardens and grounds including Grade I listed parkland and established walled and kitchen gardens, classical heritage features including the Grand Cascade, Tudor Tempietto and Byrehill Dovecote, traditional estate courtyard and two farmsteads with extensive buildings offering a range of development opportunities, a comprehensive portfolio of 17 high quality secondary houses and cottages offering additional guest or staff accommodation, or diversified revenue streams, productive ring-fenced farmland and woodland, a driven pheasant shoot and well-regarded salmon and trout fishing areas.

Corby Castle originally dates back to the 13th century and was the ancestral home of the Howard family for centuries.

Corby Castle was sold by Sir John Howard-Lawson Bt and Lady Howard-Lawson in 1994 to Irish businessman and Ulster Unionist Party life peer Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond who instigated a widespread refurbishment of the buildings.

Baron Ballyedmond died in a helicopter accident in 2014 and the estate passed on to his children.

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Caroline Haughey, daughter of Baron Ballyedmond, told The Times newspaper: “It’s not called Eden for nothing. It’s a blissful place.”

“For a house that’s so magnificent, it’s not at all fusty.

“It calls you in for a cup of tea on the sofa. It is impressive and the interiors are extraordinary, but it’s a house that craves people. It loves and comes alive with people in it.”

Award winning brewery, Great Corby Brewhouse is also based in the grounds and glassworkers Robert Martin and Ian Yeates were based there in the 1980s.