ONE of Cheshire’s grandest country houses is to be sold for a cool £4m.

Hockenhull Hall, near Tarvin, has been the home of the Arnold family for more than sixty years and is a working farm, breeding award-winning cattle.

But father-of-three, Vere Hugo Cholmondeley Arnold, aged 80, is having to sell up as his non-farming sons are unable to continue his work.

Son James said: “My father is 80, he has farmed here for about 60 years and he wants to retire. None of us farm anymore so there isn’t anybody to take it on.”

Hockenhull Hall is a Georgian Grade II listed building with, formal gardens, farm buildings and flats located on 206 acres of land with views of Bickerton hills and North Wales.

The Arnold family is hoping that any future buyer will keep the property in its current form but it is possible that land and buildings could be sold separately.

“We are selling the buildings and the land together but it completely depends on who buys it.

“The house is the most important part, it really is the crown jewel.”

Tony Morris-Eyton, of agents Savills, says that the Hall, built in the 1720s, is unique and is a very rare opportunity for a buyer.

He said: “It is a very special house and coupled with the land, this sort of property just does not come on the market in Cheshire.

“Of course there will be a lot of interest in Cheshire and the North West but because of the architectural merit of the building, there will be interest from further afield as well.

“We hope to achieve the highest price but also that the new custodians will treat the property in the same manner as the Arnold family has done. It is one of the most important buildings in the county.”