THE ancestral home of the Bibby family is on the market for £1.25m.

Property firm Knight Frank has been appointed to handle the sale of The Lydiate, set in 11 acres of countryside near Willaston.

The company will oversee the sale of the imposing Victorian stately home and grounds, which are attracting some strong interest from developers.

The Grade II listed manor house has been used as a residential care home, but was previously the home of the Bibby family who made their fortune in the shipping business.

The property is being sold by informal tender on behalf of the Home Farm Trust, with a guide price in excess of £1.25m.

John Broadbent, associate at Knight Frank in Manchester, said: 'This is a rare opportunity to purchase a grand stately home set within a large and attractive estate.

'Although planning consent will be required to redevelop the site, the potential is tremendous and interest to date has been very encouraging.

'This has been as diverse as plans for continued use as a residential care home, restoration back to a private home, conversion to a country house hotel and redevelopment of the home and grounds for high quality housing.'

The main house was built in the mid-19th century and was home to the Bibby family, which founded its shipping empire in Liverpool in 1807.

The estate includes stables, formal gardens, an orchard and a pond.

The last Bibby to live there was Sir Derek, 80, who committed suicide last October after being told he only had weeks to live because he had cancer.

He poured a powerful pesticide on to the hot coals of a sauna at his home, killing himself.

This led to his body giving off toxic phosphine gas fumes which later overcame medical staff at Wirral's Arrowe Park Hospital.