North Yorkshire's sale of the century

Two superb country estates, one with an illustrious racing and hunting history, offer the chance to live the ultimate rural dream

- Penny Churchill

FOR sale for the first time in more than 100 years, at a guide price of £25 million through the Richmond office of land and rural property agents GSC Grays (01748 829203) and Malton-based Rounthwaite & Woodhead (01653 600747), the historic, 1,103-acre Kirkham estate, some six miles from Malton and 14 miles from York, encapsulates the very best that North Yorkshire has to offer.

Located at the eastern edge of the Howardian Hills, a richly varied National Landscape of Jurassic limestone, high-grade farmland and wooded undulating countryside between the Yorkshire Wolds, the North York Moors and the Vale of York, the estate is largely bounded by the majestic River Derwent, which cuts through the deep winding valley of the Kirkham Gorge. It was here, on the banks of the Derwent, that Walter Espec, lord of the manor of Helmsley, founded the Augustinian Kirkham Priory in 1122. At the Dissolution, Kirkham Priory was surrendered to the Crown and the site sold to a courtier, Henry Knevett. Stone from the ruins was reputedly used for the construction of nearby Howsham Hall in the early 1600s.

Rediscovery of the priory began in the 19th century, when Sir William St John Hope, a leading authority on medieval monasticism, excavated the east end of the church, by which time the ruins were overgrown with ivy and the cloister laid out as a tennis court. After the First World War, custody of the ruins was transferred to the Office of Works, a forerunner of English Heritage. During the Second World War, Kirkham Priory was used by the military in training for the D-Day landings. Today, the picturesque abbey ruins, including the spectacular late-medieval gateway, listed Grade I, are still part of the Kirkham estate, although managed by English Heritage, which coordinates public access and is responsible for the maintenance, insurance and security of the site.