House twice the size of Buckingham Palace on sale

Britain's largest private home and the former residence of the man who inspired Jane Austen's legendary character Mr Darcy has gone up for sale for £8million.

Measuring 150 times the size of an average home, twice as wide as Buckingham Palace and featuring five miles of corridors, Wentworth 

Woodhouse is regarded as one of Europe's grandest homes.

The 606ft wide South Yorkshire mansion, has a floor space of 124,000sq/ft and an estimated 350 rooms -- but is so big no-one knows the exact number.

In comparison, the average new build in England and Wales has around 818sq/ft, making the giant house 150 times larger.

On the principal floor is a 60-foot by 60-foot marble saloon, which was once dubbed the finest Georgian room in England.

Some suspect it was former owner William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam, who was the inspiration for the charming character Mr Darcy in Jane Austen's landmark novel Pride and Prejudice.

The 18th Century super-mansion has now been put up for sale with Savills for £8million -- remarkably, the same as a one-bedroom flat in One Hyde Park.

But whoever buys Wentworth Woodhouse will have to spend millions restoring a large part of it which currently sits uninhabitable.

The home, five miles north of Rotherham, was bought in 1999 by architect Clifford Newbold, who spent years working on the property.

He passed away last month at the age of 88 and the property officially goes on sale this week.

It sits in 82 acres of gardens, parkland and woodland surrounded by the greater park and farmland of the Fitzwilliam Estate -- what was once one of the finest parklands of its age.

Crispin Holborow, director of Savills' Country department, described Wentworth Woodhouse as “a once in a generation sale”.

He said: “Homes with this level of history and grandeur don't come up for sale. I've not sold a bigger house and I am not sure there is one. You can't look in every room, but once you have seen a few rooms you have seen enough.

“If many people were to draw their dream house, they would draw Wentworth Woodhouse -- it is the impossible dream home.

“I think it would suit someone like the family who are selling it. They will need to be passionate about architecture, love classic houses and enjoy buying, restoring, and living in a treasure house of England.

“The work the owners have put into Wentworth Woodhouse has been painstaking. Everything has been done in good taste, but it is now time for someone else to take it on.

“Unsurprisingly, there has been a lot of interest and viewings begin this weekend.”