A ‘FAIRYTALE castle’ believed to be the most expensive home on sale in Lancashire has come on the market for the first time.

Grade-II listed Withnell Fold Hall, in the village of Withnell Fold, near Chorley, has been given a guide price of a cool £5million.

For that would-be buyers get a 19,000 sq ft property with 10 bedrooms, eight bathrooms and seven receptions rooms.

There is also a lodge house, indoor swimming pool, library, billiard room and cinema.

The property was built in 1899 by paper mill owners, the Parke family, in Arts and Crafts style and has been fully restored, with the basement done in contemporary materials.

The hall is on the market with Wilmslow-based Savills.

Mark Holden of Savills said: “We’ve had enormous interest in the Withnell Fold property since we put it on the market.

“It is a very distinctive and quirky style and could simply not be built from scratch today for the guide price. It’s been on the market about a month and we’ve had many serious inquiries from all over the country and even from Europe.

“The owners bought the house privately some 18 years ago so this is the first time the house has been placed on the open market.”

The first hall on the site was destroyed because of dry rot with the new building designed by the renowned architects Bradshaw and Gass of Bolton.