Yorkshire's £20 million village sold: time - and rents - have stood still for decades in West Heslerton, which was bought this week by an investor

A North Yorkshire village where 'time has stood still' after being owned by the same family for generations has been sold after being listed for £20 million in April last year.

The sale of West Heslerton estate, near Malton, includes a 21-bedroom mansion, 43 houses and cottages, a pub with a restaurant, a petrol station and more than 2,000 acres of land.

The village and its portfolio of rental properties and leased land, which generates £388,000 annually, has been purchased by a Norfolk-based real estate and farming investment firm for an "undisclosed figure".

The estate agent handling the sale, Tom Watson of Cundalls, says: “We received substantial interest in the sale of West Heslerton Estate and a number of offers in excess of the guide price were received with an offer from Albanwise Ltd being the successful purchaser.”

HISTORY OF THE WEST HESLERTON ESTATE
Mr Watson told the Independent that "time had stood still" in the village, which had been owned by the Dawnay family for over 150 years.

Eve Dawnay, who inherited the village from her father, died in 2010 and ownership of the village is said to have passed to her extended family as there was no sole heir.

The late Ms Dawnay had kept rents on the estate low and was a strong supporter of the village retaining its local character.

But she moved out of West Heslerton Hall 30 years ago and it has not been lived in since.

WHAT THE SALE INCLUDES
The sale, described in the Rightmove listing as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity", centres around the uninhabited 21-bedroom manor house that is now need of extensive renovation and restoration works.

There are also 43 residential rental houses and cottages, a pub with a restaurant, a petrol station and sports fields on long leases. The woodland area stretches to 112 acres.

Miss Dawnay's sister, Verena Elliott, previously said: "We all loved it and it would be very hard to find a village with more loyal and lovely people living in it. There is a real sense of community which is hard to find these days."

Mrs Elliott's daughter Bridget, who still lives in the village and has been the shepherd on the estate, has also said: "It will be strange to return and not be able to just wander around like I always have; that it will belong to somebody else.

"But times have changed especially when it comes to farming, and it will be lovely to see new life breathed into the estate."

About half a dozen properties in the village aren't included in the sale as they are privately-owned.

The official handover of the estate is expected to take place tomorrow.