Grade II listed Flintshire ‘Castle’ sold for £1.5m

A Grade II listed Flintshire ‘castle’ has been sold for £1.5m at auction this week.

Westbury Castle, on Abbey Drive near Gronant went up for sale via public auction on Thursday.

Touted as the ‘Welsh Downton Abbey’ the mock Tudor-Gothic country house dates back 200 years, it currently turns over around £64,000 a year from its wedding business and the rental of apartments.

Once the ancestral home of the Mostyn family, it was built between 1824-9 by Thomas Jones, an architect from Chester.

It incorporated a large private catholic chapel and was sold to a closed order of Benedictine nuns in 1921.

A church, attached to the front of the house, was built in 1931-2, a campanile was added in 1952.

Formerly named Talacre Hall the building reverted to a private house in 1990 and was renamed Westbury Castle.

The castle provides mansion house accommodation with 12 bedrooms, and a west wing with nine self-contained apartments.

The property which included a three bedroomed lodge and eight acres of land failed to sell five years ago when it was valued at £5 million.

Three parties bid for it at the auction on Thursday at The Intercontinental Hotel in London, with the guide price of £1.5 million being achieved.

The identity of the new owner has not been revealed but is believed to be someone ‘local.’

Alastair Stewart, associate partner at Strutt and Parker auctioneers, said:

“For the same price you could get a terraced house or flat in London.

The property went for around what we thought it would.

It was difficult to assess the level of interest in it because it’s such a unique property.

All I can say is that it was bought by a nearby owner.

Considering it’s currently used for residential and holiday letting, I would’ve thought that will continue.”

By contrast if you missed out on the auction and still had £1.5m burning a hole in your pocket you could always look at buying a property in London, where for the same price as Westbury Castle you can buy a two bedroom flat in Hyde Park Square.

The property comprises two bedrooms, two bathrooms (one ensuite), reception room and fully fitted modern kitchen.