£10m To Lord It Up In County Down

House buyers in Northern Ireland have been offered the opportunity to Lord it up, after the announcement that one of County Down's grandest homes is up for sale.

However, if you wish to bid on Mourne Park House, in Kilkeel, you may need an aristocratic bank balance, to match your noble tastes.

The former seat of the Earl of Kilmorey is expected to hit the market with a cool £10m price tag.

The property sale also includes 160 acres of land, two gate lodges and a pair of cottages.

Other benefits include fishing rights on the River Whitewater, access to parklands, a lake, stables, an old laundry building, and a kitchen garden.

The grand home of past lords and ladies of Kilmorey has been the scene of many aristocratic parties, as well as being a planning base for the Normandy landings in WWII.

The current Earl of Kilmorey is former MP Sir Richard Needham, who does not use his peerage title.

In recent years, the estate gained attention following a family fall out.

The estate, which is separate to the earldom, was divided with Marion Needham Russell inheriting the house, outbuildings and some 160 acres.

Mrs Russell and her husband since refurbished the once rundown house.

Speaking to the Irish Times, Mrs Russell said selling was a wrench, but the right thing to do.

"There's a really exciting future for Mourne Park but it's not for me to do, not any longer," said Mrs Russell.

"We've already put so much of ourselves into the house. It's slap in the middle of the Mourne Mountains, could be developed without destroying the cartilage of the place, and the area all around is about to become a national park," she added.

Knight Frank is undertaking the sale of the house.

(PR/JM)