A FORMER school is on the market for the first time in 300 years.

Nunnykirk Hall, near Morpeth, is up for sale for offers in excess of £1,500,000.

The Grade I listed country house has been owned by successive generations of the Orde family, of Morpeth, who earned their fortune as horse breeders, since 1716.

Galbraith and Savills - who are jointly marketing the property - say it offers potential for business use or modernisation.

The hall, which for the past 45 years was used as a school for children with learning difficulties, is in a wooded valley which adjoins the River Font and has land extending to about 7.5 acres.

The Nunnykirk Centre for Dyslexia closed in the summer after falling pupil numbers.

The property's landscaped gardens include a large former walled garden, former bothy and hard tennis court and school playing field.

A row of stone-built stores and a garage/workshop lie at the southern end of the kitchen garden.

Sam Gibson, a partner with Galbraith, said: “Opportunities to acquire such a well situated, attractive and historic property to restore to a purchaser’s own requirements are increasingly rare.

“The house requires modernisation, but with a blank canvas, comes the exciting opportunity to create perhaps a beautiful country hotel, restaurant, events venue or a superb private home specific to a new owner's taste.

“The situation of Nunnykirk is also wonderful, offering great privacy and tranquillity, yet easily accessible to Newcastle and the Northumberland coast.”

Built in 1825 by the celebrated North-East architect John Dobson, Nunnykirk Hall has been described as “the finest of all Dobson’s early houses”.

It is built of Ashlar stone masonry under a Lakeland slate roof, with the accommodation extending to approximately 20,091 sq ft (1866 m2) spread over three storeys.

The property retains many original period features including feature fireplaces, ornate plasterwork and cornicing.

The property's inner hall also has an organ given to Charles Orde in 1873 by Forster and Andrews of Hull.

It is believed there have been dwellings on the site of Nunnykirk since Saxon times, evidenced by the Nunnykirk Cross discovered in the wall of a cottage demolished in the 19th century and now within the collection of the Great North Museum:Hancock.