Shropshire's Hawkstone Hall sells for £4 million

Hawkstone Hall, in Marchamley, near Wem, has been on the market for about three years.

But now it has a new owner after the asking price was reduced by around £1 million.

Agents selling the property have remained tight-lipped about the identity of the proposed buyer at this stage.

The Georgian stately home, which sits on an estate dating back as far as 1556, went on the market in 2012 for £5 million but had its price reduced last year to £4.25 million.

Mike Artham, managing director of agents Barbers, said: "It is under offer and is sold subject to contract."

He added that he was not allowed to disclose the identity of the potential buyer, what its intended use is, and how much the offer is at this stage because of "confidentiality".

Agents have previously said there has been strong interest from potential buyers, including some from outside the UK, including America.

The property was built around 1700 and has been owned by various members of Parliament over the years.

For the past 90 years, the estate has been owned by The Redemptorists, a Roman Catholic missionary congregation.

Guests – both religious and lay – visited from across the globe to undertake retreat programmes designed to help them seek peace and guidance.

The Redemptorists built a Romanesque-style church in 1932, and in 1962 they replaced with the north-east service wing with a residential wing.

As it is a Catholic-run property, the wing has 50 single bedrooms, with hundreds of people staying at the mansion over the decades.

In recent years, Hawkstone Hall has been run as a retreat for people in the ministry, but the trustees have now decided to sell the estate.