The derelict mansion in Cornwall being sold as 'once in a lifetime' restoration project

A derelict manor house in Cornwall which was destroyed by a fire more than 70 years ago is expected to sell for more than £600,000.

Estate agents Lillicrap Chillcott are selling Trehane House, which is three miles east of Truro in Cornwall.

The firm says the ruin of a Queen Anne house offers a "once-in-a-lifetime restoration opportunity".

The Trehane estate dates back to the 13th Century, when Sir John Trehane appears in the list of soldiers who fought in the Spanish Armada landing.

In 1700, the then-owner John Williams built a new house for his family which was completed three years later.

The house then passed through the family until 1861 when it ended up in the hands of Captain William Stackhouse Church Pinwill, who was a serving officer in the Indian Army and did not return until 1868.

Trehane was requisitioned just before the Second World War and Austrian Jews fleeing the Nazis stayed in the house in temporary huts in the grounds.

It was damaged in a fire in 1946 and it has been left in the same state ever since.

The estate was then bought in 1962 by David Trehane who, despite his surname, had no connection with the house.

The ruin was beyond rescue but Mr Trehane did all he could to ensure the gardens were of a high standard before selling it to its current owner.

Offers for house and land are expected to be in excess of £600,000.

The ruins are said to be unstable and highly dangerous, meaning there is no public access to the building.