A 260-ACRE estate in Basingstoke is believed to be the most expensive to ever be sold publicly on the market.

Hackwood Park has been put on the market and is reported to have a guide price of £65 million.

Prospective buyers of the 24-bedroom mansion, which comes with 20 bathrooms, may be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement before any further information is given out, and provide references and evidence of their financial status before viewing.

Built in 1683, Hackwood Park is described as “telling the story of the history of England”.

An article on the history of the house, by Friends of the Willis Museum, states that the house was built in the style of a very large hunting lodge with a Tudor style banqueting hall and ancillary rooms, with much of the furniture supplied by Basingstoke craftsmen.

It was occupied by the Duke of Bolton until the family left in 1850 and the house was let with all of its furniture.

Tenants over the years have included Lord Westbury, the attorney general and chancellor of the exchequer, Charles Hoare, one of the brothers who founded the famous bank, the Earl of Wilton, the Queen of the Belgians and her family after they were evicted from their native land by the Germans in the First World War, and the Marquis Curzon, a retired viceroy of India.

In 1935 Hackwood estate was sold to Sir William Berry, who became Lord Camrose.

He used his home to entertain many rich and famous people, including royalty, ambassadors, prime ministers and entertainers.

He spent money renovating and refurbishing the house, before giving it to the Royal Canadian Army as a hospital, free of payment in 1940, with the condition that it would be restored to him after the war in the same condition.

More than 16,500 troops were treated there and by 1945 it had become the Basingstoke Neurological and Plastic Surgery Hospital, which later moved to Park Prewett Hospital in Rooksdown.

The Second Viscount Camrose, who inherited his father’s title, lived in the house with his wife Princess Aly Khan, whom he married when he was aged 78 in 1986.

Princess Aly Khan, the mother of the present Aga Khan and his brother, inherited a life interest in Hackwood when Lord Camrose died.

Following her death in 1997, the family wanted to sell the house, its contents and the estate, but struggled to find a buyer.

Eventually, the furniture was sold and the properties were sold to a business consortium, which split the estate into small units.

The house, stable block, three cottages and 160 acres were sold to one buyer, preserving the historic mansion.

Savills, which is marketing the property, said the estate “describes the history of England; through its incarnation from Royal deer park, to hunting lodge, to grand aristocratic residence welcoming great political characters. It certainly has been touched by greatness throughout its many years.”

It is approached via Grade II listed iron gates, and a drive leads through parkland, home to sheep and deer.

It includes stables, coach-house, four cottages, deer park, ancient woodland and botanical gardens.