Late last week, Savills oversaw the simultaneous exchange and completion of the sale of one of Europe’s grandest houses: Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire.

Wentworth Woodhouse as we know it today dates principally from the early 18th century and with its astonishing 365 rooms and 1,000 windows not to mention the longest country-house facade in Europe, it’s the largest private home in Britain. Once one of England's most illustrious addresses  – it famously hosted a party for 10,000 guests –  it fell into disrepair after the Second World War and was more or less forgotten about. By the time the Newbold family bought it in 1999 as a retirement project for their father, renowned architect Clifford Newbold , it needed millions of pounds worth of repairs.

Over the course of nearly two decades the Newbolds spent some £5m on what they called their ‘labour of love’, replacing the ancient plumbing, heating and electrical systems and making other essential repairs. However, in 2014 they realised that the time had come to pass the baton to an organisation which would care as passionately about the house and its preservation as they did and they put the house on the market.

Any sale can be complex and when you're dealing with something as precious, important and famous as Wentworth Woodhouse, it becomes even more intricate. The news that the house was on the market quickly went global and enquiries came in from all over the world – not all of them entirely serious.

Two and a half years after the initial launch, the house was bought by the party which had been the front runner all along: the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust. In the budget of 2016, it was announced that a £7.6m Government grant would be made available to assist in the restoration – the future of national treasure had been secured.

As the Newbolds themselves point out, there has always been tremendous local support for the house and it is heartening for them to know that the project to which they had dedicated so much time, effort, money and passion, is finally safe. In a statement the family said: ‘We would like to publically express our thanks to all the staff and volunteers who have worked so hard and with such dedication to help us save the house over the years. We wish the trust, the staff and everyone involved in the forthcoming restoration, every success in the preservation of this fabulous house with which we fell in love with so many years ago. As a family, we very much look forward to seeing the house continue to recover after suffering so much abuse in the 20th century.'

For our part, it has been a privilege to be involved with the sale of what is widely regarded as one of the most magnificent houses in England and we are both  delighted and relieved that some of the finest Georgian interiors in the country will now be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

There’s an old Greek proverb which says: a society grows when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they will never sit. Clifford Newbold, who sadly died in 2015, was the proof of that.