The Celebrity Traitors winner bought the castle for £3.25m earlier this year.
Alan Carr is selling hundreds of items from his new Scottish estate, Ayton Castle.(Image: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
Hundreds of historic items are set to go up for auction next month as Alan Carr sells a range of unwanted items from his castle in the Scottish Borders. Along with furniture, pictures, books and bronze, the castle’s unique ‘cement menagerie’ will also be for sale.
Comedian Alan Carr who shocked the nation by winning the first series of Celebrity traitorsreportedly bought Ayton Castle earlier this year for a whopping £3.25 million, with the renovation of the Scottish property set to feature on Disney+ later this year in an upcoming documentary series.
As the 50-year-old transforms the castle into a home and meeting place that can be used by the local community, he has made the decision to remove approximately 400 items from the property. These ‘leftovers’ are to be sold at an auction which will take place on Sunday 5th July.
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With auction to begin at 10am at Ayton Castle, prospective buyers will be able to preview the contents on Friday 3 July and Saturday 4 July between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. However, tickets for this event are already sold out.
Speaking to BBCJim Railton, of auctioneers Railtons, said: “Basically it’s the remaining contents of Ayton Castle. Alan Carr, as you know, has bought the castle and he’s bought a certain amount of the furniture.
“But the remains that he does not want – and that the last owners of the castle do not want to take with them to their new house – we sell.”
While the majority of items are estimated to sell for hundreds of pounds, the most expensive item is a five-seater 2011 Bentley Mulsanne. With 40,645 recorded miles and a 6.7 liter engine, this sleek car is expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000.
Other items also included in the auction are a pair of Louis VI style French wardrobes, nineteenth century oil paintings on canvas, a Victorian mahogany bird box, 52 modern upholstered chairs and a range of beds, curtains, rugs and furniture to choose from.
However, one of the highlights of the auction may be the sale of over 90 lots of Northumberland folk art creations from the Branxton Cement Menagerie.
Railton states that they were created by a retired carpenter in the 1960s to entertain his disabled son. Including painted concrete sculptures of historical figures, animal and rural scenes, the collection grew to include over 200 pieces.
Describing the menagerie, the auctioneers wrote: “What began as a father’s labor of love became a much-loved visitor attraction, developing a reputation as one of Britain’s most unusual outsider art collections until it was sold and moved to Ayton in 2021.”
This auction officially comes as Alan opened the door to Ayton Castle back in April. While the comedian has been keeping fans updated with his move to the Scottish castle, he has also invited people to potentially party with him at the estate.
Alan opened the castle to a series of celebrations and shared the exciting news Instagram. In the clip, he said: “You might have heard that I bought my own castle… well, the rumors are true. The only thing missing is you.
“Now, if you want to let your hair down in one of Scotland’s most beautiful castles, then you’re in luck. If you have a birthday, any kind of celebration or even a wedding.”
He added: “Why not have it at Ayton Castle? Be my guest. Contact us at aytonevents@gmail.com for more information – and who knows, maybe we’ll just party together.” Many fans were happy with the news and quite a few shared that they want to explore the lavish property.
Details of the sale of the remains of Ayton Castle can be found at Railton’s website.
