What's happening to the real Hogwarts

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A.� You mean the Tyntesfield estate, near Bristol, home of the late lord Wraxall. It is not, contrary to popular opinion, the real Hogwarts School of the Harry Potter novels - but its spires (described by one writer as like the fantasies of a demented Bavarian princeling) bear a striking resemblance to the educational establishment of that young wizard.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� OK - what's happening to it

A.� Tyntesfield, probably Britain's finest 19th-Century house, has gone on the market. The buying price is �14.5 million. It should, without doubt, be saved for the nation - but plenty of developers are showing an interest in it - as well as one particular private buyer.

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Q.� Who on earth could afford it

A.� Step forward queen of pop Kylie Minogue. Kylie, worth �27 million, is said to find they place magical.

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An unnamed friend of hers was quoted in a tabloid as saying: 'Kylie always fancied herself as a lady of the manor. She loves the countryside and has been looking for a place where her mates can stay.'

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Neighbours of the 43-bedroomed mansion in 1,900 acres are apparently not keen.� A worried resident - again, unnamed - said: 'It's nothing against her personally but we value our peace and quiet in this neck of the woods. The last thing we want is pop stars and their entourage driving around all over the place and thousands of fans coming down here asking for autographs.'

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Q.� What is the home's history

A.� Briefly, it was built in the 1860s by Williams Gibbs, who made his fortune out of guano - bird-droppings imported from the Pacific - which became a popular, Victorian garden fertiliser. It passed through the family and was last owned by the second Lord Wraxall, who died last year. He left the estate to 19 heirs and the title passed to his brother Eustace. [Click here for a feature on the house's history]. There's another complication, though.

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Q.� What's that

A.� Peter Halsey, a carpenter from Cornwall, claims his father was illegitimate son of the First Lord Wraxall. That doesn't mean he becomes the real Lord Wraxall, but it could affect the inheritance. Halsey firmly believes that the house should go to the National Trust, not sold to developers.

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Q.� But surely, it must go to the trust

A.� It's not as simple as that. It's hugely expensive. To save Tyntesfield, the public would have to raise an unprecedented sum of almost �50 million - that's �15 million to buy the place and the rest to maintain it.

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The National Trust is still recovering from the financial effects of the foot-and-mouth epidemic, and no application has yet been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

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Q.� I get the impression that all these problems might have been caused by the last lord.

A.� Maybe. He certainly didn't do much to prepare for the house's future. Neither did his mother, who lived there until her death in 1979. 'It is fair to say that my mother and brother rather set their faces against modernisation,' said Eustace, the new Lord Wraxall.

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Q.� But whoever gets it will get plenty for their money

A.� Oh yes. As well as the main house, the estate includes Belmont House, a further mansion, two farms and 31 small cottages and houses.

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But the price does not include contents. They will be sold separately - and there is so much that the disposal of furniture and art would take five days -unless, of course, the National Trust manages to do a deal.

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Steve Cunningham

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