THE Crichel estate in Dorset, which has been in the Marten family for 300 years, is reportedly up for sale.

It includes three villages; a 25-room, 18th-century manor house; cricket club; and church and provided the backdrop for the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The sale brings into sharp focus the plight of many owners who have inherited vast houses and estates which are too big to live in and cost too much to run. Accounts reveal Crichel made a loss of £176,500 in the 15 months to March 2010. Stately-piles-of-money