AN HISTORIC wedding venue and conference centre has been put up for sale for £3m.

Hitchin Priory, owned by Chartridge, was put on the market in July.

The Grade I listed building, made up of 52 bedrooms and 17 conference rooms among other facilities, is set within 19-acres of grounds and hosts events including weddings and business meetings.

It was also the former venue of music festival Rhythms of the World.

The Priory is being sold alongside two other Chartridge properties, but can be bought separately as well.

Town centre manager Keith Hoskins said the sale should not affect events already booked in, such as weddings and parties.

“It will continue to trade and it is part of the attraction of the sale. I see no reason why that wouldn’t continue,” he said.

“It is never anything that could be owned by the community, because it is just too big, but if somebody owned it locally, we would get a closer relationship with the building.

“I would love if it came back into local ownership.”

In an information document named The Chartridge Collection, agent Christie + Co hints that a buyer could focus more on the hotel side of the business, rather than events.

It says: “Hitchin Priory has significant potential to appeal to a wider audience all year round. As a result, there is the opportunity to increase rooms revenue and become less reliant on conference and events trade.

“The hotel has significant potential to cater for weekend leisure-break demand including visiting family and friends as well as leisure group tours, which the hotel has not targeted previously.”

The Comet contacted Chartridge for a comment, but was passed on to Hamilton Hotel Partners, which manages the venue.

Messages were left with Hamilton, but the company had not responded to the Comet at the time of going to press.