SIR Walter Raleigh's old country home in Downton, which Queen Elizabeth once stayed in, has been put on the market for £1.35 million.

The Manor House is a Grade I listed home which is thought to be the longest continually lived in home in the south of England.

Residents go back as far as 850 with Sir Walter Raleigh, the famous British explorer, living at the property in the 16th century.

The home had previously been gifted to Thomas Wilkes, clerk of the Privy Council, by Queen Elizabeth before being given to Raleigh.

He then carried out a number of improvements on The Manor House - many of which were to impress the monarch when she stayed in 1586.

This included creating a first floor, which they made by dismantling a ship they had sailed up the River Avon.

The Raleigh family lived at the house for around 100 years and their coat of arms is found above the fireplace in the drawing room, which is historically known as The Great Parlour.

Raleigh, who was born in Devon in 1552, is credited with bringing potatoes and tobacco to the British Isles.

He was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, but was disliked by her successor, King James I, who sentenced him to death in 1603 over accusations he was plotting against him.

The death sentence was overturned and in 1616 he was released to lead an expedition in search of El Dorado.

However, the trip was a failure and Raleigh defied the King's instructions by attacking the Spanish. He was executed in 1618.