Millions of pounds raised from the sale of a painting will be spent buying back and restoring grounds at an historic country home.
An auction raised £4.4m for Stansted Park Foundation, which owns and runs the house, with the sale of an 18th century painting by Old Master Jean-Etienne Liotard.
James Cooper, director of the foundation at the Grade II-listed Stansted House, said it would never ordinarily sell an artwork but did to take up the chance to buy back 160 acres.