NINE rare antiques from Castle Howard are expected to fetch £10m when they go under the hammer tomorrow (Wednesday).

The Howard family has said the sales will go towards securing the future of the stately home as it "moves into its fourth century".

The items to be auctioned at Sotheby's on Wednesday will range from Roman antiquities to Old Masters, including a painting of Venice’s Grand Canal by Bernardo Bellotto, which is estimated to be worth in the region of £3.5m.

Another item that is due to be auctioned includes a portrait of Henry VIII, estimated at between £800,000 and £1.2m.

Nicholas Howard said: “I am privileged to be able to say that Castle Howard is my family’s heritage and has been since it was built more than 300 years ago. With that privilege comes the responsibility of ownership, and the trustees’ unanimous decision to hold this sale is the exercise of that responsibility. If the sale helps to secure that heritage as the house moves into its fourth century then it will have achieved its goal. To this end, we have selected for sale at Sotheby’s a small number of works which, while of great intrinsic interest, have been carefully chosen so as not to detract from the overall integrity of the collection."

Henry Wyndham, chairman at Sotheby’s Europe, said: “The collections at Castle Howard chart two millennia of history and 300 years of collecting, and rank among the finest private art collections in the world."

It comes after major change at the 18th century estate, after it emerged last year that Simon Howard had been asked to step down as chairman of the board which runs Castle Howard. Simon, who last year overcame throat cancer, has run the baroque home for 30 years..

He lived in the home with his wife Rebecca and their 13-year-old twins.

His elder brother, Nicholas had indicated he wished to move into the family home he grew up in, along with his wife Victoria Barnsley. She stepped down from her job as CEO of publishers HarperCollins and was appointed to the board of the Castle Howard Estate Ltd in 2014. They have now taken over the day-to-day running of the estate.

Both families now live in the 145-room house, occupying apartments in separate wings. The brothers have jointly sanctioned the sale to raise the funds.

Other items to be auctioned include Roman antiquities, including a Roman Egyptian vase, with a guide price of up to £600,000 and 17th century Italian furniture.