Wymering Manor is to go up for auction for the third time in as many months in December.

The taxpayer-owned property was for sale at £375,000 in September but was not sold.

In a bid to lure buyers, the price of the manor fell to £350,000 at another auction in October – but this too failed to secure a sale.

Now it has a bid starting price of just £280,000 – £95,000 less than the initial asking price

Council leader Gerald Vernon Jackson said: ‘If you’re going to sell a property you can only get the amount that people are prepared to pay for it. There are several buildings where we’ve got less than we hoped for and at times we’ve got more.’

The house is listed in the 11th century Domesday Book, but the current structure dates back to the 16th century. The council bought it on November 25, 1960.

It has been used as a vicarage, monastery and private home throughout its history. Its most recent incarnation was as youth hostel until 2002, when a private tenant took over the lease.

The manor has also given rise to tales of ghostly apparitions roaming the property.

Tom Southall, head of property and landlord services said in a statement: ‘The guide price reflects the market and the level of works required.

‘Unfortunately the previous guide prices were led by offers which we had received immediately before the auctions, which were later found to be unsubstantiated.’

The council said it means that early offers to buy were never firmed up.

Rob Marchant of Clive Emson, which is organising the auction, said: ‘My view would be maybe price was a bit optimistic.

‘It doesn’t mean the value’s dropped, it just means that it wasn’t worth that in the first place.

‘I’m pretty confident it’ll go and I’d hope we’d have some good bidding for it, because it’s a fabulous building and it would be great to have it restored to its former glory.’

The auction will be held at the Rose Bowl stadium near Southampton at 11am on Tuesday, December 14.