A millionaire tailor's antique and painting collection is to be sold at auction.

Sir Henry Price made millions after creating the first cheap suit and money was no issue when he bought and furnished Wakehurst Place, near Ardingly.

Sixty years later the collection, which has not been on show since Sir Henry died in 1963, is to be auctioned off by Sotheby's.

Deputy chairman James Miller, said: "It was an exciting moment when we discovered Sir Henry Price's collection had survived almost intact. It reflects the staggering purchasing power of an industrial magnate."

Delicate Oriental porcelain, elaborate furniture and Tudor portraits form part of the collection, which is expected to fetch an estimated £2 million at the sale in London on Wednesday, November 22.

The items mark the achievements of Sir Henry, who started work aged 12 in a clothing shop where he earned 2s 6d (12.5p) a week.

Within 50 years he owned Wakehurst Place, now the most visited National Trust property in England, and set about filling it with antiques.

The key to his fortune was the introduction of the 50 shilling suit which catered for the ordinary working man.

Sir Henry used pioneering techniques to create the suit, which cost the average working man's weekly wage.

By the Thirties he was buying wool from all over the world and Price's Tailors went on to become the world's second-largest.

The chain had more than 500 shops and 12,000 employees.

In 1936, the Leeds-born tailor moved to Sussex and bought Wakehurst Place - despite falling through a rotten floor on his first visit.

He then enlisted the help of his friend and golfing partner, Frank Partridge, to furnish it, giving him a blank cheque.

A Sotheby's spokesman said: "No aspect of the refurbishment was overlooked.

"He even went to the extreme of purchasing two black swans to enhance the whiteness of their other lakeside companions."

The auction, which is being conducted on behalf of the executors of Lady Price's will, includes Chinese porcelain, jade and paintings.

Lady Price, Sir Henry's widow, died in April 1993.

Many of the original receipts for items have survived, showing the increased value of items like an early 18th Century walnut armchair which was bought for £250 and is now estimated to be worth 100 times that.

Other gems include an early 16th Century candlestick valued at up to £35,000 and an 18th Century bureau cabinet, expected to fetch up to £200,000.