A magnificent former country school once attended by the great and good of Sussex society is for sale at almost £4 million.

War hero Sir Douglas Bader and record-breaking polar explorer Pen Hadow were among the luminaries who went to Temple Grove School.

The site, set in 30 acres of landscaped grounds at Heron's Ghyll, near Uckfield, has generated much interest from potential buyers.

All of the school's furniture and fittings are for sale separately as well, including thousands of books, tables, chairs, a church organ and a huge bell dating back to 1810.

Estate agent Emma Cleugh, a partner at London-based Knight Frank which specialises in school sales, said: "We have received non-stop calls from a range of different clients.

"Some people have it in mind as a private home, others as a hotel or retirement home and one idea is to revert it back to a school. There is a range of possibilities. There is a chance parts of it may be sold separately, depending on what is the best deal for the clients.

"It really is magnificent, with beautiful gardens laid out at the beginning of the last century."

The property includes a stunning Grade II-listed house plus a range of other buildings, such as a former stable courtyard building and a lodge cottage, totalling more than 58,000sqft.

Its sprawling grounds include formal gardens, playing fields, a cricket pitch and woodland. The property is being offered as a whole with a guide price of £3.75 million or in five separate lots.

Victorian poet Coventry Patmore bought the hamlet of Heron's Ghyll in 1886. He embarked on a grand plan to create a model estate with a stately home, beautiful gardens and model farm buildings.

The architect for the listed house was JF Bentley, who designed Westminster Cathedral.

After Patmore left Heron's Ghyll in 1876, the property passed to the Norfolk family.

James Fitzalan, later Lord Rankeillour, lived there when it gained a glowing write-up in Country Life magazine in 1903.

From 1936, Temple Grove Preparatory School occupied the house and grounds. In December last year it closed due to dwindling pupil numbers.

Robert Atwood, trustee of Temple Grove School which is responsible for the disposal, said: "At the end of the day it was a charitable trust and the trustees had a responsibility to protect its assets. If it had been allowed to go on as it was, there would have been nothing left of the trust.

"While it was extremely disappointing the school had to close, we're looking forward to a successful completion of the sale so the trust may continue its charitable aims with the proceeds."