An abandoned village pub and restaurant once run by a celebrity chef has gone up for sale.

The Wife of Bath in Wye, Ashford, is on the market for a six-figure sum – having only reopened as a tapas bar in February.

With bids in the region of £850,000 being welcomed, the site has been used as a restaurant and bar since 1962 including by the Rocksalt Group for six years – then co-owned and headed up by Mark Sargeant, who trained under Gordon Ramsay.

The company ditched The Wife of Bath in August 2022 and decided to focus on their other ventures.

It remained empty until Nicholas Maclennan moved in earlier this year to open No 4 Tapas and Wine Bar.

The dad-of-two sunk thousands into transforming the business, which included a hidden room within the restaurant inspired by the 1920s prohibition-style speakeasies, concealed by a large mirror doorway.

However, the venture did not last and after opening in February shut down at the end of the summer within months of the launch party.

The Wife of Bath signage has since returned to the building.

The new owners would also be greeted with six en-suite bedrooms as agents say these could be used to host a hotel business.

Estate agent Stafford Perkins says the current set-up allows for 47 diners, a fully fitted kitchen and a good-sized car park to the rear.

“The property is no longer open to the public and is awaiting its next owner to take it forward,” it said.

“It has in the recent past been refurbished to an exceptionally high standard and there is very little work required to get this once magnificent restaurant back up and running in conjunction with some top-quality boutique hotel accommodation.”