A Georgian manor house which is home to one of Kent's best known restaurants has been put up for sale for £3 million.

David and Rona Pitchford are selling Macknade Manor at Faversham, from where they run Read's Restaurant and rooms.

The long-running eatery held a prestigious Michelin star for 21 years until 2012.

Now, the couple have put the handsome house and business on the market for offers over £3 million.

The property in Canterbury Road is being sold with planning permission for 17 extra bedrooms on the site of the tennis court, bullock yard and stables, as well as an extension of the coach house and an additional reception room, enlarging the manor house.

A former BBC chef, Mr Pitchford first opened Read's in nearby Painters Forstal in 1977 with Rona, who lectured in professional cookery at Westminster Hotel School.

In 1986 he won the Craft Guild of Chefs' Chef of the Year award, and a year later was invited to join the Academie Culinaire de France.

In 1993, Read's won its first Michelin star, and in 1998 Mr Pitchford became vice-chairman of the Academy of Culinary Arts.

In 2000, the couple moved the restaurant to Macknade Manor, where they also offer guest rooms.

They lost the star in 2012 for reasons they were not told, but earned many other accolades for their food, including being named among the 10 best restaurants with rooms in the UK by the Daily Telegraph.

The publication praised the establishment for its "sublime, consistent cooking", and "luxurious and traditional" rooms.

Agents for Strutt & Parker, which is selling the property and business, say it is an "exceptionally well regarded" restaurant, but, subject to the necessary consents, it may be possible to change its use.

The property retains many period features with the layout currently reflecting the restaurant environment, but with the rooms well arranged for alternative purposes.

Currently, there are three reception rooms with a maximum capacity of 60 covers and a breakfast/meeting room and a well-equipped catering kitchen.

The sprawling property sits in almost three acres of park-like gardens, including a cottage garden for growing produce and a paved terrace.

It offers six en-suite bedrooms for guests, a wine cellar, a small attic storeroom and two further unused attic rooms.

The timber-clad coach house also provides accommodation, two bedrooms and generous reception spaces.

Strutt & Parker says it is a successful and profitable business and holds a civil licence for weddings but has scope to "upscale the business on all fronts".