IT’S been two months since the historic Queens Hotel in Selborne closed down but there is hope a buyer could soon be found for the elegant white building that sits in the middle of the village High Street.

As a spokesman for Savills’ Southampton office said the agents had been receiving quite a few offers and had one of two “very interested” parties.

The asking price is £950,000 for the hotel, which boasts four en-suite bedrooms on the first floor and another two and shared bath on the second, with a pretty dining room and cosy bar. Outside is a patio and garden and in the front a large barn which for a while opened as a delicatessen.

The hotel is one of the landmark buildings in Selborne and attracted a mix of guests from walkers and drinkers to those wanting an elegant night’s dining or a comfortable place to stay while they explored the village and surrounding countryside.

The fact Savills is getting offers gives hope to villagers who don’t want to see their hotel either turned into flats or demolished.

A spokesman from The Selborne Arms, just a few yards up the street from the empty hotel, said: “We hope that a buyer is found as the hotel has been going for many years and we need both it and the pub in the village as we serve two very different purposes.

“Just a few years ago it (The Queens) was owned by two Frenchmen, Nick and Eric, who were friends of mine and they did a lot to build an excellent reputation for the place, but when Nick died Eric didn’t want to stay and sold it on.

“The new owners didn’t seem to make a go of it although the hotel was completely refurbished only two years ago.”

The spokesman didn’t know how old the hotel but described it as “one of the oldest buildings in the village”.

The closure of The Queens reflects the demise of pubs in East Hampshire, including The Star at Bentworth, The Bluebell at Liss, and The Barley Mow and the Railway Hotel in Liss.