Most people buying a 17-bedroom Scottish baronial mansion might keep the vintage Bentley left in the garage. Or perhaps the 19th-century oil paintings hanging in the grand hallways. Not Alan Carr.
When the comedian snapped up the A-listed Ayton Castle in the Scottish Borders for over £3.25 million, he inherited a massive hoard of historical artifacts, high-end antiques, and flat-out weird junk. Instead of keeping the luxury goods, Carr and the property's previous owners handed over 464 lots to Railtons Auctioneers for a massive lawn clearance.
Yet, amid the sea of Victorian longcase clocks, Regency-style tables, and actual historic structures, the Celebrity Traitors star drew the line at one incredibly specific, bizarre category of items. While he cleared out almost everything else, he insisted on keeping a select few pieces of a local legendary collection.
Here is the truth behind the Ayton Castle auction, what went under the hammer, and why Britain's favorite chatty man is starting his "turret era" surrounded by concrete animals.
The Haul Alan Carr Refused to Leave Behind
The headline act of the auction wasn't the furniture. It was the Branxton Cement Menagerie.
If you aren't familiar with mid-century border folk art, it sounds like a nightmare. It is a massive collection of painted concrete sculptures featuring animals, historical figures, and rural scenes with wonky glass eyes. The collection was originally created in Northumberland during the 1960s by a retired joiner named John Fairnington. He built them entirely to entertain his disabled son, creating a sprawling, heartwarming, yet undeniably creepy visitor attraction.
The previous owners bought the entire collection and relocated it to the 160-acre Ayton Castle estate in 2021. When Carr bought the castle, he inherited over 200 of these concrete beasts.
While Jim Railton of Railtons Auctioneers put more than 90 lots of these concrete creatures under the hammer—including a five-foot stone lioness with an endearing smile—Carr actively chose to halt the sale of several pieces. Why? Because he wants the castle grounds to remain a fun, eccentric community hub. He is leaning completely into the quirky aesthetic. He didn't want the history of Fairnington’s labor of love completely erased from the estate.
What Actually Sold at the Ayton Castle Auction
The auction took place directly on the castle lawn, operating under a strict ticket-only viewing system that sold out instantly. It was a chaotic mix of legitimate historical luxury and absolute tat.
The most expensive lot on the block was a 2011 Bentley Mulsanne. The five-seater luxury vehicle had just over 40,000 miles on the clock and carried an initial estimate of £20,000 to £30,000. It stood in stark contrast to some of the other items left in the castle's wake.
Buyers who couldn't afford a Bentley walked away with bits of the castle's residual history, including:
- Victorian pine pews and cast iron hall stands.
- 19th-century carved stone panels and oil canvases.
- Singer sewing machines and Edwardian plate cake stands estimated at just £30 to £40.
- A classic Victorian longcase clock.
The entire event was captured by camera crews. The footage is set to anchor Carr's upcoming Disney+ reality series, Castle Man, which tracks his chaotic transition from his familiar life in West Sussex to becoming an actual Scottish baron.
The Reality of Buying a Millionaire Midlife Crisis
Carr has been brutally honest about why he bought the place. After winning Celebrity Traitors and pocketing £87,500 for charity, he fell in love with the grand, sweeping drama of Ardross Castle. Combine that with a 2022 divorce from his ex-husband Paul Drayton and his looming 50th birthday, and you get the ultimate real estate pivot.
"Some men when they have a midlife crisis buy a Lamborghini or grow a ponytail, but me—I want my very own castle," Carr admitted.
But cleaning out a historic estate isn't just about selling off old wardrobes. It is a legal and logistical nightmare. To keep the exact final purchase price off public records, Carr's team utilized a classic Scottish legal mechanism known as an "implementation of missives." It keeps the final transaction details quiet while he quietly sells off his £2.5 million Sussex farmhouse to fund the massive upkeep of his new 17-bedroom playground.
If you are planning your own massive property clear-out or tracking down eccentric estate sales, skip the major corporate auction houses. Look into regional experts like Railtons who specialize in handling eccentric country house sales, and always verify if the land registry filings allow for private contractual completions before handing over a deposit.
