IF walls could talk historic Alder house at Atherton would have plenty of tales to tell.

It was built in 1697 by Ralph and Ann Astley, who legend says were struck by lightning and buried at nearby Chowbent Chapel. Ralph Astley was an iron merchant who supplied the area's nailmakers with the raw materials then bought their finished work.

Thomas Lee, a wealthy mill owner in the 19th century, became the next owner and he built buttresses on the front of Alder House house which still exist today.

During its 305 years lifetime the now Grade II listed building has seen use as a clinic and a school. After standing empty, it was bought for a token fee of £1 by a Wigan man who after extensive refurbishment sold it in 1999 in a private sale for a "substantial amount of money" to the current owners Peter and Julie Cleworth.

Julie Cleworth explained how the history of the building attracted them make Alder House their family home.

Julie, who has two children, said: "My husband and I are both from the Atherton area and we used to play around Alder House when we were kids. The house has always been part of my life.

"My husband loves the history of the place -- there are supposed to be tunnels that run underneath the house to the chapel. Peter has looked for the tunnels but he hasn't been able to find them. We were considering contacting Time Team to see if they could find these tunnels.

"We didn't need to do much work to Alder House when we moved in, but we've made the home our own."

Now the seven bedroom house is up for sale again at £425,000 with a lot of interest shown by prospective buyers since it went on the market last month.