A 107-YEAR-OLD painting of a Padiham country house is going under the hammer at a prestigious auction house -- and expected to sell for thousands of pounds.

The 3ft by 4ft oil painting was commissioned in 1884 by Colonel Patrick Starkie whose wealthy family owned Huntroyde Hall.

But the work was not completed for a further 14 years -- and had to be finished by another artist.

The unusual two-artist aspect has increased the expected value of the painting when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby's in London on Tuesday.

Bidders are expected to shell out up to £12,000 for the work of art by John Emms and Henry Yeend King.

Emms painted the horses and a collie but did not finish the job.

Colonel Starkie then waited 14 years before getting King to complete the painting.

A spokseman for Sotheby's would not say who owned the artwork or why it was being sold but added it had come from a private collection.

The catalogue for the auction said the painting was being sold with five letters from Yeend King to Colonel Starkie dated 1898.

It adds: "It would appear that Emms painted the animals in 1884 but did not complete the commission.

"King was asked by Colonel Starkie to paint the background in 1898.

"The house in the background appears to be Huntroyde, the Starkie's ancestral home in Lancashire."

The hall was built in 1576 but the Starkies had lived on the 6,500 acre estate for more then a century before then when an ancestor married.

It was sold for the first time in its history in 1983.