FORMER Foreign Secretary and leader of the House of Commons William Hague and his wife, Ffion, have bought a Mid Wales mansion.

In an exclusive interview with the County Times this week Mr Hague confirmed that he would complete the purchase of Cyfronydd Hall by Thursday, January 15.

The hall, which had an asking price of £2.5 million when it was put on the market in 2013, is a handsome brick built mansion set in mature grounds of about 12.7 acres.

It lies off the A458 Between Welshpool and Llanfair Caereinion.

Mr Hague, who will be standing down at the next General Election, said: “We have had our eyes on Cyfronydd Hall for some time.

“Ffion and I are looking forward to having a home in Wales for the first time and to living in such a beautiful part of the country.”

Mr Hague is currently First Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons and Conservative MP for Richmond (Yorks). He was Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2005 to 2010 and Secretary of State for Wales from 1995 to 1997.

He said the house was “an ideal place to write books”. He has already written two books.

His first book, a biography of William Pitt the Younger, was published in September 2004 and won ‘History Book of the Year’ at the National Book Awards. His following book, a biography of William Wilberforce, was published in June 2007.

Mrs Hague, whose father is from the Machynlleth area, has been working for Welsh broadcasters S4C and will continue in that line of work.

Mr Hague added: “Ffion is very excited that we will be living just over the hill from Meifod where the National Eisteddfod will be held later this year, we are both looking forward to that.”

He said he will still keep a home in Yorkshire “to keep in touch with old friends” but they were looking forward to moving to Mid Wales very soon.

He hinted that he would be hitting the election campaign trail and would probably be in Montgomeryshire over the next month or so to back MP Glyn Davies’ bid to retain the seat for the Conservatives.

Told that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had visited the constituency this week and said he had the “right person” in Jane Dodds to win back the seat Mr Hague said: “I think I’ll have a thing or two to say about that when I visit” adding that he had every confidence Mr Davies could repeat his performance of the last election.

Mr Davies said: “I’m really pleased that William and Ffion have decided to set up their family home in Montgomeryshire. 

“Ffion has family roots here, and William is hugely popular in Wales. At a personal level, both William and Ffion are good friends of mine, and they will become good friends of Montgomeryshire.

“Cyfronydd Hall is close to where I live, and is well known as a local landmark. I remember it as Girls’ School, when I was young.

“Over recent years it’s been beautifully restored, and it’s great news for the area that it will become the home of William and Ffion Hague, two people whom I expect to become acclaimed writers. I believe they will feel very much at home.”