Earl of Cardigan, who is on benefits, faces loss of £10m estate Trustees of Savernake Estate look to sell £10m Tottenham House Property tycoon is understood to be in discussions with trustees for house But Earl of Cardigan is looking to remove trustees in High Court battle The Earl of Cardigan could be set to lose his ancestral home which has been in the family for 1,000 years. Trustees of the estate are looking to sell Tottenham House, a 100-room mansion in the 4,500-acre Savernake Estate in Wiltshire, it has been reported. The Earl, who is living on £71 a week Jobseekers' Allowance and is expecting to become a father again in November, had previously moved out of the dilapidated main property and into another house on the estate, which is in a similar state. The Earl of Cardigan could be set to lose his ancestral home as the trustees of the Savernake Estate look to sell Tottenham House The dilapidated Tottenham House is the main property on the 4,500-acre Savernake Estate in Wiltshire According to a report in The Times, property tycoon Jamie Ritblat is in discussions with the trustees to buy the Grade 1-listed, 19th Century Palladian mansion. It is believed however the final sale may not go ahead or may be held up by litigation. The Earl meanwhile, who is taking legal action to remove the trustees from the estate, has vowed to fight any sale of the house. He said today: 'I am in a London meeting all day, doing everything necessary to block that sale arranged by two men who have taken over half a million from my estate without my permission. My claim in the High Court against these two trustees is that they have taken over £500,000 from my Estate without my consent. The Earl went on to say: 'That matter needs to get sorted first, and then I can turn my hand to finding another hotelier who wants to make Tottenham House a very elegant hotel that befits the building.' The Earl (pictured, left, and right, with his second wife Joanne) is taking legal action in an attempt to remove the trustees of the estate. The Earl, the heir apparent to the Marquessate of Ailesbury, has been engaged in a vicious legal battle with the two trustees of the estate. The Earl has barely spoken to his daughter Bo Bruce, who starred on The Voice, since 2005 The 60-year-old, whose kinsman led the Charge of the Light Brigade, has a 49 per cent share in it, while his son, Thomas, Viscount Savernake, owns 51 per cent. When he moved to America to live for four years, the Earl appointed the trustees - John Moore, a barrister's clerk, and Wilson Cotton, an accountant - to help him manage Savernake. But he has accused them of refusing to give him access to his own money. The trustees, one of whom was a friend of the Earl, have also made 14 criminal allegations against him, ranging from damaging pheasant feeders to spitting at them, although none of the charges resulted in a conviction. In August the Earl, whose name is David Brudenell-Bruce, said he was 'absolutely thrilled' at the prospect of becoming a father again in November with his second wife Joanne. The Earl, who is estranged from his daughter Bo Bruce, who starred on The Voice, was first married to Rosamund Jane in 1980, but she asked for a divorce in 2005. Suffering from depression, the Earl left the UK for America and appointed the two trustees of the estate. But when he returned they refused to give up control of the estate, leading him to take legal action which will culminate in December. For generations, the house of Cardigan had a proud history as one of England's grandest aristocratic families. The first Earl was Thomas Brudenell, who was also a baronet and was born in 1593, but Savernake Estate near Marlborough in Wiltshire has been owned by the family since the days of William the Conqueror, who granted it to them in 1067 for services in the Battle of Hastings. Perhaps the most famous Cardigan was the 7th Earl, who gained fame for his role leading the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War in 1854. It was not until the current Earl, David Brudenell-Bruce, that the title became associated with a spectacular fall from grace. The son of Michael Brudenell-Bruce, 8th Marquess of Ailesbury, and Edwina Sylvia de Winton Wills, David was given the estate after he attended agricultural college. In 1980, he married Rosamund Jane. But in 2005, she asked for a divorce, which was the start of a series of disasters. David suffered from depression, became estranged from his daughter, his former wife died last year and he became embroiled in a lengthy and bitter battle with the trustees of his estate - leading commentators to liken his life to a Shakespearean tragedy.