The for sale signs were put up last week on the boarded up hotel and a sale could be immediate if a buyer came forward, according to agent Greg Ransom from Century 21 real estate.

The building was badly damaged in a storm last year.

The hotel, started in 1818 and completed in 1876, was declared unsafe after a wall of water surged through the lower half of the building in Swan Street  last year.

“The River Royal Inn is up for sale for $859,000, with its liquor licence,” Mr Ransom said.

“We put up the for sale signs last week and if people want to inspect the property, it is available.

“All the details will be on the website soon.

“With its liquor licence, it can be used for bed and breakfast, a hotel, restaurant or a cafe.”

Asked what the cost of repairs might be, Mr Ransom said people had different opinions.

“There is some work required,” he said, declining to go into details. “As for when it might be sold, it might be today or tomorrow.” 

In a Facebook post, Tom Greene, licensee of the River Royal Inn at the time of the flood damage, said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm the hotel will not reopen in the near future.

“It is now up for sale.

“We would like to thank all our patrons for their thoughts and concern over the past 10 months.

“Thank you to our amazing staff and locals for your amazing work and patronage.”

Mr Greene was in the hotel when the floodwater surged through in April.

“I saw the water coming down High Street and it was nearly a metre high,” he said then.

“I watched the water running down the stairs.

“It was nearly 30mm deep, so I opened the front door and it poured out into the street.”

Mr Greene had spoken then about his hope to restore the hotel to what it was in the days when Morpeth was a river port.