PRINKNASH ABBEY PARK, GLOUCESTERSHIRE GL4 8EU 01452 344499
SALEROOM NEWS JANUARY 2020
Tuesday 28 January SPETCHLEY PARK | THE ATTIC SALE Historic pieces from one of Britain’s greatest estates will be offered in Chorley’s auction on Tuesday 28 January. We are honoured to have been instructed with the sale of surplus items from Spetchley Park in Worcestershire. Country House Attic sales of this type are rarer than ever and at Spetchley there are all the ingredients to attract worldwide attention from collectors. The pieces which have been sourced from the stores and attics of Spetchley Park in Worcestershire offer a tantalising glimpse of the interests of past members of the Berkeley family and range in value from under £100 to several thousand pounds. Spetchley Park has been a seat of one of Britain’s greatest dynasties, the Berkeley family, since the early 17th Century. The house has played its part in many historic events even being earmarked during World War II as the headquarters for Winston Churchill and his cabinet in the event of a successful German invasion. The present house at Spetchley was built in 1811 by Robert Berkeley (17641845) and it was largely furnished from acquisitions made on Grand Tours through Europe and travels in America and India by successive generations. A Gillows commission for Spetchley in the 1820s is reflected here in the furniture for example Lot 680, a Lot 680 pair of George IV rosewood and mahogany pole screens, attributed to Gillows, estimate £400600. The family purchased lots from country house sales, most notably Stowe in 1848. An intriguing post-sale catalogue from that 29-day auction was produced by Henry Rumsey Forster and it features prices realised as well as
the names of purchasers. Robert Berkeley (1794-1874) is listed as a subscriber to the publication and as one of the principal buyers. He was in good company, others among the principal buyers being Queen Victoria, The National Gallery, Earl Bathurst, the Dents (Sudeley Castle) and Robert Holford (Westonbirt House). The late Victorian era saw the marriage of Robert Valentine Berkeley (1853-1940) to Rose Willmott (1861-1922) who continued the family tradition of travel and collecting. During the Edwardian period they made improvements to the house and Rose developed the fantastic gardens at Spetchley, which continue to thrive to this day. Rose was assisted in the creation of the gardens by her older sister Ellen (1858-1934). Ellen Willmott was considered by many to be the leading lady gardener of her day and her garden at Warley Place in Essex one of the great English gardens. Upon Ellen’s Lot 636 death in 1934 her brother-in-law acquired several items from Warley and others were purchased at the 6-day contents sale held there in 1935 and it is likely that Lot 636 came into the collection at that time. This pretty petite sonnerie dressing table clock with its shagreen panelled case is engraved with Ellen’s name, estimate £100-150. Antiquarian books fill one side of our saleroom and cover some fascinating topics. Exquisite 19th Century hand tinted botanical reference books include Lot 377, ‘The Ladies Flower-Garden of Ornamental Perennials’ , estimate £300500. Travel journals such as Henry Koster’s ‘Travels in Brazil’ offer more adventurous fare, estimate £200-400, Lot 342.
Lot 377
www.chorleys.com
Lot 342