Ten treasures from Regency home Spetchley Park to bid for on thesaleroom.com

Live bidding on all of the lots, that will be sold from Chorley’s saleroom in Prinknash Abbey, is available via thesaleroom.com. 

Spetchley Park has been home to the Berkeley family since the early 17th century.

Robert Berkeley (1764-1845), a High Commissioner of Worcester built the current house in Bath stone on family lands in 1811.

The property (that was earmarked as the headquarters for Winston Churchill and his cabinet in the event of a successful German invasion) recently passed to Henry Berkeley, who plans to move back to the estate with his young family after a programme of restoration.

Many items in the sale were acquired by the family in the 19th century. Robert Berkeley was a notable collector who attended Lord Berwick’s historic sale at Attingham in August 1827, William Beckford’s famous sale in Bath, and the Buckingham and Chandos sale at Stowe in September 1848.

Other acquisitions were made by Ellen Ann Willmott (1858-1934), whose collection was sold in a six-day sale at Warley Place, Essex in 1935, and her sister Rose (1861-1922), wife of Robert Valentine Berkeley (1853-1940), whose antiquarian taste was informed by foreign travel.

A George III satinwood worktable banded with tulipwood, 56cm wide, £150-200 at Chorley’s sale of items from Spetchley Park.

More 700 objects from Spetchley were sold by Sotheby’s in London in December for close to £3m but this should be an opportunity to buy country house furnishings, books and curios at more affordable levels. As this selection below suggests there are objects available for under £200 with most lots pitched in three-figures.

Higher hammer prices will be expected for some of the better pieces of furniture including a George IV rosewood davenport desk to a classic design by Gillows of Lancaster. It bears the rare inscription in pencil under top drawer 'John Bateman, Lancaster 1828' for a cabinetmaker who worked at the Gillows factory between 1816-33. His work will find plenty of admirers at its £800-1200 estimate.

George IV rosewood davenport desk inscribed 'John Bateman, Lancaster 1828', £800-1200 at Chorley’s sale of items from Spetchley Park.

The sale also includes property from other country houses.

A series of Old Master paintings, largely 17th century portraits of richly dressed ladies and armoured noblemen, come from the collection of the late Lady Killearn and until recently hung in the great hall of Little Sodbury Manor in South Gloucestershire.