Derbyshire, UK - The Duke of Devonshire, a member of the Cavendish family, which has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, is selling off items found in storage at Chatsworth House at a Sotheby's auction in October. Architectural salvage appears to be the main focus, with lots including many large items from Devonshire House which was the family's London house and was demolished in the 1920's. One lot is a 1735 William Kent carved white marble chimneypiece priced at £200,000 to £300,000. The sale will take place in the grounds of Chatsworth House with well over 1,000 lots at an estimated value of £2.5m.
Susan Moore of the FT writes, 'The real excitement of this sale, however, is the rediscovery of architectural salvage on a grand scale - fixtures and fittings removed from the family's various residences over the centuries. There is 15th-century Gothic tracery, presumably from Bolton Abbey, plus quantities of William and Mary fire surrounds, doors, doorcases, frames, appliqués and the like that were victims of the constant remodelling at Chatsworth.
Most spectacular of all are the pieces - including most of the library - from Devonshire House, designed by William Kent in the 1730s, a pile that stretched from Green Park to Berkeley Square. Untouched for almost a century in the dusty, atmospheric old granary in the stable block, these have proved a hidden treasure trove. Dismantled and removed before the house was demolished, each chimneypiece had been stored in pieces, practically but unhelpfully classified according to size. The heroine of this tale was Evelyn, ninth duchess, who had each constituent part labelled. Using these labels, inventories and old photographs of the interiors, Sotheby's experts have heroically pieced together a monumental jigsaw, in effect recreating the interiors of the lost house. The sale is a dream for architectural historians - and a house restorer's heaven.'
