Cash in the attic: Lord Leicester talks to Tatler ahead of the hammer going down at this once in a lifetime auction at Holkham Hall
The Earl of Leicester, ‘a natural hoarder’, is preparing to bid farewell to some priceless items – such as a blue velvet chair used at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation – from the expansive Holkham Hall collection
The Earl and Countess of Leicester at home at Holkham Hall in Norfolk
mellanby.netWith just days until the gavel goes down on the once-in-a-lifetime sale at Holkham Hall, the 8th Earl of Leicester is experiencing a mix of emotions. On the whole, the process of sifting through 250 years worth of treasure hidden away in the cramped attic and basement of the 18th century mansion has been ‘cathartic’, he says.
But as the first of his ancestors, he believes, to embark on such a grand clear out since Thomas Coke, the first Earl of Leicester commissioned the sandstone palladium mansion to be built in 1734, there is a certain weight of family history resting upon his shoulders.
A selection of busts which are part of the estate sale
‘If the sale raises a decent amount of money I will think “hooray, we’ve got money to spend on restoration”,’ Lord Leicester tells Tatler of his mission to continue his late father’s work of protecting the Norfolk landmark for the future. ‘But equally I’m not devoid of emotion. There will be a sense of… not regret, but a slight sadness,’ he says.
‘I am naturally a hoarder and don’t like throwing things away, unlike my wife (Polly, Countess of Leicester) and have been known to take things out of the rubbish bin after she has thrown them away,’ he laughs. ‘But previous generations decided to do nothing, and I realise one has to make decisions. It is letting go, but that in itself can be marvellous.’
A Regency giltwood fire screen in the manner of Thomas Chippendale the Younger
The decision for the epic Marie Kondo style declutter was sparked by the rise in popularity of behind-the-scenes tours around the attic and basements of Holkham. ‘It was getting quite difficult to take people around because there was so much stuff in the way so I knew we had to do it,’ says Lord Leicester, Tom to friends. ‘There have been some posh auctions at Chatsworth and I had liked the way Sworders presented the sale at Elveden so we went to them.’
Armed with packets of yellow sticky notes and extensive archives to cross-reference the provenance of items, the family and team led by Holkham’s then collections coordinator Katherine Hardwick-Kulpa spent over a year marking up 400 items for sale.
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The Norfolk home had been filled to the brim over generations with oddities and antiquities from grand tours, previously owned mansions such as Longford Hall in Derbyshire, and relatives looking for storage in between house moves.
Amongst the King George II brown furniture, artwork and silver trinkets up for auction on the 11 February, the family discovered collectors treasure in the form of ancient marbles picked up on the 1st Earl’s Grand Tour of Europe, an exquisite 18th century Republican Sevres porcelain ‘beau bleu’ desert service with a guide price of £30,000 and ‘quirky’ Royal items such as a velvet blue chair from Queen Elizabeth II coronation.
A Republican Sèvres porcelain set
‘It wouldn’t sit naturally in a Holkham room,’ Lord Leicester says of the ER embroidered seat. ‘If someone were to buy it they could arrange other bits of furniture around it and show it off to its best. But I don’t think we can do that at home.’
‘It’s bizarre how some things can race away over the upper estimate because of a quirky interest,’ he says. ‘I just hope someone can give these items a little bit more love than we have over the past years.’ He seems slightly bemused by the potential interest of Royal collectors, which is understandable given he grew up thinking it was fairly normal for family friends The Queen and Prince Philip to pop over for supper. They may possibly have even sat their bottoms on one of the vintage sofas that appear in the auction catalogue.
‘The Queen and Prince Philip came over for dinner with my parents on a couple of occasions and I certainly was at dinner with her,’ he recalls. ‘I was one of The Queen’s pages, a page of honor, back in the day when I was 13-years-old, so I knew her pretty well. I was lucky enough to be invited shooting at Sandringham almost every winter and have some very fond memories. The Queen was an amazing woman.’
Holkham Hall, home of the Earl and Countess of Leicester, in Norfolk
Tim Graham/Getty ImagesThe main auction will be held in the former Holkham pottery, which was transformed into a magnificent wedding space by Hopkins Architects in 2017. Previous Holkham resident, Lady Anne Glenconner, close friend of the Queen and Princess Margaret who still lives on the estate, travelled the world selling pieces from the business. ‘Her mother started the pottery business,’ Lord Leicester tells me. ‘(Lady Glenconner) was in America selling Holkham Pottery when the King died and was told she had to come home as soon as she could to prepare for being the Queen’s lady in waiting at the coronation.’
Such is the familial affection for the pottery, some lots were removed from the final auction list. ‘My son (Edward, Viscount Coke) was quite keen on keeping some pieces. My eldest daughter originally earmarked the coracle, but then changed her mind. There are members of my family, my sister, my children, who have gone through the catalogue and said “can we take that out of the sale” and I have said absolutely.
A plaster bust of the Punic War General Marcus Claudius Marcellus
‘In fact I was alerted by a WhatsApp from the team that they wanted to photograph a chair in my dressing room for the catalogue and I discovered it had a tag on it. I told them “you can’t have that, I put my clothes on it before bed!”’
Lord Leicester will make one last check over the items before saying farewell. ‘It’s going to be a fun day,’ he says, clasping his hands together with anticipation. ‘I love the buzz of an auction room and I hope someone else will be able to give these items the love and respect that we haven’t been able to give them, knowing the proceeds will help towards restoring all the other items that we still have.’ He laughs: ‘Also It will be nice to have some space back in the attic!’
Holkham: The Attic Sale is on 11th February at Sworders.co.uk
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