Antiques from the Queen’s cousin’s former manor to go on sale

The Grade II-listed property once belonged to the Duke of Gloucester

The historical contents of a 436-year-old manor house that once belonged to the Queen’s cousin are being sold at auction.

Barnwell Manor, in Northhamptonshire, was once the home of the Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard, and his wife, the Duchess, Birgitte van Deurs.

Prince Richard,77, is a grandson of George V and a first cousin to The Queen, as well as a full-time working member of the royal family.

The items, which have been collated by Windsor House Antiques, are expected to fetch between £1.1m and £1.7m.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester moved out of the manor and into Kensington Palace in 1995 amid reports of not being able to afford to live in the Grade II-listed property anymore.

A total of 343 items have been listed by Dreweatts Auctioneers and will be sold on 7 and 8 September.

A George III mahogany serpentine figure is expected to sell for as much as £30,000.

The figure was formerly part of the Irwin Untermyer collection. This is considered one of the world’s greatest private collections, now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Inside Barnwell Manor (Dreweatts / SWNS)

Meanwhile, a rare set of eight George II walnut chairs from the 1730s are expected to fetch between £40,000-£60,000.

The chairs were once owned by American diplomat Robert Wood Bliss, who co-founded the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library in Washington DC during the Second World War.

A Dreweatts spokesperson commented: “The sale will include a curated offering of important and decorative furniture, paintings and works of art including provenances from some of our great houses and historic collections.”

A set of eight George II walnut chairs will go on sale (Dreweatts / SWNS)

The auction will take place at the property, to give collectors the opportunity to “acquire beautiful and sometimes unusual objects within a wonderfully historic context”, the spokesperson added.

Barnwell Manor boasts 40 rooms including four reception rooms, seven bedrooms, six bathrooms and 2,500 acres of land.

Kevin Smith, who has run Windsor House Antiques from the property since 1999, has “collated a collection which is unapologetic in its breadth, depth and evident quality”, the Dreweatts spokesperson said.

“This insatiable appetite for collecting pieces of quality and historical importance has given rise to a cornucopia of objects, from over 60 years of experience and assiduous collecting.”