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ARTEFACTS
RETURNED TO ELVASTON CASTLE
Items from Elvaston Castle have been returned
to the county, thanks to an appeal in the Derby Evening
Telegraph. The pieces, which include family crests and
photographs, belonged to the Harrington family, the
former owners. After the sale of the estate in 1966, they
were entrusted to the family's former land agent Richard
Wallis and his wife Rosemary. The couple, who are now
retired, recently decided to donate the items to the
Friends of Elvaston Castle, a group which campaigns to
preserve the estate and keep it open to the public, after
finding out about them on the internet. The only
condition was that the Friends travelled to their home in
Hampshire to pick them up.
After an appeal in the Telegraph, an
anonymous well-wisher came forward and agreed to fund the
cost of the trip. Now the items have been returned to
Derbyshire. Friends member Graham Mansey said the group
hoped the pieces could be used to find out more about the
castle's history. He said, "It's brilliant that we
have been able to safeguard this important part of
Derbyshire's heritage for the thousands of people who
visit the castle every year." The items include
sales catalogues from Sotheby's, which contain
photographs and details of furniture, china and weaponry
sold by the Earl of Harrington, and a Spencer's sale
catalogue covering the items which were sold in the
general sale of the castle.
There are also 17 original Harrington family
crests, which the Friends believe may be those which have
been missing from the main stairwell in the castle; and
two pieces of metal scroll work, believed to have
originally been part of the castle's famous golden gates.
Mr Mansey said, "It's fantastic to have these
artifacts returned to Elvaston. The information will give
us an insight into the history of the estate and we are
extremely grateful to the people who sponsored the
trip." Derby Evening Telegraph, Sep/08
A proposal to improve the accessibility of
5,000 artefacts at Elvaston Castle has been given the
go-ahead. For the past eight years, staff at the
Derbyshire stately home have been compiling a catalogue
of around 12,000 historic objects. Some of these
artefacts, which were previously on display or in store
at the castle, were either moved to other public
collections or disposed of. But the remaining 5,000
items, which include furniture, costumes and craftsmen's
tools, are now set to tour the county. The proposal,
which was approved at a Derbyshire County Council cabinet
meeting, will see the collection split into smaller
exhibitions. These will then be displayed in libraries
and other community venues.
Bob Janes, the county council's cabinet
member for cultural services, said, "There is no
point having museum-quality artefacts if you're not going
to display them, it's pointless. The collection is made
up of reasonable quality bits and pieces that are
suitable for handling and will help to develop education
and understanding." The items, which will remain at
Elvaston Castle in the short term, also include dairy
equipment, a collection of mouse and rat traps, a 1950s
television and a 1960s washing machine. Among the larger
items is a Field Marshall tractor, one of the first to be
used in Derbyshire after the Second World War. The items
will be exhibited using a similar system already in place
to display the Derbyshire Police collection.
This exhibition, established after the
Derbyshire Police Museum in St Mary's Gate was closed
four years ago, regularly tours the county's community
centres and libraries. Mr Janes added, "There was a
lot of talk about what to do with the collections after
the Derbyshire Police Museum closed. In the end, themed
collections, such as drugs, violence and road traffic,
were organised and they went down very well with the
public. This is what we're hoping to achieve with the
Elvaston Castle artefacts." As part of the proposal,
a part-time collections officer post will be created. A
total of £16,000 will be taken from the staffing budget
in the Environmental Services department to pay for the
role.
But The Friends of Elvaston Castle said it
was opposed to the plans. Its main concern was over the
source of funding for the collections officer, which
members felt could end up coming from the Castle's staff
budget. A spokesperson for the group added, "We are
against the dispersal of the castle's museum collection.
The proposal fails to address the source of the transport
costs that will be incurred by dispersing the
collection." Derby Evening Telegraph, Sep/08
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