'Rare' unpublished Byron letter sells for £6,000

The letter is dated 26 June 1813

The only known letter to exist between poet Lord Byron and the ‘Father of Reform’ politician, Major John Cartwright, has sold at auction for £6,000.

The unpublished discovery was found in a Gloucestershire house where it was thought to have remained "for decades".

During a routine valuation day, Chorley's Auctioneers came across the 1813 letter which was expected to make between £1,500 and £2,500.

“Unpublished letters by Byron are vanishingly rare and we are delighted that this missive has excited buyers," said Chorley's director Werner Freudnel.

Lord Byron was one of the most well-known romantic poets of the 1800s.

Lord Byron is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 19th Century

The letter is addressed to Major Cartwright of 17 James Street, Westminster.

It reads: "Dear Sir, It is with great regret I find that it will be necessary for me to leave London tomorrow morning - and thus be prevented the pleasure I had promised myself in meeting you & Sir F. tomorrow.

"I was not aware of this till the Post came in this morning, which must be my apology for not acquainting you with the circumstances before. I am truly yrs B".

He is thought to have known Major Cartwright as he served as a Naval Officer under Byron's grandfather - Admiral John Byron between 1765 and 1770 on the Newfoundland Station.

'Thrilling'

Mr Freundel added: "The discovery of a letter featuring such an important historical figure in Britain is thrilling.

"This letter shows a human insight into Byron's extraordinary character and knowing the background to his life at the time, makes it all the more interesting."

He said he hoped the letter, along with another piece of Cartwright correspondence that also sold for well over its estimation, "will shed new light on history".