Biscuit firm couple's treasures sold for £1.9m

The couple lived at their home, near Newbury, for decades

The contents of a house owned by the fourth and final generation to lead a family-run biscuit empire has fetched £1.9m at auction.

Bill Palmer was the last member of his family to serve as a director of Reading-based Huntley & Palmers.

Mr Palmer, who died in 2020, lived at Bussock Wood, near Newbury, Berkshire, for 57 years with his wife Cherry, who died last year.

A two-day auction featured Chinese artworks, 18th and 19th Century furniture and fine art, including pieces by 20th Century artists Paul Nash and Alfred Wallis.

Reclining Nude by Sir Matthew Smith was sold for £35,200, above an estimate of £28,000; Nash's Studio Interior was sold for £87,700, above an estimate of £70,000.

The Palmers moved from Cheshire in 1963 and had four children.

They were involved in many local causes. Mr Palmer served as a district and county councillor and was Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire in 1992.

Mrs Palmer volunteered for the Red Cross and was a supporter of the Newbury Society.

Auctioneers Dreweatts said 91% of the lots sold over Tuesday and Wednesday, fetching a total of £1,962,178.

The Palmers moved to Bussock Wood in the 1960s

Wallis' Penzance Fishing Boat Near The Coast sold for £68,950, above an expected £55,000.

The company that became Huntley & Palmers was founded in 1822 in London Street, Reading, and initially sold baked biscuits to travellers on the London to Bath stagecoach route.

It opened a factory in Kings Road in 1846 and transported biscuits on the River Thames to London and Kent and on canals to other well-populated areas.

It left that site in the 1980s and was taken over by American giant Nabisco Brands Inc in 1983.

The impact of the company on the town was such that Reading Football Club were previously known as the Biscuitmen.