Contents of Athelhampton House fetch almost £1.5m at auction
- Published
The contents of a stately home in Dorset have fetched almost £1.5m at auction.
The Cooke family put the contents of Athelhampton House near Puddletown under the hammer on Wednesday following the sale of the estate.
The Grade I listed, 15th Century house and 29-acre (12-hectare) estate was bought for £7m in July by economist Giles Keating.
The auction included furniture, ornaments, chandeliers, books and rugs.
An oak stool estimated to sell for about £3,000 went for £26,000
Pricier items included a George II side table which fetched £75,400, and a Charles I four-poster oak bed which sold for £44,200 - more than double its estimate. A Charles I oak stool went for £33,800.
A George II side table attracted one the highest bids at the auction
A four-poster oak bed sold for double its estimate
The Tudor manor house had been in the Cooke family since 1957. Athelhampton's former owners have included a Lord Mayor of London and a Duke of Wellington.
It features in Thomas Hardy's poem The Dame of Athelhall and his short story The Waiting Supper.
The house and gardens will stay open as a visitor attraction
- Published26 September 2019
