Wellingborough fire hero's portrait goes up for auction

The tiny picture goes under the hammer on 16 January

A miniature portrait of a woman whose quick thinking in 1738 saved a church from fire is being auctioned.

The picture of Wellingborough's Hannah Sparke inspired the famous Italian engraver Francesco Bartolozzi to make a print of her.

Ms Sparke managed to stop the flames reaching the church during a huge town blaze by protecting her own roof.

The director of Gilding's auctioneers described it as "a wonderful item to begin the new year with".

Hannah Sparke became a local hero during the Great Fire of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire in 1738.

On 28 July, described as "hot, dry day with a buffeting breeze", a spark from a fire in a dyer's shop started an inferno that spread through the town and destroyed 1,000 buildings.

Some people sought refuge in All Hallows Church, but it became clear that the church itself was at risk and no water was available.

Hannah Sparke, who lived nearby, told her servants to use the malt liquors from her cellar to douse the flames and to soak blankets in beer to cover the thatched roof of her house, on Pebble Lane, to stop the fire spreading.

Her heroism was not forgotten and she was carried aloft around the town on a chair on her 100th birthday in 1778.

All Hallows Church survived the fire and is still standing today

The painter Thomas Hull executed a portrait of Ms Sparke, which inspired the London-based 18th Century Italian engraver Francesco Bartolozzi to make a print of her - copies of which are held in the British Museum, the Royal Collection Trust and the Yale Center for British Art in Connecticut, US.

Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815) popularised the "crayon" method of engraving

Francesco Bartolozzi's print of Hannah Sparke is on display in the UK and US

Will Gilding, director of the auction house, said: "Given Hannah Sparke's status as an 18th Century centenarian who saved All Hallows Church and its inhabitants in the Great Fire of Wellingborough, this is a wonderful item to begin the new year with.

"As such, we expect it to attract a great deal of interest from Northamptonshire and beyond."

The portrait goes under the hammer on 16 January, with a guide price of £200 to £300.