Christina Trevanion on the fascinating history and extraordinary beauty contained within the sale of the historic Garthewin Hall collection.

One of the reasons I love being an auctioneer is the opportunity it affords to visit some truly extraordinary houses and marvel at their contents. This was absolutely the case when we were invited to offer for sale the contents of Garthewin Hall, an elegant Grade II* listed Georgian country house nestled in the picturesque Elwy Valley of North Wales.
Garthewin Hall dates from the late 18th century and sits within beautiful established grounds that include stables, a private stone chapel, agricultural land and forestry. The five hundred acre estate is recognised as one of Wales’s most important historic country houses, celebrated for its striking nine-bay stucco façade with a neoclassical pediment spanning three bays.
Inside, the hall retains many of its original architectural features, including exquisite marble fireplaces, fine panelling and intricate plasterwork inspired by the celebrated neoclassical designs of Robert Adam. These elegant interiors provided the backdrop for generations of collecting, with the contents having been assembled over many decades. The collection included an impressive array of silver, fine art, period furniture, works of art and Asian porcelain. Among the highlights were a number of rare and unusual pieces which would be new to the market, so we knew that the auction of the collection would offer collectors and enthusiasts an exceptional opportunity to acquire items with distinguished provenance from one of North Wales’s finest historic homes.


As the collection began to arrive at our Whitchurch auction house, the quantity and quality of the pieces we unloaded was almost overwhelming – every piece seemed to be better than the last, and soon we were surrounded by an amazing combination of extraordinary beauty and fascinating history. Cataloguing such a collection is always a joy for me and my team, and we were in our element working our way through literally hundreds of objects.
Setting up for viewing, we were spoilt for choice, and able to create stunning vignettes which recreated the atmosphere of the hall and showed each piece off to its best advantage. The feedback from our viewers was lovely, and as the commission bids started to flow in, the interest from potential buyers was non-stop.
Come auction day, we found ourselves in tropical temperatures as the heatwave continued, but this didn’t deter our bidders in the room or online. The auction produced too many highlights to list here, but some of my favourites included a charming oil painting by Edward Francis Wells (British, 1876-1952), titled ‘Guy Ormwood and sisters on Ash the pony’, which sold for £6000 plus fees, and will be forming the centrepiece of an upcoming exhibition on Edwardian childhood. I also loved a large and impressive giltwood and gesso overmantel mirror in the manner of William Kent, which made £5000 plus fees, a large pair of Meiji Period Japanese cloisonne vases, which sold for £2200 plus fees, and a pair of 19th century mahogany and satinwood banded demi-lune tables in the manner of Sheraton, which also made £2200 plus fees.


Our Garthewin Hall auction has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of my year, but I can’t wait to discover the next collection of treasures which will be arriving soon for our September auction!
We will hold our next auction on Wednesday 9th & Thursday 10th September with viewing on Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th September.