Highclere Castle is Falling Down

...and the trend continues...

The Daily Mail is reporting that Highclere Castle (right), the ancestral home of the Earl's of Carnarvon, is in a dilapidated, uninhabitable state. Apparently, it will cost ₤1.8 million to immediately repair the 50 downtrodden rotting rooms, and a further ₤12 million to repair outbuildings, grounds, and the like. The 8th Earl, George Reginald Oliver Molyneux Herbert, blames his ancestors for not keeping up the castle prior to his inheritance.

Recently, the 8th Earl (who lives in a cottage on the estate with his wife and children) applied for permission to build a housing estate on the 5,000 acre estate. Needless to say, the decision has caused horror in some circles.

As The Aristo News has reported before, these problems are not unique to any one aristocrat. Everyone is feeling the pinch in these economic times...

However, if he can't afford to keep up the estate, maybe he should ask the Queen for a loan. After all, she and the late 7th Earl were close friends. If you don't ask, you don't get, right?

Earl of Southesk Adds Gun to Museum Collection

The 13th Earl of Southesk, David Carnegie, has auctioned off family heirlooms from the 9th Earl of Southesk in order to buy back a significant portion of his ancestral home, Kinnaird Castle (right) in Scotland. Apparently, the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, Canada, has purchased aboriginal artifacts from the earl for ₤1.1 million at a Sotheby's auction. Recently, the earl donated a 1852 Purdey and Sons black powder rifle to the museum's Southesk Collection.

The 13th Earl is currently the heir to the current Duke of Fife.

Money Can't Retain Your Title

The Aristo News has always stated for a while that financial woes are permeating all aspects of aristocratic life. The 11th Baronet of Wolseley has been forced out of his ancestral seat, the Earl of Devon is selling everything he can & the Marquees of Devonshire just raised ₤35,000 at a Sotheby's sale.

Well, now Chris Eubank's, the boxer who purchased the Lordship of the Manor of Brighton, is being forced to sell his title. Why? He's bankrupt. Actually, he's been bankrupt since 2005, but now he's being forced to sell property, assets and the title he purchased for ₤45,000. It is now on sale for ₤35,000. Ouch. If the title can't be sold, it will be auctioned to the highest bidder by the Manorial Society of Great Britain.

If you have the cash, click here to learn more about the sale of the title.

Brankrupt Aristo's Forced Out of Ancestral Home

Park House, the ancestral home of Sir Charles Wolseley, 11th Baronet of Wolseley and Lady Wolseley, has been sold to the Royal Bank of Scotland after Sir Wolseley's failed business venture. The couple ran into trouble after Sir Charles was unsuccessful in turning the garden into a tourist attraction; Sir Charles declared bankruptcy in 1996 with debts of ₤2.5 million The Daily Mail is reporting that the couple will have to move into a converted barn.

In these tough times, The Aristo News is surprised, but not shocked, by the news. The Park House estate has been in the family for 1,000 years after it was given to them by King Edgar. Maybe he should have sold the family silver instead...

Just in!!! Results of Earl of Devon's Sotheby's Sale!

The Aristo News has just returned from the Sotheby's sale in London. It was a wonderful affair! Were you there?

As we've reported before, the Earl of Devon was set to sell his "family silver" to help cope with the loss of wedding revenue at his ancestral seat, Powderham Castle. We dug a bit deeper to find that Lord Devon had already sold two pieces at Sotheby's for ₤938,750, which makes us believe that his financial woes may very well be for castle repairs or other financial problems.

Anyway, Lord Devon had eight lots for sale, three of which did not sell. Only one lot (Theological Traits - A Collection of 155 Works) came in over its guide price. The item with the largest guide price, Vindication of the Character and Conduct of Sir William Waller by Sir William Waller, was ₤10,000-₤15,000. This lot was unsold; the highest bid was ₤8,500.

All in all, Lord Devon raised ₤19,600 through the Sotheby's Sale. Coupled with today's sale, Lord Devon has raised ₤958,350 for his castle repairs...or whatever the money's really for... Good luck, Lord Devon!

LOTS SOLD:
₤3,500 for The Elements of Architecture by Henry Wotton (Guide Price: ₤4,000-₤6,000)
₤7,500 for Mahomet the Second, or the Generous Sultan: A Tragedy by John Boevery (Guide Price ₤8,000-₤12,000)
₤800 for The Entertainment of His Most Excellent Majestie Charles II, in His Passage through the City of London to his Coronation (Guide Price: ₤1,000-₤1,500)
₤7,000 for Theological Trairs - A Collection of 155 Works in 9 Volumes (Guide Price: ₤3,000-₤4,000)
₤800 for Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe in 2 Volumes (Guide Price: ₤1,000-₤1,500)
Total of Lots Sold: ₤19,600

UNSOLD LOTS:
Highest Bid: ₤8,500 for Vindication of the Character and Conduct of Sir William Waller by Sir William Waller (Guide Price: ₤10,000-₤15,000 with a ₤10,000 Reserve)
Highest Bid: ₤7,000 for a 17th Century Bible (Guide Price: ₤8,000-₤12,000 with a ₤8,000 Reserve)
Highest Bid: ₤750 for The Mourtray Family by Elizabeth Hervey (Guide Price: ₤1,000-₤1,500 with a ₤1,000 Reserve)
Potential Revenue of Unsold Lots Based on Reserves: ₤19,000


If anything arises, we'll keep you posted.
Click here for today's Sotheby's sale.

Aristocrats Sell Items at Sotheby's

It seems the Earl of Devon isn't the only aristo with apparent financial woes...

As we've stated before, the Earl of Devon is parting with family treasures at Sotheby's July 14, 2009 sale. The Marquess of Downshire is also selling an engineering document entitled THE DRAINING OF THE FENS at this auction.
THE DRAINING OF THE FENS has a minimum guide price of ₤20,000. To see the item, click here.

Tomorrow (July 7, 2009), the trustees of the 2nd Baron Hesketh are selling Gabriel Metsu's painting entitled "A Woman Selling Game From A Stall". The minimum guide price is ₤1,200,000. Click here to see the item.

With these current sales, it makes us wonder if our aristo's are being beaten by the current financial crisis. We've heard that the art market it picking up, so maybe the aristo's are selling these items at the perfect time. We'll see.

The Aristo News won't be able to attend tomorrow's auction, but we'll keep you posted on the final sale price.

As for the July 14th auction, we'll keep you posted.

The Aristo News at Sotheby's Sale

The Aristo News will attend the Sotheby's Auction of the Earl of Devon's "family silver" on July 14, 2009. It should be very interesting!

We'll keep you posted on the auction.

Click here and here to follow our coverage of the Earl of Devon's financial woes.

Just in! Inside the Earl of Devon's Financial Woes

As previously stated, the Earl of Devon is set to sell some of the "family silver" in order to pay for repairs at Powderham Castle. The Earl has been in the news because of his refusal to allow civil unions at his ancestral seat, which prompted the local council to pull the castle's marriage license.

The Aristo News has just learned that Lord Devon sold THE COURTENAY COMPENDIUM through Sotheby's for the price of ₤937,250 on December 3, 2008. A description of the item which is a collection of English and Far-Eastern accounts that includes Marco Polo's Description of the World has been in the Earl's family since 1536.

More recently, on June 10, 2009, Lord Devon sold a copy of Dante Alighieri's LE TERZE RIME for a meager ₤1,500 through Sotheby's.

In less than a year, Lord Devon has raised ₤938,750 through the sale of priceless manuscripts. With the pending Sotheby's sale, maybe this money is solely for repairs. Or, have there been financial woes for the Earl for some time and now they're just coming to light?

One of the lots up for sale at the July 14, 2009 Sotheby's sale is VINDICATION OF CHARACTER AND CONDUCT by Sir William Waller. This document recounts the English Civil War and came into the family through the marriage of Sir William's daughter, Margaret, to Sir William Courtenay. This document is valued between ₤10,000-₤15,000. Click here to see the item.

As always, we'll keep you posted as this story develops.

To see the items previously sold through Sotheby's click here and here.