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Showing posts with label powderham castle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label powderham castle. Show all posts
We're not picking on the Earl of Devon! He's just very popular today!
The Horse Trails at Powderham Castle, the Earl of Devon's home and ancestral seat, will close in 2010. Although no concrete reason has been provided, officials state that the circumstances regarding the closure are beyond their control. We would think that Lord Devon would take every pound that came his way in the light of his less than stellar sale at Sotheby's today... Riders in the past have included the Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips, who won (with Andrew Nicholson) the advanced section at this year's event.
We can't help but wonder if there's something rotten in Powderham Castle...
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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.
According to The Daily Telegraph , the Earl of Devon is "selling the family silver"? Why? Due to his refusal to host gay weddings at the family seat, Powderham Castle, the castle's marriage license was revoked. The current Earl of Devon, Lord Devon, insists gay weddings are against his Christian beliefs.
A sale of priceless books and manuscripts is scheduled for July 14, 2009. However, Lord Devon insists the sale has nothing to do with the loss of his castle's marriage license, but to raise money for repair works on the castle.
