ARTEFACTS IN RUINS 2

Items from Elvaston Castle have been returned to the county, thanks to an appeal in the Derby Evening Telegraph. The pieces, which include family crests and photographs, belonged to the Harrington family, the former owners. After the sale of the estate in 1966, they were entrusted to the family's former land agent Richard Wallis and his wife Rosemary. The couple, who are now retired, recently decided to donate the items to the Friends of Elvaston Castle, a group which campaigns to preserve the estate and keep it open to the public, after finding out about them on the internet. The only condition was that the Friends travelled to their home in Hampshire to pick them up.

After an appeal in the Telegraph, an anonymous well-wisher came forward and agreed to fund the cost of the trip. Now the items have been returned to Derbyshire. Friends member Graham Mansey said the group hoped the pieces could be used to find out more about the castle's history. He said, "It's brilliant that we have been able to safeguard this important part of Derbyshire's heritage for the thousands of people who visit the castle every year." The items include sales catalogues from Sotheby's, which contain photographs and details of furniture, china and weaponry sold by the Earl of Harrington, and a Spencer's sale catalogue covering the items which were sold in the general sale of the castle.

There are also 17 original Harrington family crests, which the Friends believe may be those which have been missing from the main stairwell in the castle; and two pieces of metal scroll work, believed to have originally been part of the castle's famous golden gates. Mr Mansey said, "It's fantastic to have these artifacts returned to Elvaston. The information will give us an insight into the history of the estate and we are extremely grateful to the people who sponsored the trip." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Sep/08)

A proposal to improve the accessibility of 5,000 artefacts at Elvaston Castle has been given the go-ahead. For the past eight years, staff at the Derbyshire stately home have been compiling a catalogue of around 12,000 historic objects. Some of these artefacts, which were previously on display or in store at the castle, were either moved to other public collections or disposed of. But the remaining 5,000 items, which include furniture, costumes and craftsmen's tools, are now set to tour the county. The proposal, which was approved at a Derbyshire County Council cabinet meeting, will see the collection split into smaller exhibitions. These will then be displayed in libraries and other community venues.

Bob Janes, the county council's cabinet member for cultural services, said, "There is no point having museum-quality artefacts if you're not going to display them, it's pointless. The collection is made up of reasonable quality bits and pieces that are suitable for handling and will help to develop education and understanding." The items, which will remain at Elvaston Castle in the short term, also include dairy equipment, a collection of mouse and rat traps, a 1950s television and a 1960s washing machine. Among the larger items is a Field Marshall tractor, one of the first to be used in Derbyshire after the Second World War. The items will be exhibited using a similar system already in place to display the Derbyshire Police collection.

This exhibition, established after the Derbyshire Police Museum in St Mary's Gate was closed four years ago, regularly tours the county's community centres and libraries. Mr Janes added, "There was a lot of talk about what to do with the collections after the Derbyshire Police Museum closed. In the end, themed collections, such as drugs, violence and road traffic, were organised and they went down very well with the public. This is what we're hoping to achieve with the Elvaston Castle artefacts." As part of the proposal, a part-time collections officer post will be created. A total of £16,000 will be taken from the staffing budget in the Environmental Services department to pay for the role.

But campaign group Friends of Elvaston Castle said it was opposed to the plans. Its main concern was over the source of funding for the collections officer, which members felt could end up coming from the Castle's staff budget. A spokesperson for the group added, "We are against the dispersal of the castle's museum collection. The proposal fails to address the source of the transport costs that will be incurred by dispersing the collection." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Sep/08)

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