Entire contents sale of Rockfield
Antique auctioneers, Matthews of Kells, will conduct a country house clearance auction at Rockfield House, Kells, on Tuesday next, May 10 at 12 noon by order the executors of the late Trevor Fitzherbert.
Rockfield, situated on the Athboy Road, Kells, has recently been sold by Savills. A total of 928 lots - the entire contents - require a new home before the new owners can move in. The personal property and collection of Mr Fitzherbert, the sale comprises antique furniture, old paintings and prints, rugs, a large library of books, fine silk curtains, antique silver, porcelain, collectables. Some additional lots from various other part clearances have been added to the sale by the auctioneers.
"It's a good honest country house clearance auction, for sure" is how the auctioneer describes it. "Trevor, a lovely man, spent a lifetime collecting but he also inherited quite a few things, these too will be cleared".
Interestingly, Mr Fitzherbert, originally of the Blackwater Estate, Navan, has as ancestor Maria Anne Fitzherbert (1756 -1837), a longtime companion of George, Prince of Wales (later King George).
In 1785 they secretly contracted a marriage that was held invalid under English civil law at the time, because his father, King George III, had not consented to it. Mrs Fitzherbert was a Roman Catholic and the law at the time forbade Catholics, or spouses of Catholics, from becoming monarch, so had the marriage been approved and valid, the Prince of Wales would have lost his place in the line of succession.
Before marrying George, Mrs Fitzherbert had been twice widowed. Her nephew from her first marriage, Cardinal Weld, persuaded Pope PIus VII to declare the marriage sacramentally valid.
Rockfield House dates back to the 18th century and occupies a private, south-easterly facing position. External features include a Doric portico with shallow bows to either side, white window surrounds and a hip roof. The house was comprehensively renovated during the Fitzherbert ownership to transform one of the county's most historic houses into a sumptuous property, fit for hosting lavish house parties and comfortable family living, in equal measure.
Extending to about 65.9 acres (26.6 hectares) in total, Rockfield is a magnificent, compact residential estate. The property comprises mature garden grounds (including a charming walled garden), parkland, and woodland. The agricultural element of the estate comprises productive tillage land and pasture, which is let on a seasonal basis. There is an extensive range of traditional outbuildings to the rear of the house. Trevor Fitzherbert died in 2017.
Public viewing of the auction is this weekend, at the house, from 11am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, Monday 11am to 5pm. On the day of the auction, Tuesday, there will be a short public viewing, 10am to 12, before the auction commences live online at noon sharp.
The catalogue can be viewed online at www.matthewsauctionrooms.com