Two pairs of estate gates, believed to be 18th century and originally from Exning House, were discovered gathering dust and cobwebs in one of the many outbuildings on the Landwade Hall estate near Newmarket.
Exning House, Newmarket
The gates had been put into the barns at around the time of the Second World War where they lay forgotten until they were recently discovered. The gates are a historically significant find as well as being architecturally important as they are part of the history of Exning House.
Whilst now split into multiple properties, Exning House would have been one of the largest homes in the Newmarket. The house was built by Francis Shepherd in 1734 and following various owners, was eventually bought by William James Tatem, 1st Baron Glanely in 1919-20. As well as Exning House, Baron Glanely also bought the nearby Landwade Hall estate in 1938, and it was here that the gates were taken to for safe storage, a barn on the 1776-acre estate.
The gates in-situ at Landwade Hall
The two pairs of gates measure over 4.5 metres wide and 4.1 metres wide apiece and have estimates of £3,000 - £5,000 and £2,000 - £4,000.
Cheffins sold the contents of Landwade Hall in September 2021 on behalf of the family of Simon Gibson CBE, a great nephew of William James Tatem, 1st Baron Glanely. When handling the contents sale of a large country estate, these gates go to show what can still be discovered in barns and outbuildings. Landwade Hall was filled with important art, antiques and collectibles, much of which was related to the horseracing industry, and these gates are amongst the remaining items to be auctioned from the estate.
Lot 670, estimate £3,000 - £5,000, available at The Fine Sale
Unearthing historic finds such as these in lofts, attics and barns can be one of the most exciting parts of the job of an auctioneer. There’s no telling what might be found and the outbuildings at Landwade were crammed with all sorts of antiques, furniture and even a VF Fowler tractor from 1956, which had been on the estate since new. This tractor was then sold by our Vintage team in April and made £16,080, far over its estimate of £6,000 - £7,000.
Lot 671, estimate £2,000 - £4,000, available at The Fine Sale
To view the catalogue for the Fine Sale, including the gates, please click here