Derbyshire

Neales-Kedleston Hall: The period between the wars and post-1945 saw the dissolution of many English country houses. The economic turmoil caused by conflict saw aristocratic families in dire financial straits and for many the only solution was to sell up and ship out.

A silver trophy in the shape of an artist’s palette is unusual enough without it being designed to reward a scientist. But this award dates from a period in Irish art history when painters were proficient, but their paint was poor.

Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, designed by Robert Adam and James Paine, is one of Britain’s best known neo-classical stately homes. It has been home to the Curzons for centuries and although its principal contents were long ago gifted to the National Trust, the family still occupy a substantial wing and they have instructed Nottingham auctioneers Neales to hold an attic sale of their possessions this month on the premises.