The 3rd North of England Carriage Sale
4th JULY 2018
In contrast to last year’s downpour, we were blessed with a glorious summer’s day in North Yorkshire which encouraged a large number of both new and regular buyers from across the north of England, the Midlands and Scotland to attend our third North of England Carriage Sale at Richmond Equestrian Centre, near Catterick.
There were nearly 400 lots in the Sundries & Accoutrements section, the best-selling item being a pair of large octagon lamps
(111) measuring 25 ins, which fetched £380. A pair of rectangular lamps (275) by Prudence & Dennison of Halifax sold for £170, and another with bird pediment (195) which made £140.
Two full-size wheeler pads (13) and a driving collar (56) each fetched £200. A nice selection of whips was entered and made good money. An unusual cane riding whip with crocodile skin handle with a pommel in the form of a horse’s head (110) made £250; a Carter’s-type whip with 9 ferrules and a Crawley trade mark (119) £220; a four-in-hand whip by George Schomberg (116) £150; and a holly whip with silvered ferrule and butt cap (117) £190.
There were not so many leather hat boxes this time but lot 153 made £95, and a leather travelling case with its original key (273) made £100. A walking stick with a concealed horse measure (207) fetched £60; a stainless steel back chain (256) made £90; and a framed display of miniature riding equipment (270) made £80.
In the Pictures, Models and Books section a signed artist’s proof of a hunting print by Lionel Edwards (331) fetched £60. A lovely original Victorian horse tricycle in good condition (357) made £130. Over 50 lots of books sold for reasonable money, including; Working Drawings of Horse-Drawn Vehicles and Restoration of Horse-Drawn Vehicles plus one other (432) £65; Coaching Days of Old England (414) £50; a number of Bailey’s Hunting Directory’s (416) £40, as did lot 445 Over the Grass and A Handful of Leather by Lionel Edwards with 8 coloured plates. English Pleasure Carriages and A Treatise on Carriages (443) sold above reserve for £30
There were relatively few Sets of Harness on offer but some good sales were achieved, one being a pair set by Huskisson of Walsall to fit 15 to 16 hh (599) which made £1,000; another set by Huskissons (614) with a 21½ ins collar sold for £550; and a set of black/brass driving harness by Houghton’s Darwen with 19 ins collar made £500. In the vehicle parts a pair of hand-decorated wooden shafts (526) suitable for a barrel wagon made £130. A black dressage saddle by Barnsby in the Saddlery & Tack section (676) made £190.
It was year of the Wagonette, eight to be precise, with a pretty Bent Sided Wagonette (483) made in Harrogate by G. MacKay & Sons for a 14 to 15 hh achieving £2,000; and another (482) made by Bogajewicz of Poland fetching £1,200.
The first of a number of late entries was a very pretty and ornate Horse-Drawn Ice Cream Van (498) built in the 1920’s, complete and ready for work, along with a fibreglass horse and set of harness, all on a trailer. With a phone bid and interest in the room it eventually sold for £5,000 to a buyer at the sale. A Clarence (486) to suit 15.2 hh plus made £2,400; a Landau (488) built in Norfolk circa 1890 made £1,900 and a Four-Wheel Dog Cart (503) built by Wellington Carriages in Telford making £1,950
Auctioneer Chris Boreham said “Our thanks must go to Donna and Renee at Richmond Equestrian Centre for hosting us once again. Nothing is too much trouble. I am very pleased to say that the sale total was more than last year. We were fortunate to have some nice vehicles and by and large they made very satisfactory prices. The overriding message continues to be that if you have something good then it will sell well. Pricing is critical, and buyers are choosy. We look forward to our trip north again next year!”