GOING ON A STAG HUNT

A lost silver sculpture, Stags in Bradgate Park, was once the highlight of the Dunham Massey silver collection, and its recent return to the fold in Cheshire is cause for celebration, reports

- Caroline Wheater

For two decades, James Rothwell, the National Trust's silver specialist, wondered about the fate of a magnificent silver sculpture known as Stags in Bradgate Park, made by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell.

The enormous centrepiece was delivered in 1856 to George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, owner of Dunham Massey, near Altrincham in Cheshire - now a National Trust property. Joining the estate's epic silver vault, the sculpture was arguably one of the best in Britain. But dispersal of the Dunham Massey collection in the late-19th and early-20th century meant that Stags disappeared for at least 100 years; this is the story of how it was rediscovered and brought back home.

The lost and found tale begins 300 years ago when George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington and chatelain of Dunham Massey (the Earldom of Stamford came in subsequent generations), amassed over 1,000 pieces of silver from the very best makers, including Huguenot silversmiths. ‘He had quite a pure taste and didn’t like overly decorated pieces, but they were always of very high quality,’ explains James, who has made a study of both the collection and the family. Over a lifetime, the Earl accumulated 26,000oz of silver - about three-quarters of a tonne - in a stash that included 120 silver plates, stacks of cutlery, coffee and tea pots, egg cups, candlesticks, salt cellars and much more. Crucially, he recorded every piece in his own hand in