2024
A New House Record for Silver
A new house record for a piece of silver was achieved with the sale of the Sir Bache Cunard Testimonial, a life-size model of a fox by renowned Victorian taxidermist James Rowland Ward. The fox sold in the Fine Jewellery, Watches and Silver Sale for £100,000 (plus buyer's premium).
2023
Victorian Huia Set World Auction Record
A very rare Victorian cased pair of extinct New Zealand Huia sold for £220,000 (plus buyer’s premium) in the Natural History & Taxidermy Sale on 8th September 2023, which is thought to be a world auction record for a single piece of taxidermy.
2022
‘The North Sea’ by L.S. Lowry Sells for £1.07m
“The North Sea”, an important seascape by Laurence Stephen Lowry, sold for £1,070,381 (inclusive of all fees) in the Modern & Contemporary Art Sale on 15th October 2022. The painting was last seen on public view in an exhibition in 1967, the year after it was painted, and has since been in private hands.
2020
25 Years in Harrogate
Tennants celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Harrogate office.
2019
The Princess Royal Visits Tennants
HRH The Princess Royal visited Tennants Auctioneers on Wednesday 17th April as part of a day of official engagements in Wensleydale.
2014
An American Collector
The first major sale held in The Garden Rooms, an important American collection of art and antiques
2014
The Garden Rooms at Tennants was opened
A 40,000 sq ft extension to The Auction Centre, housing galleries, auction and event spaces, a restaurant and a cafe
2012
The £2.6m Vase
A Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Bottle Vase, bearing the six-character mark of Yongzheng sold for £2.6m - the first individual lot to make over £1m
2012
A new board of Directors
A team of new directors was appointed; Rodney Tennant's daughters Caroline, Alison and Jane were brought on board, along with Jeremy Pattison as Managing Director and Audrey Fall as Finance Director
2005
The Kenneth Whitehead Deer Collection Sale
2002
Rodney Tennant was awarded 'Auctioneer of the Year' at the British Antiques and Collectables Awards
1995
The first regional office was opened in Harrogate
1994
The Aske Hall Sale
Held over three days on site at Aske Hall, North Yorkshire
1993
The Auction Centre, Leyburn, was opened
The new 40,000 sq ft salerooms and head office was opened by Sir John Harvey-Jones
1991
The last sale was held in the Middleham Salerooms
1990
The first £1m sale was held in Richmond, the contents of Otterington Hall
1987
The Water Park Sale
Selected contents of Water Park, Cumbria was sold on site over two days
1988
Tennants of Yorkshire Antique and Fine Art Auctioneers Ltd. was formed
The estate agency side of the business was sold, and a new company formed focussing solely on art and antiques
1985
The Newby Hall Sale
Selected contents of Newby Hall, North Yorkshire were sold on site over the course of three days
1977
The Richmond Saleroom was opened
Specialist and Fine Art Sales were held in the salerooms opened in an old Methodist Chapel
1976
Rodney joins the business, running the salerooms
A new company J.E. & R.M. Tennants Ltd was formed
1975
The first Catalogue Sale was held
1972
Regular Saturday auctions were held in the Grain Store in Middleham
1971
John. E. Tennant Chartered Auctioneer and Estate Agent was established in Leyburn
1947
Rodney Tennant was born
Rodney worked at Sotheby's for three years in the late 60s, training under Senior Director A. J. B. Kiddell, and got his taste for international auctions
1945
John Tennant was born
John studied Property and Auctioneering at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. He went on to establish his own estate agency in the late 60s, and auctioneered for both his father and for Thirsk Auction Mart
1912
Edmund Slinger Tennant Junior was born (pictured as a baby)
The younger Edmund Tennant took over his father's business, expanding and venturing into auctioneering
1876
Edmund Slinger Tennant was born
Edmund was a stonemason, grocer and agricultural merchant in Middleham, near Leyburn
