Silver Wall-Sconces Once Owned By Railway Pioneer Sir Nigel Gresley

A pair of silver wall-sconces once owned by pioneering railway engineer Sir Nigel Gresley are to be sold at auction in North Yorkshire on 18^th September. Made for Sir Robert Gresley of Drakelowe Hall, Derbyshire in 1925 by leading London silversmiths Charles and Richard Comyns, the sconces are being sold to benefit The Gresley Society Trust with an estimate of £2,000-3,000 (plus buyer’s premium).

Sir Nigel Gresley (1876-1941) is widely regarded as one of Britain’s most successful engineers of locomotives and rolling stock in the steam age, having served as the Chief Mechanical Engineer for London and Northeast Railways and designed the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard. Raised in Derbyshire, he descended from a branch of the Gresley family of Drakelowe Hall. It in almost certain that Sir Nigel bought these sconces, which are engraved with his family coat of arms, at the 1933 sale of the contents of Drakelowe Hall. Passed down through the family, they were gifted to The Gresley Society Trust, a charitable organisation whose aim is to study, celebrated and educate the public in the life and works of Sir Nigel Gresley. Proceeds from the sale of the sconces will be used to support projects and artefacts related to Sir Nigel and his achievements, including the world’s oldest working locomotive.

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