Cheffins, a leading UK auction house, will offer the historic collection of Southwick Hall—one of Northamptonshire’s most intriguing country houses—in a December sale.
by Northants Uncovered
Cheffins has announced the sale of the principal contents of Southwick Hall, near Oundle, Northamptonshire.
The collection is an exceptional assemblage of fine furniture, artworks and decorative pieces from the historic Southwick Hall Estate, according to a representative from Cheffins.
The Southwick Hall Collection will form a key part of Cheffins’ Fine Sale on 3rd and 4th December at its Cambridge salerooms.
Northamptonshire has been heralded as ‘a county of spires and squires’ with a great many attractive country houses.
Country Life Magazine.
Centuries of Change and Three Families
Tucked into a quiet valley near Oundle, Southwick Hall has long been part of the county’s cultural fabric.
With roots stretching back to around 1300, the house is one of the few medieval survivors still standing in this part of England.
Its Elizabethan rebuilding in the 1570s was led by mason Thomas Thorpe, who also worked on nearby landmarks Kirby Hall and Apethorpe Palace.
Across more than 700 years, just three families have called Southwick Hall home — the Knyvetts, the Lynnes, and the Caprons — each leaving their imprint.
Their stories touch some of the most dramatic chapters of English history: a Lord Chancellor under Edward III, a figure tied to the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell’s mother, Enlightenment thinkers, and even a fatal duel at Apethorpe that ended the Lynne line.
The pieces included in this sale belong to the Capron family era, collected from the 1840s onwards.
The Caprons were adventurers and scholars in their own right — serving abroad, travelling widely through Europe, and building an eclectic, well-loved collection.
Among them was Roderick Capron, a geographer and art collector who volunteered as a bomber navigator in WWII and was killed in action.
More recently, current owner, Christopher Capron was Head of Current Affairs at the BBC, producing Question time and Panorama.
Highlights from the Southwick Hall Collection
Cheffins’ December sale will feature more than 60 lots, estimated from £100 to £30,000. Standout items include:
- A George II carved mahogany suite in the manner of William Hallett (lot 408)
- A mid-18th-century Irish walnut side table with inset marble top (lot 413)
- A Swedish porphyry tazza bowl, circa 1820s (lot 670)
- A suite of six Louis XV gilt-frame armchairs by Jean Baptiste Tilliard (lot 546)
There is also a striking array of Victorian-era chinoiserie, collected by the ever-colourful George Capron, a lawyer whose client list included the 3rd Marquess of Hertford, founder of what became The Wallace Collection.
Charles Ashton, Director at Cheffins, says:
“Southwick Hall is one of Northamptonshire’s most historic country houses, and it is a privilege for Cheffins to have been entrusted with the sale of this important collection. The items represent centuries of heritage, taste, and craftsmanship. Opportunities to acquire objects with such rich provenance are increasingly rare, and we are delighted to bring them to the market.”A
Sophie Richardson, from Cheffins, said that the sale was due to a reorganisation of the historic hall’s contents.
The Fine Sale
3rd & 4th December 2025
Cheffins, Clifton House, 1–2 Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA
Link to items in the Cheffins catalogue: https://fineart.cheffins.co.uk/auction/details/f041225-the-fine-sale—to-include-the-principal-contents-of-southwick-hall/?pp=12&st=southwick&sto=0&au=2052&sf=%5b%5d&w=False&g=1
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