Rare Victorian Silver Castle Top Vinaigrette - Lowther Castle

An extremely rare Victorian silver castle-top Vinaigrette of shaped elongated rectangular form, the base engraved with paterae on a reeded ground, the sides with foliate scrolls and a raised thumb-piece, the lid engraved with a view of Lowther Castle in Cumbria (from the north side) within a scrolled border. The silver gilt grille pierced with scrolls and flower heads. Attached suspension ring.

By Hilliard & Thomason, Birmingham, 1855.

Lowther Castle is a country house in the historic county of Westmorland, which now forms part of the modern county of Cumbria, England. It has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the Earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages. It is a fully managed ruin, open to visits by the public to the shell of the castle and some of the gardens since 2011. Additional work was completed since that time, most recently on the extensive gardens.

In the late 17th century John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale rebuilt the family home, then known as Lowther Hall, on a grand scale. The current building is a castellated mansion which was built by Robert Smirke for William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale between 1806 and 1814, and it was only at that time that Lowther was designated a "castle". The family fortune was undermined by the extravagance of the 5th Earl of Lonsdale, a famous socialite, and the castle was closed in 1937.

Sold - £3,650.00