THE mystery buyer who swept the board at an aristocratic carriage sale in Northumberland has been revealed as Freddy Shepherd.
The former Newcastle United chairman yesterday said he had bought the full set of carriages from National Trust’s Seaton Delaval Hall to ensure the collection remained whole.
Mr Shepherd said the vehicles would be housed at his family’s Mitford Hall estate, in Northumberland, where they will go on show to guests once they have undergone thorough refurbishment.
The auction saw all carriages and carts, which belonged to former Seaton Delaval Hall owner Lord Hastings, go for prices ranging from £500 for a 1910 market cart, to £2,700 for a Victoria carriage, from 1900.
Mr Shepherd’s identity had remained a mystery after eager bidders beaten to the lots at Thursday’s Anderson & Garland auction were simply told the buyer was from the North East.
Unable to attend the sell-off in person, an agent bid in place of Mr Shepherd, who runs renewable energy and sea operations support firm Shepherd Offshore.
Mr Shepherd said: “We are delighted to have secured the carriages, which will make a fantastic addition to our existing collection of classic cars.
“The main reason I decided to bid was to keep the collection together, which we have now achieved. The next step will be to source a North East expert, who can carry out any restoration, or refurbishment the carriages need, then they will be put on display for private guests at Mitford.
“We are very proud owners of this collection.”
The carriages were put up for sale four years after Lord Hastings’ death by his son, who farms in Norfolk.
The other lots bought on Thursday include a 1900 horse-drawn game cart for £1,500, a 1900 rally cart of the same date with corduroy upholstered seats for £1,400, a 1920s harvest wagon for £1,100, a Governess cart dating from 1916 for £620, an American viceroy car for £800, and a 1920s trumbel cart for £110.
The buyer also snapped up a Wells Fargo-style US mail stage coach which had been built as a film prop, which fetched £540.
Mr Shepherd has said the collection will be added to the garage of classic cars and old-fashioned lorries he already owns.
Disappointed bidder David Calvert travelled from Richmond in North Yorkshire for the auction, representing the Carriage Foundation, whose members tour the UK and Europe to inspect historic carriages.
He had found out about the sale by chance while visiting the hall on a day out.
He said: “There was a lot of history in the collection and the fact that some of the carriages had the name of Lord Hastings on iron plaques on the sides made them more important.
“The game cart especially is of great interest because only the bigger estates had them, while the rally cart was a farmer’s Sunday vehicle.”
The traditional vehicles had been on display in what was once the hall’s estate brewery building.
