Derby octagonal plate, similar to the Lowther Castle service, c.1810

23cm wide

ref. Twitchett 'Derby Porcelain' 2002 p214 for an example from Derby. The service was formerly in the possession of the Lords of Lonsdale, the Lowther family. Their title Earl of Lonsdale was first given in 1784 to James, who was one of the richest men in18th century England. He died heirless in 1802, and so the line was 'extinct': then in 1807, a third cousin once removed was raised to the title Earl, a title he celebrated by building a remarkable house: Lowther Castle. Designed in the Gothic taste by Robert Smirke, it was a fantasy of spires, turrets, and battlements. This service belongs to this period, and shows the Earls interest in the porcelains of the orient, as it has been copied exactly from a service of Chinese Export porcelain of the mid-18th century.The Earls following were great collectors, filling it with art & antiques. However, by 1937 the house had been 'closed', the family no longer in residence. In WWII, it was taken for a tank training facility, the immense gardens concreted over to park tanks on, the walls and bridges destroyed during 'training'. The contents were all removed in the 1940's, the roof removed in 1957; it rapidly decayed, and today is regarded as 'Cumbria's fairy tale castle'. A trust is currently working on preserving the ruins and restoring the gardens for public use.