AN antiques dealer from the Selby area got more than he bargained for when he went to a stateley home’s “attic sale”.

Mark Jepson, from South Milford, went to the sale at Chatsworth House, in Derbyshire, last year, seat of the Duke of Devonshire, thinking the auction would be sure to yield a range of unusual and valuable items.

But what he did not expect was to be so captivated by jewellery and ornaments formerly belonging to the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, Deborah Cavendish, that he paid more than 100 times the estimated price for some of them – and now can’t bring himself to sell the items on.

Mr Jepson said: “The Dowager Duchess is a lady I greatly admire. I am very glad to have secured some of her possessions and shall greatly treasure them.

“The brooch is one of those unique pieces that I’ve never seen before and never will again.

“The Chatsworth sale was a unique occasion – the only other house in Britain I can think of that would have a bigger sale than this would be the attics of Windsor Castle.”

While Mr Jepson purchased a number of items that will now be sold on through his Sherburn in Elmet-based company, the Dowager Duchess’s mirror, pill box and Italian brooch will remain in his own family to be passed on to generations to come.

One of his favourite purchases was the turn-of-the-century enamel brooch for which he paid £8,500 – more than 100 times the pre-sale estimate.

The 52-year-old said: “The brooch, pill box and 19th century mirror look rather nice as a collection together. The brooch has a lovely inscription which reads ‘L’amour en fait le lien’ – or ‘Love binds together’.

“I don’t know who the Dowager Duchess got the brooch from, but I’m intending to write to her to try and find out more about it.

“The items are particularly special because they’re pieces connected with someone that has figured prominently in British and international life.”

Father-of-two Mr Jepson will be displaying the brooch at home alongside the pill box, which was made in France, and the dressing mirror.