Bring a piece of history back to Delapré Abbey

A rare opportunity to bring a piece of history back to Delapré Abbey has presented itself... and we need your help to raise the funds to do so!

Everard Bouverie was the owner of Delapré Abbey from 1858-1871. A sword belonging to Everard from when he was in the Royal Horse Guards and fought in the Battle of Waterloo has recently come up for auction.

The auction will take place on Tuesday 4th April so we need to raise the funds by Monday 3rd April 2023.

Why is the sword of significance?

It will always be incredibly rare that items that can be identified as belonging to a resident of Delapré Abbey will come up for auction. The auctioneer has said that this sword is special because it:

• Is a heavy cavalry officer’s sword (usually light ones come up for auction)

• Has a link to the Battle of Waterloo

• Has a provenance, we know who owned it.

For Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust to own something that would have been a personal possession of a resident of the house is really special. He spent his entire working life in the army, later as an Equerry for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and only retired when he finally inherited Delapré aged 69. These items from his time in the army are very important to helping to tell his story.

How would this help to transform Delapré Abbey's offer?

The sword will help us to develop our interpretation and the stories that we tell about the Abbey and Northampton's rich history.

Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust already owns Everard’s medal from the Battle of Waterloo and a cartoon of him when he was in the Royal Horse Guards and the sword would be a natural fit to add to this as part of the storytelling of Everard.

It is also a step along our new aspiration to be an accredited museum with a collection which we display and share with as many people as possible.

Your donation

If we’re unsuccessful in winning the sword at the auction, we will use the money we raise to create a collections development pot so when other original objects come up for sale that would help us to tell the stories of the Abbey, we’ll be in a stronger position next time.

Thank you

Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause which means so much to all of us here at Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust.