Fashion designer Jasper Conran is auctioning contents of his 23,000 sq ft Wiltshire apartment

Princess Diana‘s favourite designer Jasper Conran is auctioning the entire contents of his stunning 23,000 sq ft, six-bedroom apartment at New Wardour Castle, Wiltshire. 

The elegant property, that featured in the film Billy Elliot and sold for £4 million, is the principal apartment in New Wardour Castle, one of the finest Palladian mansions in Britain.

It has over 23,000 sq ft of accommodation and was styled by the British fashion icon, who created the wedding dress for Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, when he bought it in 2010. 

And now fans of Jasper Conran, 61 – who is son of late Habitat founder Sir Terence Conran and Superwoman author Shirley Conran – are being given the chance to own some of his stunning belongings during a three-day 500-lot auction by Christie’s, which will take place both in the sale room and online in September,

Princess Diana ‘s favourite designer is auctioning the entire contents of his stunning 23,000 sq ft, six-bedroom apartment at New Wardour Castle, Wiltshire. Pictured, comes from the bedroom which Jasper shared with his husband, Irish artist Oisin Byrne, 24 years his junior, whom he married at Wardour in 2015. It’s the couple’s George I chintz-cotton and velvet tester bed, dating from 1725, and is expected to fetch £80,000

A mid-18th-century George II grey-painted and parcel-gilt ‘heraldic’ console table has an  estimate of £20,000-30,000 at auction. The stunning piece depicts the crest of the Duke family of Otterton, Devon

Four Chinese blue and white Kraak porcelain dishes believed to date back to the 16th or 17th century are expected to fetch £4,000 (pictured)

Princess Diana’s favourite designer, Jasper Conran, is auctioning the entire contents of his home stunning 23,000 sq ft, six-bedroom apartment at New Wardour Castle, Wiltshire

Arguably one of the most highly prized lots comes in the form of a George I chintz-cotton and velvet tester bed, dating from 1725, which Jasper shared with his husband, Irish artist Oisin Byrne, 24 years his junior, who he married at Wardour in 2015. It is expected to be hugely popular and fetch £80,000 at auction. 

Among the other personal treasures up for grabs includes a mid-18th-century George II grey-painted and parcel-gilt ‘heraldic’ console table, which is estimated to sell for £20,000-30,000 at auction. The stunning piece depicts the crest of the Duke family of Otterton, Devon.

Elsewhere,three pairs of George III giltwood armchairs embellished with needlework representations of Aesop’s fables will also go up for auction – with each pair expecting to fetch an estimated £18,000, while four Chinese blue and white Kraak porcelain dishes believed to date back to the 16th or 17th century are expected to fetch £4,000.   

A Charles Bestland portrait of John William Hippisley-Trenchard (1740-1810), half-length, in a feigned oval is also expected to sell for £4,000 – £6,000.

Three pairs of George III giltwood armchairs embellished with needlework representations of Aesop’s fables will also go up for auction – with each pair expecting to fetch an estimated £18,000

Charles Bestland’s portrait of a John William Hippisley-Trenchard (1740-1810), half-length, in a feigned oval is expected to sell for £4,000 – £6,000

The 500-lot auction will see eye-catching items from Conran’s exquisite 23,000 sq ft, six-bedroom apartment at New Wardour Castle, Wiltshire, go up for sale. Following the death of the last Lord Arundell in 1944, the castle (pictured) became a girls boarding school for around 30 years before it was converted into luxury apartments around 20 years ago

In 2019, the British fashion and interiors designer purchased Yves Saint Laurent’s old house Villa Mabrouka in Tangier, Morocco, which he hopes to transform into one of the world’s most stylish hotels.

New Wardour Castle is reputedly the largest house in Wiltshire and was built for the 8th Lord Arundel in 1770 to celebrate his marriage to a Lincolnshire heiress.

It is considered one of the finest works of the great Palladian architect James Paine and its most striking feature is the 60ft rotunda containing the central staircase, which has been described as unsurpassed in any building of the 18th Century in England.

Following the death of the last Lord Arundell in 1944, the castle became a girls boarding school for around 30 years before it was converted into luxury apartments around 20 years ago.

It is considered one of the finest works of the great Palladian architect James Paine and its most striking feature is the 60ft rotunda containing the central staircase (pictured through the doors of the formal dining area)

Conran’s apartment includes most of the state rooms of the castle is perfect for entertaining, with several dining areas including the kitchen/family room (pictured)

The apartment has the main reception rooms on the first floor, to make the most of the uninterrupted views across the estate to the Nadder Valley and the Wiltshire countryside

Upstairs it has a kitchen/family room, dining room, white room, saloon, great dining room, private sitting room and another two bedrooms and bathrooms

The impressive home also featured in the 2000 film Billy Elliot, for which it was the setting for the Royal Ballet School.

Conran’s apartment includes most of the state rooms of the castle and the magnificent rotunda, which has a diameter of around 45ft and rises 60ft to a glazed dome.

He has called the castle a ‘power play’ and the twin cantilevered staircases in the rotunda ‘one of the great beauties of this country’.

The apartment has the main reception rooms on the first floor, to make the most of the uninterrupted views across the estate to the Nadder Valley and the Wiltshire countryside.

From studying design in New York to making clothes for Diana: How Jasper Conran became an icon in the fashion world 

English fashion icon Jasper Conran, 60, was born in 1959 to Habitat founder and restaurateur Sir Terence Conran and his wife Shirley, an author. 

The designer, who has an OBE for his services to retail, was trained at Parson’s School of Design in New York. 

Young Jasper Conran pictured wtih his mother Shirley Conran attending Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake’s exhibition ‘Bodyworks’ in the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1985

In 1978 he produced his first womenswear collection and was a founding member of the London Designer Collections – now known as London Fashion Week. 

Conran branched out into menswear in 1985 and has since dabbled in fragrance, accessories, eyewear, luggage and home interiors. 

Throughout his impressive career he has designed wedding dresses for Jasmine Guinness and Paula Yates, as well as royal Lady Sarah Chatto and her bridesmaids. 

The designer, who created clothes for Diana, Princess of Wales, found one of his biggest successes to be his range of womenswear, named J, in Debenhams. 

He also turned his hand to costume and set designing in pursuit of his passion for the performing arts. His designs have been used in 13 ballet, opera and theatre productions and in 1991 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Costume Design.

The well-respected designer married Oisin Byrne, an Irish artist 24 years his junior, in 2015 at the Wardour Castle. 

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On the ground floor is the entrance hall, gym, library, garden room, secondary/guest kitchen, four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Upstairs it has a kitchen/family room, dining room, white room, saloon, great dining room, private sitting room and another two bedrooms and bathrooms.

Also included in the £3.95million price is a Grade I listed cellar perfect for those wishing to entertain.

The properties share a large private parkland for residents at the back of the house, but Conran’s property owns around five acres of that land.

Lindsay Cuthill, from estate agents Savills, said: ‘New Wardour Castle is beyond beautiful, it’s absolutely magical.

Conran is said to have called the castle a ‘power play’ and the twin cantilevered staircases in the rotunda ‘one of the great beauties of this country’

The impressive home also featured in the 2000 film Billy Elliot, for which it was the setting for the Royal Ballet School

Also included in the £3.95million price is a Grade I listed cellar perfect for those wishing to entertain. Conran has styled the home to include paintings which are a throwback to the home’s past

‘It’s a very special and pretty unique place. The scale of it, it’s a true historic, aristocratic country mansion.

‘This has been a primary residence, a second home, a marvellous place to showcase someone’s art collection.

‘It’s very private, despite the fact you have neighbours, because of the way it’s all arranged.

‘The owner, Jasper Conran, has owned many very beautiful houses all over the world. I think he’s enjoyed his time here but now feels it’s time for him to move on.

‘It’s a wonderful space and it will be a lucky person that gets to buy it.’

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

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