A chess set thrown out as rubbish by one of north Wales’s biggest landowners could fetch £5,000 for relatives of the butler who saved it from the bonfire.

The French carved ivory figures which once belonged to Lord Mostyn are due to be auctioned by Christie’s in London.

They are being sold by the great grandchildren of James Baxter, who served the third Baron Mostyn at Mostyn Hall, Flintshire, in the late 1800s.

The auction house said chess sets from the era are “rarely” found complete.

Through Mostyn Estates Ltd, the Mostyn family own large areas of Llandudno, Conwy, and their connection with the resort and its development dates back 500 years.

The chess set, made in Dieppe in the late 18th to early 19th Century, is estimated to fetch between £3,000 to £5,000 when it is auctioned on Tuesday.

According to Christie’s, James Baxter was the butler at Mostyn Hall around the 1880s-1890s. Read More