Baronet bids to buy back heirlooms

A baronet will be bidding to buy back the contents of his own home when they are auctioned by his wealthy mother today.

John Langham will attempt to claim back as much as he can afford when five centuries worth of art and furniture go under the hammer at Slane Castle, Co Dublin.

The contents, which include one of the most valuable private art collections in Britain and Ireland and letters written by Edward II and Elizabeth I, have been valued at €1.3m.

The contents of Tempo Manor, near Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh, were left to Dowager Lady Marion Langham by her estranged husband James Langham when he died three years ago.

But the 15th baronet of Cottesbrooke sparked an almighty family bust-up by leaving the 300-acre woodland estate to his son.

When the mother and son fell out over the use of a large glasshouse, Lady Marion, 64, decided to sell on the entire contents of the Victorian manor and almost 900 family heirlooms were seized, rendering the family home an empty shell.

Langham, 43, a web designer, said he could not afford to buy everything back but hopes to recover as much as he can. He still lives in the six-bedroomed house with his wife Lady Sarah and their three children.

The Langhams moved into Tempo Manor 150 years ago after selling the family home, Cottesbrooke Hall in Northamptonshire, which is reputed to have been the inspiration for Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.

Langham refused to discuss the dispute. His mother could not be contacted.