'Lost' tapestries returned home

A pair of 18th century Brussels tapestries (one of which is shown above), believed to have been a gift from the Prince of Wales to Lady Isabella Hertford in 1806 at the start of a scandalous affair, have been returned to their original home. The tapestries, which turned up in a Christie's sale in Stackallan House, Co Meath, Ireland, have been acquired by Temple Newsam House, an early Tudor building once the home of Lady Hertford, now owned by Leeds City Art Galleries. Anthony Wells-Cole, its principal keeper, has spent years scanning inventories and contemporary documents, tracking down the tapestries and other objects that were sold off in 1922. The pounds 29,700 purchase coincides with the refurbishment of the room in which the tapestries used to hang.

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