THE IMPORTANT AND HISTORICALLY INTERESTING PAIR OF IRISH GEORGE II CAST SILVER CANDLESTICKS, ENGRAVED WITH THE CREST OF GENERAL SIR JAMES CHARLES CHATTERTON (1796-1874), 3RD BARONET CHATTERTON OF CASTLEMAHON HOUSE, COUNTY CORK, IRELAND.
GENERAL CHATTERTON SAW EXTENSIVE SERVICE UNDER WELLINGTON DURING THE PENINSULAR WAR, THE SUBSEQUENT CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, BECOMING, AS A RESULT, ONE OF THE MOST EXPERIENCED CAVALRY OFFICERS IN THE BRITISH ARMY. AT THE REQUEST OF QUEEN VICTORIA, HE CARRIED THE ROYAL STANDARD AT THE FUNERAL OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON IN 1852 AND WAS LATER, SUCCESSIVELY, COLONEL-IN-CHIEF OF THE 5TH ROYAL IRISH LANCERS AND 4TH ROYAL IRISH DRAGOON GUARDS.
The candlesticks with tapering baluster columns on shaped square bases, and with detachable drip pans, by Henry Chadwick, Dublin, circa 1752-55. Weight 31 ounces approx (1 stick with scratch weight on base of 16 ounces and half dram, the other 15 ounces and 10 dram). Height 7 3/4 inches (19.5cm) approx. Both sticks with maker's mark, and Dublin Hibernia and Harp marks, but no date letter, the drip pans both with Dublin Hibernia and Harp marks only. All marks slightly rubbed but clear, the engraved crests on both sticks also slightly rubbed but clear, otherwise lightly polished overall and good condition.
The drip pans of both candlesticks with a contemporary, circa 1752-55, triangle of betrothal initials, engraved in Roman capital letters, the letter "A" over "JM" (the letter "J" in the form of a Roman "I", as in Iacobus/James).
Candlesticks accompanied by research notes by John Tunesi of Beacon Genealogical and Heraldic Research confirming that the candlesticks bear the engraved crest of the Baronets Chatterton of Castlemahon:
The head of an heraldic antelope erased proper, armed or and gorged with a ducal coronet gold, pierced through the neck with an arrow, also proper.
General ChattertonDwas the first member of the Chatterton family to incorporate a Ducal coronet into the Chatterton family crest, the coronet indicating a claim by General Chatterton that he was of Ducal descent.
GENERAL SIR JAMES CHARLES CHATTERTON G.C.B., K.H., LL D., (1796-1874), 3rd Baronet Chatterton, saw extensive service during the Napoleonic Wars under Wellington and ended his military career as a full General. Born 1796, Chatterton was first commissioned Cornet, 12th Light Dragoons, 23rd November 1809 and promoted Lieutenant 6th June 1811. With the12th Light Dragoons he saw much active service during the Peninsular, and subsequently during the campaign in France and at Waterloo, becoming in the process one of the most experienced junior cavalry officers in the army, taking part in the actions at Fuente Gurnaldo and Aldea de Ponte; the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz; the actions at Usagne, Llerena, Salamanca, Heights of St. Christobal, and Castrajon; the battle of Salamanca; the affairs at Valladolid and the investment of Burgos; the combats at Monasterio, and at Hermosa during the retreat from Burgos to Salamanca; the ensuing actions during the advance to Ciudad Rodrigo; the out-post affairs and combat at Osma after the advance from Portugal; the battle of Vitoria; the actions at Villa Franca and Tolosa; the siege and capture of San Sebastian; the actions on the Bidasoa and the carrying of the enemy's fortified entrenchments there; the battle of Nivelle and the affairs at St. Jean de Luz; the action in front of Bayonne in support of the passage of and battle of Nivelle; the passage of the Ardour and investment of Bayonne; the occupation of Bordeaux; the passage of the Garonne and the affair upon the Dordogne; the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo, 16th, 17th, and 18th June 1815; the subsequent advance to and capture of Paris; and afterwards with the Army of Occupation in France, 1815-1818: for which services Chatterton was awarded the Military General Service Medal with four clasps, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nivelle and Nive, the Waterloo Medal, and also created a Knight of the Order of San Fernando by the King of Spain, as a reward for his services in the expulsion of Napoleon's forces from Spain. Chatterton was subsequently promoted Captain and transferred to the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards on 20th March 1818, but was placed on half-pay just 6 days later, 26th March 1818, as a result of the peace time reduction of the army following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Retirement obviously did not suit Chatterton, and less than two years later he was back in the saddle, being appointed a Captain in the 7th dragoon Guards on 18th December 1823. He was promoted Major just seven months later and transferred back to the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards on 22nd July 1824, and was promoted Lieutenant Colonel commanding the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards on 18th December 1827. In 1832, as a reward for his distinguished military service, Chatterton was appointed an Ordinary Member of Military Division of the Third Class, Knight (K.H.), of the Royal Guelphic Order. He commanded the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards during the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, for which service he received the Coronation Medal in gold. General Chatterton was held in particularly high regard by Queen Victoria, who appointed him to be one of her Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber in 1848 (Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble born servants of the crown who attended on the Queen in private, as well as at court functions and entertainments, and were, in addition, empowered to execute the Queen's command without producing any written order, their person and character being deemed sufficient authority). In 1852, at the Queen's request, Chatterton carried the Great Banner, or Royal Standard, at the funeral of the Duke of Wellington "in consideration of his long, faithful and distinguished services." Chatterton's later years saw him further promoted and bestowed with additional high honours and rewards, being promoted Major-General, 20th June 1854, Lieutenant General, 13th December 1859, and a full General on 31st march 1866. General Chatterton was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers on 23rd February 1858, when that regiment, which had been disbanded in 1798 for mutinous activities in Ireland during the rising of that year, was re-raised. General Chatterton surrendered his Colonelcy of the 5th Royal Irish lancers on 3rd August 1860, and was subsequently appointed Honorary Colonel of his old regiment, the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, on 22nd November 1868, an appointment that he held till his death. In further recognition of his distinguished military service, General Chatterton was appointed to be an Ordinary Member of the Military Division of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.), on 10th November 1862, and subsequently promoted Ordinary Member of the Military Division of the First Class, Knight Grand Cross, of the Order of the Bath (G.C.B.), on 24th May 1873. General Chatterton was M.P. for Cork, 1831-1845 and 1849-1852, and was High Sheriff of Cork 1851-1852. General Chatterton was also a 33rd Degree member of the Masonic Order, and Provincial Grand master of Munster from 1849.
General Chatterton died on 5th January 1874. On his death, the Baronetcy became extinct, the general’s only son, James William Acheson Chatterton (1826-1827) having died in infancy.
General Chatterton married Anne (sometimes also called Annette), the youngest daughter of James Atkinson of Lendale, Yorkshire, in 1825.
The first letter, "A", in the betrothal triangle of initials on the drip pans of these candlesticks indicates that they were originally purchased to celebrate the marriage of a member of the Atkinson family. Anne Atkinson (1762-1840) was the youngest daughter of James and Ann Atkinson, of Lendale, Yorkshire. None of Anne Atkinson's immediate ancestors, parents or grandparents, had Christian names beginning with the letters J and M. Her father, Doctor James Atkinson (1759-1839), a prominent surgeon and biographer, married Ann Atkinson (1762-1840) circa 1780, and her grandfather, Doctor Charles Atkinson (1722-1793), married Ann Thirsk in 1752, suggesting that these candlesticks were originally purchased at the time of the marriage of a couple from another branch, perhaps an Irish branch, of the Atkinson family.
Henry Chadwick's mark is not illustrated in Jackson's Silver and Gold Marks (1989 Antique Collectors Club edition), he is, however, recorded therein (page 699) as a "Goldsmith for whom plate was assayed in Dublin" during the period 1752-1755.
The bases of these candlesticks are numbered "No.2" and “No.3”, the drip pans identically numbered en suite, indicating that these two sticks were originally part of a larger set.
The Baronets Chatterton trace their descent from Thomas Chatterton, who settled in Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth I, and was granted lands at Ardee, County Louth in 1573. A descendant, Abraham Chatterton, subsequently settled in Cork, where he married Martha, daughter of Edmund Roche, in 1738. His son, SIR JAMES CHATTERTON (1750-1806), 1st Baronet Chatterton, made his fortune as a lawyer, politician, and officer of state. After entering the Middle temple in 1770, he was called to the Bar in 1774 and subsequently sat in the Irish House of Commons, as M.P. for Baltimore, 1781-82, and for Doneraille, 1783-1797. Sir James was appointed King's Third Irish Serjeant at Law in 1791, one of the Government's senior legal officers in Ireland and advisor to the Irish House of Commons on points of law, and promoted to Second Serjeant in 1793, holding that latter office till his death in 1806. He was created a Baronet in 1801, as a reward for supporting the Act of Union of 1800. Sir James was succeeded by his eldest son SIR WILLIAM ABRAHAM CHATTERTON 2nd Baronet (1794-1855), who died in 1854 without a male heir, whereupon the Baronetcy passed to his younger brother, GENERAL SIR JAMES CHARLES CHATTERTON G.C.B., K.H., LL D.
Provenance: Woolley & Wallis, Salisbury, 21 January 2015 (lot 320), when the auctioneer failed to identify the maker's mark "HC" as that of Henry Chadwick and instead described the maker as being "unidentified", but confirmed that the candlesticks were of "circa 1760" vintage. The auctioneer also incorrectly identified the crest as being "possibly that of Beresford".
Candelsticks with some copied research, including biographical details of the Chatterton and Atkinson families, extract from Burke's Peerage re. the Baronets Chatterton, and extract from "Jackson's Silver and Gold Marks" identifying the maker of these candlesticks as Henry Chadwick.
