Contents of `Thunderball` Shrubland mansion auctioned for millions

The contents of a stately home with links to two British naval heroes - and James Bond - fetched £4.5 million in a sale which attracted buyers from around the world, auctioneers said today.

More than two centuries of history went under the hammer when Sotheby's sold the contents of Shrubland Hall in Barham, Suffolk, at a three-day auction which ended late yesterday - reports 24Dash

The Shrubland estate, which is on the market separately for £23 million, is being sold by owner Lord de Saumarez to pay off death duties.

Lord de Saumarez is a descendent of James de Saumarez, who came from Guernsey and was Nelson's second-in-command at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.

The house has been owned by the de Saumarez family since the late 1880s.

In the mid-1860s, Shrubland was owned by Sir Nathaniel Broke Middleton, son of Captain Philip Broke who commanded HMS Shannon to victory over American frigate US Chesapeake during the American War of Independence.

During the First World War, Shrubland was used as convalescent home and in the Second World War as a Home Guard training ground .

In the 1960s, Shrubland was turned into a health clinic and featured in two James Bond films - Thunderball and Never Say Never Again.

Shrubland Hall was built in the 1770s but the estate has existed since the 14th century, when it was owned by the de Scrobeland family.

Sotheby's said more than 1,700 items - including "huge quantities" of works of art - were on offer during the sale at the house.

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