We care for one of the most significant collections of fine art and heritage objects in the world. Hidden within these collections are little-known but remarkable curiosities and inventions that puzzle, intrigue and enchant visitors, volunteers and staff alike. Take a look at some of the items that featured in the book 100 Curiosities and Inventions from the Collections of the National Trust.
Charles Paget Wade filled Snowshill Manor in Gloucestershire with his collection, preferring to live in a small cottage in the courtyard. His friend Professor Albert Richardson felt that Wade needed company, but didn’t think his friend was responsible enough to look after a real pet. Instead, he presented Wade with this life-sized wooden cat, which stood on a rug next to the fire. Despite his friend’s doubts, Wade looked after his wooden pet well, replacing its whiskers every year.
Calke Abbey in Derbyshire is a remarkable survivor from an era of country house decline. When the National Trust took on the property in 1985, it preserved the peeling paint and worn collections. This cheeky 19th-century Royal Worcester pug with a broken front leg propped up on a matchbox is an example of the state of ‘quiet decay’ in which the property is still presented. Modelled by George Evans, the pug stands with its tongue out and ears raised, welcoming visitors to this ‘unstately home’.
Patented in 1883 in Chicago, the Harden Star Hand Grenade was invented to help homeowners combat domestic fires. At Erddig in Wrexham, where a prayer in the Servants’ Passage begins ‘May Heav’n protect our home from flame’, there are more than 100 of these grenades. Designed to be hurled into a fire, these glass orbs contained water, salt and chemicals that boiled to produce flame-smothering fumes. This was often to very poor effect, and luckily there is little evidence of their use at Erddig.
This prosthetic arm displayed at Cotehele in Cornwall is a remarkable invention. Terrible injuries were inflicted on the battlefields of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, leading surgeons and armourers to collaborate and produce pioneering prostheses. This mechanically functioning hand and lower arm prosthesis has moveable fingers that can be individually locked into place with tiny buttons, allowing a soldier to grip his reins or sword.
In 1769, furniture-maker Thomas Chippendale created a dressing table for Sir Rowland Winn, owner of Nostell in Yorkshire. Inside was everything a gentleman might need for his morning ritual, including this tongue scraper. These were used to remove ‘furry’ deposits – food debris, dead cells and bacteria – that could cause bad breath. Metal versions became popular in the 18th century when rapidly increasing sugar consumption and poor dental care made bad breath and rotten teeth more common.
Amongst over 5,000 treasures that antiques shop owner Pamela Ward donated to the National Trust was a small, round box of mouches (literally: ‘flies’). This box, made by Maison Dorin and probably dating from around 1880, contains small black taffeta pieces, better known as beauty spots. Popularised by the French, they were used to cover up unsightly marks, and depending on their placement, communicate emotions, wealth and political allegiances.
In 1900, a group of local fishermen founded the Winkle Club of Hastings. To this day, every member (or ‘Winkler’) is obliged to carry a winkle shell with them. After his retirement in 1955, Sir Winston Churchill was offered countless honours from organisations around the world, many of which he declined. But when his invitation from the Winkle Club arrived, he accepted straight away, saying: ‘This is one thing I want to do.’ He was presented with a golden winkle shell, now kept at Chartwell in Kent.
In 1878 at the Congress of Berlin, European leaders sought to resolve a power struggle between Russia, certain European countries and the declining Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli was actively involved in redrawing European borders. In gratitude for Disraeli’s diplomacy, the Ottoman delegate presented him with this fan, signed by each member of the congress. For Disraeli, the fan symbolised ‘peace with honour’ in Europe, yet the decisions made here would lead to future conflicts.
The playwright George Bernard Shaw disliked a fuss on his birthdays. For his 80th in 1936, Shaw asked his friends to only buy token gifts from Woolworths that cost no more than threepence (about 60p today). He was delighted to receive a coat hanger, sealing wax, a razorblade and, from actress Mavis Walker, this metal pencil sharpener in the shape of a globe. Photographs show it in use on Shaw’s desk in his famous revolving writing hut at Shaw’s Corner in Hertfordshire, where it can still be seen today.
In 2017, archaeology volunteers at Knole in Kent spotted this Perrier bottle under the floorboards. It contained a note, written on Knole paper: ‘Sept 26th 1906. This bottle was dropted [sic] here in the year AD 1906 by S.G. Doggett when these Radiators were put in, also the Hot Water Service.’ The author was identified as Sidney George Doggett, born at Knole and a carpenter there for 62 years. Later, his family generously donated his original toolbox with more than 100 of his tools to the National Trust.
Discovered by staff on the underside of a gilded, eagle-fronted table at Powis Castle in Wales, is a reminder that everyone makes mistakes. This impressive table made in around 1740 uses a recycled marble gravestone as its top, carrying with it part of a hand-carved inscription. It’s dated April 1731, in memory of John and Mary Elsmere from Almond Park in Shrewsbury. Only part of the inscription survives, but it suggests the family’s surname was a challenge, as it’s misspelt twice.
Look closely and you will find that the collection of over 200 broken pottery shards at Kingston Lacy in Dorset is covered in writing. The shards date from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, when Ancient Egyptian scribes used broken pots like scrap paper. The notes contained on these fragments provide amazing insights into ancient lives, including taxpayers’ names, descriptions of income tax payments, utilities and fruit production taxes, and a mortgage loan given to two Roman citizens by a local undertaker.
With leather upholstery and a 3.5 horsepower engine, this Benz was cutting-edge technology for its time. Steam-powered road vehicles had been used since the 1700s, but in 1886 Karl Benz patented the internal combustion engine – changing transport for ever. This Benz was bought in the early 1900s by Maurice Egerton, 4th Baron Egerton of Tatton, who gave it the first registration number in Cheshire: ‘M1’. In 2005 the right to use this registration was sold to support conservation at Tatton Park.
This jewellery from Cragside in Northumberland would literally have dazzled those who saw it. Inside each coloured glass jewel is a miniature four-volt bulb, powered by a battery hidden in the wearer’s pocket or hair. When lit, the tiny lamps create the appearance of sparkling diamonds and rubies. Electric jewellery was developed by Gustave Trouvé in the 1870s but was not without its dangers. The heavy batteries could leak or overheat; nonetheless, various jewels and accessories were developed.
This small amulet was made in southern Italy or Spain between 1550 and 1650 in the form of a clenched right hand. The forefinger is wrapped over the thumb making the 'mano fica' gesture. It was probably worn by a child to ward off the ‘evil eye’, a curse spread through a malicious glare that was widely believed to cause impotence or infertility. Mano fica translates literally as ‘hand fig’ – fica being Italian slang for female genitals with the gesture itself an allusion to heterosexual sex.
How the Alphabet Was Made is one of the Just So Stories written by Rudyard Kipling in 1902. It’s the story of how a girl named Taffy and her father Tegumai created the first alphabet, which Tegumai then made into a magic necklace. Sir Percy Bates commissioned a jeweller to create a necklace based on Kipling’s original illustration. In 1928 he gifted the finished necklace to Kipling, who called it ‘absolutely the prettiest and cleverest bit of work I’ve ever seen’.
The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter tells the story of two naughty mice who create havoc in a dolls’ house. It was inspired by Potter’s own pet mice, and over the course of writing it, her publisher Norman Warne sent Potter photographs of this impressive dolls’ house he’d built for his niece so that she could copy it for her illustrations. He also sent a parcel of dolls’ house toys from Hamley’s. Thanking him, she wrote: ‘I am getting almost more treasures than I can squeeze into one small book.’
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A Dalek from Doctor Who
It isn’t every day you see the Time Lord’s greatest enemy in a National Trust house. In 2018, a full-size Dalek glided into the collection at the Children’s Country House at Sudbury in Derbyshire as an example of the impact of television on childhood experiences. Daleks first appeared on screen in 1963 and were an instant hit. Over the years, these extra-terrestrial menaces made regular appearances in the BBC science-fiction television series Doctor Who, becoming a familiar feature of many childhoods.
Art and collections
We care for one of the world's largest and most significant collections of art and heritage objects. Explore the highlights, our latest major exhibitions, curatorial research and more.
Discover more curiosities and inventions hidden within the collections in our care in our new book, 100 Curiosities and Inventions from the Collections of the National Trust by Assistant Curator Katie Knowles.
Discover the stories behind some of the greatest artworks and artefacts looked after by the National Trust, as told in a dedicated book, 125 Treasures from the Collections of the National Trust.
Find out how your support helps us look after the past, from conserving historic buildings to revealing archaeological sites and supporting urban heritage projects.
