More than £1m of contents of a 16th country house are being auctioned off in an everything-must-go sale.
The unique sale includes 19 eye-catching tapestries worth up to £20,000 each, paintings, antique furniture and garden ornaments.
The 12ft by 17ft tapestries were crafted in weaving workshops across northern Europe from the 16th to 18th century and have hung in North Mymms Park, Herts, for over 100 years.
They were purchased by Anglo-American banker Walter Hayes Burns who acquired the estate in 1893 to accommodate his growing art collection.
The £1million contents of the majestic 16th century English country house North Mymms Park, Herts including its eye-catching tapestries, paintings and antique furniture have emerged for sale
One of the five Brussels tapestries to be auctioned depicting the Labours of Hercules, estimated at around £20,000 when it goes up for auction
There are numerous examples of fine British and European furniture in the sale, as well as a Charles I leather travelling chest with an estimate of £5,000
His wife Mary was the sister of financier John Pierpoint Morgan, founder of banking giant JP Morgan, who gifted them two tapestries he purchased from the Palazzo Verde in Genoa.
There is a group of six tapestries based on the life of Julius Caesar which hung in the long gallery of the Grade I listed manor that is near Colney.
For the past 21 years North Mymms Park has been owned by GlaxoSmithKline who have used it as a corporate training centre.
The British pharmaceutical giant has now decided to put the property on the market for an undisclosed sum and are selling its contents.
There are over 100 paintings in the sale, including an oil on canvas painting by George Chambers (1803-1840) depicting the Battle of Trafalgar with an estimate of £25,000.
A painting by French artist Philip Mercier (1689-1760) of a young woman taking off her stocking is expected to fetch £20,000.
A full length portrait of a gentleman thought to be Sir Francis Drake (1594) which hung in the marble hall is valued at £15,000.
A pair of George IV silver candelabra made by London silversmiths Charles and John Fry is tipped to sell for £20,000.
In the everything must go sale at North Mymms Park is a collection of 19 large European tapestries
The tapestries are shown hanging in the great hall within North Mymms Park in the 1930s
A silver mounted stemmed coconut cup from 1807, is estimated to be valued at £1,000
A pair of George IV silver candelabra made by London silversmiths Charles and John Fry is tipped to sell for £20,000
There are numerous examples of fine British and European furniture in the sale, as well as a Charles I leather travelling chest with an estimate of £5,000 and a Persian rug with a guide price of £4,000.
In total, 650 lots feature in the sale which will be held over two days, starting tomorrow (Tues).
Guy Schooling, managing director of Sworders, of Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, who are conducting the sale, said: ‘The great joy of the tapestries is that they have been at the house for over 100 years and have a very strong provenance.
‘Ceres with the four elements’ from Fontainebleau, has an estimated value of £25,000
The tapestries seen hanging in the great hall today are the most valuable items in the sale which is said to be the ‘finest house sale conducted for 30 years’
‘The tapestries are the most valuable items in the sale but there are also some very good paintings, a few exceptional pieces of furniture and a very good silver candelabra.
‘The property is being sold and the owner is selling its contents too which we have valued at £1million.
‘This is the finest house sale we have conducted for 30 years.’
The Beggars Oak’ by John Glover is estimated to be sold for £30,000
Long eared Owl by Robert Mitford, looks likely to be sold for £1,500.
An Italian marble 18th century table is valued at around £5,000
North Mymms Park was built in 1576 belonged to the Coningsby family, High Sheriffs of the county.
During the ownership of Royalist leader Thomas Coningsby, the house was plundered by the Parliamentarians.
It has been remodelled and sold a dozen times and some of its contents were previously sold in a house clearance in 1979.