Recently offered for sale by Christie’s of London was this fabulous, cased set of Georgian silver buttons. They were previously the property of Gloria, the late Dowager Countess Bathurst.
Although only estimated at £200 – £400, the set realised £1,200 at the hammer.
* Image copyright Christie’s of London. Reproduced for research.
The buttons are for the Worms Head Hunt and date from 1794 or thereabouts, and show a sailing ship approaching the Worms Head Rock. The legend reads ‘WORMS HEAD HUNT 1794 TRY’
*Image copyright Christie’s of London. Reproduced for research.
This set is third that I have encountered. One is in the hands of a private collector, the other featured in the Sept-Dec 1903 edition of The Connoisseur Illustrated. They are mentioned as being a framed set in an exhibition at Cambridge House (I think the old In and Out) of Sir Walter Gilbey’s collections. The frame includes an engraved silver plaque giving the following details:
‘BUTTONS WORN BY MEMBERS WORMS HEAD HUNT 1794. The rock from which the hunt takes its name bounds the south of RHOSSILI BAY on the rocky shore of the Bristol Channel in Glamorganshire.’
Although no mention is made on the buttons or the plaque, the description in The Connoisseur says they are for the Worms Head Otter Hunt.
This causes slight uncertainty over exactly what the Worms Head Hunt was. Was it a land-based otter hunt that just chose a ship and rock as its emblem? Was it a sea-going otter hunt, which is fairly likely in the 1700s, especially on that coastline. Or does it have nothing to do with otters at all, and is (perhaps) a seal or whale hunt? If a maritime operation, the ornate buttons for ‘members’ seems unlikely in my personal opinion.
[Editorial Update April 2025]
The following, written in 1906 is from our archives at BHD
” Amongst the hunting relics owned by Sir Walter Gilbey there is set of silver hunting buttons of the Worms Head Hunt. which hunted the Gower district in the 18th century The next snippet written by Sir Walter Gilbey in 1912 added the following “The button of the long extinct Worm’s Head Hunt is probably unique. The device shows the physical feature of the country from which the pack derived its name. Worm’s Head is a· lofty pinnacle of rock on the south side of Rhossili Bay on the Glamorganshire coast. The land, including the rock, was the property of the Talbot and the Worm’s Head Hunt was one of several which existed in George IlI’s time and pursued fox, stag and hare.”
Any further information regarding the Worms Head Hunt would be very much appreciated.
‘Firebrand’
