Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, 1977

This spectacular mid19th century house was originally built for the Rothschild family but eventually passed through marriage to the Earls of Rosebery. In 1973 the sixth Earl passed away and the contents of the house were offered to the government in lieu of death duties. This deal was turned down and after many years of legal wrangling, the executors finally appointed Sotheby’s auction house to sell off the collection. Here we see the nine-day sale underway in 1977, with a fascinating cross section of bidders – judging by the car park.

Nearest the camera we see a Triumph 2500S with its Stag-type alloy wheels, a blue Hillman Avenger, a Mini Clubman estate, a Mercedesbenz W114 saloon, a Renault 4, another Avenger and the perennial antique dealer’s favourite, a capacious Volvo estate. An early 240-series, we think. The next row starts with a black cab, followed by

‘The sale raised £6 million but the collection was broken up’

another Triumph saloon – this time a 2000 with a Webasto roof. The Rover P5 coupé has one too, then comes a Rolls-royce Silver Shadow, a Hillman Minx Series VI, a Morris Marina coupé and an extremely flashy Bentley S1 Continental drophead - but which coachbuilder? In the humbler clump to its right we see a Volvo 144, a Hillman Hunter, a Mk 4 Cortina, a Mini pick-up, a beige Capri MKII and a Series 2 XJ Jaguar/daimler.

Luxurious highlights further back include two more Silver Shadows, a brace of Daimler DS420S, a Mercedes-benz W116 S-class and most amazingly of all, a 1964 Cadillac convertible.

The sale raised £6 million but the collection was sadly lost to the nation and eventually dispersed across the globe. Shortly after, the house was sold to the Maharishi Foundation (does one of the Rolls-royces belong to Mahesh Yogi?) who sold it once more in 1999 to a property developer. Despite mooted plans for a luxury hotel development, Mentmore remains disused today.