High society touched by history: precious objects and property from the estate of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, will host in London this May.

• Author: Cossons, Malcolm

If dramas such as Downton Abbey grip viewers with the wealthy and complex lives of their aristocratic characters, then the truth Is sometimes far more riveting.

One such story has come to light through a sale that Sotheby's will host In London In May. West Horsley Place In Surrey is a beautiful estate established In the 11th century. While slightly crumbling, the old house retains a grandeur and, for most of the 20th century, was the country home of the Marquess and Marchioness of Crewe and then their only daughter Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, who passed away last year aged 99.

David MacDonald, specialist in charge of the sale recounts his first visit to the house: "It was as If the guests from a grand house party had just left and time had stopped. Opening the warped shutters In the State Drawing Room for the first time In decades was quite an experience--to see this amazing space, with its crimson coloured silk walls Illuminated again by the sun."

The life of Mary affords an Insight on a vanished world and her collection presents the opportunity to acquire artworks touched by history. Mary Evelyn Hungerford Crewe-Milnes (named after her godmother Queen Mary) was born Into a world of tradition and high society. Her mother was daughter of British Prime Minister and Rothschild heiress, while her father was the handsome Earl of Crewe--their London mansion was frequented by bright young things, politicians and the grandees of society. Indeed, it was here that Winston Churchill met his future wife

In 1935 aged 19, Mary married one of the most eligible aristocrats In Britain --Bobo, the 22-year-old Duke of Roxburghe. They moved to live In his home, Floors Castle, which sat In 80,000 acres on the border with Scotland. Together they shared travel, sport and entertaining--even the outbreak of war could not keep them apart, as Mary travelled to the Middle East to be with her husband.

After the war, however, things began to go wrong for the couple. In 1953, they divorced, yet famously Mary stayed...