A signet ring with links to Horatio Nelson’s “secret” daughter discovered in a Norfolk field is expected to make £3,000-£5,000 at Hansons Auctioneers’ Roughton saleroom this month <sept 27>.
The impressive gold ring was found on land belonging to Trunch Hall, near North Walsham, and bears the crest of the manor’s owners – the Ward family.
It was found last September by metal detectorist and history buff Michaela Betts who has lived in Trunch for 30 years.
She said: “Both my husband and I love history and metal detecting. We are avid collectors and even have our own mini museum. We love the story and research which often brings surprising results. The ring was found on land that belonged to the estate of the Ward family and it bears the confirmed family crest.”
In 1822 the Revd Philip Ward, who was born at the hall, married Horatia Nelson, the only surviving child of the legendary Norfolk-born admiral and his famous mistress, Lady Emma Hamilton.
When Philip Ward met 18-year-old Horatia she was enjoying a relatively quiet life in Burnham Westgate, 25 miles from where the ring was found, after a turbulent childhood.
Born in 1801, Horatia’s true parentage was kept secret by her famous parents (both of whom were married to other people) to avoid public scandal.
Rather than calling her their own, the pair dubbed Horatia their godchild, claiming she was the orphan of a fictitious sailor whose real mother had died in childbirth.
But, facing financial destitution after Nelson died at Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Horatia and Lady Hamilton fled to France where she died, aged 49, from overuse of alcohol and laudanum when Horatia was 14.
After her death the teenager was taken in by the family of Nelson’s sister, Susannah Bolton in Burnham Westgate, 25 miles from Trunch, where Philip Ward was a curate.
The Rostrum auctioneer, Mark Nelson-Griffiths, said: “While the ring dates to the early 17th century at which time Philip Ward’s grandfather Marmaduke (1710-1772) was living at the hall, it may well have been handed down the generations.
“Whichever way it came to be left in that field may never be known, but it is another wonderful and tangible link to Britain’s greatest naval hero and the county of his birth.”
After their marriage, Philip Ward and Horatia moved to other Norfolk parishes including Stanhoe and Bircham Newton, all close to her father’s birthplace of Burnham Thorpe.
The coat of arms on the ring has a single flory cross below an open-mouthed wolf’s head atop a knight’s helmet.
Michaela Betts continued: “The knight’s helmet is slightly open which tells us that this ring belonged to a nobleman of high standing. The ribbon around the knight’s neck stands for an oath or pledge to do their duty. At the left side of the shield you see a half crescent upside down which normally refers to a second son in the family.”
Auction Details
Auction: Norfolk Jewellery, Silver, Watch & Fine Art Auction
Auction date: 27th September 2025 | 10am
Location: Hansons Norfolk Saleroom
Auction contact: [email protected]
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk | www.the-saleroom.com
