The Marquess of Anglesey's rare George III period satinwood and ebony side cabinet with inset panels of Chinese lacquer. English, circa 1790. Photo courtesy Godson & Coles

LONDON.- This week marked the 200th Anniversary of the momentous Battle of Waterloo. Viewed by many as the day that decided the fate of Europe, the Battle of Waterloo was an epic showdown between two of history’s military giants. 

To celebrate this historical occasion, Godson & Coles will offer at Masterpiece London a historical and rare George III period cabinet that belonged to Henry William Paget, The First Marquess of Anglesey, who fought alongside the Duke of Wellington on this day in 1815. 

Henry, Lord Paget (1768-1854), Marquess of Anglesey.

Henry, Lord Paget (1768-1854) took over Plas Newydd on his father’s death in 1812. This remarkable soldier was considered le plus beau garcon d’Angleterre and never lost his looks. He was described as ‘A tall, well-made man; wild, martial face, high forehead, with a large hawk’s nose, which makes a small, deep angle where it joins the forehead. A great deal of ease in his manners’. He entered parliament at 22, and at 25 he embarked on what was to become an extremely successful career within the army. After Napoleon’s escape from Elba in 1815, Uxbridge (as he was then called) was appointed commander of the Allied cavalry in the Netherlands (second in command to Wellington). His brilliant, if impetuous, handling of the cavalry at the battle of Waterloo on 18th June 1815, earned him lasting renown. His right leg was smashed by grapeshot as he was riding off the field with the Duke at the end of the day. Looking down at his shattered limb, he is supposed to have exclaimed: ‘By God, sir, I’ve lost a leg!’ To which the Duke, momentarily removing the spy-glass from his eye, replied: ‘By God, sir, so you have! – at once resuming his scrutiny of the retreating French. Within three weeks of the amputation of his limb, he was back in London. The Prince Regent (later George IV) at once made him the Marquess of Anglesey, declaring ‘that he loved him… and that he was his best officer and his best subject’. 

Some years later Anglesey was provided with an early example of the recently invented articulated wooden leg. The same type, known as the Anglesey leg, was still being commercially advertised as late as 1914. One of those worn by Anglesey is maintained in working condition at Plas Newydd. 

Plas Newydd, Anglesey.

Plas Newydd (New Place or New Mansion) sits on the edge of the Menai Strait, on the island of Anglesey. It is a beautiful mansion set amongst stunning gardens and parkland and that was greatly altered by architect James Wyatt in the late 18th century. He refaced it and blended the towers into the front of the building and made it to look the way it still stands today. 

In 1812, the estate passed to Henry William Paget, whose father had changed his surname from Bayly to Paget. Henry William was created the first Marquess of Anglesey in 1815 for his heroism at the Battle of Waterloo, where he lost a leg.

However, having lost a limb did not in any way slow him down. He was married twice, first Caroline Villiers with whom he had eight children, and then with Charlotte Wellesley (nee Cadogan) with whom he sired further ten. Charlotte Wellesley was married to the Duke of Wellington’s younger brother at the time she met Henry Paget and after a celebrated elopement they were finally married in 1810 after costly a divorce from his first wife. 

In 1817 a column was erected within sight of Plas Newydd by in the inhabitants of Anglesey and Caernarfon ‘in grateful commemoration of the distinguished military achievements of the countryman’. This column was crowned with a colossal bronze statue of the Marquess in 1860. 

A rare George III period satinwood and ebony side cabinet with inset panels of Chinese lacquer. English, circa 1790 

The top with rounded corners banded in satinwood and ebony with a central panel veneered in Chinese lacquer with a scene of a palace within a landscape; the frieze similarly banded and inlaid over two doors with lacquer panels depicting a palace surrounded by trees and rocks by the waterside and opening to reveal adjustable shelves, the sides similarly decorated; the turned columns decorated gold English japanning in gold raised on turned feet 

Height: 36 in (91.5cm) Width: 43 ¼ in (110cm)Depth: 15 ¾ in (40cm) 

Provenance: The Marquess of Anglesey, Plas Newydd, Anglesey 
Thence by descent to Lord Rupert Paget