Burnden Aces

Nat Lofthouse Auction Raises More Than £100,000

• November 06, 2013 | By Chris Mann
• Short URL: http://b-ac.es/14268

•  
• Nat Lofthouse
• 

• See Also

• In Pictures: The Story Behind The Nat Lofthouse Statue

An auction consisting of Nat Lofthouse memorabilia has raised more than £100,000, after going under the hammer on Wednesday.

The auction, which was held at Bonhams, in Chester, resulted in many of the main items being sold to Bolton Council, who will now place them on permanent display in the town's museum.

The council, who formed a consortium with both NCP and Bolton at Home, managed to claim 13 items, including England shirts and an FA Cup winner's medal, at a cost of more than £75,000. The money raised will go directly to Lofthouse's children, who wanted to sell the memorabilia as they have no dependents to hand them down to.

Below is a list of the 13 items secured by Bolton Council:

- 1958 FA Cup winners medal
- 1958 FA Cup final football
- 1953 FA Cup final shirt and shorts
- 1953 FA Cup runners-up medal
- England Cap - England v Austria (Lion of Vienna match)
- 1958/59 England v USSR cap
- 1954/55 England v Scotland shirt
- Nat Lofthouse's OBE medal
- Bronze bust of Nat commemorating 50 years with BWFC
- Silver Lion of Vienna trophy
- Collection of letters and telegrams from Nat's career
- Nat's 'This is Your Life' book
- Silver casket and scroll, presented by Bolton Council, giving him freedom of the borough

Speaking to The Bolton News, Cllr Tony Connell, the council's cabinet member for culture, said it was important that many key items available for auction remained in the town where Lofthouse dedicated his life.

"It's clear that Nat Lofthouse was much loved by many people and his achievements are something that we are all proud of in Bolton," he said.

"When the opportunity arose to buy the memorabilia at auction, there was a great wealth of support from the public to try and keep some of that history in his hometown.

"We are fortunate to have a very supportive Friends of Bolton Museum and Art Gallery group, who were keen for us to try to obtain some items and we received further support from some of our other partners.

"We are delighted to have been able to secure some of his vast collection and will be arranging for it to be included in our popular Bolton Lives gallery in the museum."

Details of when the collection will go on display at the museum will be released in due course.

• 
• Burnden Aces

• 
• @BurndenAces