The Friends of Boston Manor were delighted to receive a message from a lady in the north of England who had bought a collection of costume jewellery at an auction in Sheffield, only to discover that the box in which it had been stored carried the name of Colonel Clitherow of Boston House. The box, in the shape of a large book bound in red leather, was lined with padded green velvet and is known to have been made to house the addresses and testimonials presented to Colonel James Clitherow on his retirement from public life in 1839.

Unfortunately, the testimonials were no longer in the box, but we know from Thomas Faulkner’s book on Brentford, written a few years later, that one of them was from the inhabitants of the parish of New Brentford ‘in gratitude for many public services rendered to ourselves.’ There were others from the various institutions to which the Colonel had belonged, including one from representatives of the Brentford Magisterial District, which was accompanied by a handsome silver epergne with engraved panels and figures of Faith, Justice and Charity. There is a print of the epergne in the British Museum’s collection

The owner has very kindly donated the ‘book-box’ to Boston Manor House, and it is hoped to have it on display there with some copies of some of the addresses that it once contained.