POSSESSIONS owned by the late Lady Maria Coventry raised thousands of pounds at an auction in Malvern.

Phillip Serrell, from the Worcestershire Auctioneers, said hundreds of people crowded into the Malvern Saleroom yesterday with telephone bidders ringing in from America, Australia, Italy and France.

Mr Serrell said: "We had the biggest crowd of people here than I can remember in years."

"Lady Maria was a popular lady and there were lots of people here trying to buy a keepsake."

Among the most profitable items were a large diamond and sapphire bow brooch which made £7,300 and a large diamond and sapphire pendant which raised £9,800.

A surprising sale was a Raoul Millais oil painting which was estimated at between £300 and £500 but raised £1,950 and a monochrome engraving of the ninth Earl of Coventry, estimated at £100, also exceeded expectations bringing in £1,050.

Mr Serrell said quirky items such as fox buttons, Croome Hunt buttons and a teddy bear had also proved popular.

He said: "As well as the bona fide antique dealers who travel all over there were a lot of Worcestershire people here, hunting people, who wanted a souvenir."

However, Mr Serrell refused to say how much the auction had made in total.

The sale was held following the death of Lady Maria, aged 76, the third daughter of the late tenth Earl of Coventry, on Saturday, November 17.