Set of buttons owned by John Peel sell for almost £9,000 at auction

The 18th century silver hunting buttons were expected to fetch around £3,000 to £5,000 at auction but instead went for £4,000 higher than expected at £8,974.

The buttons were gifted by John Peel’s widow Mary Peel, to her housekeeper, Sarah Bean and were then passed down through generations of the Bean family, until they were sold by her Great-Great Grandson in 2003.

Close up of one of the buttons (Image: Chorley's)John Peel, who is the subject of the famous 19th century song ‘D'ye ken John Peel’, was a farmer from Cumbria.

He was known for his overriding passion and dedication to hunting.

He had a large family of 12 children and a farm to manage, but all of his spare time was devoted to hunting.

Peel hunted in the traditional Lake District manner at the time, which was to ride your horse to the hunting area and dismount, in order to hunt on foot.

His relationship to his horse is believed to have been extraordinary, with the animal knowing his master’s quirks so well, that at the end of each day's hunt the horse would find its own way to the finishing point, to wait for Peel.

Peel owned a large pack of hounds, which became as renowned as himself, with some featuring in the later verses of the popular song.

His names for them were: Lively, Britain, Charmer, Burthwaite, Stormy, Welcome, Dancer, Crafty, Bellman, Towler, Delly, Drunkard, Glory, Lifter, Bowler Lucy, Merry, Lilter, Royal, Lofty, Melody, Leader and Ranter.

The John Peel song is thought to have originated in 1832, at the end of a tiring day’s hunting, when Peel and a friend, John Woodcock Graves (1795-1886) were relaxing and chatting about the hunt at Graves’ home in the village of Caldbeck, Cumbria.

Graves' daughter came into the room humming an old Borders tune called Bonnie Annie or Canny Annie, that her grandmother had always sung to her.

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Soon they were all chatting about it and Graves grabbed a pen and paper to write down the words to fit the music.

It is said that even though Peel was a hardened hunter, he cried with emotion on hearing it.

The song had its debut in the Rising Sun Inn in Caldbeck and later became a well-known tune across Cumbria.