Page:Highways and Byways in Lincolnshire.djvu/259

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THE KOH-I-NOOR

The Welland, near Fulney, Spalding.

Countess. The house, part of which was rebuilt after a fire in 1898, has the appearance of a brick and stone Queen Anne mansion. In it are some of the exquisite wood carvings by Wallis of Louth, some of whose work was admired in the first "Great Exhibition" of 1851, attracting almost as much attention as the Koh-i-noor Diamond, then in its rough form, as worn by "Akbar the Great," by Nadir Shah, and by "The Lion of the Punjab," Runjeet Sing. It is now in the crown of the Queen of England, and, being re-cut, is much smaller, but far more brilliant. In addition to a fine hall and staircase there is a picture gallery built in 1807 to take the paintings and sculptures which had been collected by Mr. John Aufrere of Chelsea, father-in-law of the first Lord Yarborough. The gem of this collection is the antique bust of Niobe, purchased in Rome by Nollekens the sculptor, who has himself contributed