A couple who bought the furniture from a dolls house believed to be modelled on a Lacock building want to track down the person who owns the house.

On Saturday, Robert Hunt-Grubbe, of Eastwell Manor, Potterne, paid £2,600 for more than 20 pieces of furniture, which includes a four poster bed, a tin bath and drawers, for his wife Julia’s dolls house.

Now he wants to find out who bought the dolls house at auction because of his family connection to the Spye Park carpenters who made the pieces as well as the house.

In the 1800s, one of Mr Hunt-Grubbe’s ancestors Frances Ann Hunt-Grubbe married John Bayntun Starky, whose family owned Spye Park.

Mr Hunt-Grubbe believes it is likely the family would have known of the dolls house and the furniture.

He said: “Around six or seven years ago my wife had an exquisite model made of the red brick house which is next door to our home.

“I saw last week’s story in the Wiltshire Times and went down to the auction in Chippenham to get some new furniture for it.

“I wasn’t so interested in the dolls house, as we already have one, so I went for the furniture because of the family connection. I am surprised the house and the furniture were different lots at the auction. Since the auction there’s been a lot of interest in the house and I think it would be nice to track it down.”

Mr Hunt-Grubbe said if he could find the house, he would be keen to put it and the furniture on display at Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes.

At the auction, the dolls house, believed to be based on a Lacock building, was bought for £420 by a woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, but is believed to be from the local area.

Mrs Hunt-Grubbe said: “The workmanship on the furniture is quite brilliant and I think it would be lovely for the house and the furniture to be together again.”

If anyone has any information about the house, call Chippenham Auction Rooms on 01249 444544 or email chippauctions@btconnect.com.