Jewellery, Watches, Silver & Objects of Vertu

An 18ct gold signet ring, the oval panel bearing the intaglio crest of the Bromley-Davenport family - the head of a felon, with a hangman’s noose around his neck, bearing maker’s mark for Charles Green & Son and partial hallmark (misstruck), ring size J. £220-£280

The crest of the Bromley-Davenport family, the head of a thief with a hangman's noose around his necks, dates from the 1250s when Roger de Davenport, Lord of Davenport held the hereditary office of Master Serjeant of the Peace for Macclesfield, Cheshire, giving him the authority to make life and death decisions over poachers.

The family resided at Capesthorne Hall, Macclesfield, which they still own. Similar heads, carved in stone, appear on the gate post of Capesthorne Hall.