The Trunks across the Thames elephants sold for more than £240,000 in one night for Thames Hospice. A mini signed by Lando Norris fetched £20,000.

The elephants that stood around Windsor, Eton and Slough this summer have raised more than £240,000 for Thames Hospice in a single evening. The Herd under the Hammer auction was held on Thursday 15 October at De Vere Beaumont Estate in Old Windsor.

The hospice announced the total on Friday (Thames Hospice). It says the money helps fund hospice care for people and families across East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire.

The quick answer

  • Raised: more than £240,000 at the auction alone.
  • Top lot named: Elenorris, McLaren’s mini elephant signed by Lando Norris, at £20,000.
  • Most visited sculpture: Stomp to Attention, sold for £12,000.
  • Still to come: the final total for the whole trail, which the hospice says it will announce soon.

The night

More than 130 guests were in the room and another 140 bidders joined online. Harry Ballin of Windsor Auctions took the bids.

The highlights the hospice picked out:

  • Elenorris, McLaren’s mini elephant, signed by Lando Norris: £20,000
  • Stomp to Attention, the most visited sculpture on the trail: £12,000
  • an original watercolour by the author and illustrator Charlie Mackesy

The hospice’s auction brochure listed 28 sculptures: 22 large elephants and 6 minis, plus two special pieces of art (auction brochure). The large ones stand 1.6 metres tall and 2.2 metres long, and weigh about 59kg. Buyers have to collect them within 14 days.

Guests seated at round tables in a high, vaulted room lit in green during the Herd under the Hammer auction for Thames Hospice
Guests at the Herd under the Hammer auction on Thursday night. Photo: via Thames Hospice.

Dr Rachael de Caux, the hospice’s chief executive, said: “Raising more than £240,000 at the auction alone is an amazing achievement, and we are so grateful to everyone who has played a part.”

Two of the hospice’s nurses spoke about what the money pays for, and got a standing ovation.

The trail behind it

Trunks across the Thames was the hospice’s first public art trail, run with Wild in Art. It ran from 13 July to 13 September. The hospice’s campaign page describes:

  • 30 large elephants on the streets, in parks and open spaces from Windsor to Slough
  • around 60 mini elephants in community spaces along the route
  • designs by professional artists, schools and community groups

Amazon was the headline partner, alongside Iron Mountain Data Centers and local businesses (Thames Hospice, 18 May). Amazon’s own elephant, Keeper of Memories by Sam Morris, stood in Windsor Great Park. Its plan to expand Bray Studios goes to councillors on Thursday.

The auction comes two months after the Care Quality Commission rated Thames Hospice Outstanding, following an inspection in January (Thames Hospice, 11 August). Its hospice is at Bray, between Windsor and Maidenhead.

What it means for you

  • If you bought an elephant: the brochure says the hospice stores it for a maximum of 14 days after the auction, so collection is due by Thursday 29 October. Delivery can be arranged for a fee.
  • If you miss the elephants: they are going to their new owners, so most will leave public view. The hospice has not said where each one is going.
  • If you want to keep supporting the hospice: it told the council this year that it depends on more than 1,200 volunteers, many in its shops (RBWM officer report). Its website lists the ways to volunteer and give.

We will add the final trail total when the hospice publishes it.

Sources