Rare silverware is the Baskerville's

A treasure trove of family silver which has been hidden in the back of a wardrobe for more than 60 years has sparked a mystery even Sherlock Holmes might have had a problem solving.

The 40 pieces of silver, which date back to the 1780s, were owned by the Baskerville family - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration for one of the most famous detective intrigues of all time.

They had been hidden at Clyro Court in Radnorshire, Powys, until Martin Heath, an antique valuer from Shrewsbury, was asked to evaluate the contents of the house.

The crest of the hound with a broken spear through its jaw and five drips of blood falling to the ground from the tip is on every piece of the dinner service.

Mr Heath said this interpretation of the crest is the earliest ever recorded for the family.

He added: "I really don't know how these pieces have stayed hidden for 63 years. It is rare to find one piece of silver with the Baskerville mark but finding 40 pieces is unheard of.

"There is a strong connection between this silver and Arthur Conan Doyle's book."

Every piece of the silver was bought by the present owner at Clyro in 1945 when the estate was sold for death duties.

"The Sherlock Holmes novel was written in the court and the silver used at fine banquets that Conan Doyle would have attended in his numerous visits to the house," said Mr Heath.

The hound Black Vaughan, as local legend has it, roamed the moors of Hergest Ridge overlooking and the court and was the inspiration for the book.

Conon Doyle's The Hounds of the Baskervilles, featuring Sherlock Holmes, is one of the most famous detective stories ever written.

In the story, the old and noble Baskerville family is threatened by a curse: "A great, black beast, shaped like a hound, yet larger than any hound that ever mortal eye has rested upon" terrorises and kills any family member who comes to live at the Baskerville estate. It is Holmes who, together with his friend Dr Watson, solves the mystery.

The family asked Conan Doyle to change the setting to Dartmoor avoid too many keen fans of the great detective locating Clyro Court.

The pieces of silver will come up for auction at Bigwood auctioneers of Stratford- upon-Avon on June 27.

For more information contact (01789) 269415.

By Rhea Parsons