Chess set made from Nelson’s HMS Victory

Here's a little bit of history, literally: a specially commissioned chess set has been created in collaboration with Diarmuid Byron-O'Connor, the sculptor. The very lifelike chess pieces are the English Navy on one side, led by Lord Admiral Nelson and cast in silver. The French on the other side, led by Villeneuve, the naval officer in charge of the French fleet, are cast in silver and then gilded.

But the the squares of the chess board are made from certified oak and mahogany taken from the original HMS Victory - on which Nelson served - when the ship was refitted in 1905. The copper corners on the board are from the copper plating on the original ship's hull. The chess set featured in the recent selling exhibition called Silver in the Study at the London Silver Vaults and is available from Langfords’ shop at the Silver Vaults, Chancery Lane WC2A 1QS.

Byron-O’Connor is best known for his Peter Pan statue outside Great Ormond Street Hospital.