The locket comprises a glazed compartment within an oval gold frame.
One side has entwined initials overlaid with a marquess’s coronet and the other contains two locks of hair.
It is thought that the initials are those of Isabella, wife of Brownlow, 2nd Marquess of Exeter (1795-1867), entwined with those of her much loved son Adelbert.
Lord Adelbert lived and worked as a missionary in Canada for many years, where he would later drown in a boating accident.
Mourning rings and lockets, often containing the hair of a loved one, were extremely popular in the Victorian period, though, in this case, as Lord Adelbert outlived his mother, it may be that the locket marked his departure for a life in Canada.
