sold were of dubious provenance. His purchase of a great auk egg in 1894 for 300 guineas, a huge sum at the time, caused a public stir. By the time of Sir Vauncey's death, the taxidermy collection numbered several thousand cases. Although some of this was subsequently sold to meet heavy death duties, much remained at Calke, only coming to light sixty years later. He considered Calke Abbey as a bird sanctuary and did not allow the entry of motor cars into the estate and electricity was not installed even in his daughters' lifetime, and only after his death was the ancient plumbing system replaced. A possible explanation for this intense dislike of the modern world is that Sir Vauncey had been privately educated at Calke in his youth, and did not attend any public school or university. Accordingly, he did not possess anything in the way of an open mind, with isolation on the estate merely compounding his antiquated views and opinions. His isolationism reminded many of his ancestor Sir Henry Crewe, 7th Baronet, who has been called "the isolated baronet", known to communicate even with his servants only through written letters. Harpur-Crew sometimes communicated with his daughters through letters. Harpur Crewe's son Richard, unlike his father, took an interest in motorcars and aeroplanes, but he was always of delicate health and died of cancer aged 40 in 1921, before his father. There were no further surviving heirs of the 1st baronet in the male line and, on the death of Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe in 1924, the baronetcy became extinct. The estate passed to the descendants of Sir Vauncey's youngest daughter Frances, and in 1985 to the National Trust. His lepidoptera specimens were sold in 412 lots by Stevens' Auction Rooms. His bird specimens were sold in 6 lots. References 1846 births 1924 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England High Sheriffs of Derbyshire