LOVE letters which tell of the long-ago affair between Lily Langtree and former Lytham squire Talbot Clifton are being put on public display for one day only.

Varying in length and degrees of intensity, the 16 documents are currently owned by Poulton man John Clarke but he has agreed for copies to be made and shown exclusively at Lytham Hall on August 9.

None of the letters, which are described as very lovey-dovey, are dated but historians believe the affair between the young bachelor and the mistress of King Edward VII took place in the 1890s.

There is also circumstantial evidence suggesting the affair continued during Miss Langtree's liaison with the king.

Excerpts from some of the letters have been published in a limited edition book about the Cliftons - The Clifton Chronicles - but have never been on public display.

Now this has been made possible thanks to the efforts of under-graduate George Eckton who is on a work placement at Lytham Hall.

During a dinner where his new job was being discussed, one of his family mentioned a friend, John Clarke, whose grandfather had discovered the letters among a vat of waste paper he bought in a farm sale 60 years ago for thruppence.

Mr Eckton told the Citizen: "We've had to copy them because the originals are too valuable to put on display - other letters written by Lily Langtree fetched £8,000 20 years ago.

"We don't even know if the owner will agree to show them again. This could be the public's only chance."

People will be able to see the letters between 11am and 5pm and the hall will be open at the same time. Admission is £3 for adults and £1.50 for children.

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