A Barton couple who went on a Bermuda cruise to watch the 2017 America's Cup got within inches of a piece of the Burton's history.

Adrian and Maz Wedgwood went on a 26-night Fred Olsen cruise in June so they could watch the America's Cup – the world’s most prestigious yacht race series – off Bermuda.

The couple had the opportunity to see the trophy - known as "the Auld Mug" - and is a giant silver ewer weighing 134 ounces and standing 27 inches tall and is the oldest international sporting trophy in the world.

This cup was purchased from London-based jeweller Robert Garrard in 1848 by Field Marshal Henry William Paget, the First Marquess of Anglesey.

Sir William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert. Born 1506, died 1563.
Sir William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert. Born 1506, died 1563.

Paget was born in 1768 and was a descendant of Sir William Paget. It was Sir William who acquired the possessions of Burton Abbey at the dissolution of the monastery and although the family’s main residence was Beaudesert House, in Cannock Chase, they often occupied the Manor House within Burton Abbey.

Field Marshal Henry William Paget is remembered as an heroic soldier and at 25 he raised the 80th Regiment of Foot, or the Staffordshire Volunteers.

Sir Henry William Paget, the 1st Marquess of Anglesey. Born 1768, died 1854.
Sir Henry William Paget, the 1st Marquess of Anglesey. Born 1768, died 1854.

It was during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, when riding alongside the Duke of Wellington that he was hit by a canon shot, resulting in the amputation of his right leg.

As for the America's Cup, Henry William Paget bought the silver ewer in 1848 and presented it to the Royal Yacht Squadron, which said: "The cup’s name comes from the Yacht America which, in 1851, won the Royal Yacht Squadron's race round the Isle of Wight for a Cup of One Hundred Sovereigns.

"The cup is named after the yacht, not after the country. Yacht America was built for a syndicate of American yachtsmen and visited these shores in response to The Great Exhibition of 1851."

In those days, cups were not returned but were won outright. The cup therefore went to America, which won the race.

Maz Wedgewood and her husband Adrian sailed on the Fred Olsen cruise ship Boudicca to watch the America’s Cup action.
Maz Wedgewood and her husband Adrian sailed on the Fred Olsen cruise ship Boudicca to watch the America’s Cup action.

In 1857 the cup was presented to the New York Yacht Club as a perpetual challenge trophy and first raced for in 1870. This year, Emirates Team New Zealand beat the trophy holders, Oracle, of the US.

For the Wedgwood family, it was proof you can go thousands of miles and still meet Burton history.

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