Episode 4 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts. With £200 each...

I want something shiny.

..a classic car and a goal - to scour Britain for antiques.

I like a rummage.

-I can't resist.

-The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction.

-But it's no mean feat.

-Sorry!

Why do I always do this to myself?

There'll be worthy winners...

-Give us a kiss.

-..and valiant losers.

-Come on, stick 'em up.

-So, will it be the high road to glory...

-Onwards and upwards.

-..or the slow road to disaster?

-Take me home.

-This is Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

Would you believe it?

It's the penultimate leg of our road trip,

with a pair of auctioneering favourites -

Charles Hanson and Catherine Southon.

-Do you cycle?

-No.

-Maybe us two on a tandem, a bicycle made for two.

-That would be nice.

-Yeah, I think so.

-Sounds delightful(!)

But instead, our pair are whisking around the countryside in their

gorgeous green MGB GT, which has space for an unlikely passenger.

What is this armrest thing?

It's not an armrest...

Hey, look, careful!

-What is it?

-Listen, that is my link to history.

-It's my metal detector.

-DETECTOR BEEPS

That is the most ridiculous thing ever.

Harsh!

Our pair of treasure hunters started the week all square, with £200 each.

Catherine now has £317.80 squirreled away.

But Derby lad Charles has taken a commanding lead,

gathering an impressive £695.64.

Say hello to Catherine.

Is she treasure, or not?

-Is she treasure or not?

-DETECTOR BEEPS

Oh, you're beeping a bit.

That's a bit intermittent, isn't it?

Faint praise, eh?

There's plenty of time, though, for Charles to scour the land,

as our pair scurry up and down the country.

This week, they've been meandering their way north,

blasting around the Midlands and the North West.

They're headed for Congleton, in Cheshire,

and will clock up 700 miles.

Today, they start off in Macclesfield, in Cheshire,

and will amble their way to an auction in Nottingham.

Right, you two, what's this trip really all about?

Time for some shopping, methinks.

# Do the hokey cokey And you get out the car

-BOTH:

-# That's what it's all about! #

All together now!

Oh, very good - if only in tune.

Catherine's hopping out at her first shopping stop -

Sawmill Architectural Antiques.

Get out of here! See you.

It's littered with reclaimed and salvaged items.

Plenty to get stuck into.

-Hello.

-Good morning.

-I'm Catherine.

-Nice to meet you.

-Jack.

-Good to see you, Jack.

-Well, I'm going to have a look around.

-Yeah.

-Thanks, Jack.

No problem at all.

What's that? It's quite cute.

A traditional antique as such.

So this is a foot warmer?

-Yes.

-And you put your little tootsies on here, and inside...

..you've got your...

This little metal container, and you put hot water...

-inside there, I guess.

-That's right, yes.

It's interesting. And it's a great bit of history.

Charles would like that, but...

Who wants one?

Fair point. Best keep looking, eh?

There is something to be found - my metal detector is going off,

I can feel it. Beep-beep-beep!

Don't you start.

While Catherine's been rummaging,

Charles has pootled the MGB east to the glorious spa town of Buxton -

home to his first shop, Circus Home and Salvage.

-Good morning!

-Good morning.

-How are you?

-Very well, and you?

Nice to see you. Charles Hanson.

-Hi, I'm Leigh.

-Good to see you, on this busy day.

It's lovely. What a gorgeous shop you've got.

-Thank you.

-Is there much next door, behind the curtain?

-This is it.

-This is it? Well, I like it. They say small is beautiful.

Do they? At least you won't get lost.

It's not full of clutter, there's no silver.

There's no porcelain, it's just a really interesting shop,

with a certain wow factor, that's good.

And this has a wow factor, I love this chest.

Almost like a treasure chest, isn't it?

You've got these, erm...

straps, probably in tin.

She's nice and light, and I love that handle on there,

and you'll see how over the years that handle has fallen.

Beautifully made.

And if I open it up, like that - oops - on the inside...

And what a shame, it's got a split just in the bottom there,

you can see the daylight through there.

But it is maybe 1830, maybe second quarter of the 19th century.

It's priced at 48, Leigh.

-Right.

-What could be the best price?

-Could be £30.

-Really? Mm. I'm going to mental-note that...

-OK.

-..as I continue my circuit.

I'll wave the flag for Queen and country.

-Almost goes with my jacket, doesn't it?

-Yes, it does.

Here we are in Middle England. Bit of local history.

There we go.

-This, I quite like.

-That's why I hide it away,

cos generally it gets rattled a lot.

-Does it give you a headache?

-I'll allow you to give it a go.

-Can I?

-Do you know how to use it?

The reason I quite like...

I'm a football fan, and I support Derby County.

-Right.

-Are you a Derby fan?

Not at all. Not any sort of football.

Never mind, Charles.

I think in Nottingham,

this could go down quite well because if you're a football fan,

or if you were a fan back in the...

I suppose, what, 1920s, '30s...?

-'20s, I think, yeah.

-1920s, '30s, rather than chant,

you may have done this.

RATTLING

Isn't that wonderful?

You can see why I keep it hidden in the corner.

You want it gone, don't you?

-Oh, sorry.

-Maybe.

-It would be good.

-What could be the best price on your perhaps 1920s

football rattle, Leigh?

-£24?

-Really? £24.

-Mm.

-I'll mental-note...

-OK.

-..and continue.

I hope you're remembering all of this, Charles.

Oh, hang on, there's more.

-That's interesting.

-Mm-hm.

A mother of pearl penknife.

What we look for are the more interesting, er...

multi-purpose tools within.

I would have thought it was probably made in Birmingham, or Sheffield,

and would date to around...

what do we think, just pre-war?

Yeah. I'd say '30s.

It's got a bit of damage, but all there.

-Yeah.

-How much could it be, Leigh?

-£20.

-And that's your very best?

-15.

-What's that for?

Erm...

I think you're holding an ear cleaner.

-It's got a little scoop out of there.

-Oh, yes!

-Tiny thing there.

-Yeah, I'll put it back in, quick.

-Yeah. Probably.

Nice object.

Best price £15?

-Oh, Charles...

-No, no, I'm just saying.

That's your best price?

-£12.

-Now that you've identified the ear cleaner.

Yes. Well, thank you very much.

Yeuch! Circuit of tiny shop completed

and lots of possible - Charles, it's decision time.

I'll buy...

..the penknife and the box, please.

-Mm-hm.

-£42.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-That's deal one done.

OK? Sold. Thank you very much. OK?

The next thing is the...rattle.

Since you've already bought a couple of things, how about 20 quid?

-How much?

-20 quid.

-20 quid.

-Yeah.

I think it's fun. And I'd love to sort of...

-£18.

-Oh, don't say that!

And I think to have it in the car

and just give Catherine a bit of a...you know, a rattle.

She'll be so annoyed.

-Do you think so?

-Well, I would be.

As if the metal detector wasn't enough.

-Please, take it.

-For £18?

-Yeah.

-I'll take it. Thanks a lot.

That's great.

So, Charles kicks things off with three items bought,

and £60 spent.

Bye!

How's Catherine getting on?

I love...your sign.

It was one of those things that came in one of the factories we stripped.

You know, they had it laying about in there and...

So it was just lying about?

-Can I grab it?

-Yeah, course you can, yeah.

Cos this is how I feel at the moment,

I feel it's very much GO Team Catherine.

That's what I... That's what I want to say to Charles. Go Catherine.

And STOP, to Charles.

So what's on this, then?

-Er, £30.

-Right.

Can you do that for 20?

Go on, then, £20.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-I'm having that.

It's certainly a novel buy, Catherine.

It's a Road Trip first, certainly.

Love it! Love it, love it.

Meanwhile, Charles has made his way back to Leek,

where just outside the Staffordshire town is the last surviving corn mill

designed by an almost forgotten pioneer

of the Industrial Revolution.

Charles has come to discover why James Brindley

deserves greater recognition.

David Hallen from the museum is here to tell all.

-David?

-Hello.

-Charles Hanson.

-Welcome to Brindley's Mill.

-It's wonderful to see.

I can't wait, I'll follow your lead.

James Brindley started his career building water wheels.

He designed this mill in 1752.

It was his experience manipulating the flow of water

that would eventually lead him to become

one of the most influential engineers in Britain.

So David, we've seen outside,

and now we're seeing what that water wheel is doing.

-Tell me about it.

-Yeah, the water wheel powers the main shaft.

And the main shaft turns, and this is called the great spur wheel.

-The great spur wheel.

-The large one.

-Right.

And then the power is taken off by the smaller wheel,

which is called the stone nut.

-Yes.

-And then that drives down into here,

which turns the top of the two millstones.

-Can I have I go?

-Of course.

Lovely. So here's my wheat.

In it goes.

Water mills had been grinding corn for centuries

but times were changing,

with cottage industry being replaced by large-scale manufacture.

New factories devoured raw materials on a scale which led to

a crisis of supply and presented an issue of distribution.

Brindley's talent was called upon.

He got involved with draining a mine

which gave him experience of pumping water out of a mine using machinery

that would be recognisable in a mill,

-like power from a water wheel.

-Yes.

That led him on to contact with the Duke of Bridgewater

who wanted to build a canal to get his coal from Worsely,

which is just south Lancashire,

into Manchester.

Brindley's talent as an engineering genius and problem-solver

led to the construction of the first modern canal.

Emerging industrial cities needed vast quantities of coal of volume

impossible to supply by cart.

However a horse was capable of pulling ten times more cargo

if it was loaded on a barge.

When the Bridgewater Canal opened in 1761,

the price of coal halved overnight. Wow!

Brindley's pioneering use of aqueducts, locks and tunnels

sparked a frenzy of canal building,

resulting in 4,500 miles of new inland waterways.

How marvellous.

You can imagine the situation in the pottery industry in those days.

Moving pottery over potholed cart tracks, not good for the ware.

So Wedgwood realised that this canal system

would be very, very good for pottery.

So Brindley is commemorated with almost, I suppose,

the innovation of the canal system in England?

-Yeah.

-Of course, canals had existed since Roman times,

but there was no canal system in England before Brindley came along.

In his lifetime, Brindley used the force of water

not just to power mills

but to move the materials that would power a revolution in industry.

Brindley was certainly a huge catalyst

in moving the Industrial Revolution a step closer.

Without his canals, the pottery industry wouldn't have thrived,

the coal wouldn't have moved as quickly,

the mills in Manchester wouldn't have been powered as efficiently.

And this story can be told all over the country.

He was one of the most influential people of his age.

People know Telford, they know Wedgwood,

but frankly I think Brindley should be ranked alongside those people.

-An unsung hero.

-Yes.

-A pioneer.

-A pioneer, exactly.

Elsewhere, Catherine has made her way into the Peak District

and to the gorgeous village of Hartington.

Her final shop of the day has a fine line

in large 18th-century oak furniture.

Ohhh! You can't not touch this beautiful oak.

But they do have stock that's a little later and smaller.

How cute is that?

It's got a bit of woodworm to it, but I think a Victorian...

little child's deckchair.

And I think that's an original canvas seat.

I like that. That's quite cute.

It's got a bit of woodworm.

It's got quite a lot of woodworm!

Aww.

Woodworm and a ticket price of £80.

One to think about. Anything else?

A little silver purse.

Let's have a looky-look.

It's got a nice clear hallmark there.

It's Birmingham. If you think about ladies' handbags

or ladies' purses today, they're pretty big.

You've got a lot of credit cards in your purses,

a lot of money, usually, in your purses. And the bags are big.

A lady in the '20s would have taken something like that to a dance.

She's not going to get an awful lot in there.

You're certainly not going to get any notes in there.

But you might get a little coin or two.

Very nice. Standby.

There's more.

This cigarette case, this is Art Deco.

So we've got a...

Art Deco geometric design.

Then you open it up and again you've got a clear hallmark,

this time for Chester.

They don't light my fire, but I might just see if I can get those...

..for a good price.

There's no ticket price. Time to chat money with dealer Jan

about the little chair and the silver.

To be quite frank with you,

I'm going to make you an offer because they're quite...

sort of run of the mill.

Crumbs. Hold the sweet talk, Catherine(!)

I would suggest for those, £20, and then I'd say for that chair,

I'd probably say 20 for that as well.

So 40 for the two.

-Is that all right?

-Fine. That's fine.

-OK.

-OK.

-Put it there, then. Thank you very much.

£40 spent and just like that,

shopping for the day is done.

Time for a well-earned rest. Nighty night!

Day is dawning over the Cheshire countryside.

Hang on. Is that Charles?

At least he's enjoying himself.

When you pick an object out of the ground,

it can't say a word,

but when you hold something that might be 16th century, you say,

"Hello, welcome to this time, you're in the modern world.

-"Long time no see."

-BEEPING

-Ooh, hello.

-BEEPING SPEEDS UP

And that actually is a really good sound.

Has someone lost a bundle of gold sovereigns or gold guineas?

Hold tight. What is lurking under there?

And that's it. That is it.

What is that? It's certainly Victorian.

It is silver plate.

It could be bronze.

It's quite heavy. Do you know, it's almost...

I think what that might be is a little spill holder.

And maybe you haven't seen that for a few...150 years, or so.

And that's history. Hello.

Hello, history. Your lift's here. SHE HONKS HORN

I've found real Antiques Road Trip treasure.

-You found something?

-Yes.

-Are you serious?

A real treasure. I'm going to give it to you.

There you are. That's just for you. Have a look at it.

Do you like it?

-It's not a tractor part.

-No!

I'm fairly sure, romantically, it's a spill holder.

-Charles, that's rubbish.

-It's not rubbish!

Let's get moving while they're still friends, eh?

I can't believe that you just thought it was a piece of old metal.

Charles, it is probably a bit of old machinery.

No, you've got to be romantic.

The passion for antiques grabbed Charles yesterday

when he fell in love with three items.

A 1920s football rattle,

an Edwardian penknife,

and an old carriage box.

Thank you very much.

Leaving him a little over £635 to spend.

Catherine set things off with a stop and go sign,

a silver purse,

an Art Deco cigarette case,

and a Victorian child's chair.

How cute is that?

Meaning she still has £257.80 to play with today.

If you carry on in that tradition, finding rubbish like that,

I'm on a winner today.

The Nottingham auction is our final destination,

but the first stop today is Walgherton, in Cheshire,

and they're sharing a shop, so stand by.

-It's gorgeous, isn't it?

-There you are.

We could almost play hide and seek here.

Dagfields claims to be

the largest craft and antiques centre in the north-west,

so plenty to get lost in here.

Antiques that way.

I'm going to go this way.

What are you going that way for?

Look, it's everywhere.

Come on, follow me. Come on.

-Trust me. Trust me. Come on.

-I don't trust you.

That's the problem.

Perhaps it's best you split up, you two.

It's frightening how big this antiques centre is.

There must be about eight to ten buildings full of loot.

So, so, so much to see.

Oh, do stop horsing about.

-Sorry.

-Come on, Catherine is galloping ahead.

There's something here.

They've called it a large vintage dragonfly brooch.

It's either really, really horrible, or quite good fun.

No risk here, then. Sue owns the contents of this cabinet.

Hello, Sue.

-I think that's '50s.

-Mm.

I do like the way it's been made.

The sort of graduated pearls there.

The lovely almost seed pearls on the wings.

That really bugs me, the way that that pearl,

or plastic pearl, is off centre.

-You've got 38 on it.

-Yes.

What I'd like to offer you is 20.

-No, I couldn't do 20.

-No?

I'd knock ten off ticket price.

-Can we say 25?

-Is that all right?

-26.

-26. Go on, then.

I'm not going to argue over a few pounds.

Top work. Just a few paces from the front door and Catherine has bagged

her first deal of the day.

Now, Charles is in here somewhere.

Oh, there you go.

Hello, how's it going?

-Good.

-Do you know...

-Good.

-Really good.

-Do you know, this is probably one of the nicest display cabinets

and just as I came in here, I just saw, in the corner,

there are some very...

What are you looking at? What are you looking at? Don't look.

This is my area.

-I found it.

-It's now... You know, time is marching forward.

Look, look, there's some nice...

-There we are. That's nice. Tie.

-Yeah, I don't... Actually...

-That's lovely.

-I quite like that tie.

-Go on. Go and buy a tie.

You need a new one, dear.

He's easily distracted.

What have you spotted, Catherine?

It is rich pickings, as my Hanson would say.

Well, dealer Sam is here to help.

Isn't that interesting?

That is a brooch in the form of a perfume bottle.

What the lady would do is have that pinned to her dress,

or pinned to her jacket, and you would undo the top...

Take the little glass...

-..stopper out...

-Yes.

Isn't that lovely? Edwardian.

38.

I like that.

There's so many lovely things here.

Ooh, I want to buy everything.

I love that.

I'm very excited here.

What is lovely about this,

-it is actually a baby's rattle and a teether as well.

-It's beautiful.

So...

But what is lovely is it is in the form of an owl's head

and owls are quite collectable. This is actually really nicely done.

Great spot, Catherine.

Amongst all this stock, that's two gems.

The 1920s owl rattle has a ticket price of £150.

I do like it so I might gamble on it.

Well, I can speak for Debbie.

I think she wouldn't take anything less than 100 for the rattle.

She would do the perfume bottle for 20.

Do I do it? What do you think?

-Oh, I'd be a devil.

-Be a devil?

-Be a devil.

-I like to be a devil.

-Do you?

-Lovely.

Catherine devilishly scoops up the rattle and teether for £100.

The scent bottle brooch for 20, and the dragonfly brooch for £26.

While she makes off with the car, Charles browses on.

Come on, Charles.

Let's dig deep, like you were this morning.

There's got to be something.

Minutes ago... I love this.

On a summer day, you often see summer fruits.

I love these because they are just gorgeous Crown Ducal,

probably by Charlotte Rhead.

And they are so Art Deco.

Look at the little beaded handles here.

They've got that skyscraper look.

There's a crack running down the rim here.

And they've been smashed.

But on that side they're OK.

Against a wall, you can't even see it.

Great pair of pots.

Made by Crown Ducal.

1935.

Could be yours for £6.

Isn't that amazing?

Incredible.

Ignore the damage and they're gorgeous.

Charles is keen to chat to their vendor.

They are very damaged.

Quite right. I suppose when they're very damaged,

obviously they are very cheap, aren't they? At £6.

Can you do much on that for me at all?

£5. I will pay £5 and they're sold.

Thanks a lot. Great.

-I'll pay you £5.

-Pay the lady there.

There's 20.

I'm having 20 now for them.

-I'm sorry.

-Cheeky!

-If I may have £15 back.

-Right, OK.

£5 spent and off he goes.

Thanks ever so much. Have a good day.

Enjoy the sunshine.

-Thank you.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Meanwhile Catherine is 16 miles away in Stoke on Trent,

the world's capital of ceramics.

She's here to learn about one man

who played a particularly important role

in making the local potteries so renowned.

Paul Wood is here to tell Catherine the life of Stoke's Josiah Spode.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Wow.

-Lovely to meet you. Welcome to the Spode Museum trust.

By the latter half of the 18th century,

Stoke was already a bustling centre for the pottery trade.

Amongst this hotbed of thriving industry, one man stood out

for his imaginative approach and for one type of pattern in particular.

I can't believe the amount of blue and white that you've got here.

This is a collection we've been putting together

for many, many years.

Spode's blue earthenware is instantly recognisable.

It used locally sourced clay which made it cheaper than porcelain.

In 1796 Spode made a significant development

that changed the course of the industry.

This is a piece of bone china.

So what makes this so special?

The main thing was the use of 50% bone ash in the recipe.

But this is the one where he actually got it right,

he cracked it, he got the right percentage of bone ash,

with English china clay,

some feldspar, and it just came out beautifully, white, translucent,

and really very stable to fire and make.

And you could put wonderful ranges of decorations on it.

Spode's recipe is still used today

by pottery manufacturers the world over,

and it made Spode a household name.

Bone china tended to be used in, shall we say,

the London townhouses of the rich.

One cup and saucer would be a month's wages

for an average workman.

You're talking about very, very expensive production.

But the earthenware was used in the big country homes.

Both of these things were continued in parallel production.

The bone china developed and grew, but so did the blue.

Spode's biggest challenge was meeting the demands of the public

who had grown used to importing china from China.

The taste in Europe was of course being met, but very slowly,

by ships bringing Chinese porcelain from the Far East,

which was considered very chic, very attractive.

And there was Spode.

He developed a way of engraving the pattern so it could be reproduced.

He'd get hold of a Chinese original,

makes a fair copy that was an engraving,

and of course that then meant that he could meet the demand that

couldn't really be met from the Far East quickly enough

for the local customers.

So that really upped the game

and became something that the English preferred

against imported porcelain from the Far East.

This early form of mass production was hugely successful

but still required a lot of skill.

Paul, one of the Museum trustees, is here to demonstrate.

Would you have had originally one person doing that?

Yes. There was always a team.

There was the printer,

a transferor, who was the most skilled person,

and then they had an apprentice who would rub the pattern down,

and there was a younger, usually girl, who'd cut the paper out first.

So a team of four.

And they were often a family.

The father was often the printer and the wife was the transferor.

Oil-based colour was applied to an engraving

and then on to transfer paper.

-Shall I be your apprentice, then?

-Yes, please.

The job of cutting out the pattern,

carried out by the young members of the families,

now falls to Catherine.

Goodness me, I shall never, ever turn away

a willow patterned transfer-printed plate again.

How many of these would they have produced,

how many plates, for example?

They would produce several hundred a day.

-Several hundred a day?

-Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Well, they were on piece work, and that is what they were paid by,

so the pressure was on all the time.

Oh, my goodness. I can't believe they made so many of these.

Josiah died soon after making his pottery into a successful business,

but his son saw the potential in his father's inventions,

and in the 19th century,

Spode was one of the largest potteries in Staffordshire,

boasting 22 bottle ovens and employing around 1,000 locals.

The pioneering effort of Josiah Spode

makes his early bone china highly sought-after.

I'm really, really pleased with that.

-Brilliant.

-A plate produced from a 200-year-old engraving.

-There's your plate.

-Thank you very, very much indeed.

That is... I shall treasure that.

We'll leave Catherine to admire her handiwork.

Charles meanwhile has toddled down the road to Stafford

and to familiar territory for his final shop.

-Hello, Ian.

-Hi, again. How are you, Charles?

-I recognise your face. I've been here a few years ago.

-Nice to see you.

-You're still dealing in everything I can see?

-Yep.

Yes, Windmill Antiques is certainly full to the gunnels.

There's plenty of nice smalls here, aren't there?

I might look at these later.

But I'm always keen to come to your top cabinet

and just peer in...

..to the counter. You've got some good bits here.

Any star finds recently?

Well, I've got a nice little diamond and ruby leopard.

That's nice. The brooch.

Pretty, isn't it? Nine carat gold?

-Nine carat gold.

-What, 1970s, probably 1980s?

-Yep.

-Expensive?

-Not really.

-How much?

-£100.

-Really?

That really is quite stylish.

-Good.

-I also just, away from the leopard, quite like that box there,

the rectangular white metal box.

-Is that silver?

-No, it isn't, but it's quite an unusual thing.

Yeah, it is. It's inscribed.

-It is.

-It's got a name on which reads

FW Hepford, or Hefford, of Tunstall.

It is of local interest.

And I can't quite work out what, Ian, you'd have used it for.

If we just pull it apart.

Gaming counters?

Toothpicks?

-But how peculiar.

-Very strange.

This box, I'm fairly sure, must be no later than,

let's say, 1800, 1810.

What's the best price on that?

The very best on that...

-To a humble man.

-To a humble man.

To a humble man from Derbyshire, not Tunstall.

-It would be £15.

-15?

-£15.

That's not bad.

Not bad at all.

Certainly not.

So a nine carat gold brooch and a white metal box to consider.

Anything else, Charles?

There's such a richness of porcelain.

Just by looking on the shelves,

I can spot the objects which actually are 18th century.

That's what I love. That period of the 18th century.

So on the top shelf, have a guess which one's 18th century.

Ah-ha! Welcome to Guess The Age with your host, Mr Charles Hanson.

Any ideas? That one there,

that's a Chinese porcelain coffee cup of circa 1770.

I love it because it's so noble.

It's so well painted.

It was clearly a coffee cup from a once upon a time very important set.

On this shelf here, there is one item which is 18th century.

-Any ideas?

-Anyone?

It's that one there. And that's a small Chinese Qianlong.

As is that. Emperor Qianlong ruled China from 1735 to '99

and that's the same period.

On the bottom shelf?

Have a guess. Have a guess.

That one there. The pewter plate is, again, I'm fairly sure...

Yeah, the touch marks are good, and that's 18th century, circa 1770.

On this top here, there's one item that's 18th century.

Any ideas? That one there.

It's the 18th-century Chinese Qianlong tea bowl on the top deck.

This has a price. That's £20.

The others, I can't see any labels on, so maybe

they could be bought for nothing. Ian...!

How did you get on at home, then?

More to the point, what is Charles planning to buy?

I love history, as you know, and these objects go a way back.

I'm quite keen to do a deal.

What would be the best price, all-in, for the leopard brooch...

..for the inscribed Tunstall box

and these four bits of very old crockery and old plate?

£140.

That's actually not bad.

Hold on. So the leopard at 90, a tenner for the box,

and I think for the sake of history, Ian,

you know, how can one turn away

four 18th-century joys for £40?

-Which makes 100...

-£140.

Yeah, I'll take that.

Thanks, Ian. I'm really, really grateful.

Top work, old chap.

A handful of items to finish off with

and shopping for the day is done.

Charles will combine his 18th-century ceramics and plate

with the ribbed vases to make a single lot,

which he adds to the 18th-century white metal box,

the nine carat gold brooch,

his 1920s football rattle,

an oak carriage box

and the Edwardian penknife with the ear cleaner,

attached, but cleaned.

All for a total of £205.

Catherine parted with £1 more,

spending £206 on a large stop and go sign,

a silver lady's purse,

an Art Deco cigarette case,

a Victorian child's chair,

a 1950s dragonfly brooch,

a 1920s teether and rattle,

and an Edwardian scent bottle brooch.

Cor! Busy shopping for our pair.

But what do they make of each other's items?

Will it be stop or go?

Charles, you make enough noise as it is.

Why did you buy a rattle as well for £18?

Please don't use that at the auction.

£18 for that, though, you've got yourself a bargain.

My favourite item of Catherine's, I think,

is the one that is the biggest speculator.

It's the owl-mounted teether in mother of pearl.

It cost £100.

It could make 250, it could make 50.

Go, girl.

Go, indeed.

The fourth auction of this trip is upon us.

Catherine and Charles are making their way

to the fair city of Nottingham.

Isn't this lovely? Where are we now?

-I know. This is the River Trent.

-This is lovely.

The River Trent. Just that calming influence before the auction,

just take in the water.

I could see you and I on a barge.

That would be fun.

-Punting or on a barge?

-No, no, on a barge.

-That would be nice.

-On the canal. Yes.

-Maybe we could do a canal Road Trip one day together.

Could be a bit slow, though.

Yeah, no time for that today.

You're heading for the auction house at Arthur Johnson and Sons,

and it's a fairly substantial and, well, complicated complex.

My goodness, how many auction rooms?

Our auction room is number two today.

-Shall I?

-Yes, after you.

-Right.

In charge of proceedings today is auctioneer Phil Poyser.

Tell us all about our pair's lots, then, Phil.

Jewellery is probably our best selling line.

The panther brooch, it is gold.

I think it's going to be what a lot of people would be looking for.

I expect plenty of competition in the bidding.

I would have thought £60-£90 on that.

The brooch and scent bottle, that's a good piece as well.

It's the sort of novelty piece that people like.

I think it's going to create a bit of interest.

I would have thought that could be £30-£50.

So, here we go.

Live on the internet and a crowd gathering.

Good luck, you two.

-This is nice, isn't it?

-It's a very close atmosphere, isn't it?

-We're close.

-You know, we barely speak. Exciting.

First item to get your pulses racing is Catherine's stop and go sign.

Well, I've got three commission bids on it, and I can start it at 25.

-£25 bid.

-Oh.

-At 25, at 25.

-Come on, go, go, go.

-At 25.

-30.

-Stop, stop, stop.

At 35. 40 online.

45 is with me.

-At £45, myself.

-It's doubled up.

-It's on commission and it's done at £45.

-Awww!

You can't grumble with that.

-No.

-It went a bit.

Catherine starts things off with a nice profit.

-Go.

-Stop.

-Go.

-Stop it.

-Go, Southon.

-Stop it. I hope it will stop. Stop.

Seriously, please stop.

Time for Charles's first item of the day, his Edwardian penknife.

At £10. 12 bid.

15. 15 bid.

I've got 15 in the room.

-Come on, net.

-18, 18 bid.

20. £20.

In the room then at £20.

-Right. Hammer down.

-One for the road.

-On we go.

At £20.

Charles is up and running and that's one profit apiece.

I'm happy, I'm happy.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

Let's hope the happiness continues

and see how things go with Catherine's dragonfly brooch.

-£20 I'm bid on this.

-Come on!

-25. 30.

35. 40. 45. 50. 55. 60.

Yes!

65. 70.

-Yes.

-Amazing.

-£70 bid, with me.

-That's amazing.

-At £70.

-That's really good.

75, thank you. At 75, in the room now.

-Amazing.

-It is such a good thing.

-It goes at 75.

-Yes! Thank you!

That is amazing. Dare I say it, I'm buzzing like a bee.

Buzzing like a dragonfly doesn't have the same ring, does it?

Cracking profit either way.

It's a dragonfly. Sorry about that, but well done.

I like your style.

Right, Charles. What will the bidders make of

your 18th-century white metal box?

£20. At 30.

-Come on.

-35.

-It is a good thing.

-£35, bid of 35.

40 is online.

45 is in the room.

-Go on! Sorry.

-£45. At 45. At 45.

-It was a hiccup. It was a hiccup.

-At 45.

-You can tell who it belongs to, can't you?

-Sorry!

-£50 bid. 50. 55.

-Thank you!

-55 bid.

-At 55. And I sell in the room, we are done at 55.

-Very good!

55.

Charles causing a stir and bagging a profit.

Well done.

-To be honest I thought that would do even better.

-I'm very pleased.

Next up is Catherine's biggest spend,

the 1920s teether and rattle.

30, £30 bid.

-35. 35 is in the room.

-That's good.

At 35. Got you, madam. 40. 40 bid. 45.

50's in Ireland.

-Go on, Ireland.

-55 in the room.

60 in Ireland.

65 bid. 70.

75 bid.

80. £80 bid.

One more?

-No? Are you sure?

-Come on.

Come on! It's a good thing.

Are you sure? Done at £80.

Plenty of interest but sadly that's the first loss for Catherine.

It made a bit of a loss.

-What's £20?

-It could have been a lot worse.

What's £20 between friends?

That leaves the door open for Charles.

It's time for his combined lot of the ribbed vases

and 18th-century ceramics and plate.

At £10. 12. 12 bid.

-15. 18. 20. 25.

-Come on.

25 bid on my left.

-I'm in trouble.

-At £25 bid, at 25.

-Stop!

-At £25.

-Stop bidding.

-Last call.

It goes, done at 25.

Well done, Charles.

What's £20 between friends, eh?

Don't even bother with that one. Let's just move on.

Yeah, probably best.

Here comes Catherine's Edwardian scent bottle brooch.

Bid 20, 20 I've got.

5, 25, bid.

30 bid, 5, 35 bid, 40.

5, 45, bid, 50.

50 bid, at five. 55, 60.

-Keep going.

-60 bid.

On my right at 60. At £60.

It's against you online at 60, at £60.

Done at 60.

Another great profit for Catherine keeps her in the lead.

Puff your chest out, girl. Be proud.

I'm not going to do that.

Why? I will.

Steady, Charles.

Now, the football rattle, will it make a noise in the saleroom?

£30 bid, at 30.

-Here we go.

-At £30, at 30.

At 30 bid, at 30.

-Come on.

-£30, bit of history here.

-It is history.

-At 30 and I sell.

It goes, done at 30.

-Did you use one?

-Yeah.

Yeah, the rattle gets a new home and Charles has another profit.

This man used one of those rattles back in the 1920s.

-Really?

-1920s?

I was born in '31.

All right, sorry. 1950s.

You've just totally insulted him.

Sorry about that, sir, 1950s.

Lordy! Catherine's chance to stretch her lead now

with her Victorian child's chair with worm.

15 only bid to start, at 15.

-That's all right.

-£15 bid, 18.

18 bid, 20.

5, 30, at £30.

I'll take five now. At £30.

Against you in the room and online and I sell at 30.

£30.

Yes, another profit for Catherine.

Well done, girl.

I'm really pleased.

You should be pleased. Pleased as punch.

Yep, that's the way to do it.

Now, time for Charles' oak carriage box.

I've got 20 bid, 20.

-Oh, no.

-And five, 25 bid.

30, online at 30.

£30 bid, at 30.

-Come on.

-It's a nice size as well.

At 30. Online.

All out in the room at £30.

-I sell...

-It's going to break even.

-It goes at 30.

A new home for the box, but no profit for Charles.

Broke even, lost money, doesn't matter.

-Move on.

-Baby.

That's the spirit.

Catherine's final lot is the silver purse and Art Deco cigarette case.

I can start straight in at 50.

-£50?!

-At 55, 60.

Yes! Yes!

65, 70, 5.

-Yes!

-80.

-Yes!

-5.

90, 90 bid seated.

-Stop.

-At £90, at 90 for the two items together.

-Go!

-Stop!

-At £90, 95 online.

-It's that sign.

-I don't believe it.

-100 in the room.

It's against you online. Make no mistake.

At £100 on my left and it goes.

Done at £100.

Wowee, you have come to Nottinghamshire...

-Nottingham, I love Nottingham.

-..to my manor of the East Midlands

-and you're flying high.

-I love Nottingham!

-That's amazing.

An incredible profit for Catherine.

I'm doing so well. I want to go before it all collapses.

And I want to end on a high.

-You're making me nervous now.

-Is that your tummy rumbling?

-I'll buy you a sandwich later.

-What's left of yours?

If you can stay for my last lot,

-I'll buy you a sandwich.

-Will you?

-Yes.

There's a lot riding on our final lot of the day.

Charles' nine carat gold brooch.

At 60 bid, 5, 70, 5, 80,

85, 90.

-Broken even.

-95. 100.

-In the room at 100.

-It's got to do a lot more.

-Go on.

110. 120? 120, 120.

130, on the internet.

-Go on!

-140.

-Go on.

-At £140 then.

Being sold. It goes online at 140.

-That's OK. I'm happy.

-Delirious!

A good profit for a good item, but was it enough?

I'll buy you a ham and cheese sandwich.

Can you make a bit more exciting?

-OK, ham... OK, BLT.

-BLT. Come on.

-OK.

That's it, Charles, last of the big spenders, eh?

Charles started out with £695.64

and made a profit today of £39.36

after paying auction costs.

This takes his total to an even and rather grand £735.

Wow!

Catherine began with just under £318.

After costs, she made a cracking £113.80 profit,

giving her now a total of £431.60,

meaning she wins the day

but trails Charles by just over £300

going into the final leg. What a competition.

-For my manor!

-Thank you.

I did, I beat you in your patch.

I know! Come on.

# Yay, I've got my sandwich! #

And well done. You are slowly catching me up.

Cheerio.

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip,

our lovey-dovey pair hit the road for the final time.

I want to be with you.

-But the pressure is on.

-Pulling things out left, right and centre.

And it's heating up at the final auction.

I love you, Charles.

Thank you very much.