Episode 8 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques' experts.

With £200 each, a classic car...

We're going round!

..and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

I want to spend lots of money.

The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction,

but it's no mean feat.

Oh, no!

There'll be worthy winners...

We've done it.

..and valiant losers.

You are kidding me. Oh...

Will it be the high road to glory

or the slow road to disaster?

-What am I doing?

-You've got a deal.

This is the Antiques Road Trip!

Yeah...

Welcome to Wiltshire, as our great western wanderers approach halfway.

Is Wiltshire north of the Arctic Circle?

MARGIE LAUGHS

It feels like it!

Ah, the joys of open-top motoring through the English countryside,

in spring, in the company of Paul Laidlaw, Margie Cooper

and a vintage Alfa Romeo.

And you end up looking like something a dog's brought in.

PAUL LAUGHS

And your mate's that weird bloke.

Is he wearing a tartan shawl, looking like a fish wife?

Yes, believe it.

Believe it or not, our eccentric couple are actually

highly respected in their fields.

Margie's a silver spotter of some renown.

-I found it.

-Are we buying?

Whilst Paul's a militaria man.

He certainly knows his Battle of Arras from his Elba.

Fascinating stuff, these Victorian colonial wars.

The trouble is, their campaign has turned into something

approaching trench warfare, with ground gained at a premium.

You are kidding me! Oh, no! That's ludicrous.

They both started out with £200, but Margie has gone backwards,

to just £145.44.

Whilst Paul's barely inched forward,

with £248.62 to his name,

but at least he's thinking big.

-It's only two days into it.

-I know.

Anything can happen, it turns on one lot.

That's the spirit!

Our trip begins close to England's most westerly point

at St Buryan, and heads both north and east.

We then take a roundabout trip through Wales

before arriving at Newent in Gloucestershire.

Today we are starting out in Wiltshire, at Kington St Michael,

and ending up at a Cotswolds auction in Stroud.

Lovely!

John Aubrey, the first writer to attempt a study of English place names,

making him a toponymist, was born here at Kington St Michael,

actually called Kington Minchin until the 13th century.

Interesting, don't mention it.

-Hey, that'll do.

-Oh, no! A campaign bed!

Is that military in there?

What's the market like for that? Does it sell at all well?

Just go! Go! Go!

Not only am I going, I'm taking the blanket.

Don't you dare!

Leave me with the blanket.

Margie, you and the blanket, have a good 'un. See you later.

-Hi.

-Morning.

-I'm Paul.

-Hi, Paul, I'm Richard.

-Pleased to see you, Richard.

-It's good to see you. This is your emporium?

-Yes, sir.

Good stuff.

We will be able to do something here, I'm sure.

Richard has got quite a mix in here.

What might especially appeal to Paul is the almost wartime

feel about a lot of it.

That's jazzy, isn't it?

Utility...

Rationing, that sort of thing.

How many posters have you got left of your civil defence posters?

There's four of these.

Filton is the airfield over in Bristol

-where Concorde was returned to...

-Oh, yes.

-..and grounded.

Yes, the British prototype was built at Filton,

which also gave us Bristol cars.

Interesting.

That sounds a tad encouraging.

In the window, Richard has some trench art from The Great War.

I actually found it, it's a dog tag.

So it is, yeah, a wrist item.

It's absolutely non-regulation,

but there was this vogue for wrist identity discs.

You'd get them in aluminium, salvaged from aircraft.

This could be a slice of a brass shell case, in all honesty.

What makes it more interesting, as well, it's got "1918" on it.

He was fighting in Italy. A poignant thing, beautifully executed.

Fascinating.

A series of battles were fought on the Italian front

at the border between Italy and Austria.

In 1917, the Italians were joined by Brits, who became the first

British troops to cross pre-war boundaries into enemy territory.

I like that. Have you got high hopes for it?

There's always high hopes.

PAUL LAUGHS

Is his militaria reputation preceding him, I wonder?

Luckily, he's got plenty of other strings to his bow.

What's the story with the tapestry that you're using as a backdrop?

Honestly, I don't know.

It came in with a box of things and bits and bobs.

It may be a pain in the neck to get out,

-but it wouldn't be dear, would it?

-No.

I think we can pull something out of the hat here.

He's not giving much away, is he? Canny. Ready to bargain, though.

This is me taking a liberty.

I'll give you 20 quid for the military stuff and that tapestry.

-I couldn't do that.

-OK. What can they be?

We can do something here, I'm sure.

£35 for all of it would be the best.

You know what I'm going to say, don't you? 30 quid and we do it.

-Easy as that. Cheers, Richard.

-Thank you.

-That was painless, wasn't it?

Good man. That is worth taking a punt at.

I'll tell you what, I'll give you some money.

Paul seems to have acquired a bit of a spring in his step from that deal.

Am I happy? Oh, yes.

Essentially, two lots there for £30. £15 a lot.

For your first £15,

you get a cracking First World War

Royal Engineers trench art identity bracelet

and Second World War civil defence posters. Great!

But the tapestry, I think, is the better.

I had to play down in the shop.

It's a Victorian tapestry,

beautifully set up,

fringed, bordered, lined.

The lining cloth's fabulous, let alone the tapestry.

That could do me proud.

I think I could double or triple my money on each of those purchases

without too much trouble at all.

While Paul's been in a nice, warm shop,

Margie's braved the keen, spring breezes...

..motoring from Kington St Michael

to Lacock, to visit the grand home of a great Victorian inventor.

Lacock Abbey was once the location of a series of experiments

which made owner William Fox Talbot

one of the fathers of photography.

Ah...

-You must be Roger?

-I am. You must be Margie.

-Wow!

-It's a nice old place.

-It certainly is.

The Abbey, which dates from the 13th century,

was inherited by William Fox Talbot in the 1820s.

Wow! My word!

A maths graduate and English gentleman with time on his hands,

Fox Talbot was a true polymath,

a student of everything from Egyptology to philology.

When did all this idea with photography begin?

It happened on his honeymoon.

His wife, his sister was there, typical Victorian honeymoon.

Various other family members.

They are all doing sketching and drawing on the shores of Lake Como.

-He found that he was a really rubbish artist.

-Yeah.

So he started thinking about maybe there's a scientific solution

to try and figure out how to make science create images all by itself.

That's when he got the first idea.

Fox Talbot's knowledge of chemistry soon enabled him

to start making rudimentary pictures called photograms

by placing objects between sunshine and light-sensitive paper.

So he thought if we can put this paper in a camera obscura,

as they were called at the time, which was a box with a lens on the front,

and expose it to the scene, perhaps the light off the scene

would change the paper and give you an image.

-That's what he did.

-Oh, it's amazing.

This is a replica camera.

-It's just like the little Mousetrap Cameras that Fox Talbot had.

-Yes.

It's basically just a brass tube with a lens in it

-and a little wooden box.

-That's the beginnings?

-That's it.

You open the back door, you put your sensitive paper inside...

Gosh.

Close it back up, the lens is on.

Then you find a convenient place to set it down for the next

couple of hours, because the exposures were extraordinarily long.

Talbot's first negative probably took about two to three hours

-for the image to make.

-Really?

This window is the most famous in photographic history.

Fox Talbot photographed the lattice window at Lacock on a sunny day

in August 1835. The negative is considered the oldest in existence.

It is a bit of a boring window, really. Why did he choose that?

It is, and a lot of people have commented on the fact that it was probably a boring shot.

What he was looking for was something that was going to emphasise

the light and the dark, and this is a south-facing window,

so plenty of light. And the latticework across it was going to

leave traces behind, as well.

When he made the exposure, after he had finished,

he said that you could take a magnifying glass

and you could count the panes of glass in the window.

How exciting.

His Wiltshire home was captured in evermore sophisticated images,

as the tests continued, and Fox Talbot moved towards

his most significant invention.

He discovered what we call the latent image,

and that's where you take a very short exposure

and the paper looks unchanged,

but when you put it into the chemistry, the chemistry

brings up the image and you end up with paper negatives like this one.

But the negative was a magical thing because, from that,

-you could make as many prints as you wanted to.

-Right. That's amazing.

I would have been shouting from the rooftops, wouldn't you?

-I would have, yes, but he didn't.

-He didn't.

No, the extremely modest photographer even christened

his invention the calotype, meaning beautiful drawing,

when his somewhat pushy mother might have preferred the Talbotype.

By 1835, he had created this process.

In 1836, he had a dinner party here with a number of scientists and it

would have been a perfect opportunity for him to announce it,

-but he didn't. He didn't tell anybody.

-Why?

I think that he was waiting for later developments.

-He was going to work on it more later.

-He still wasn't happy.

He had reached a plateau and was going to move on from there.

Then, in 1839, came the shocking news from France

that Louis Daguerre had invented a very different method of photography

using metal plates.

It prompted Fox Talbot to finally reveal his own experiments

and also try to perfect the process.

There were a number of people who were experimenting at that time

on different things along this line, but Talbot

and Daguerre were the two that reached the finishing line first

and had a final product to show to the public.

-But Daguerre really stole his thunder just a teeny bit.

-He did.

Daguerre went on living for another 12 years

and at the time of his death, the daguerreotype was still the king.

But Talbot wins in the end because the positive/negative process

is the one we continued using all the way through the 20th century.

Back to snapping up bargains, and as with photography,

a spot of sunshine always comes in handy.

This is what it's all about, Margie.

I'm shocked to say I'm quite enjoying this!

Our two confederates are making their way across Wiltshire,

from Lacock to Hungerford in Berkshire.

Situated on the border between south-west

and south-east England, the town is a transport hub.

Its Saxon name means hanging wood ford,

and Hungerford is very fond of antiques.

-BOTH: Wey-hey!

-We've arrived! Ready?

As I'll ever be. It's big enough.

-It is big enough.

-But is it big enough for both of us?

-Margie, I think the door is round there.

-No, it's round there.

-Yeah, just round there.

-You...!

-THEY LAUGH

Cheeky beggar!

I sometimes wonder whether Paul could be a little more gentlemanly.

Oh, my goodness!

Choice won't be an issue here.

Huge is one way of describing the Hungerford Arcade.

-SHE SIGHS

-So much to see.

-(It's too big!)

-Or you might opt for enormous.

-Amazing place.

-Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

-How many dealers?

-115.

-Good gracious me! And you are in charge?

-Yes.

Our two are facing up to the task in hand

with customary pluck and determination.

Paul adopting his usual clockwise crawl.

It's a mirror! Praise the Lord! I thought this place went on forever.

Whilst Margie, after nicely swerving those elephant bookends...

I don't want to talk about it.

..seems to have engaged the services of a personal shopper.

I've seen a funny thing up here. I thought that was a bit of a laugh.

-It IS a laugh. Is it '50s?

-Czechoslovakia, isn't it?

-28. This is not my cup of tea.

-No.

-But...

-It's fun.

-It's fun.

What do you think? Take a punt on that.

I think it all depends on price, doesn't it?

It certainly does. Stand by, Adrian.

Francis, I've got a nice lady here looking at a boat.

-How dirt cheap can you get it?

-I hardly dare look.

And she really needs it ever so, ever so cheap.

Actually, even GIVEN would be great! 15. Do it, do it, do it, do it!

Yeah, OK. 15, if it's any good. Thank you.

I'm nearly there. I'm nearly there.

-You really worked it there, didn't you?

-Yeah.

-"Yeah!"

How does he rate in Margie's Nice Dealers Guide, I wonder?

-Adrian is 10 out of 10. 10 plus.

-Lovely. I like you!

While Margie's mulling that one over,

Paul's military know-how must be paying off once again.

What's the chances of me finding something everyone else has missed?

Don't get excited, it's not the Holy Grail. However, look at this.

Cracking little veneered paperweight. I thought it was a box.

With this applied badge on the front.

It says, "Wooden paperweight with monogram. £16.95."

It's certainly military.

-Let's go and have a close look.

-Ah. The long arm of the Laidlaw.

We've got it. OK, so, it's all about this badge.

Now, for my money, that's silver.

And that badge, we have the Imperial Crown, an A with a central cross.

This is the badge of the Green Howards.

As our Paul well knows, the regiment got their name to distinguish

themselves from another regiment also commanded by a Colonel Howard.

-Laidlaw was right.

-So, they used uniform colours to tell them apart.

So, what is this badge, exactly?

Well, it was either a silver cap badge or collar badge, I suspect.

This badge has been mounted on a rather unattractive little block

to serve as a high-class paperweight on the desk of some officer or other.

What we're looking at ain't a fortune but it's a profit,

and I'll take that all day long.

I think we'll hold on to that one, do you think?

Sounds like, even at the asking price, it might pay off.

Margie has heard the call of a more expensive item.

-Look out.

-That's quite nice. White onyx. That's been there a while.

You shouldn't say that!

That's a little bronze bird that's been painted, cold painted.

That's it, yeah.

The term refers to a bronze that hasn't had the colour

enamelled on - simply painted on cold.

I do think that cold-painted bronzes do sell,

although it's not terribly old.

No, it's not the really early pieces that would demand

really good money, but it's got something about it.

-It's nice and clean and it's...a charm.

-It is.

-A charm.

It's a charming little thing

and it stands a chance of somebody else thinking it's charming.

-It's 65, but there is a discount.

-And you're going to have a word.

-I will have a word. He's a very nice chap.

-Is he? Sounds great.

Cor! Having seen Adrian in action, I'm sure he's as good as his word.

Careful, here's the opposition!

Oh! Oh!

Look at him! He's swaggering.

Oh, no! We've got to beat him, knock that swagger away!

Adrian, you're certainly entering into the spirit of this.

-But what can he do this time?

-Hello, Don. It's Adrian here.

I'm ringing up about your cold-painted bronze.

I know you've got some discounts on it. It's 65.

Can you please give me your very best?

You're saying 35? They're really looking at the £20 mark.

-I don't think I've got it for 20 quid.

-Ah! That's more like it.

-Brilliant! Right. £25.

-Right. Is that the...

That's the end of it, is it?

That's what he said, but I've got a slight feeling,

if I get a squeeze out of this, a little...I can get 20.

-I'll have it for that. I'll do anything!

-Lovely!

I like it. I like the squeeze bit.

-I'm a married woman, you know.

-Oh, no!

I really shouldn't be squeezing anybody.

-Are you sure he's going to be OK?

-Doesn't matter!

-Thank you very much.

-These two are quite a pair, aren't they?

-OK.

You can go and wrap that now. I'm finished with you now.

Talk about fickle, eh?!

Talking of twos,

Paul has found a couple of decanters moored alongside Margie's boat.

This one, I'm afraid, has got a broken stopper. So that is worthless.

Gone. Kaput. So why are you still looking at this?

Well, the form is rather elegant. Good form, nicely cut.

The stopper is rather a modern disc stopper,

but absolutely right for it, this is a modern piece.

We've got some etchings here, the arms of Vintners' Hall in London.

We've got the date 1671-1971, so it's a tercentenary celebratory piece.

The Vintners' Hall is next to the Thames at Southwark Bridge

in Vintry ward. Nearby Garlickhythe was a dock where French garlic

and wine used to be landed.

If you are a wine buff, I think that's pretty good.

But look at the bottom.

Hand-blown, but engraved into the foot here

is the name Orrefors and a serial number.

Vintners' Hall is a wealthy body,

commissioned amongst the best of Scandinavian glassworks

to produce this decanter.

£58, the pair.

That would have been a gift, in my opinion, but it's not a pair.

It's one good one.

Now, if you said half of the 58, £30. Would I pay £30 for it?

It's not an antique, but it's a good thing. Interesting.

We'll think about it.

But after scouring the entire shop, he has now found something else

-just a few feet away.

-That's a case for a carriage clock.

The carriage clock was meant to be carried.

Press button, hidden pressed button to release it.

A velvet-lined interior and a little window here that can be drawn out

so you can look at the clock face.

Why is there a hole there and a button?

There was a button because the clock that went in there was a repeater.

A repeating carriage clock is an expensive commodity.

The device would, at the depression of a button,

strike the hours.

So in the middle of the night, we don't have illuminating,

digital screens back in 1880 or whatever.

You fumble over, press the button. "Ting, ting, ting."

It's three o'clock in the morning.

If you've got a repeating carriage clock,

that adds a lot more value to the whole than the £23 asking price.

That's a bargain.

-Hello there. How are you doing?

-Hello, Paul. I'm fine, thank you.

-How are you?

-Time to enlist his own helper. Meet Rita.

-What kind of things do you like?

-Bargains.

-You won't get any in there.

-I know. I can guess as much.

Rita sounds like another excellent guide.

What's her telephone manner like?

They've taken a shine to your wooden paperweight

with the monogram on, and asked if you could do it for £10?

£12.50. Brilliant.

-Thank you very much, Avril.

-Persuasive, I'd say.

-Bye-bye.

-Hello, Paul.

-How are you doing? Any joy?

-Yes.

I've spoken to the dealer about the paperweight.

-Her very best on that is £12.50.

-It's fair. It's fair.

The decanter and the carriage clock case,

-you can have both of those for 30.

-That's fair as well.

You're tempting me now, Rita.

I think Paul is quite pleased with those prices.

Now, where has Margie got to?

Right. I will wait for Mr Rooter,

who looks as though he might be making another purchase.

I'll take the paperweight, decanter and that.

-And I'm delighted to give you money.

-Excellent.

I owe you £32. Is that right? £42. £42.

-No.

-Erm, think again.

-30...

-£42.50.

-That'll do me nicely.

Every penny, Paul. You've not spent many today after all.

-Come on, time to go home.

-Please, Mum, can I stay a bit longer?

-No, you can't.

-I want to play some more.

-Mummy's hand.

Mummy's hand. Come along.

She's awfully strict, isn't she? Sweet dreams.

Next day they've got Margie's bottom-line firmly in mind.

What would you like to buy?

Apart from the obvious, the Holy Grail for a pound.

To be honest with you, if I can make a profit

on the shop owner's sandwiches, I'd buy them.

Yesterday Margie hardly got started, managing just a white onyx ashtray.

I've finished with you now!

That cost a mere £20 and a squeeze,

which means she has plenty to buy and £125 to spend today.

But it was a very good day for Paul, with a bargain tapestry,

a paperweight, an Orrefors decanter, a carriage clock case,

an identity bracelet and some posters all included in his haul.

We can do something here, I'm sure.

That little lot set him back just £72.50,

leaving almost £180 for a rainy day. Speaking of which...

-Do we have permission?

-What?

To put the hood up.

HE LAUGHS

Cosy in here now. I'm happy now.

Well, if you're happy, Margie, WE'RE happy.

Later, they'll be making for an auction in Gloucestershire

at Stroud. But our next stop is back in Wiltshire, at Semley.

Dorset's very close by.

Just stand on Gold Hill at nearby Shaftesbury,

and you can see it stretching to the south.

So it's no surprise that cattle and pasture dominate the landscape

around here, or that Margie's shop once had quite a different usage.

-Hello, morning.

-Hi. We have coffee for you.

-Oh, my goodness.

-You realise how cold it is in that car.

-It's freezing today.

-Margie.

-Trix.

Drink it up quickly, Margie,

because we don't have until the cows come home, you know.

All right. Just getting the geography.

Three floors to explore and, with this being an antiques centre,

potentially a lot of dealers to call.

That's a nice little thing, isn't it?

£60. Each! I thought they were a pair.

Oh, life's full of disappointments.

Although there's always time for Frankie Vaughan impressions.

# Give me the moonlight

# Give me the sun

# And it's too dear so I'm putting it back. #

Hm. Needs some work, I'd say. Now, that looks the part.

They're rather nice, these Scottish brooches. Not very old, it's 1980s.

Edinburgh silver. But they do sell them, they're very attractive.

It's £39. Quite nice. I wonder if she's got anything else.

Margie's picked up the scent here.

That's a bit older. That's 1920s.

Yeah, Glasgow. Celtic one. That's £30.

Trix is poised to call the dealer, when a third one turns up.

They're coming down in price.

This is 1950s.

And this is down to £20.

And it's Glasgow hallmarked again.

I'd love to have what they call a parcel in this trade.

I'll bet you would, Margie.

You have £125, and they're £89,

so let's hope Trix can do her magic.

Hi, Carol, can you give me ring

-for some prices on some jewellery, please?

-Oh, she's not there.

-Well, that's a cracking start(!)

-I'll try the mobile.

Oh, dear.

I'm drained at the end of this programme.

With Margie on edge and the phones on the blink, it's all down to Trix.

Go, Trix, go.

-The trade price would be 80.

-Yeah.

But as it's you.... I think we could go to 50.

-Oh, that's very kind of you.

-Would that be OK?

-Oh, yeah.

-Would that help?

-Yes!

Yes, thank you so much. Those are lovely.

That's a great relief,

and Margie's decided to auction each one as a separate lot.

Not that she's finished in here just yet.

It's a travelling leather case for...

It's for hunting or drinking.

Sorry?

I've never seen them with the shaped bottles before.

-No, it's just a travelling case for bottles for...

-Decanting something.

Well, that's perfectly clear(!) No?

OK, what we do know is the ticket price is £44.

That's too much for me to make a profit.

-Cheers.

-Would 15 quid buy it?

-I don't know, but I can find out.

-Can you? Is it a ring job?

-It is a telephone job.

-OK, thank you very much indeed.

Crikey, Margie. You're bargain crazed today.

Hi, Susan, it's Trix at Dairy House.

Your little travelling case with the three bottles?

It's marked at £44.

Wondered if you could possibly do it for 15?

OK, she said the very, very best could be 20.

What I was thinking was 18.

She said could you possibly go to 18?

I'm sure she'll be very grateful. All right, thank you.

We've done it.

Trixie, we've done it.

Beginning to feel like Attila the Hun here.

Yeah, and he's not noted for his love of antiques and collectibles.

But we know what she means, eh?

I'm just going to settle up now.

Would Attila ever have said that?

That's OK.

Got my brooches. Got my little leather case. I'm off.

Now, while Margie's been busy buying brooches, what's Paul been up to?

Clearly enthral to the Alfa's vintage charms,

he's motored from Wilshire into Somerset - mind the jogger -

making his way from Semley to Farleigh, Hungerford,

and a medieval castle beside the River Frome.

-Hello, is it Amanda?

-It is.

-Hi, I'm Paul.

-Nice to meet you.

-Great to see you.

The castle, which has no connection with their Berkshire destination,

was built in the late-14th century by a Sir Thomas Hungerford.

Although it's been a ruin for almost 300 years,

you can still detect the outline of the original quadrangular design.

It had a tower on each corner, so four high towers.

You can see by the one in front of us, the Lady Tower.

Everything was self-contained inside. There's a Great Hall.

There were kitchens down at the bottom, a bakery,

and a little courtyard in the middle.

This must have been chosen because it's defensible.

It LOOKS as though it's a good defensive position

but it's not particularly because, although we are on a small hill,

there are higher hills all around. It was a status symbol.

It's a des res, is it?

-It is indeed, you know, "Look at me..."

-Right.

"..I've got all this money, here's my castle."

Actually, he did get into trouble for crenellating his castle

without permission, which basically he got away with.

He was fined a pittance, as far as we know.

The crenels are the battlements,

-the little steppy bit that we associate with castles.

-Yes.

-He needed the King's permission to do that...

-Yes, he did.

-..but was naughty and didn't ask.

-No, he didn't.

Sir Thomas may have got off lightly, thanks to his close relationship

with the powerful John of Gaunt.

He was also the first recorded Speaker of the House of Commons.

His son, Walter, the first Baron Hungerford,

who fought at the Battle of Agincourt,

set about expanding Farleigh Castle.

Walter Hungerford enclosed all the buildings

with a curtain wall and a moat.

Enclosed the chapel.

And built a new one up the road for the local parish

so that this one was solely for the use of the Hungerfords.

Fortunately, that little chapel has survived a good deal longer

than any of Sir Thomas' towers.

Oh, my word. This is lovely, isn't it?

So, here we are.

What a lovely space.

Dominated by a huge mural of St George and the Dragon,

it remains the best place to get a sense of what 15th-century life

was like here.

I am an anorak of armour. That's what I study in the dark hours.

I love the mail and the plate, the greaves and sabatons,

and to see a picture like this from the time...

-Yes, it's wonderful, isn't it?

-Tremendous.

It was almost certainly commissioned by Sir Walter.

On the wall to the right of George, just there,

there's a very faint image, which is called the Kneeling Knight.

There's a very faint trace of the Hungerford Arms.

-And we think it's probably Sir Walter.

-I see.

St George was the patron saint of the Order of the Garter.

Lord Walter was admitted to the Order of the Garter.

-That's high status, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

Those are the knights closest to the King.

Yes, absolutely, and a real honour.

But it didn't last.

In the 17th century, Sir Edward, the last of the line, not only fell out

of favour but also spent and gambled away the entire family fortune.

He sold Farleigh Castle in 1686 and it soon fell into decline,

with the walls used as salvage for other great houses.

The anthropomorphic lead coffins of the final few Hungerfords

can be found in the crypt.

Are there remains inside these coffins?

There are. There are probably only bones now.

The bodies were embalmed and then encased in the lead coffins,

and then the lead encased in wood.

Is this a common practice? I've not seen anything like this before.

It's not particularly common.

There are other lead coffins

but this is the best collection that there is in the country.

-And the date...

-The Civil War.

-Mid-17th century.

-Yes.

The others, we think, are probably

the spendthrift's family,

so the last Hungerford who wasted all the money.

-These look child-sized.

-Yes.

-This one here is very lifelike.

-It is. And the features, you can see

the nose looks as though it's been broken. It may seem a bit strange,

but whenever I open up in the mornings or close in the evenings

I always say good morning and good evening to them.

-That's... It's respect, isn't it?

-It is respect.

-It's their castle, after all.

-It is their castle.

-Think we should say goodbye.

-I think we should. Good night, ancestors.

Now, I'm not sure anyone's likely to make a king's ransom at the auction,

but what did they buy? Well, Paul picked up a tapestry,

a World War I identity bracelet,

some civil defence posters, a leather clock case,

a decanter and a Green Howards paperweight.

While Margie bagged an ashtray,

a travelling case with bottles,

and several silver brooches.

I think Margie could be looking at a clean sweep of profits.

Yikes.

The Swedish decanter, that won't do brilliantly.

The little ashtray. Keyword there - "ashtray." They are unloved objects.

I really envy him his carriage clock case.

They are like hen's teeth, and what a marvellous thing to have found

for £10.

Who's going to come out on top?

It's me again, isn't it?

Ha-ha! After starting out in Wiltshire, at Kington St Michael,

this leg of our trip concludes at an auction in the Cotswolds at Stroud.

I think we've got a good day ahead.

-Yeah!

-The sun's shining, the car's beautiful,

the company could be better!

Tucked away at the meeting point of five valleys,

the town's woollen mills once produced military uniforms

coloured "Stroudwater Scarlet". Lovely.

Plus, one of the aforementioned valleys is the bucolic Slad Valley

of Laurie Lee's Cider With Rosie.

-Our auction, though, is bang

-up-to-date. Online, we're online.

-Oh-ho-ho!

-Yeah!

God bless the internet!

Welcome to the Stroud Auction Rooms,

where the bad news awaiting Margie

is the undeniably military flavour of today's sale.

So what does auctioneer Nick Bowkett think of what our two have to offer?

My favourite lot of Paul's

is definitely the Green Howards paperweight,

and if you were a collector of that regiment,

I think you'd almost certainly want to own it.

Out of Margie's items, I think probably the plaid brooch,

and we have had interest from Scotland.

Marge is probably going to swing it, I think,

but a lot will hang on the paperweight.

Well, I wonder what they'll make of those views in the pews.

Got to get into the black today,

otherwise you're going to have a really grumpy partner.

First under the hammer is Margie's ashtray.

Cold-painted bronze?

You can't go wrong with that, can you?

Birdies.

£40 for it somewhere?

£40 I'm bid, straight in.

Austrian internet.

42, 42 now.

45, net bid.

45, 8, 50.

-Oh.

-£50, 50 it is.

Selling at £50.

Brill.

Really brilliant.

-Yeah!

-Nice result, well done.

Things are looking distinctly chirpy already.

How many Green Howard collectors are online, I wonder?

It's going to make 20-25 on a bad day. On a good day, 45 quid?

£50 to start?

50 bid, straight in at 50.

How did that happen?

For 5, £50.

5? 55.

On the phone at 55. 60. 5?

-65.

-THEY GASP

-You've got a telephone bid.

-Come to Daddy!

-I'm frightened to look.

-75, 80.

5? This is awful.

90, 5?

95.

For 100? 100.

110? 110 on the phone.

For 120? 120.

130?

I can't believe it.

130 on the phone. 130.

£130...

All credit to you, mate.

All credit to you.

Well said, through gritted teeth.

Would it help if you just punched me square in the face right now?

Do you want to? I'll take these off, it's all right.

I can take it, I'm a big boy.

I'm trying to be a good sport. It's difficult.

Now for Paul's bargain tapestry,

a piano shawl, apparently.

But I think they're missing it.

Oi! Pay attention, you lot.

Someone open the bidding up for me, £20.

20 I'm bid, thank you,

on the net straightaway. 22.

22 now, 25.

Come on, you two, pay attention!

28, 30.

£30, any advance on 30... 32.

Thank you.

35, 35.

8 bid, 38 now.

-It's on the net...

-Really, look at 'em!

Another nice profit, completely missed by our experts!

Next it's Margie's bottles and case,

possibly for a dressing table, we now think.

Two identical bids,

I'll take the first.

£20, it is, £20.

22, 25, 32.

£32, takes both my commission bids out.

35, 38 net bid.

40. Room's quiet, it's on the net at 42 now.

-45.

-Ooh! That's doing better than it should.

On the net at £45.

Fantastic.

Yes, someone out there really wanted them. Good stuff.

More militaria now - Paul's civil defence posters with local interest,

plus the Italian front trench art.

I can open the bidding up at £30, 30 bid.

Oh, he's off again.

32, net bid. 35, 35.

38, 40.

40 it is.

42, 45. 45.

Surrender! Surrender!

For 5, 60.

£60, £60, 5, 70.

70 I'm bid. I'm selling at £70.

What am I going to do with you?

Er, answers on a postcard, please.

I'm going to go home and buy a big book on militaria.

And hit me with it!

Now, can Paul decant some more profit with this?

I can open the bidding up at £10,

10 I'm bid.

For 12. 14, 14.

14, 16, 18, room bid. 22?

No, decides not to.

28, 28?

Selling, then...

30, £30, 30 it is, now.

32.

Nice decanter.

-Decanters don't sell very well.

-Hmm.

Thanks for that. Where were you when I was buying it?

38 and selling at £38.

Certainly nothing to sniff at there.

Paul's got his nose in front.

So it's these brooches.

Silver, Scottish...

-IN SCOTTISH ACCENT:

-I bought these with you in mind, Mr Laidlaw.

Time for Margie's big brooch sale.

She's especially PINNING her hopes on this one.

A lot of Scottish interest in it

and the bidding up at £40.

Lot of interest, straight in at 40, straight in at 40!

£40. 2 anywhere?

42, 45, 48.

48, I'm bid. 50, 5, 55.

It's about what it's worth now.

65, for 70.

It's on the books, 75. 80 anywhere?

80, 5, 85.

For 90? 90, 5...

-You've done it!

-I've never seen Margie look so euphoric.

It is a good one.

For 120. 120, 130.

130 is with me.

I feel queasy.

£130.

-Yeah!

-Margie!

What just happened?

Margie's just made her biggest profit on the trip so far,

-good girl.

-It's not worth that!

I can't believe it's worth that.

Now, brooch number two. Can she do it again?

£20 for it?

20 bid, 20 net bid. 22, 25...

Look at this, here we go.

Room's quiet, 30 it is. £30.

£30, 32, 35.

35, 8...

Do you not think he's labouring this?

Not think he could go a bit quicker?

42 now? 42, 45, 48? No?

45?

No? Up to 50 now on the net.

For 5.

I was enjoying this! A minute ago...

It wasn't long ago this was a good auction. I'm hating it now.

70.

£70 now, net bid.

I'm selling on the net at £70.

That will do!

It certainly will!

-It's a mad, mad world of antiques, isn't it?

-Yeah.

It's a mad, mad world.

-Better when it's mad going my way.

-Paul's worried.

How much will her third brooch bring?

Start the bidding at £20.

20, I'm bid. Thank you, 20 it is.

22, 25, 28,

28, 30. 30, I'm bid, now.

32, 35, I have.

35, 38 takes the book out.

Mmm!

New bidder on the net, £40.

-Aw, here we go.

-40, it is.

It's going away on the net at £40.

42, someone else came in.

42, selling at £42.

Well done, Margie. Quite a result there, girl.

You paid £50 for three brooches

and turned it into £250!

Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs.

Margie's about to win this auction.

Only Paul's highly fancied carriage clock case can stop her.

-20 bid.

-There you go - drunk dealers on the net.

30. 32, 32 I'm bid.

32 now, 40. 48.

-I told you.

-Come on, I need it badly.

£50, it's on the net and selling.

£50.

..55 there.

Did that come in after?

It did! It did! Take it!

55, 55 - it came in before I dropped the hammer.

£60, then.

60, I have.

£60. Selling, then, at £60.

-Thank you.

-That was money in the bank from the minute you bought it.

Margie's had an amazing auction,

but that late drama means Paul's just pipped her to the post.

A rough patch in the middle for me.

I came over all uncomfortable, for some reason.

Come on, let's go.

Margie began with £145.44

and, after paying auction costs,

she made a profit of £188.34,

leaving her with £333.78 to spend next time.

Well done.

Whilst Paul, who started out with £248.62 made,

after paying auction costs, a profit of £203.02,

so he now has £451.64 and a substantial lead.

-We should salute him.

-That was brill!

Brill!

Anyone would think, based on that,

we had someone idea what we were talking about, Margie!

-What a great auction.

-Yeah, but one thing moving forward?

-Yeah?

If I see a brooch, it's over between us!

Next on Antiques Road Trip,

Raider Of The Lost Artefact...

..versus Paul Laidlaw and the Basement Of Doom.

The last guy was here a very long time.