0:00:33 > 0:00:39On the eastern edge of the county of Herefordshire is one of its most attractive market towns - Ledbury.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Its look is due partly to a 13C scheme by the Bishop of Hereford
0:00:45 > 0:00:50to allow freemen of the town to rent strips of land.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54They were called burgages. They were 20 feet wide and 200 feet long
0:00:54 > 0:00:58and sprouted narrow, half-timbered houses beloved by visitors.
0:01:00 > 0:01:07The market house stands on 16 stout oak pillars, originally intended to protect corn from 17th century rats.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Today's civic leaders still climb up here, and trade goes on underneath.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17Today, the market hall is Britain's most distinguished bus stop.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22Ledbury's miles from the coast, but you may get the impression of water.
0:01:22 > 0:01:29It's an illusion caused by the plastic tunnelling used in the production of soft fruits.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33There are huge orchards around here too.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38Cider makers - and drinkers - rely on them. This is big apple country.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44And half of the hops that go into England's cask ales are grown in Herefordshire.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49The result - some very tasty beer.
0:01:49 > 0:01:50< Cheers, Michael.
0:01:53 > 0:01:59In the nearby hamlet of Eastnor, just below the Malvern Hills, is a fairytale castle
0:01:59 > 0:02:04erected not as a fortification but as a home for a local family.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Eastnor Castle -
0:02:06 > 0:02:12built in the early 19 C at a cost of £85,923 13s 11½d -
0:02:12 > 0:02:15is the setting for today's Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21I first saw it at a cycle show in 1952 and fell in love with it -
0:02:21 > 0:02:28- it wasn't for sale.- Right.- Then I saw it about two years later outside an Italian cafe with a sign on it, £25.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32- I had to have it. - Did it seem expensive?- All I had.
0:02:32 > 0:02:39- I was saving to get married. My future in-laws didn't think much of that!- 1952, you first saw it.
0:02:39 > 0:02:46- Have you tracked its history any more?- Only that they were made in wartime in Italy by two brothers -
0:02:46 > 0:02:52mainly because of the shortage of steel. It was almost non-existent for bicycle making.
0:02:52 > 0:02:59One was a ski manufacturer, and the two got together and used their expertise to make wooden bicycles.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Interesting you should say "skis",
0:03:02 > 0:03:09- because I see four or five different technologies that went into making this bicycle.- Yes.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14You can see skis, as you say, and boat-building and aircraft building.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20- All aircraft then were built of wood - up until the Second War.- Yes, of course.- Especially the propeller.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- Yes. - Propellers were all laminated wood.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28The frame, starting here, coming all the way round -
0:03:28 > 0:03:35right through this extraordinary bend at the front, down the main tube, through the bottom bracket,
0:03:35 > 0:03:41- to the chain stay - is ONE piece of wood.- Seven foot long, if laid out.
0:03:41 > 0:03:47- Blows my mind, the way this is all bent round - and everything arrives in the right place.- That's right.
0:03:47 > 0:03:53- Probably they didn't make the handlebars.- I'd think those, the chain-wheel and brakes were stock.
0:03:53 > 0:03:59Stock items. Everything else, they made up. Quite amazing, in the war.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03As I say, they wanted to build a bicycle out of wood
0:04:03 > 0:04:05because they couldn't build one out of anything else,
0:04:05 > 0:04:12but also they were in tune with developments in cycling then. Build a lighter, faster, better bicycle.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16- Yes.- I wonder if they achieved it. Have you ever seen another?
0:04:16 > 0:04:21Only a frame on its own with no forks.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26I have a feeling not many survived, because of the weak forks.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30- The forks are the weak point? - Yeah.- Right.
0:04:30 > 0:04:36I don't know how we'll compare a value. I don't know of another of these around, in this condition.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- I think a bare minimum of £2,000 to £3,000.- Really? Yes.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43So rare, and in such wonderful condition!
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- Could I indulge myself, please, and go for a spin?- Please do.- Thank you!
0:04:51 > 0:04:54This is Dutch or, more precisely, Frisian.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56That's what I was going to say!
0:04:56 > 0:05:02- How d'you know? I'm supposed to tell you!- My mother, to whom it belonged,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05- comes from an old Frisian family. - Right.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10- This was passed to me after she died. - It's about the 17th C.- Yes.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13A time when Holland was a wealthy country.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19The tulips - until the early 17C - were very, very expensive items.
0:05:19 > 0:05:25Tulip bulbs made the Amsterdam traders very rich. Holland was a great seafaring nation at the time.
0:05:25 > 0:05:32The farming was always rich, but VERY provincial. Hard to imagine quite how provincial that would be.
0:05:32 > 0:05:38- The family were seafarers and merchants for many generations. - It would've taken a lot of money
0:05:38 > 0:05:45- to buy a piece like this in the 17C. - There's an awful lot of work gone into it.- Yes. I love these mouldings.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47This one here is almost like a...
0:05:47 > 0:05:50thumbnail, an overnail... scale pattern really.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55Then a variation, a sort of ripple moulding, done by hand, not machine.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00This is one man laboriously carving each piece out - which I love.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05I'm rather stuck. This is sweet, the hearts, very nice indeed.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09- It may have been perhaps a marriage coffer.- I was TOLD it was...- Right.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13They had them at the foot of the bed for putting the linen in.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Then we assume these are billing doves.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21- D'you know, I've never noticed them? No, they ARE birds.- Two amorous birds, two lovebirds let's say.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23The date...
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Would that be the date it was made
0:06:26 > 0:06:29or the date of a wedding or something? Is that 1701?
0:06:29 > 0:06:31I think it's 1701.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36- There's something about the cutting. I don't think it's the same hand.- Right.- Look closely.- Crude.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42Very. And very deep, compared with the subtlety in the rest of the carving. It probably is later.
0:06:42 > 0:06:48Provincial pieces, in any country, are tricky to date within 50 years. I could say 1650 - could be 1700.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52- Anything inside that's interesting? - I don't think so, no.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- Well, it's fairly original, that's nice.- Is that a candle box?
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Yes, traditionally and a lovely lock...
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Oh, it's a snap lock. Wonderful.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- That lock is 300 years old or so and still works.- It should snap shut
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- when you close that? - Let's try. I think so...
0:07:10 > 0:07:17Yes. So heaven help you if you've taken the key out and you can't open it. It snap locks and that's it.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22What a nice piece of furniture. I suspect you probably know more about the value of this than I do.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- I don't.- It's not been valued recently?- Not at all.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30- I think, at auction in London, a pre-sale estimate of £2,000 to £2,500.- Oh, that's nice.
0:07:30 > 0:07:36- It'd probably be bought by a Dutch person or dealer.- Right. - Over to the Netherlands...
0:07:36 > 0:07:42- I can see it an Amsterdam shop for £5,000.- That IS nice to know. - A very early piece.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46- Yes, lovely. - And part of your history.- Thank you!
0:07:46 > 0:07:49This one was given to me in 1945 when, as a young teacher,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52I left Herefordshire to work in Surrey.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Um... Someone admired that -
0:07:55 > 0:08:01a visitor to my house in 1980 - tried to find me the salt pot,
0:08:01 > 0:08:08- and this is what he found and gave me as a present.- Right. Not a salt pot, but a mustard pot.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11One of the things I find so delightful about
0:08:11 > 0:08:14the way these were designed...
0:08:14 > 0:08:17the little mouse in the beak there.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23You're lucky you've got it complete. So often that is missing. And, of course, it isn't part of the lid,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- but the end of the spoon, as you know only too well.- Yes.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32It's SUCH a clever design!
0:08:32 > 0:08:36But let's have a look at the pepper pot.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41Now, we've got the marks there... of Sheffield, in fact, for 1851.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42'51?
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Coming up to the time of the Great Exhibition.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51It's reasonably early for this type of novelty. And the maker there...
0:08:51 > 0:08:53is Henry Wilkinson.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00That one...as a pepper pot, it is in really super condition.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- Have you had it valued at all? - Never.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06That one...
0:09:06 > 0:09:12I would say, on its own, you're going to be looking at about £800.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17- Good gracious me. I'm staggered. - Now - the mustard pot...
0:09:17 > 0:09:21I'm afraid the marks on here are rather indistinct.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- It's the same date as this one. - Is it?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Also 1851. But this is a London one.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32It has to be said this one's had a little bit of a hard life.
0:09:32 > 0:09:40- Mm, it's been used. - Remarkably, the liner does appear to be the original one, but...
0:09:40 > 0:09:44- I don't know if you can see. Look through there.- Oh, yes.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- Around the eyes...- Yes. - ..all those holes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:54That is, I'm afraid, going to have quite an effect on the value. You're probably looking...
0:09:54 > 0:09:57It MAY hit the £1,000.
0:09:57 > 0:10:04You may be lucky and it may go a little more, but the condition will pull it right down, I'm afraid.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10- ..You're going to be busy! - I've trawled the house.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14- ..What have you brought here? A nice towel?- Yes!
0:10:14 > 0:10:19- It's upside down. - Oh, what's this? The cavalry?
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Maybe. We're not sure.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26- I see 1882 there. Have you spotted that?- Yes. Not as old as you(!)
0:10:26 > 0:10:32I dunno - about three years out. I'm sure you'll do very well in there.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36- Play your cards right and we'll take YOU in.- Thank you(!)
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- It belonged to my uncle.- Right. - He was in World War II.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46When he came back from driving tanks in Germany,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48he had this knife.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Wonderful. How many blades?
0:10:51 > 0:10:55There are 96 items on there. I think 4 are missing -
0:10:55 > 0:11:00- Little bits that come out of the end. - So - let us have a look at a few.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05You're more conversant with it than me. But what have we got here?
0:11:05 > 0:11:07- Here we have a hacksaw...- A hacksaw.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12- And...the large blade.- Right.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16And a quite large pair of scissors.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20And then we get down to the small items, which are here.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23A little pair of pliers.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27And here - a similar pair, but of pinchers.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31- Right. Wonderful, isn't it?- Yes.
0:11:31 > 0:11:37There are so many things on here, I don't think I've ever had them all out together. It's impossible, but...
0:11:37 > 0:11:40A corkscrew, a most useful item!
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Of course. And a minute screwdriver here.
0:11:44 > 0:11:50Then one can go over to the back side and find...the inevitable hook.
0:11:50 > 0:11:56- That's for getting Boy Scouts out of horses' hooves, I think. - Or out of Girl Guides' tents.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02- Oh, that's a new one!- And on the back of that there's a nail file.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07- There are a myriad of very fine blades.- Yes.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11And because there are 100 items, or roughly 100, in there,
0:12:11 > 0:12:16the blades are so thin some of them are lethally sharp.
0:12:16 > 0:12:23- I can imagine. Really and truly, for its size, it's sort of impractical, do you know what I mean?- Absolutely!
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Some, you could use to advantage, but...
0:12:26 > 0:12:28But it's hardly a pocket knife.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31The whole point is, it's the cutler's art.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36- Yes. About what date? Have you any idea?- Round about 1900.- I see.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40In America, these go down in a very big way.
0:12:40 > 0:12:47One like this is quite valuable in itself. It's certainly a nice collector's piece, that -
0:12:47 > 0:12:50because of the number of the blades.
0:12:50 > 0:12:58- Admittedly a little damage, but in the American market you're looking at £1,000.- Goodness gracious me.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02- Goodness. Well!- Goodness gracious. - Yes, they're very, very desirable.
0:13:02 > 0:13:09A friend of mine who had a Victorian mansion flat in West London moved to a new mews house in Hampstead.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13And...he just didn't have the wall space.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18I was renovating a house in Bedford Park and I did have the wall space
0:13:18 > 0:13:20and that's exactly why I bought it.
0:13:20 > 0:13:27- So was it wall space, or was it more than that to attract you? - No, it was wall space.
0:13:27 > 0:13:34- And the period. - It's by James Jebusa Shannon. He was born in New York State,
0:13:34 > 0:13:40and came to London aged 16 in 1878. He has been "rediscovered" as American,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44because in my whole career he's always been thought of as a British, a London artist.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49There is a wonderful bravura to the brush strokes.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54I think, in a way, you can see that in the ring, here,
0:13:54 > 0:14:00You get that feeling of sparkle and lustre, and it's all to do with the weight of paint.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Actually, it's a very handsome portrait
0:14:03 > 0:14:11but commercially we need handsome young men or beautiful young women to really lift the price.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15I would say...£4,000 or £5,000.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20- How many have you got? - Well, 24 or 25.
0:14:20 > 0:14:27- You've got a whole kennel in here! - Yes.- How long have you...? - I haven't bought any for...
0:14:28 > 0:14:35- ..at least 15 years.- Do you remember how expensive the last one you bought...?- How much I paid?- Yeah.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40Well, I think, probably 25 years ago,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- I probably paid about, for the best couple of pairs, about 30.- Ooh.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47- 20 to 30.- £20 to £30?- Yes.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Do you know which factories...?
0:14:50 > 0:14:54- Do you know which porcelain factories you have here?- Oh. No.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59- Most of these dogs were made... - Yes?- ..in Staffordshire.- Yes.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03- Dating to 1830, 1850.- Oh, right.
0:15:03 > 0:15:09- I never see any nowadays.- They are quite... They are quite rare.- Yes.
0:15:09 > 0:15:16I've got some...you know, spaniels, large ones, with the basket of flowers.
0:15:16 > 0:15:23Yes? Oh, we've got some inkwells down here! I was hoping we might see these. Oh, aren't they pretty?
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Oh, look at that!
0:15:25 > 0:15:30- Beautiful!- Yes, that's one of my favourites.- Yes. And of course...
0:15:30 > 0:15:36One's damaged, isn't it? A crack on that one,
0:15:36 > 0:15:41- Yes. They were for a pen, weren't they?- These are little inkwells,
0:15:41 > 0:15:46and fortunately they have never been used for ink because... Oh, no -
0:15:46 > 0:15:52I'm wrong. This one HAS been used for ink. I was going to say, usually they take an awful stain.
0:15:52 > 0:15:58- Yes.- If you put ink into the bottom, it soaks into the porcelain and leaves you with this awful stain.
0:15:58 > 0:16:05- Yes.- But I think at some stage, fortunately, they've stopped using it, and it is simply an ornament.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09- Yes.- Well, I will just see what we've got there.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Another inkwell! This is like Christmas - at Crufts!
0:16:14 > 0:16:19- ..Nobody's been under the water in it?- No, not as I know of. - I'm deeply relieved.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24I have to tell you these diving helmets are often reproduced.
0:16:24 > 0:16:32An original, dating from about 1900 would be worth £1,000 to £1,500 in a marine sale.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36But if you look carefully... For example, open the front door,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41there's a socking great crack, by no means waterproof, in the inner bezel.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45It's been put together entirely for effect.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51The front plate which says the "US Navy Diving Helmet", looks incredibly worn,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55but it's MADE to look incredibly worn.
0:16:55 > 0:17:01- I see.- And if you spin it over like this, you can see all these new nuts and bolts securing it inside.
0:17:01 > 0:17:07Underwater, you wouldn't last 30 seconds. I wouldn't recommend it.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11You like the inkwell. I think it is gorgeous.
0:17:11 > 0:17:19I think this inkwell... If you buy one of those at auction today, you will have to spend about £400
0:17:19 > 0:17:22- for ONE inkwell.- Well. Yes.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Well, I think that each pair as we go through here...
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Let's give you an average.
0:17:29 > 0:17:36Each pair is probably worth between £400 and £700.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38- For this lot?- Each PAIR.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42One, two, three,
0:17:42 > 0:17:44four, five, six...
0:17:45 > 0:17:50- £2,500 to £4,000.- Yes.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52- For that lot.- Yes.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55And I've given you values on those.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Maybe...£100 to £200 each.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Yes.
0:18:01 > 0:18:07And maybe £300 to £500 for him alone.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- I think you've done very well! - Thank you.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15It's been a great pleasure to have you look at them.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23This sort of glazed cabinet was very popular in the second half of the 19C. It looks rather French,
0:18:23 > 0:18:29particularly with the inlay work and the metal mounts - but it's probably English, I think. Walnut.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34Made in England, but with this very French style which was so popular.
0:18:34 > 0:18:40I like it cos it looks as if it's got the original material inside.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45- How did it come to you in the first place?- We used to live in Southport.
0:18:45 > 0:18:52We used to meet an old gentleman who'd often ask us for money for a cup of tea. We'd give him 3d or 6d.
0:18:52 > 0:18:59One Saturday he asked us if we'd buy a cupboard off him for ten shillings. It was absolutely disgusting -
0:18:59 > 0:19:05it was covered in hardboard, really horrible - so we took it to our house and left it in the garden.
0:19:05 > 0:19:12One day, the children wanted a piece of hardboard, so we took it off the front and this was underneath.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17- You had no idea this was underneath? - None.- It was a casing of hardboard?
0:19:17 > 0:19:19It was a piece of hardboard on it,
0:19:19 > 0:19:24- nailed on the sides and tied on with a piece of rope.- How extraordinary!
0:19:24 > 0:19:28- It's really very decorative.- Had we known, we'd have taken care of it!
0:19:28 > 0:19:34One of these... They were often made in pairs, but for one you're looking at about, oh, £500 to £700.
0:19:34 > 0:19:40- Gosh, that's nice. - Good for ten shillings.- Isn't it?! - And philanthropy.- Yes.
0:19:40 > 0:19:47I've seen very peculiar things on the Roadshow but NEVER come across a 17th century embroidered egg.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53- Have you ever seen one before? - No, and nobody we've talked to has.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58That's definitely what it is. We've a hen's egg, carefully blown. There is the hole they blew it through.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02- Yes.- And then somebody has sat down and meticulously embroidered it.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08- As an afternoon occupation it seems to be somewhat extreme.- Yes.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12It MUST have a considerable novelty value,
0:20:12 > 0:20:18first, because of the materials they used, the style of the embroidery.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Typical 17C. We'd expect to find it on something like stumpwork, not on an egg!
0:20:22 > 0:20:27They were perhaps doing the dutiful thing and going to work on an egg.
0:20:27 > 0:20:34I imagine that if somebody got hold of one and wanted to sell it, they'd be asking mid to high hundreds -
0:20:34 > 0:20:40£500, that sort of area - for it. It's a really beautiful thing, very unusual thing.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43The tragedy of it is by the nature of the material,
0:20:43 > 0:20:48it's going to gradually become dustier and dustier, and one day crumble.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51- Flake away.- Flake away. You'll be left with a beautiful memory.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54- Thanks so much for bringing it. - Thank YOU.
0:20:54 > 0:21:00A familiar scene and some very familiar faces. Not all with us now.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05Sammy Davis Jnr, Peter Lawford and Jerry Lewis!
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Now, why are they here and why WERE they here?
0:21:09 > 0:21:15In 1969 they were making the film One More Time here. Peter Lawford's lady friend fell off a horse -
0:21:15 > 0:21:20one of the stunt horses - and she was taken into the hospital in Ledbury.
0:21:20 > 0:21:26My mother was the matron in Ledbury. These were two of the nurses. So they came to watch the filming.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31So this was the day when Hollywood came to Eastnor?
0:21:31 > 0:21:36"With grateful thanks for a gallant Endeavour, America's Cup, 1934."
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Then signatures of Tommy Sopwith and...?
0:21:39 > 0:21:43- I think that's his wife.- His wife? - Could be, yes.- What's the history?
0:21:43 > 0:21:50Well my father was given it by Tommy Sopwith for his services on the Endeavour.
0:21:50 > 0:21:57- It was an amateur crew. The professional crew in 1934 went on strike.- Ah, right!
0:21:57 > 0:22:04They had to sail Endeavour across the Atlantic to challenge for the America's Cup. They weren't paid -
0:22:04 > 0:22:09they had to foot their bill. This is one of the things he was given.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13Well, of course, Sopwith... I think of Sopwith Camels.
0:22:13 > 0:22:19- Yes.- And that's the same firm. - What is it made of? - Oh, it's silver.- Silver?- With...
0:22:19 > 0:22:24- That's gold set onto the front there.- Oh, is it?- It's 9 carat gold.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29As a straightforward cigarette case we'd be looking at perhaps £30, £40.
0:22:29 > 0:22:35How much that is going to add to it... It is certainly going to make a significant difference.
0:22:35 > 0:22:43I should think it's easily going to add a nought to the figure. The real treasure is the inscription.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45- Thank you.- Thank you for bringing it.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50We've had him about 40 years, but the interesting background...
0:22:50 > 0:22:55My great-uncle bought it and another painting in the 1930s in Wensleydale.
0:22:55 > 0:23:02He liked the other, but this one rather offended his sense of decency, so apparently he put it in a wardrobe
0:23:02 > 0:23:05- with its face to the wall. - Hid it away.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10- Just so. As a 16-year-old, I found it there.- In the cupboard?
0:23:10 > 0:23:14- Face to the wall.- So what happened?
0:23:14 > 0:23:17I was told if I could take it out without him seeing it, it was mine.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22- I did.- So you did - saved his modesty and carried it out?- Apparently.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27It is definitely a 17C painting
0:23:27 > 0:23:32and it shows St Jerome in his...penitence.
0:23:32 > 0:23:39He went into the wilderness and lived a life of prayer and thought.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43And down at the bottom here, we've actually got the lion...
0:23:43 > 0:23:48- Yes.- ..that, legend has it, he removed a thorn from the paw of,
0:23:48 > 0:23:54and from then on, the lion was his obedient servant. So that's a rather nice extra touch to the narrative.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- Indeed.- It is actually, I think,
0:23:57 > 0:24:02deriving from an original Reubens composition,
0:24:02 > 0:24:09or a composition by a follower of Reubens, but it's very much in a Flemish 17C style.
0:24:09 > 0:24:16So, brilliantly rescued by you from the back of a cupboard! It's one that you probably should insure
0:24:16 > 0:24:21- for around £2,000.- Oh, good, right. - I hope you will continue to enjoy it
0:24:21 > 0:24:27- and look at it, rather than keeping it at the back of a cupboard.- Yes, it's guaranteed a place on our wall.
0:24:32 > 0:24:39This jersey belonged to a member of the 1905 tour party to England,
0:24:39 > 0:24:44the first official New Zealand party to England - the All Blacks.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48This jersey belonged to Duncan McGregor.
0:24:48 > 0:24:55Now, Duncan McGregor played on the wing for New Zealand and, as it turned out, in that very first game
0:24:55 > 0:25:03he scored four tries, which up until 1987 had never been surpassed by any New Zealander in an international.
0:25:03 > 0:25:10- So that was quite unique. - These things relate to the first All Blacks tour here.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15And, you know, they became known as All Blacks because on arrival, the press said to them,
0:25:15 > 0:25:20"What colours are you playing in?" They said, "All black," which stuck.
0:25:20 > 0:25:26If I just have a look at the ball... the condition here is not so good.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29The signatures are fading, which is a shame.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34Still, its association with that first Crystal Palace match
0:25:34 > 0:25:37would make it - I would have thought -
0:25:37 > 0:25:39at least £1,000-worth at auction.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43You should maybe be insuring that for £2,000.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46The cap - McGregor's cap...
0:25:46 > 0:25:53with the New Zealand emblem, and actually in pretty good condition, recording the years that he played -
0:25:53 > 0:25:58as you say, 1903-4, right the way round to 1907-8 -
0:25:58 > 0:26:03is probably worth at auction £1,500 to £2,000.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06You should insure that for £3,000.
0:26:06 > 0:26:12Here we have "D McGregor", signed and inscribed, along with other players,
0:26:12 > 0:26:18round the inside edge of the leather which is stitched on the jersey.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23It must make this the earliest piece of Antipodean rugby memorabilia
0:26:23 > 0:26:29that anybody could ever wish to find. Incredibly difficult to value at auction.
0:26:29 > 0:26:35Soccer... Early soccer shirts make thousands and thousands of pounds.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40The top price for an early soccer shirt is over £20,000.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45I wouldn't be surprised if this didn't bring at auction £5,000 to £8,000 -
0:26:45 > 0:26:51You should insure this shirt for £10,000. An incredibly exciting object.
0:26:51 > 0:26:58Marc Louis Solon came from Sevres in France, and he had developed
0:26:58 > 0:27:01this wonderful technique called pate-sur-pate,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06where you built up layers of white glaze
0:27:06 > 0:27:10to get this diaphanous picture - technically absolutely wonderful.
0:27:10 > 0:27:17Probably took a long time to build up these layers and layers of glaze. He signed it, down here.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21"Louis Solon." It's incised there...
0:27:21 > 0:27:24in the glaze. D'you see it?
0:27:26 > 0:27:31- How long have you had it?- That one, about 11 years. 11 years.- Yeah.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36- Did you pay a lot of money for it, 11 years ago?- Er, £900.
0:27:38 > 0:27:44Oh, well, I think you're comfortably in the clear. I would have thought that today it's probably worth...
0:27:44 > 0:27:48- £3,000 that sort of thing.- Really? - Well, it's a top object.
0:27:48 > 0:27:54What I really enjoy is this - I think he's had such FUN with all this.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Technically, this is absolutely magisterial.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01But my favourite one is this one...
0:28:01 > 0:28:08I'm as certain as I can be that it was painted at Derby by Thomas Steel.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14Thomas Steel was a great painter of fruit - he's still alive -
0:28:14 > 0:28:18and he's easy to recognise
0:28:18 > 0:28:24because his grapes look like... electric light bulbs. I think that's a good analogy.
0:28:24 > 0:28:31That's how I've always thought of them being. They GLOW like bulbs. This is a particularly good one.
0:28:31 > 0:28:37A GOOD still-life is enhanced by cut fruit, don't you think?
0:28:37 > 0:28:43It's much... Then you've got this little bit of the pear that has been nibbled at.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47It's a really fine example. I like this.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50These are quite speculative things.
0:28:50 > 0:28:57- If everybody likes them, this kind of plaque fetches £3,500 or £4,000. - Really?
0:28:57 > 0:29:01Is this an engine you've ever fired up?
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Um, no. I don't really want to fire it up
0:29:04 > 0:29:06because it's in such good condition.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10And I've already got a collection at home of a few Mamods and Wilescos,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13which I do fire up because they're modern.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16- This is almost too good to use, you think?- Yeah.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20This is actually marked by the firm, Bing.
0:29:20 > 0:29:26The instructions also have the mark. The Bing mark is from 1923.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31- Yeah.- So that helps to give a date to the piece.- Yeah.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34I notice the accessories are made by Marklin.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39- Yes.- Do you have other accessories at home?
0:29:39 > 0:29:45There's a generator to go with this, and a few other bits and pieces. They did actually come with the engine.
0:29:45 > 0:29:52Right. Presumably these accessories would've been driven from a band from this wheel, not a solid drive?
0:29:52 > 0:29:58- No, it would be one of these springy types linked to a rod up here...- Yes.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02..with more wheels on, with the same belt drive for the accessories.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06- Yes. Presumably you can still get the fuel to power this?- Yeah.
0:30:06 > 0:30:12It runs off meths. You fill the boiler with water, heat it, and after about ten minutes...
0:30:12 > 0:30:16It's as long as ten minutes before the pressure gets up?
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Yeah. This is a safety valve.
0:30:18 > 0:30:24There's a weight you can move about to get a different safety pressure.
0:30:24 > 0:30:31- So if you're driving something which takes more power, you'd slide the weight one way or the other?- Yeah.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37- Has it been in the family, or did you buy it?- It came from auction a couple of years ago.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41I think it was a couple of hundred quid.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46It's much larger scale than most of the engines that you find.
0:30:46 > 0:30:53- That's what attracted me to it. It's so unusual.- This must be getting on for 20 inches high, this chimney.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58- Yes.- I think that does help the value, if you were to resell it.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03- Yeah.- So I suspect that if it went to auction today,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06it would make between £400 and £600.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10- Really?- And it's a wonderful thing to have brought along.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- Yeah.- Thank you very much indeed. - Thank you.
0:31:15 > 0:31:21It says "Carlus Magnus" which is for Charlemagne, Charles I,
0:31:21 > 0:31:25- King of France, who was the first Holy Roman Emperor.- Oh.
0:31:25 > 0:31:32And here he is, looking proud in his crown. And the scene in the centre is the coronation.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37He was born in 742. I think it was in Bavaria.
0:31:37 > 0:31:44- And he was crowned by Pope Stephen II...- Oh. - ..in the middle part of the 8C.
0:31:44 > 0:31:52- Oh, I see.- And died, I think, in about 817, so he lived a long time, 70-odd years, amazing in those days.
0:31:52 > 0:31:59This is very proudly embossed with trophies of war... Justice at the bottom, there.
0:31:59 > 0:32:05And it's redolent of all the achievements that Charlemagne had.
0:32:05 > 0:32:12- Of course, all this is going on in the 8C, but in reality it's not an 8C piece.- No!
0:32:12 > 0:32:14- Unfortunately.- Exactly.
0:32:14 > 0:32:20What's interesting is, it's copying the style of a Nuremberg alms dish -
0:32:20 > 0:32:24or something like that - of the 15C or 16C,
0:32:24 > 0:32:26- but it's 19th century.- Yes.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30And late 19th century, at that. It's actually machine pressed,
0:32:30 > 0:32:36- a product of the industrial age. - Yes.- Although it's a wonderful thing, it's not worth a huge amount.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40£250, £300, something like that. So, you know, a reasonable investment.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Lovely. Thank you.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49- We found it in my father-in-law's greenhouse.- In the greenhouse?- Yes.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54- What was it doing there?- It was just there. I thought it looked a bit old.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58Yes. Well, it is VERY old. Over 400 years old.
0:32:58 > 0:33:03This is a very unusual example to get on the Roadshow
0:33:03 > 0:33:07because it's a piece of Italian maiolica.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09It's a tazza.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14That means it's taken after a silver-shaped dish
0:33:14 > 0:33:17for probably supporting wine glasses or something on it.
0:33:17 > 0:33:23And this is a special type developed in the 16C, from around 1550.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27We always think that this stuff, maiolica, is white.
0:33:27 > 0:33:33But this developed from a very dull background. You can see this colour, how the white has gone over it.
0:33:33 > 0:33:39That's because they developed this new white glaze "bianco di faenza".
0:33:39 > 0:33:45They then felt more confident doing designs which were loose and open. You can expose the white body.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48So this is relatively white.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53What they did in the second half of the 16C was to design it very sparingly
0:33:53 > 0:33:56in this style, called "compendiario" in Italian -
0:33:56 > 0:34:03meaning sort of shorthand - so that this is a very simplified design with a wonderfully mobile putto,
0:34:03 > 0:34:09the putto in the middle here. It's a marvellous little object, very sparing, but quite rare.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14This piece... I would value at around £1,000 maybe £1,200.
0:34:14 > 0:34:19- Under the hammer, perhaps even more. - Golly.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22THEY LAUGH I didn't even like it!
0:34:23 > 0:34:28This is a very attractive child's chair. How long have you had this?
0:34:28 > 0:34:32- Well, it's been handed down to me in my family, actually.- Yes.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35My father told me when I was little
0:34:35 > 0:34:42that his great-grandfather made it for his father.
0:34:42 > 0:34:48That's absolutely wonderful. This is really unusual, to see a chair like this, made out of bobbins.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53Even more clever, your great grandfather has reflected that
0:34:53 > 0:35:00- in turning the piece of wood along the back here, along the arms, to reflect the bobbins as well.- Yes.
0:35:00 > 0:35:05- And they actually move?- Yes. - That's really fantastic.
0:35:06 > 0:35:11The other thing that I love as well is that you've got this lovely wear
0:35:11 > 0:35:16on the elbows and on the stretchers, here, and on the seat.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21and at the other points, this lovely sort of dirt ingrained. Fantastic.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26If you saw this in an antique shop... It's the sort of thing people fall in love with.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30- ..it's got to be worth £400 to £600. - Really?- It's fantastic.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33- That's a surprise. - Lovely little chair.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37This is a story that could've come straight from a film script.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41We have a cloth packet with lots of postcards.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44On the outside is a hole, a bullet hole.
0:35:44 > 0:35:51Inside, right in the middle of the cards is the bullet. Your father's?
0:35:51 > 0:35:57- This belonged to my father...- What did he tell you about it?- He told me he had that - I think in a backpack
0:35:57 > 0:36:02or maybe a breast pocket - in the First World War. It saved his life.
0:36:02 > 0:36:07The bullet stuck in the middle of the cards. That's what I understand.
0:36:07 > 0:36:13- He wasn't a fanciful man, your father?- Definitely not.- But these aren't English cards, are they?
0:36:13 > 0:36:18No, they're not. But whether he collected them... This was in France, you see.
0:36:18 > 0:36:24"Souvenir de la guerre." Well, it certainly was a souvenir of the war.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28- Yes.- How old was your father when this happened?- Um, about 17.
0:36:28 > 0:36:35He signed up early, as a lot of young men did and was accepted under-age.
0:36:35 > 0:36:41- And they went early too, a lot of them.- Yes.- If he hadn't been wearing this, he would have been killed?
0:36:41 > 0:36:48- Killed or injured - I don't know.- And you wouldn't be here? And I wouldn't be listening to this amazing story.
0:36:48 > 0:36:55It's a terribly classical style, actually, which really dates back to the mid-17C.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00And sort of Girondelle style, with all these little drops hanging down.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05Very nice quality diamonds, and they're all 19C cuts -
0:37:05 > 0:37:11round, a sort of rectangular one, pear-shaped, cushion cut -
0:37:11 > 0:37:17and when we turn it round and look at the back...the gold work's all beautifully done.
0:37:17 > 0:37:24This is what makes old jewellery so good and so delightful - the back should be just as good as the front.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26Beautifully pierced out and filed out.
0:37:26 > 0:37:34It also has this detachable fitting, very common in 18C and 19C jewellery, so it's multi-purpose.
0:37:34 > 0:37:40It's got a little loop there that you can hang from a chain or ribbon.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43The front, of course, is set in silver,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46because that's the only white metal they used to have.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50If one were to see that in a fine quality shop now,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53it'd be retailing at somewhere about the £15,000 mark.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57- That's the value it should be insured for.- £15,000?
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Yes, not a bad little sum.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05My husband's father and grandfather were in the navy, both in the Far East.
0:38:05 > 0:38:11- But the grandfather was in Yokohama in about 1860-something.- Yeah.
0:38:11 > 0:38:18- But my...his FATHER was there, certainly, about 1900...- Right.
0:38:18 > 0:38:24- ..In China, NOT in Japan, as far as I know.- But he would have gone to Japan, as this is a Japanese piece.
0:38:24 > 0:38:30- Well, presumably.- What's so fantastic for ME... I love Japanese metalwork,
0:38:30 > 0:38:34- but to see something like this out of solid silver...- It's heavy! - ..is quite remark... Exactly!
0:38:34 > 0:38:41- Do you know how much it weighs? - No, I've never weighed it. - I think it's about 60oz.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44And that's pretty hefty, isn't it?
0:38:44 > 0:38:49I've loved all the dragons, and the chrysanthemums I think are beautiful.
0:38:49 > 0:38:54They're marvellous. The Japanese were fantastic, at chasing metal objects.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59The skill of the craftsmanship is fantastic.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03A central design of chrysanthemums.
0:39:03 > 0:39:08All the stamens of the flowers are picked out in gold.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11It's contained by a little key-fret border here.
0:39:11 > 0:39:16Then this lovely rim, this lovely side of the dish here,
0:39:16 > 0:39:23is beautifully chased with one, two, three dragons, I think, amongst swirling waves.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27Some waves are picked up with little drops of gold, too.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30So it's a very Japanese design.
0:39:30 > 0:39:38It's a rare thing, it's a very impressive object, and I think if that was to come up in auction
0:39:38 > 0:39:42- it would certainly make £4,000 to £6,000.- Indeed? Well, very handsome.
0:39:42 > 0:39:48Here's a commission document signed by Queen Victoria here, and her Prime Minister Peel here,
0:39:48 > 0:39:54"Appointing Edward White, gentleman, to Solicitor to our First or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards".
0:39:54 > 0:39:58Who was this Edward White, gentleman?
0:39:58 > 0:40:02He was the father of a friend of the family.
0:40:02 > 0:40:07Most... All these documents were given to us by Barbara White.
0:40:07 > 0:40:13He was obviously quite important. You've a wonderful collection of letters.
0:40:13 > 0:40:19There's a Tennyson letter, an Edward VII letter, and so on and so forth.
0:40:19 > 0:40:25It goes on - with virtually every member of the Royal Household.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27Yes, from all over the place.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Osborne, the royal yacht, Marlborough House.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Henry Ponsonby, obviously.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36He was the controller of the household of... Queen Alexandra, I think.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40Chap with a big white beard, I seem to remember.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44And then you've got this wonderful ceremony,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47"To be Observed at the Funeral of His Late Majesty King Edward VII,
0:40:47 > 0:40:49"of Blessed Memory."
0:40:49 > 0:40:53- Instructions for...- I find that the most fascinating document of the lot.
0:40:53 > 0:41:00- Do you?- It tells you what colour the horses must be, what sort of carriage you can ride in.- Who rode in what!
0:41:00 > 0:41:06You've also got a little illustrated birthday book of Shakespeare.
0:41:06 > 0:41:12Again, this is all filled in with royalty isn't it? Just absolutely crammed full.
0:41:12 > 0:41:19Oh - Victoria Melita. Of course - Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Duke of Edinburgh's daughter,
0:41:19 > 0:41:25- she was called "Melita" because... Malta.- Right.- He was based in Malta.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28She later married - secondly, I think -
0:41:28 > 0:41:31into the Russian royal family.
0:41:31 > 0:41:37You've lots of other lovely things, particularly these cabinet photographs.
0:41:37 > 0:41:42There's a wonderful one of Queen Victoria with her grandchildren.
0:41:44 > 0:41:50Edward Landseer... Queen Alexandra looking very young and beautiful, when she was Princess of Wales.
0:41:50 > 0:41:57There's a pretty one of Queen Victoria almost smiling. Well, that's absolutely lovely.
0:41:57 > 0:42:05And Leopold. Leopold, of course, he's very rare - because he died when he was in his 20s,
0:42:05 > 0:42:09his early 20s. A haemophiliac, he died in an accident.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13The earliest of Queen Victoria's children to die.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17- Louise, Duchess of Fife. They really are a wonder... Oh!- Super, isn't it?
0:42:17 > 0:42:22- Prince Alfred. About the best I've ever seen of him.- Well-posed.- Very!
0:42:22 > 0:42:25For a decent cabinet photograph,
0:42:25 > 0:42:30you're talking anything from £50 to £200 or £300.
0:42:30 > 0:42:36In the case of Leopold, and certainly in the case of Alfred, I would think, certainly that.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40There's an awful lot there. These commission documents,
0:42:40 > 0:42:44letters from famous people... I've totted it up.
0:42:44 > 0:42:50- It's somewhere in the region of about £3,000.- Well, I'm staggered.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56They say the Antiques Roadshow works on several levels. Well, it certainly has today.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Both terraces of Eastnor Castle have been humming with activity(!)
0:43:00 > 0:43:04We haven't seen the last of Eastnor. We shall be back here next week
0:43:04 > 0:43:08with the inside story of the castle itself.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Thank you to the people and to the countryside of Herefordshire.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Goodbye.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd