0:00:33 > 0:00:38Today we're in a town which is proud to be the oldest in Shropshire
0:00:38 > 0:00:44and perhaps even prouder to have had four names along the way.
0:00:44 > 0:00:50The Romans had a name for it. The Saxons had theirs. The Normans called it something else.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54It finally got a name that stuck - Whitchurch.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58The faces of this clock in the town centre lists all its titles
0:00:58 > 0:01:04and it was made here by the oldest firm of clockmakers in the world - JB Joyce.
0:01:04 > 0:01:10From Shropshire to Shanghai, Joyce's tower clocks have been keeping the world on time since 1690.
0:01:10 > 0:01:16Business gathered momentum in the 19th century when the new railway system carried clock parts
0:01:16 > 0:01:23all over Britain, together with the engineers to install them - quite often at railway stations.
0:01:23 > 0:01:30One of the largest clocks ever made by JB Joyce was installed in the Shanghai Custom House in 1930.
0:01:30 > 0:01:36The dials alone weigh one and a half tons, and the minute hand is 10 feet 6 inches long.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Turn the clock back to the end of the 14th century
0:01:39 > 0:01:45and we find that dynamic Whitchurch character, John Talbot, the first Earl of Shrewsbury.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49A man of action, he spent his life fighting the Welsh, the Irish,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and, for 30 years, his favourite foe - the French.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57He fought Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orleans and held the Bastille,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00but was driven out and taken prisoner.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05Shakespeare depicted him in Henry VI, Part I as "the scourge of France,
0:02:05 > 0:02:12"the Talbot, so much fear'd, that with his name the mothers still their babies."
0:02:12 > 0:02:16The old warrior fought on relentlessly into his 70s
0:02:16 > 0:02:21and met a suitably heroic end in the final engagement of the Hundred Years War at Castignon.
0:02:21 > 0:02:27His heart was brought back here to Whitchurch and is buried under the church porch.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32An ancestor of the great man founded the Sir John Talbot School
0:02:32 > 0:02:35in a quest to cure youth of sloth and idleness, a noble ideal.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39It's still a seat of learning for Shropshire lads and lasses,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41and today for the Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48Hi, there. Tell me, did you have an uncle called Henry?
0:02:48 > 0:02:51- Years ago?- Henry Wonnacott? - No, Henry Ford.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- Oh, Henry Ford.- Yes. - Now, could be, yes.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58- Henry Ford, my mother's brother. - Your mother's brother?
0:02:58 > 0:03:01- Yes.- Then that is your grandfather.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- Oh, my Lord. - That is your great grandfather.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07- Yes.- That is MY father.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09- How extraordinary.- Now then...
0:03:12 > 0:03:18"Ladies' old-fashioned shoes with 11 illustrations from originals." Whose was this book?
0:03:18 > 0:03:23It belonged to my father, who spent all his working life in shoes. He acquired it, I know not where.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Let's have a look and enjoy it. Here we go.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30"The following illustrations of old shoes
0:03:30 > 0:03:35"are intended to preserve in an intelligent form what is fast crumbling into dust."
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Here we start.
0:03:37 > 0:03:44"The shoe that belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots. Smallness of size, black satin..."
0:03:44 > 0:03:50The quality of this colour printing is just remarkable, isn't it?
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- Incredible, given the age of the book.- Exactly.
0:03:53 > 0:03:59And also the detail in the shoe itself with the stitching and so on.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04Now we go on to Miss Langley, who lived in the reign of Charles II.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09- Ohhhh! I mean, I love shoes. - They're breathtaking.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11- They are, absolutely.- Beautiful.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16- And do you have a favourite? - Oh, I... There is a reference
0:04:16 > 0:04:21to a Mrs Brown, who is unknown other than it was a Mrs Brown's shoe and I always think rather charming.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27- Here we go. Mrs Brown.- Mrs Brown. - "Nothing can be ascertained about Mrs Brown." Poor Mrs Brown!- I know.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32The shoe was worn...it dates about the time of Queen Elizabeth.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37Well, that should be - oh, look at that. Fantastic.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42What I find particularly praiseworthy with this book
0:04:42 > 0:04:49is the reason that somebody made it. It was expensive to commission a book with this quality of illustration.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Presumably they're a sort of lithograph type...
0:04:52 > 0:04:58- Exactly, exactly, but it's surprising that somebody has looked at shoes in that way.- Yes, indeed.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Wonderful. Well, it is collectable.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07I have seen them in really good condition fetch as much as £500.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- Really? - But I think one's got to be aware that there is a little bit of damage.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14- Indeed.- But even so, I would say, er...
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- between £300 and £500.- Is that so? Really?- At auction, yes.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Obviously, something happened to this drawer.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Has it been restored or is it a completely new one?
0:05:24 > 0:05:26It was a new drawer made about...
0:05:26 > 0:05:31in the 1990s when I had the whole piece of furniture restored.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35I was a bit alarmed at the price, actually. It cost me £100, just that little drawer.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38It's been beautifully made. Compare the dovetails.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42You've got the older one in this hand, slightly darker.
0:05:42 > 0:05:48It's had lots more wear and use and everything and it's been more exposed to the air and oxidised a bit.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52They're both walnut sides and the colour of the -
0:05:52 > 0:05:56300-year-old wood and the fairly recent cut of walnut, but it's very nicely made.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00The front was re-veneered as well? Oh yes, you can see.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03The difference in colour, jolly good cabinet working
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- and seems very reasonable to me. It's lovely.- Thank you.
0:06:07 > 0:06:14- What a lovely piece of furniture. - I inherited it from my mother in about 1985.- Right, right.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18The probate value of it then was £4,000.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20And how long had she had it?
0:06:20 > 0:06:25She didn't have it for long because she inherited it from her aunt
0:06:25 > 0:06:28who would have been born in the 1880s
0:06:28 > 0:06:31and we think it's been in the family longer than that.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35It's called a secretaire chest or a secretaire chest on chest.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41- Chest on chest, I've heard.- This lovely writing desk, and what I like about this is when you close it up...
0:06:41 > 0:06:45..you wouldn't know it was a secretaire, would you?
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- No.- You'd think it was just a chest on chest.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52- That's how I've heard it described. - Sometimes called a tallboy.- Yes.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54It's the most wonderful colour wood.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58The interior has burr elm with those finely pointed little burrs,
0:06:58 > 0:07:03but the outside is walnut - a lovely contrast, using indigenous English woods.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06So what date would you call this?
0:07:06 > 0:07:12The gentleman who restored it for me in the 1990s suggested George I...
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Um...1720. 1715-1720.
0:07:15 > 0:07:21Right, which I think is fair enough but it's very difficult for us to be sure.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- This is the high point of English cabinet making.- Mm-hm.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31There was not really a better time than this early Georgian period of making wonderful proportions.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34There's something about the line and proportion of this
0:07:34 > 0:07:37which is just perfect, the scale of it.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40It's all been done the hard way. No machinery.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- Well, there wasn't any. - No, there WAS no machinery.
0:07:43 > 0:07:49One feature which lifts this above - apart from the glorious colour and patination -
0:07:49 > 0:07:56is this canted side with these lovely fluted, reeded pilasters here and it leads down
0:07:56 > 0:08:01to this marvellous - don't know what to call that - it's like a leaf or a tongue sticking out.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05- Mm.- Lovely shape. It's so simple, but what a difference it makes
0:08:05 > 0:08:09to the piece - it lifts it into a new category of furniture.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12I'm very fond of it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17- An inherited piece and you had it valued at £4,000 for probate. - Yes. That was 1985.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- What's the insurance figure on it at the moment?- £15,000, I think.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23- Fifteen?- I think so, yes.
0:08:23 > 0:08:29- I'm delighted to say that you're desperately under-insured.- Oh.
0:08:29 > 0:08:35I think this would make easily at auction - easily between £20,000 and £30,000
0:08:35 > 0:08:37- and possibly even a bit more. - Goodness!
0:08:37 > 0:08:42So if you wanted a proper insurance price on it,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45raise the 15 to at least £45,000 or £50,000.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Oh, my goodness!
0:08:50 > 0:08:54I've been collecting ever since I've been in the fire brigade,
0:08:54 > 0:08:59which has been 18 years - I collect fire memorabilia in general
0:08:59 > 0:09:03but I just took a fancy to all the helmets.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06When it comes to value of these things, condition is important.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10I notice that this one in particular -
0:09:10 > 0:09:14I mean, there's hardly a dent in it. Beautiful condition.
0:09:14 > 0:09:20Now, one was sold in, um... only about four years ago
0:09:20 > 0:09:22in mint condition.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25That made £500.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28But the most important one of all -
0:09:28 > 0:09:30the chief's - and of course...
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Liverpool...
0:09:33 > 0:09:39- it's got the Liver Bird on the top, so you're right down to A fire brigade, which is great.- Yes.
0:09:39 > 0:09:45So you're looking at £700, £800, even more.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51- Well, I bought it actually in the 1950s.- Right. OK. What was it that attracted you to her?
0:09:51 > 0:09:56She was just in an antique shop window where I worked opposite
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and I used to look at her...
0:09:59 > 0:10:03many days, and I thought, "I would like that."
0:10:03 > 0:10:10She's so typical of the sort of 1920s, 1930s, and she's a very streamlined girl,
0:10:10 > 0:10:16but the give-away from the sculptor's point of view are the legs.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Because in all fairness, these legs go on for ever.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25When I see a figure like that, I think it's got to be Joseph Lorenzl,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29because all his ladies have got these long limbs. Not only the legs,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32but arms as well - very willowy maidens.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35The signature itself is down there
0:10:35 > 0:10:41and I'm pleased to say it is obviously right as rain, but there are a few fakes around
0:10:41 > 0:10:46because he's been making a bit of money - but before we talk about money, a nice base.
0:10:46 > 0:10:54Good onyx base. A lot of fakes fail because they've got very substandard bases.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Now this is obviously, you know, a good quality cast bronze.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03It's been given this silvered appearance but believe me, it is bronze.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08Again, if one looks at the face, this woman's got character.
0:11:08 > 0:11:14The hair's nicely finished, because every good bronze is finished by a chiseller,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16who puts in the detail.
0:11:16 > 0:11:22So, back in the 1950s, how much did you pay for it? You can tell me.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25- Dare I?- Yes, go on.- £25.
0:11:25 > 0:11:31- £25?- Which was a lot of money then. - It WAS a lot of money, so you really wanted her, didn't you?- I did.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Well, I suppose if you wanted her today,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37you'd have to fork out a bit more.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41In fact, the last one I saw in a gallery
0:11:41 > 0:11:46- was actually priced at £1,500. - Really?
0:11:46 > 0:11:49I've seen some snapshots, but this beats the lot.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52a parade of Hollywood - whose is this?
0:11:52 > 0:11:56It belonged to my father, my late father, who died two years ago now.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02- It was his pride and joy. When anyone came to the house, they had to be shown.- What was his job?
0:12:02 > 0:12:05He was a purser on the Queen Mary, just after the war.
0:12:05 > 0:12:12That explains why all these famous faces are here. Noel Coward, Charles Boyer, Paul Muni.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Snaps of the stars and your father with the stars -
0:12:16 > 0:12:19"To Ray from Clark Gable" - not bad.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Not bad at all, no.
0:12:21 > 0:12:27It's a really interesting collection of English drinking glasses. Have you assembled it?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30It was given to me by my mother and my late father.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33They both collected them over many, many years.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Well, we clearly haven't got time to go through the lot. They are -
0:12:38 > 0:12:41with one or two exceptions - English,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43and - with one or two exceptions -
0:12:43 > 0:12:4718th or 19th century in date.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Many of them have got stems like these
0:12:50 > 0:12:55which are either cotton twist, which is the white enamel,
0:12:55 > 0:13:00or air twist or mercury twist, which we've got here.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03If I feel this one...
0:13:03 > 0:13:05that has been trimmed.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08It's quite common for dealers,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12when they're selling glass, if it's got a chip, to grind...
0:13:12 > 0:13:17the whole of the rim to remove the chip.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22And, of course, as far as a collector is concerned, that's bad news.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- This is - do you know what this is? - No.
0:13:25 > 0:13:32It's a rummer. Er...it's a corruption of the German word Roemer, which is...
0:13:32 > 0:13:36a large drinking glass - nothing to do with rum.
0:13:36 > 0:13:44These were used for ale in the 18th century and into the 19th. Do you notice something about the glass?
0:13:44 > 0:13:48- Isn't the colour a bit different from the others?- Very good.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53That's what a glass collector is looking at
0:13:53 > 0:14:01and that's perfectly all right, but it is a very yellow glass and that will affect the price a bit.
0:14:01 > 0:14:08Instead of, perhaps, being £85, it might be £65 because it's a bit yellow.
0:14:09 > 0:14:15And finally, this one - that's a rhythm one. We call this rhythm when it goes round like that.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18It's early 19th century and jolly nice.
0:14:18 > 0:14:24One like that today is somewhere in the region of £30 to £40,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26something like that, but moving up.
0:14:26 > 0:14:33Overall, it's a really very nice and interesting little collection.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37My guess is - I haven't examined them in any detail -
0:14:37 > 0:14:39is that you've probably got around
0:14:39 > 0:14:44- £1,000 to £1,500 worth here.- Lovely.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48- Mother Goose.- That's right.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52S Carter. Now, I know who that is.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55That's Samuel John Carter. He's a Norfolk artist.
0:14:55 > 0:15:01He lived in Swaffham and he's an animal painter.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05He's really particularly known for pictures of dogs and of puppies.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09- Particularly puppies.- Yes. - Can you tell me how you acquired it?
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Did you buy it...or inherit it?
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Er, well, it was left to my father in 1952
0:15:15 > 0:15:20by his aunt, and then it came to me in 1969.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26Yes. Well, it's beautifully painted. I mean, Samuel Carter's not as famous an artist, let's say,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30as Landseer or somebody like that - he's another late Victorian,
0:15:30 > 0:15:35charming painter of animals but wherever you look, the details are extremely good.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39- You know, the eyes...- The eyes. - Good.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44I love the way the little goslings are done and this chap standing up and flapping his wings.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48And also the landscape's nice, the river and the background
0:15:48 > 0:15:51with all the detail there. A bit cracked.
0:15:51 > 0:15:52- Yes.- Here...
0:15:52 > 0:15:59along this side, little bit cracked in the varnish but that's not too serious.
0:15:59 > 0:16:05- I mean, really, I would recommend having this picture cleaned and taking the glass off.- Yes.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08And the picture's signed as well, down here.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13Very faint and rather hard to see but it is signed, isn't it? SJ Carter.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16There's a date. Looks like 1888.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21This type of animal picture, obviously, is a very popular subject.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Very saleable, I would say, in a sale...
0:16:25 > 0:16:31- £3,000 to £4,000. You should insure it for £5,000.- Yes.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35- So, a charming thing. Thank you for bringing it.- Thank you.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38My husband bought them in the early '60s because we liked them.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42We paid £50 for them, which we thought was rather a lot in those days.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44- £50?- Yes.
0:16:44 > 0:16:45Right, yes.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48First of all,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51the condition is absolutely stunning.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Everything is as crisp as the day it was made.
0:16:54 > 0:17:00The glass is just so sharp. Everything is just as you would want it be.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05Finding a PAIR of claret jugs is unusual.
0:17:05 > 0:17:12- They turn up, but most often you simply find A claret jug.- Yes.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14We've got a wonderful fruiting vine
0:17:14 > 0:17:19spreading across the lid and the vines intertwined.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23You see how they just cross over and then go down into the base there.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28So often when you get something like this, it's been dulled with polishing over the...
0:17:28 > 0:17:34- Well, I've only cleaned it four times since I've had them.- Four times. Right. Have you used them?
0:17:34 > 0:17:37- Not for wine, no. - No. What have you used them for?
0:17:37 > 0:17:40We have them where we can see them, in a glass case.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- Right, just to enjoy. - Yes, yes.- Just to enjoy.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Well, they're made in London and...
0:17:47 > 0:17:51we've got a date here of 1838...
0:17:51 > 0:17:55but the maker - and really, it could not be better.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59- Oh.- The maker in this case is Paul Storr.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Oh, fabulous! I have heard of him!
0:18:02 > 0:18:08- Certainly a name to conjure with. - Yes.- One of the greatest, um... of the silversmiths
0:18:08 > 0:18:12that has ever been, and it is an early date for claret jugs.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16- Oh.- They started to get going in the Regency period.
0:18:16 > 0:18:22You don't see many until you get a little later into the reign of Queen Victoria.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27So we've got an absolutely top maker. We've got a pair.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30We should be looking at a value
0:18:30 > 0:18:33of somewhere...
0:18:33 > 0:18:36around £30,000 plus.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37What?!
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Wow! That's fabulous.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44So, a little improvement on the £50.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Oh, that's wonderful! I do wish my husband was here to hear that.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53We've got an 18th-century herbal -
0:18:53 > 0:18:56"Primitive Physic", by John Wesley,
0:18:56 > 0:19:01but it's the 22nd edition so although it was printed in 1788,
0:19:01 > 0:19:06- it's a long way from a first edition and in that sort of condition, maybe worth £20 or something.- I see.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11We've got a teapot, a pewter teapot on a spirit stand.
0:19:11 > 0:19:17- It looks as if it has been through several world wars, frankly.- Yes.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20- Well and truly bashed. That's worth about £20.- Right.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23I always liked to think it was a North American tomahawk.
0:19:23 > 0:19:29- Tomahawk pipe, of course.- Yes. - So this is the sort of thing they pass around in the wigwam.
0:19:29 > 0:19:35- Like a peace thing?- You can call it a pipe of peace because it was used in a friendly situation.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39If you smoke with the chief and other elders of the tribe,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43you are a friendly person and they called them a pipe of peace.
0:19:43 > 0:19:49- Ah, yes.- But this is a late one, around the latter part of the 19th century.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53- I see. - The mouthpiece in here...
0:19:53 > 0:19:57- This is made of bone. - I thought it might be.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01- I imagine it's been used quite extensively.- It looks it.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04It makes you wonder how it gets to England.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07That, to a collector today,
0:20:07 > 0:20:14would be worth something in the region of £750 and as much as £1,000.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16- Would it really? Would it really? - Yes.- Ooh.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Oh, yes, who's this down here? Oh, that's great, isn't it?
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- Lovely, isn't it? - What do you call him?- Twit.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Twit. Well, this is great.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28It's Austrian and cold painted bronze.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32We see quite a few of these but not usually of a sort of novelty type.
0:20:32 > 0:20:38It says "Bergmann" stamped on it and the wise old owl - Twit -
0:20:38 > 0:20:40would sit on your desk
0:20:40 > 0:20:46and you'd open up his lid like that and there would be not a piece of paper inside, but an inkwell.
0:20:46 > 0:20:52- Twit's great, isn't he?- Lovely! - He dates from about 1870-1880. Something like that.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53Right.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57And because it's novelty and nicely coloured and useful,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- I think it would bring, at auction, about £400.- Oh, gosh!
0:21:01 > 0:21:06- What else have you got? Let's have a look.- And in here we have this.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Now, that is nice. Good.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13We don't really see that many rubies on the Roadshow. I don't know why.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17But for some reason, we always seem to get
0:21:17 > 0:21:22three-stone rings set with sapphires and I've been waiting for someone to bring along
0:21:22 > 0:21:24a really pretty ruby.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26These are brilliant cut diamonds.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31We've got a ruby in the centre and brilliants on each side.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Look at the side of the mount -
0:21:34 > 0:21:36all this very fine scrolling here
0:21:36 > 0:21:40and then the claw settings here.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44I would date it round about 1900.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Burmese rubies are the best. I'm not sure it comes from Burma.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51It's probably from Thailand or maybe one of these countries
0:21:51 > 0:21:56that also produce very good quality rubies, but that's a very sweet ring
0:21:56 > 0:21:59and that's probably worth, in auction, £1,500 to £2,000.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03It's very sweet indeed. I like that.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05They're Irish turf buckets.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09They've been in our family for a long time.
0:22:09 > 0:22:16The family had settled in Ireland in the 1600s.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21I believe that they came from the family property in County Laois, from Lauderdale House, um...
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Probably mid-1700s but I'm not absolutely certain. Maybe you can...
0:22:25 > 0:22:30Right. I don't think they're 18th century in the sense - well, not mid-1700s, anyway.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34The style of this, and really this wonderful ribbing here,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38is much more typical of the Regency period, so 1810-1820.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44And...Ireland being a little bit far away from the centre of fashion, perhaps even a little bit later.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48- Certainly the early part of the 19th century.- Right.
0:22:48 > 0:22:54I don't know when they were made and I don't have any record in any of the family albums we've got.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Right, right, right. But I just love the way they're made.
0:22:58 > 0:23:04This coopering is fantastic. Just two very simple brass strands going right round, top and bottom,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07holding what is a barrel, effectively, with these slats.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11They're just so wonderfully ribbed and they're strong.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14- They're almost what, three feet high? - About that, yes.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16- We still use this one for logs. - For logs?- Yes.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21- Unfortunately we don't get much turf in this part of the world. - I'm just imagining these.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26Imagine a big hall of a big 18th-century classical house.
0:23:26 > 0:23:33- You'd need two of these to keep probably one fire going all evening. - I would think so.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36I don't want you using those for logs because...
0:23:36 > 0:23:43with the damage we've got here, this rather intricate and expensive restoration you've had done...
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Absolutely, yes. Farmer's friend.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50- It's not difficult to restore. It looks dramatic but it's not difficult.- Would it be worthwhile?
0:23:50 > 0:23:55Yes. It's not a difficult job. It may show, but that doesn't matter.
0:23:55 > 0:24:02It's a wonderful part of Irish history - everything is Irish because this brass handle here is...
0:24:02 > 0:24:06I'd like to think, if you showed me out of context, I'd say it's Irish.
0:24:06 > 0:24:13A sophisticated classical leaf moulding, but a little bit naive compared with top London makers.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16And it adds to the charm.
0:24:16 > 0:24:22Would it have been a rural craftsman that made these or would it just come out of a bigger city?
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Oh, I think a bigger city. Probably Dublin, I think.
0:24:25 > 0:24:33They're a very sophisticated design and this swirling strong shape is a very smart London type design.
0:24:33 > 0:24:41You get it on small objects and even turned legs and things like that, in London in the early 1800s.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45But it's that Irishness which is important and the fact that
0:24:45 > 0:24:48you've had them in the family since they were made - is fantastic.
0:24:48 > 0:24:54- I'd like to think so. - The Irishness is part of their value and the provenance helps a lot.
0:24:54 > 0:25:00They're quite difficult to value. Have you got any preconceived ideas of the value?
0:25:00 > 0:25:04Um...as a pair as they stand, um...
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- £5,000 to 7,000, maybe? - Even in this condition?
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Yes.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13The market is not easy at the moment because...
0:25:13 > 0:25:15But there are a lot of very wealthy
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Irish people around, people with Irish connections around,
0:25:18 > 0:25:23who on a good market would pay, I think, a fantastically heavy price for this -
0:25:23 > 0:25:28but the market conditions are a bit uncertain at the moment. And I'm going to have to be conservative.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31You said £5,000-£7,000.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35I certainly think they're worth £50,000.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41- Right.- And I think that is very conservative.- Right.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45On a good day, these are worth the price of a small house.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49I'm glad I'm holding on to it.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54- Yeah...thank you. - They're brilliant objects.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58It has been handed down generation after generation
0:25:58 > 0:26:03- of my mother's side of the family. - Can you work out how many generations?
0:26:03 > 0:26:08- I think it's about four greats. - So you know the lady that it belonged to?- Yes, yes.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13Do you know anything about her life or whether she was from this part of the world?
0:26:13 > 0:26:20- I don't know her date of birth, but she did die in 1804. - Well, that's a help.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Let's just look at it and enjoy the treat - it really is a treat.
0:26:24 > 0:26:31The dress itself is made of a silk damask in this wonderful, vibrant emerald green,
0:26:31 > 0:26:35which really has kept its colour incredibly.
0:26:35 > 0:26:42There's no fading on it. It's almost as fresh as the day that it was made.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46I would have thought it could well be French damask
0:26:46 > 0:26:49because it wasn't until 1766
0:26:49 > 0:26:55that there was an import control put on the importation of French silks,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59so it could well be a French silk damask.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04It's called an open robe and here we have the open robe.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08What we're looking at underneath is a sort of everyday,
0:27:08 > 0:27:12the quilted underskirt that would be worn with it,
0:27:12 > 0:27:18with embroidery that's almost reminiscent of quite sort of simple Indian embroidery.
0:27:18 > 0:27:24There was quite a lot of Indian influence at this time with the, um...East India Company.
0:27:24 > 0:27:30All the sort of motifs, the Indian motifs were coming back and being used.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34I'd like to turn it round and have a look at the back here.
0:27:34 > 0:27:40We've got such a very attractive darted back
0:27:40 > 0:27:44into this narrow seamed section here
0:27:44 > 0:27:49and then out into a really quite full train at the back.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Very handsome. So often with these, you find
0:27:53 > 0:27:59that if they've been in the family for any length of time at all,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01they end up in the dressing-up box
0:28:01 > 0:28:05and very often then cut down and used for fancy dress parties and so on.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10This has seemed to have managed to escape that fate, and to have survived
0:28:10 > 0:28:14with the central section here, the stomacher,
0:28:14 > 0:28:19such wonderful quality of stitchwork with this silver thread.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23- Do you know how long it took? - Months.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28Years, probably, but you can imagine a girl working on that for a special occasion.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Do you have any idea when this might have been worn?
0:28:32 > 0:28:36It was thought to have been made for her to have tea with the Queen.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Tea with the Queen! How wonderful!
0:28:40 > 0:28:46- Well, it's grand enough, isn't it? - I think...that, I can't confirm.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50- No. Oh, well.- That is why it was supposed to be so special.
0:28:50 > 0:28:56Such a splendid gown, fit for tea with the Queen. Today, when we're talking about value,
0:28:56 > 0:29:02I would have thought we're talking in the £2,000 to £3,000 price range.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05It's very handsome indeed.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Well, I bought it about, um...1970.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13- Yes.- From my chiropodist in Shrewsbury who...
0:29:13 > 0:29:19- From your chiropodist?- Yes. - How wonderful!- He sort of did paintings as a sideline.
0:29:19 > 0:29:25- He had paintings on the wall while he was cutting up your feet? - So you could look at them.
0:29:25 > 0:29:31- Did he threaten to cut your toe off if you didn't buy one?- No, but I was so taken with it that I...
0:29:31 > 0:29:35I've always been very fond of sheep and so I bought it for £22.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Well, they were really great, these Victorian sheep painters.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44Thomas Sidney Cooper, who did this, was a pupil of Eugene Verboeckhoven,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48- also a great sheep painter. - Was he Dutch?- He was Belgian, actually.- Belgian, yes.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51There's this wonderful story -
0:29:51 > 0:29:57that a collector had been saving up for many, many years to buy a Verboeckhoven,
0:29:57 > 0:30:02and he went to Verboeckhoven's studio with 1,000 guilders in his pocket
0:30:02 > 0:30:08and was told that the picture he was looking at, which he very much liked and which showed four sheep,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12was 1,200 guilders, so he couldn't afford it.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16But Verboeckhoven took pity on him and said, "I'll give you it for 1,000
0:30:16 > 0:30:19"but I'll have to do one thing."
0:30:19 > 0:30:24He painted out one of the sheep so there were only three in the picture, so he could afford it.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26I see!
0:30:26 > 0:30:31So this is the sort of background that Thomas Sidney Cooper came from.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37I mean, he was the most sought after painter of sheep in England in the Victorian era.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42And it's in very good preservation. The colours are still there,
0:30:42 > 0:30:44the sheep are nicely arranged.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47- It's a very good late Cooper watercolour.- Oh, very good.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52- Very pleased to hear it. - Are you a farmer?- Yes, always been farming in Shropshire.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57So, the sheep is a nice thing to have on the wall for a farmer.
0:30:57 > 0:31:02- We didn't have sheep. We were dairy. - Right.- But I've always been fond of sheep.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05Right, well, it's a jolly nice one and I would have thought that at auction,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09it would be worth between £1,500 and £2,000,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13and insure it for £3,000 - is that more than you paid at the chiropodist?
0:31:13 > 0:31:16Yes, that was £22, so we've done all right, haven't we?
0:31:16 > 0:31:21- £22. Well done.- That's only about the price of having your feet done now, isn't it?- Right, yes.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Why would a stool - which is what it appears to be - have a hole in the middle?
0:31:28 > 0:31:32It's not a stool. It's actually a very old cheese press,
0:31:32 > 0:31:38which would have been used in the agriculture industry when the cheeses were put in the moulds.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41It would have been put on that with a weight on top
0:31:41 > 0:31:46and the residues would have drained through the hole in the bottom - the whey.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48How did you find out what it was?
0:31:48 > 0:31:54- I knew what it was, because we've got more modern versions of it around the farm.- Ah.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59Sort of being as we made cheese years ago,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03I presume it was probably used originally in the farmhouse.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06- My parents collected them.- Right. - Mum and Dad.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11- Then we inherited them, you see. - So, I mean, what an inheritance!
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Where does one start with a group like this?
0:32:14 > 0:32:18This is absolutely super - the card case.
0:32:19 > 0:32:25Card cases are terribly collectable today and the most collectable are those with scenes on them.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30Palace of Westminster is quite a rare one.
0:32:30 > 0:32:36Let's see who we've got as a maker on this one. It should be - yes, it is - Nathaniel Mills.
0:32:36 > 0:32:37He is the maker you want as well,
0:32:37 > 0:32:43so your parents were obviously really quite discerning in their collecting.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Have you had any thoughts on values on any of them?
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Um...I realised some are more valuable than the others.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53That's certainly very true. That, on its own,
0:32:53 > 0:32:58I would expect to be going for about £1,000 - £1,500.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01- For that one?- For that one, yes.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06That - help! It's rattling!
0:33:06 > 0:33:08There's more!
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Right, yes, it does, yes - it's...
0:33:12 > 0:33:14how many of these have you got?
0:33:14 > 0:33:17We've never counted them.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20So, I mean this snuff box is a wonderful, wonderful snuff box,
0:33:20 > 0:33:25the casket form - and see, the sides are sort of bulging -
0:33:25 > 0:33:29The most beautiful mounts there.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32I bet you this one's Mills as well. Yes, it is.
0:33:32 > 0:33:37So...and Mills, of course, working in Birmingham.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40Date-wise, around the 1830s.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43But a box like that, again...
0:33:43 > 0:33:49you've got to be talking in excess of £1,000 - for that quality of box.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53And they're not all of quite the same quality.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57That one is going a little bit down-market,
0:33:57 > 0:34:02but a box like that, you could easily be talking £300 - £400 or so...
0:34:02 > 0:34:06and...where do we go from there?
0:34:06 > 0:34:09They belonged to my wife's mother
0:34:09 > 0:34:15and it was her father, Richard Maddox, who was quite a well-known book collector of the '50s,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18who actually collected these,
0:34:18 > 0:34:24but he was also a personal friend of Shaw because we believe his wife was...
0:34:24 > 0:34:29lived locally, and that's how the association started.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32We've got a card which is great fun,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36because he says, "Gracious, you call that a small cheese?"
0:34:36 > 0:34:42- He must have sent them a rather large one.- He must have done. - That's right.
0:34:42 > 0:34:47"What must your big ones be like? It will last for the rest of our lives. Our best thanks."
0:34:47 > 0:34:50"The 27th is a Wednesday, and there will be a matinee.
0:34:50 > 0:34:56"Would you drop a card to my secretary to say whether you prefer matinee or evening?"
0:34:56 > 0:35:02This is dated 10th November 1929 and here is a picture of Shaw in 1931.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07That's it. He'd just come back from Russia, it said, didn't it?
0:35:07 > 0:35:11He was a bit of a socialist so he'd obviously gone to Russia
0:35:11 > 0:35:16and was impressed with how they did things in Russia, because...
0:35:16 > 0:35:20- it was one of the things of his life, wasn't it, socialism?- Yes.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24He was a very important thinker and that's how people remember him,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26as well as being a leading dramatist.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31- His socialism, his vegetarianism - interesting in the light of the cheese!- Yes!
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Perhaps he felt he had to eat a lot of cheese!
0:35:34 > 0:35:40- He was also very keen on language. He really wanted to revise the alphabet.- Did he?
0:35:40 > 0:35:45- That was one of his obsessions - with words.- Yes. - And here, Miss Patch, his secretary -
0:35:45 > 0:35:50"Your letter's been forwarded to me. I've not seen Mr Shaw since he got back from Russia
0:35:50 > 0:35:55"and I do not think he will be back in London until September. Thank you for the offer of cheese."
0:35:55 > 0:36:00So he was still - he must have eaten more than the one, mustn't he?
0:36:00 > 0:36:04- He must have had a regular supply. - A regular supply, yes.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07These are first editions of Shaw's books.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11- That's right. - And I see from up the front...
0:36:11 > 0:36:12That is the oldest, isn't it?
0:36:12 > 0:36:20- This is 1924 and I see from the front that this is also inscribed to our Mr Richard Maddox.- That's right.
0:36:20 > 0:36:25By George Bernard Shaw on 24th November 1933.
0:36:25 > 0:36:30- That's right.- Shaw died in 1950, so this was towards the end of his life and it's quite interesting
0:36:30 > 0:36:34that he signed this book later, as if it was a token of friendship.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37- That's right.- The others are signed as well, are they?- Yes.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40I would imagine that on the market,
0:36:40 > 0:36:45they might be worth between £2,500 and £3,500 for all three copies,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49- inscribed, and the cards. - Ah, so that's very nice.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52- Very nice indeed. Thank you very much for bringing it.- Thank you.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56This one is unusual, with the agate set into the lid,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00Let's see what this one's about.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05- Ah, it gets better, actually.- Good! - It's unusual, with the agate set into the lid.
0:37:05 > 0:37:11It's an 18th century box in this case but it's actually Newcastle and you don't see many Newcastle snuff boxes
0:37:11 > 0:37:17so that's quite a rarity. That one, I would have thought, maybe £700 - £800.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21The vinaigrette...
0:37:21 > 0:37:26um...Windsor Castle - that is highly sought after,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28and again, I bet it's got to be Mills.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Let's just see where we are.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36Yes, Nathaniel Mills and again you're looking at the best part of £1,000 on that.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41- Just for a tiny little box like that?- Tiny little box like that.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43Ah. Yes. Now, that is quite an exceptional grille.
0:37:43 > 0:37:48Let's see the maker. It's Mills. Oh, it gets better and better.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52I've never seen that form of grille before.
0:37:52 > 0:37:58That, just as it is, with an engine-turned top by Mills around 1830 or so,
0:37:58 > 0:38:04would be about £150 to £200, maybe, but with that,
0:38:04 > 0:38:08it's going to be certainly in excess of £500.
0:38:08 > 0:38:14Well, it's been in my possession a good many years
0:38:14 > 0:38:18and I wanted to find out more about the origins of this type of vase.
0:38:18 > 0:38:26OK, well. It was made in Austria and is quite typical of the type of art pottery
0:38:26 > 0:38:33that was coming out of Austria in and around 1895-1905,
0:38:33 > 0:38:34that turn of the century period,
0:38:34 > 0:38:38because this is an Austrian interpretation of Art Nouveau.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41- I understand. - If you look at this glaze here,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44it's just very gently lustred,
0:38:44 > 0:38:49and also in this web design you've got more of this lustring.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52It's something that you find on glass of the period.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57- Yes.- In Loetz, the glassworks are making iridescent glass,
0:38:57 > 0:39:04- in America, Tiffany is making iridescent glass and... - What can you tell me about these?
0:39:04 > 0:39:07These little jewels, these little cabochons are ceramic. OK?
0:39:07 > 0:39:14They're part of the design and there is every possibility that in the make-up they've been applied.
0:39:14 > 0:39:21It is, as we can see, a spider's web and beneath that we've got this frieze of moths,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24some of which are pendant,
0:39:24 > 0:39:28they've been entangled and they're suspended from the web.
0:39:28 > 0:39:34The actual decoration is moulded in low relief and it's heightened with gilt
0:39:34 > 0:39:37and then the actual moths themselves
0:39:37 > 0:39:43are sort of highlighted and detailed in this very fine gilt slip.
0:39:43 > 0:39:50It just adds that extra jewel-like quality to it. As for the maker...
0:39:50 > 0:39:57If we look underneath we find a mark that says "Made in Austria". There are some initials there.
0:39:57 > 0:40:03- And they're R, S, T & K.- Yes. - Now that is for a firm
0:40:03 > 0:40:06- called Reissner, Stellmacher and Kessel.- I see.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10OK? Um, now there's another mark...
0:40:10 > 0:40:15which is very indistinct, which is impressed, but I can tell you that should read "Amphora".
0:40:15 > 0:40:22This was the range of wares that Reissner, Stellmacher and Kessel were making at that time.
0:40:22 > 0:40:28It's the sort of vase that an Art Nouveau collector would be very happy to own.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30Um, I suppose...
0:40:30 > 0:40:36The burning question is - how much would they have to pay for it?
0:40:36 > 0:40:40I think that if they were to go to a top gallery,
0:40:40 > 0:40:46- they wouldn't get much change out of £400 or £500 for this vase. - Yes, I see.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- You haven't got a pair, by any chance?- No.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52- Would have been nice. - No, I haven't got a pair.- No.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56And that, now, that's interesting.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00Let's see - oh - that's a very rare vinaigrette.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02With the clock face.
0:41:02 > 0:41:11Again, around 1800 but that one - you should be talking probably the best part of £1,000 on that one.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15- For that! - For that, yes. It's a rarity.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20I mean, just the boxes alone, just as a guesstimate,
0:41:20 > 0:41:23there's probably £50,000 sitting there.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26But then we've got the candlesticks.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30When we had these, Jean didn't like them at all.
0:41:30 > 0:41:37- "They're ugly." "We don't want them."- Well, we didn't think they were...pretty.- Right.
0:41:37 > 0:41:42Well, I don't think "pretty" is necessarily a word to be put on them, I agree.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46But they are terribly exciting because they are a very rare form of candlestick.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51They're cast candlesticks - when you look underneath, you can actually see the casting.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56Most candlesticks, when you turn them over, you just see it green underneath and there's filling inside
0:41:56 > 0:41:59and they're made of sheet metal,
0:41:59 > 0:42:03but these are made in the very best way...
0:42:03 > 0:42:07By casting, which, in the Regency period, when they were produced,
0:42:07 > 0:42:13you don't get that many, other than, say, at the top end of the market.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Let's have a look and see what...
0:42:15 > 0:42:16There it is.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20Hiding amongst all the vinaigrettes.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23SW is the maker's mark.
0:42:23 > 0:42:31That...is a chap called Samuel Whitford, who I think was probably more a retailer than anything else,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33and 1819 is the date.
0:42:34 > 0:42:39- So had you any thought of value on those? - We honestly have no idea.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Um...
0:42:41 > 0:42:46Those I could see quite easily
0:42:46 > 0:42:49um, on the market for at least...
0:42:49 > 0:42:52£25,000.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57- It is a lot, isn't it?- Never!
0:42:57 > 0:43:00- Just for those four candlesticks? - For those four candlesticks.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04After this show I think Whitchurch - a town that's had four names -
0:43:04 > 0:43:08might have another one, something like "Rainbow's End".
0:43:08 > 0:43:10There's been so much to admire,
0:43:10 > 0:43:15from glorious silver to those giant peat buckets, worth the price of a small house.
0:43:15 > 0:43:20To Shropshire, thank you very much and until next week, goodbye.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Subtitles by BBC - 2002