0:00:28 > 0:00:35This week, we're the guests of the National Trust, who've invited the Roadshow to a country house
0:00:35 > 0:00:39that was for over 40 years the home of an Englishman of many talents.
0:00:39 > 0:00:47He was a prolific writer with 15 books to his name, some of them stretching to several volumes -
0:00:47 > 0:00:51a body of work that earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55He was an artist, too, and this used to be his studio.
0:00:55 > 0:01:01Picasso said he would have been a great painter if he hadn't concentrated on something else.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06When he bought the house in 1922, it was in a bad state of repair,
0:01:06 > 0:01:13so putting aside his fountain pen and paintbrush, our hero rolled up his sleeves and got stuck in,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17helping to dredge the lake, mend the roof and build a garden wall.
0:01:17 > 0:01:24Apparently, he could lay up to 90 bricks an hour and he was a member of the Building Workers' Union,
0:01:24 > 0:01:29even though he was a prominent Conservative. Enough clues. You will have twigged.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33The busy writer... the gifted artist...
0:01:33 > 0:01:39and the part-time bricklayer were all facets of the great statesman Sir Winston Churchill.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Here at Chartwell, Mr Churchill and his wife Clementine
0:01:43 > 0:01:49created a family home, which later became his sanctuary from Whitehall.
0:01:49 > 0:01:56One of their favourite places to be was the elegant dining room with its breathtaking view of the Weald.
0:01:56 > 0:02:02In the drawing room, where Winston and Clementine would break open the cards for a game of Bezique,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05an ashtray holds the trademark cigar.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09In the study, fortified by the occasional large brandy,
0:02:09 > 0:02:16Churchill paced the floor until late at night, dictating books and speeches to devoted secretaries.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20And so to today's Roadshow. To give things a Churchillian ring,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24let's hope Chartwell's lawns will be spared a gathering storm
0:02:24 > 0:02:29and that this will be at least one of our finest hours.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33"Went to Dorchester in the morning, paid bills, etc.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37"Talked to Mrs Huxtable, Major Butley and Mrs Cousins in the chemist.
0:02:37 > 0:02:43"In the afternoon, T went to Talbothays to take Henry some cough mixture and I went to meet him."
0:02:43 > 0:02:49- And so on and so forth. I am so excited by this! I mean, this is the second Mrs Hardy.- Mrs Hardy.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54- Thomas Hardy's second wife.- Who was Florence Dugdale.- Absolutely.
0:02:54 > 0:03:00This is just so exciting! Does anybody know about this? Does the Hardy Society know about this?
0:03:00 > 0:03:04No, no. It's just something I've had for about 20 years
0:03:04 > 0:03:09and I've just had it in my drawer. I showed it to an English teacher at my daughter's school.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14- And they patted you on the head and said, "Well done!" - They said it was very interesting.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19- I doubt anybody knows this exists. - No.- An incredibly exciting find.
0:03:19 > 0:03:25- How did you get it?- I inherited it about 20 years ago from my sister,
0:03:25 > 0:03:31who was a book collector. And I have things in drawers, like a lot of us do,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and get it out from time to time.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39- Well, I can't say this is great literature.- No!- But it does show a side of Thomas Hardy...
0:03:39 > 0:03:42"Irritable and rather a scene with TH..." Thomas Hardy.
0:03:42 > 0:03:48"Felt I could not bear any more of this writing about his lovemaking at St Juliet's with EH". Emma Hardy.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53- Quite remarkable, isn't it, really? - Mm, yes, it certainly is.- 1917.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56- They were married in 1914.- Yes.
0:03:56 > 0:04:02- But I suspect she knew what sort of man he was before she married him. - He was considerably older.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04- Yes, and irritable.- Yes.- Absolutely.
0:04:04 > 0:04:11It is just an amazing find and to find it here, you know, in cosmopolitan Chartwell
0:04:11 > 0:04:16- is quite remarkable.- Good.- It's full of super little bits of information.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- From financial bits to others as well.- Yes.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25- Oh, how can we put a value on it?! - I don't think you can, can you?
0:04:25 > 0:04:30Well, as it's new to the world of literature and nobody has seen it,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34certainly not for 50 years or so,
0:04:34 > 0:04:35um...
0:04:35 > 0:04:39- it's got to be worth in excess of £10,000.- Oh, my goodness me!
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Goodness me!
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Now, this is the landscape that Churchill loved,
0:04:46 > 0:04:52the landscape that the Battle of Britain was fought over and so many people fought for and died for.
0:04:52 > 0:04:59And one of the great reminders of that battle, and of the war years, and of the importance of Biggin Hill
0:04:59 > 0:05:06- is this fantastic name board. Now, why is it here? How is it here? - Yes, well...
0:05:06 > 0:05:11my parents had the White Hart at Brasted and the pilots used to come down from Biggin Hill
0:05:11 > 0:05:18- during the war and they adopted it, really, as their second mess. - What is this, incidentally?
0:05:18 > 0:05:25It was a blackout screen. Group Captain Grice was leaving Biggin Hill - he'd been the CO -
0:05:25 > 0:05:29- and they had a farewell party for him at the White Hart.- Yes.
0:05:29 > 0:05:35During the evening, he said to my mother that he would love to leave some memento.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41And she suggested that perhaps he would like to sign his name on what was a blackout screen
0:05:41 > 0:05:46- in front of the bar doors to stop the light going out.- The light, yes.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49So he wrote his name...
0:05:49 > 0:05:55and the pilots that were there at the time, they all signed their signatures on the screen.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59- And so this started a tradition. - It started from there.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03- It's no longer in the bar, is it? - No, it's not.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08For the last ten years, it's been at our local museum in Shoreham in Kent.
0:06:08 > 0:06:14So it's in the right place in the sense it's in the heart of the battle - Shoreham Aviation Museum.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17- Some of the names are so famous.- Yes.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20You've got Al Deere, "Sailor" Malan,
0:06:20 > 0:06:25- Bob Stanford Tuck, Kingcome again, who was one of the COs.- Yes.
0:06:25 > 0:06:32- Johnny Johnson...- Yes. - Every name of that period that was associated with Biggin Hill.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36I think it's amazing. This is such a powerful, evocative thing.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42- It's something like 52 signatures on the board.- 52.- Of those, 33 are Battle of Britain pilots.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Well, it is an extraordinary document.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Against the rules of the Roadshow, I don't think I can value it!
0:06:50 > 0:06:56- No.- This is something that actually is priceless, in the true meaning of the word.- Yes.
0:06:56 > 0:07:02- It's beyond value. - It is absolutely beyond value.- Yes. - Thank you very much.
0:07:02 > 0:07:08Well, we live in Graham Sutherland's house. We've lived there for the past four years.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11I've known the house for years, since I was a young girl,
0:07:11 > 0:07:16and I used to see him painting in his studio. I loved the house.
0:07:16 > 0:07:23And, um...people jokingly said, "Have you found anything of his under the floorboards?"
0:07:23 > 0:07:30I said no. But yesterday, we actually had our cold-water tank renewed.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32- Right!- In the attic.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38It was done while I was out and the rubbish was all put outside the back door.
0:07:38 > 0:07:45There was a piece of paper... wrapped round this piece of card
0:07:45 > 0:07:50and it actually had Graham Sutherland's name and address on the front.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55What did you think when you took it out? What was your reaction to it?
0:07:55 > 0:08:00- I was quite excited.- And did you believe it was by Graham Sutherland?
0:08:00 > 0:08:05- Well, yes! I mean, living in his house...- It had to be.- Yes.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10And I don't think there would be any doubt that it is a work by Sutherland.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14It's wild and rather unfinished and it's not resolved,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18but this is the artist working, this is the artist's mind.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Why it was cast to one side... Perhaps he was unhappy with it,
0:08:21 > 0:08:27or it was just one which was put on one side and not used in the final versions.
0:08:27 > 0:08:34But the bonus on this, of course, is that we have something on the other side. Also, it does help
0:08:34 > 0:08:39that it says here "Study, Head of Christ, 1945",
0:08:39 > 0:08:44which we must take as a useful and correct pointer. But I wonder what the subject is.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49- I know you've only had it 24 hours...- Yes.
0:08:49 > 0:08:55..and it's a bit unfair, but I just wondered if you had any particular ideas about it.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58- Not really.- Well, interestingly,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02it's here on the front of the very book which you actually brought.
0:09:02 > 0:09:08- Here it's called...- Oh, yes! - Palm Palissades,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10a completed painting from 1947.
0:09:10 > 0:09:17And I don't think there can be much doubt that these three stems here are associated with the design,
0:09:17 > 0:09:23so if they aren't actually studies for these pictures, they are symbols and components of pictures,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28which he's worked out in ideas which then were transformed and put into the finished paintings.
0:09:28 > 0:09:35And let's turn back to the Head Of Christ, which we have here. I would have thought its value is...
0:09:35 > 0:09:40somewhere in the region of between £3,000 and £5,000.
0:09:42 > 0:09:48- Have you a licence for that, sir? - I've got a bit of paper here says it's legal.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52- You need that for the congregation? - Yeah, they get unruly!- I see!
0:09:52 > 0:09:59- This is a delightful water carrier. How do you come to have it? - Well, it was in my father's family.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02It was always hanging in the hall in his home
0:10:02 > 0:10:06and the house was bombed in the war and some years later,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10my father asked his brother-in-law had he got the "fish".
0:10:10 > 0:10:16- And it was in the shed - green, totally green!- Gosh!
0:10:16 > 0:10:20So my uncle had it cleaned and it was given back to my father.
0:10:20 > 0:10:27- Well, we can see that it has a hole at the top where the water goes in. - Yes.- Where the stopper is.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31The water travels through the dolphin
0:10:31 > 0:10:35and at the bottom you have this brass tap in the shape of a fishtail.
0:10:35 > 0:10:41- And when you lift it, the water comes out and goes down into the scallop bowl underneath.- Yes.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Absolutely delightful!
0:10:44 > 0:10:51It was probably made in France. These were very popular in France towards the end of the 19th century.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- It's in beautiful condition. Who polishes it?- My father used to.
0:10:55 > 0:11:01- You polish it, do you?- Yes! - ..Your mother does! Well, it's lovely - brass and copper.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05- As far as the value goes, I like it because it's a quirky item.- Yes.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09And unusual. I suspect, if this came up at auction,
0:11:09 > 0:11:14- it would probably fetch between £400 and £600. - Gosh! As much as that?!
0:11:14 > 0:11:19What is fascinating about these is, in fact, that they're incredibly old.
0:11:19 > 0:11:25- And they were actually made, believe it or not, in 1834.- Really?!
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Now, you look at these and they're very up-to-date, aren't they?
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Almost like something you would buy in a designer sunglass shop.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36But, in fact, they're made of silver
0:11:36 > 0:11:40and that's how I can date them. They're hallmarked.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42How do you come to have them?
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Well, really, it was just at a jumble sale.
0:11:46 > 0:11:52- And my son had asked me to look at the jumble sale...- Yes. - ..for a cut-throat razor,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56because he was going to be doing medicine and wanted it to dissect.
0:11:56 > 0:12:04- And, of course, I went and he described that the cut-throat razor would be in a cardboard box.- Right.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07And that's where we come to this.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12And I just put my hand forward and thought that might be the cut-throat razor box.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16- And there was this fantastic pair of glasses.- Quite!
0:12:16 > 0:12:23This is a card case, which really is very period. You can tell this is of the period of the glasses.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26They're stylish, made of a good material
0:12:26 > 0:12:32- and, I think, worth every penny of £200 to £300 at auction. - Really? That's wonderful!
0:12:32 > 0:12:36- A very good jumble-sale buy. - Yes, very good! Thank you very much.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42Well, the sun's blazing away. What's in this box?
0:12:42 > 0:12:45My goodness! Look at that. Wowee!
0:12:45 > 0:12:49- I can't imagine diamonds looking more scintillating.- They're lovely.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- Does it get worn?- No, I'm afraid not.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58- I think the last time it really saw light of day was at my daughter's wedding.- Oh, lovely.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03- Light of day it's certainly getting, isn't it?- Yes, it is beautiful.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Well, it's a very beautiful Victorian cross. I'm using a lens
0:13:07 > 0:13:12to see the purity of the diamonds and to look at the way they're cut.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Several have been in earlier pieces of jewellery.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21- Oh, I see, yes. - Which is perfectly normal. They're fantastically pure white diamonds.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- They're a joy to see, actually.- Yes.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28And when I ran the glass over the front,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32- one of them here has got a blueish tinge.- I can see that now, yes.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37- Have you ever thought about the origins of the diamonds at all? - No. All we know
0:13:37 > 0:13:44is that it was given to my wife's great-grandmother by her husband on their wedding day
0:13:44 > 0:13:49and we calculate that at about the mid-1850s.
0:13:49 > 0:13:55Well, I'd say that's absolutely bang on for the setting. It's backed in gold, fronted with silver.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00It would've been worn in candlelight where the oxidisation of the silver -
0:14:00 > 0:14:05well, it's the action of SULPHUR in the air that turns it black -
0:14:05 > 0:14:12is less important as ONLY the scintillation of the stones will be seen at an evening reception.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- Who turned it into a brooch? - My mother-in-law, unfortunately.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20We were thinking of removing this and making the top swivel
0:14:20 > 0:14:25- as it should.- It would be very nice, because then it would swing freely.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30That's the right thing to do. This is like ugly replacement windows in old houses.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35Sweep them all away, get back to what it was and it'll free it up enormously.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39It's a lovely, lovely thing and hugely desirable, I think.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44- Probably - what shall we say? - £5,000 for insurance today.- Golly!
0:14:46 > 0:14:50It's in a class of what was called metamorphic furniture.
0:14:50 > 0:14:56Very popular in the beginning of the 19th century. And this design was patented
0:14:56 > 0:15:00in about 1810-1811 by the firm of Morgan and Sanders
0:15:00 > 0:15:04in England and it's exactly this design.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09- We've got drawings.- Yes. - And it was illustrated in 1811 in Ackerman's Repository.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- How very interesting!- And this one is even more interesting than that,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16because on the treads, the risers,
0:15:16 > 0:15:23you have the candle and the little book, which is absolutely delightful and relates to library usage.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29I think I might just close it up. We've seen that aspect of it.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34And you can see how it works at the side as well...
0:15:34 > 0:15:38how it fits very neatly into the overall shape of the chair.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42And just turn it round so you can see the lines of it again.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47Queen Charlotte had one of these chairs in her model villa.
0:15:47 > 0:15:53- You can see it in an illustration, a little watercolour of the time, about 1816.- Oh, how marvellous!
0:15:53 > 0:15:56But when you look at this chair, I get very confused,
0:15:56 > 0:16:01because there's the things relating to the Morgan and Sanders design,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05- but what you've got here is inlay. - Yes.- Floral inlay,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09which ISN'T characteristic of Regency. So you must think again.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Is this, in fact, an English chair?
0:16:12 > 0:16:17There are a number of things that suggest that maybe it isn't English.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22- The little moulding along the top. - Yes.- And these very tight scrolls
0:16:22 > 0:16:26in the arms there, which all point towards Holland.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30- I always thought it was possibly Dutch.- It's very interesting
0:16:30 > 0:16:35that you've possibly got here a patented English design
0:16:35 > 0:16:40maybe being made in Holland, where this kind of inlay was still extremely popular in the early 19C.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45There's a problem in terms of value,
0:16:45 > 0:16:49because there are a lot of these metamorphic library steps around
0:16:49 > 0:16:56and they vary in quality and they vary in value. I would say you're looking at perhaps...
0:16:56 > 0:17:01- £4,000 to £5,000.- Really? Yes, yes.- That sort of area.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- It came from my mother's effects. - Yeah.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09She did various house sales and auctions during the '50s and '60s.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14So it appeared in the home and you don't really take any notice of things that turn up!
0:17:14 > 0:17:19- You don't know anything about this? - Nothing at all.- It's fascinating.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22This opens up a whole channel of interest for me,
0:17:22 > 0:17:27because it purports to be Italian maiolica.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31It probably IS Italian maiolica. But what is so interesting about it...
0:17:31 > 0:17:35The shape of the dish, before we move on, is called a crespina.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40- Right.- It's based on a piece of Italian 16th-century metalwork.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44That's why it's scalloped. But the design on it is a biblical design
0:17:44 > 0:17:49and it's reminiscent, to me anyway, of the Bible of Jean de Tourne,
0:17:49 > 0:17:54which was published in Lyon in France
0:17:54 > 0:18:01- from around 1554, and there were several versions of it done, with engravings by Bernard Saloman.- Right.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04And this is a well-known group.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09The figures are all very elongated, typically mannerist in style,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13and the subject taken from a biblical story of Joseph.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17I think this IS Joseph with his coat here.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21And when you turn it over, you've got "guisep" on the back.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25At first I thought this is the artist, Giuseppe,
0:18:25 > 0:18:30but I think this is probably Joseph, ie, what's going on on the front.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35The Bible was the source of this and there is a similar dish attributed to Lyon
0:18:35 > 0:18:39in the British Museum, dated 1582.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Very similar types of figures, similar kind of flaws, and so on.
0:18:43 > 0:18:49And the date of the dish, I would put into 1570-1580.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52This makes this a very, very interesting dish indeed.
0:18:52 > 0:18:59With a little bit of cleaning up - putting the foot back on, having it restored - you're looking at...
0:18:59 > 0:19:06- certainly between £7,000 and £10,000 for it.- Are you? Really? That's very interesting, yes.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- It's a very exciting dish.- Good!
0:19:11 > 0:19:15It's a Soviet-made sub-machine gun, PPSH41.
0:19:15 > 0:19:21They started making them during the Siege of Leningrad. It's rather a nice thing to have.
0:19:21 > 0:19:27Usually they're seen with the drum magazine in situ, but it's easier to carry it around with it.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32This is another drum mag in here and I think - or I'm told -
0:19:32 > 0:19:36- that that is a genuine pouch from some Soviet soldier or other.- Right.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41It was used by the Russians and Germans in their thousands.
0:19:41 > 0:19:47- And in the film Cross Of Iron, you see James Coburn running around with one.- Oh, right!
0:19:47 > 0:19:51- It's got the old Soviet button on here.- Yes.- The hammer and sickle.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56- A jolly nice thing. And - I must ask you - deactivated?- Oh, yes.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59So it's officially deactivated, so you cannot...
0:19:59 > 0:20:06- All you can do with it is hit someone on the head with it.- Fair enough!- Should you feel so inclined.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11Now, the 64 question, what is a vicar doing with a semi-automatic weapon?!
0:20:11 > 0:20:18I've always had an interest in things military. I found this and said, "I'll have a bit of history!"
0:20:18 > 0:20:24Something like that today is worth a few hundred pounds, so they're not very expensive, are they?
0:20:24 > 0:20:29- No.- So a lot of deactivated weapons you can still pick up £100 plus.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32But you can go up to about £300 or £400.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- It's Albert Winney Finney. - Albert Winney Finney.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41I mean, Winston Churchill depicted in a number of pottery guises
0:20:41 > 0:20:46and this one is gorgeous, a really juicy little figure. Gorgeous.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50- And I think there he is as the First Sea Lord?- Why not? Of course.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54- Very nice object. - Where's it made?- Doulton.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Worth anything, do you reckon?
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- Well, I've never seen this particular model before.- Mm.
0:21:01 > 0:21:09- So it's difficult to say, but I'd guess it's going to be £100-£200, something in that region.- Mm.
0:21:12 > 0:21:18I seldom see nice quality French clocks on the Roadshow. Is this one of a kind?
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- I've another one.- Smaller? - No, bigger.
0:21:21 > 0:21:27- Which you didn't want to bring. - No, it's too heavy. - This is the better one.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32It's a lovely clock. Has it been in the family for long?
0:21:32 > 0:21:40Yes, it was my great grandfather's. It's rather strange, he was a deserter from the French army,
0:21:40 > 0:21:49and he left France in a hurry, came to this country. How he got these over we don't know!
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- What sort of date?- Around 1870.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57The clock's date is 50 or 60 years earlier, about 1815.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00It is lovely quality.
0:22:00 > 0:22:07It's particularly nice because it shows the various arts.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11You've got this selection of brushes here, and other bits and pieces
0:22:11 > 0:22:18that demonstrate the typical arts of the piece.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21These two musical instruments on either side,
0:22:21 > 0:22:26and here this lovely cart and plough being pulled by oxen.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30I particularly like this plaque here,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33standing in the middle, this lovely artist's model.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Then, little cherubs painting and drawing him.
0:22:36 > 0:22:43Here you're got a chap playing a pipe and he's got a lyre down here,
0:22:43 > 0:22:49then there's a sculptor at work there. It's a very pacifying clock.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Looking at the dial, have you spotted the deliberate mistake?
0:22:53 > 0:22:58- Yes...- The number six? - My brother put that in there.
0:22:58 > 0:23:04- Did he break the original? - When we moved it was lost.- Right.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09It's a shame because it's got the old Roman V, which is a five.
0:23:09 > 0:23:17He probably found it in an antique shop and thought it better than nothing.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Probably, and at least it's not an eyesore being blank.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25The proportions are lovely, as you'd expect for late French Empire.
0:23:25 > 0:23:31Quick look round at the movements, you've obviously removed a pendulum.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Silk suspension, just what you'd expect.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38It's very delicate. The hook is half the thickness of a needle.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41They're very thin, those pendulums.
0:23:41 > 0:23:49- So something was whizzed across... - Somehow! - ..under strange circumstances.
0:23:49 > 0:23:55Yes. His father was the mayor of Paris so I expect he helped.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Cos he brought furniture as well.
0:23:58 > 0:24:06- Any thoughts on price? - Well, in 1916, my grandfather was offered £100 for it,
0:24:06 > 0:24:12- by a jeweller.- 1916? - Yes, I remember that!
0:24:12 > 0:24:19Well, that was a lot of money then! A tremendous amount of money then.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24- You could buy two houses for that! - Almost! You couldn't now, sadly.
0:24:24 > 0:24:30In top retail condition at a good antiques fair,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34somebody would ask £4,000-£4,500.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43Little bit short of two houses, but nevertheless a nice thing.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48She's absolutely wonderful. She's got all her original clothes.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Someone has looked after her so well.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56Either your mother or grandmother must have really cherished her.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00It's strange that a gentleman should own a doll.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04Well, I take it you don't play with her.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Well, um, she's French.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11She's made of bisque which is, as you know, unglazed porcelain.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17But the interesting thing is we call them swivel head dolls,
0:25:17 > 0:25:24or fashionable dolls, because they were made to wear the costume of the day
0:25:24 > 0:25:28and this would have been around 1860, so...
0:25:28 > 0:25:32- definitely your grandmother's. - Oh, I see, yeah.
0:25:32 > 0:25:38It could well have been imported into England after the Great Exhibition of 1851
0:25:38 > 0:25:44and...imported, actually, without any clothes on...
0:25:44 > 0:25:48and then the clothes might have been made in England.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51She's got all her lovely underwear
0:25:51 > 0:25:58and the boots - which are wonderful, heeled leather boots - have a mark underneath which is a T.
0:25:58 > 0:26:05I think it's a T for Terrene, which also was a doll maker and made clothes in Paris.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- She is very French. - She's all wonderfully original.
0:26:08 > 0:26:16- My mother must have been careful with her.- She MUST have been. And you've had her tucked away in a box?
0:26:16 > 0:26:20- Oh, yes, in a cabinet, yeah. - For insurance,
0:26:20 > 0:26:26- you should be insuring her for £3,000.- Amazing!- I know.
0:26:28 > 0:26:35- It's actually my mother's. She was given it 50 years next year as a wedding present.- Does she use it?
0:26:35 > 0:26:41- No, I don't think so.- Why not? - It just sits on the side. - It's been very well looked after.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45- So you've no idea about it? - When she was given it,
0:26:45 > 0:26:52there was a note inside saying something to do with George III, that's all. That's all she knows.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57Well, it is indeed George III and it's a really nice quality,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01a really nice silver coffee pot. It's very typical Adam design,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06because he designed everything, not just the furniture he's famous for,
0:27:06 > 0:27:12usually everything in the house including the doorknobs and silver.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16It's got these very typical swags and tassels and festoons
0:27:16 > 0:27:19and beautifully bright, engraved
0:27:19 > 0:27:24little cartouche here with the monogram of the original owner.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26And a nice cast spout
0:27:26 > 0:27:32with this beading and leaf finial here and the same motif on the corner.
0:27:32 > 0:27:38It's got the date letter D, which is the London mark for 1779.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42- Gosh.- Then it's got the leopard's head for London,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45the lion for sterling
0:27:45 > 0:27:48and it's got a triple maker's mark
0:27:48 > 0:27:53which is the London silversmiths Carter, Smith and Sharp.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56They always made particularly nice silver
0:27:56 > 0:28:01and this is really a lovely coffee pot. Nice, solid and elegant.
0:28:01 > 0:28:07Beautifully looked after, if I may say so, for the last 50 years.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10- Do you think you'll inherit this? - I hope so.
0:28:10 > 0:28:16The value for insurance of a coffee pot like this today,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20- I would say, is somewhere between £3,500 and £4,000.- Right.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24- Thank you for bringing it. - That's all right.
0:28:24 > 0:28:30- Would you be upset if I told you this was a souvenir? - It might well be.
0:28:30 > 0:28:36- I don't know where it came from. It was just sitting in the bank, really.- Amazing.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Well, originally, it came from Rome
0:28:40 > 0:28:45and is the sort of object that would have been brought back
0:28:45 > 0:28:48by a first-class grand tourist visiting Rome.
0:28:48 > 0:28:54It's perfectly obvious that it's a Roman ruin, at least an Italian ruin,
0:28:54 > 0:28:58but what tells us that this is a very grand souvenir
0:28:58 > 0:29:03is that it's laid out in micro mosaic. Do you know this technique?
0:29:03 > 0:29:08- No, I know nothing about it.- Well, it's made up of tiny pieces of glass,
0:29:08 > 0:29:14and some, perhaps, hard stones too, that are laid into a background minutely and very accurately.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19- It's a sort of miracle of human craftsmanship.- Tiny, little bits.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24It refers back to the mosaics of ancient Rome, the Byzantine mosaics,
0:29:24 > 0:29:28the Roman mosaics that such a man would go to visit.
0:29:28 > 0:29:35He might have brought this back to a member of his family who had not had the pleasure of visiting Rome.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40There's quite a lot of plate powder in the surface of it
0:29:40 > 0:29:47which prevents us from understanding immediately that this is a rather ravishing gold box. Solid gold.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49- I didn't know it was gold.- Yes.
0:29:49 > 0:29:57It's actually a very matt gold. Gold is very malleable material. You can push it around and engrave it
0:29:57 > 0:30:02and texture it, and this is exactly what's happened here.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06There are two marvellous neoclassical griffons.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10It's lined with a band of enamel, echoing the enamel on the front.
0:30:10 > 0:30:16- What about date - any thoughts, any ideas?- I don't know.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20I know really nothing about it. What would be put in it?
0:30:20 > 0:30:27- It's a snuff box, notionally. - Ah, right.- Yeah. - Because it's tiny, isn't it?
0:30:27 > 0:30:33Snuff it is, and this is a very eloquent and beautiful example from about 1820.
0:30:33 > 0:30:40- Now, having said that it was almost certainly bought in Rome, it's not made in Rome, it's Swiss.- Really?
0:30:40 > 0:30:45All they've done is incorporate a mosaic which does come from Rome.
0:30:45 > 0:30:52It's hugely enviable. I think everybody behind us would love to run away with it.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56Because of that, it's really quite a valuable object.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58So...goodness, what shall we say?
0:30:58 > 0:31:02- £15,000.- Gracious.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06I think it had better go back in the bank.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Perhaps I'll go with it.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Brilliant. Absolutely marvellous.
0:31:12 > 0:31:19Here's an opportunity for me to make a fool of myself. I would have thought this was to do with cameras,
0:31:19 > 0:31:23but, of course, I'm wrong. What is it?
0:31:23 > 0:31:29It's a sort of semi-automatic mouth organ, harmonica, that works on the same principle as a pianola
0:31:29 > 0:31:32with a roll of music. It's called a Rolmonica.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37It's a harmonica, so there are reeds in there...
0:31:37 > 0:31:39See if you can spot the tune.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02Well, if only we could dance at the same time. Rosemarie, no doubt.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15It's a car horn, isn't it?
0:32:15 > 0:32:19It's the secret weapon in an oompah band. What do you call this?
0:32:19 > 0:32:22That's what I came here to find out.
0:32:22 > 0:32:27I have never seen these illustrated anywhere in any of the textbooks.
0:32:27 > 0:32:33- It looks very experimental. That looks like a piece of... - ..Plumbing.- Absolutely.
0:32:33 > 0:32:41I can say with a fair degree of confidence that this is the oldest thing we shall see today.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43How did you get it?
0:32:43 > 0:32:50Well, my husband is a pavier and he was working on a building in Thames Street near London Bridge.
0:32:50 > 0:32:57And they were shoring up the building, but they had to dig deep down. He found that and a jug,
0:32:57 > 0:33:03- but unfortunately, he broke the jug. - Oh, no!- I think he hit it with the shovel.
0:33:03 > 0:33:09He broke the jug and discarded it, and he brought that home, and he's had it 25 years.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13- And do you know how old it is? - No, no idea.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17I think it's what might be termed Romano-British.
0:33:17 > 0:33:24It probably dates from the second century AD, so it's about 1,800 years old.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28- Oh, my goodness.- And it's in a remarkable state of preservation.
0:33:28 > 0:33:35And it's got a little spout at the front, and we can see where the potter pinched it to make that spout.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40One of the most remarkable things about this is the price.
0:33:40 > 0:33:48We read about statues of this period fetching hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of pounds.
0:33:48 > 0:33:54This stoneware jar, 1,800 years old, near perfect condition,
0:33:54 > 0:33:57- has a value of around £10.- Oh.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Here's a fine fellow. Who is he?
0:34:00 > 0:34:06- He was my grandfather. He was Lieutenant Colonel in the Oxfordshire Hussars.- Really?- Yes.
0:34:06 > 0:34:14- There's his rank on his epaulets. You've got a crown and pip. That's his lieutenant-colonel's rank.- Yes.
0:34:14 > 0:34:21You've got to bear in mind that the Yeomanry regiments often used to vie regular cavalry regiments.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25- Now, the very famous regiment was the 11th Hussars.- Yes.
0:34:25 > 0:34:32And they had cherry trousers, so the Oxford Hussars have adopted red trousers.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- It's a copy, you see?- Yes.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39Another sign of rank is the depth and the size on the cuffs.
0:34:39 > 0:34:46So when this chap was on his horse, he was very impressive, and there was no mistaking who he was.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50Let me have the pouch and belt there.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56This fits across his breast,
0:34:56 > 0:34:58and the pouch at the back.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02And here you have the prickers.
0:35:02 > 0:35:08Now, again, these are symbolic, because at the time your grandfather wore this,
0:35:08 > 0:35:13they wouldn't have percussion or even flintlock pistols
0:35:13 > 0:35:17to prick out the fouling at the touch holes.
0:35:17 > 0:35:23I see that he's got the cipher here of Edward VII.
0:35:23 > 0:35:29Let's talk about that plume. This is an egret-feather plume.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32And these are vulture's feathers.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36They're dyed, of course, but they're vulture feathers.
0:35:36 > 0:35:41The fur is possibly from a bear...
0:35:41 > 0:35:44Canadian.
0:35:44 > 0:35:50But this is very nice because it's unspoilt.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52No moth.
0:35:52 > 0:35:57And it's just nice condition. So a collector of Oxfordshire Yeomanry,
0:35:57 > 0:36:02- he would have to pay something like £3,000 today.- Goodness.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06But if you get two enthusiastic people, it could be more.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11Unusual to find a nice Liverpool clock down here. Is it a recent acquisition?
0:36:11 > 0:36:17No, it's been in the family going back through father,
0:36:17 > 0:36:24grandfather, great-grandfather, and obviously originated in Liverpool where my predecessors were living.
0:36:24 > 0:36:30- What sort of date do you associate with it?- I think it's about 1790 - something like that.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35- As far as I can determine.- I think you're within five years.- Am I?
0:36:35 > 0:36:39Yes, I would have said sort of 1780-1785.
0:36:39 > 0:36:45This chap, Harrison of Liverpool, is going to be Thomas Harrison.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49And he was working from about 1770 to just after 1800.
0:36:49 > 0:36:55- You don't have to be a clock enthusiast to think this is lovely quality.- Yes.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00You've got the moon, the moon dial here,
0:37:00 > 0:37:05and then against this little nib here indicating the age of the moon.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09- And this little motto's rather sweet. - I think it's self-explanatory -
0:37:09 > 0:37:13"Our time's uncertain date eternal hours depend".
0:37:13 > 0:37:19Which means we have no control over how long we're on this Earth for.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23You're absolutely right. Typical Liverpool dial.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28- This very nice crossing in the centre, and a concentric date.- Yes.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33Which is very typical for a north country clock.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36It's a handsome dial. It's a very handsome clock.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40The hood is just exactly what you'd expect -
0:37:40 > 0:37:44nice free-standing pilasters and all this blind fretwork here.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47A lovely flame-mahogany trunk door,
0:37:47 > 0:37:53and then - I have to say from there on down it goes very wrong.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56- Have you had that restored at all? - No.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00- Well, it's not quite right. I have to be honest.- Oh.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05And looking down in there, you can see a lot of new wood,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09The backboard doesn't go the whole way down to the floor.
0:38:09 > 0:38:16Assuming there was a little bit of work done on the base, you would be paying...
0:38:16 > 0:38:20- £9,000, £10,000, perhaps £11,000. - Really?
0:38:20 > 0:38:22It is a lovely piece.
0:38:22 > 0:38:27It was given to my husband to throw away about seven years ago.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32He brought it home and it's been living in our shed ever since.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37It would have been in, probably, in an imperial household in China.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39This has actually got...
0:38:39 > 0:38:44the imperial marks of the Emperor Wan-Li.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48He reigned from 1573 to 1619,
0:38:48 > 0:38:53so this is 16th century, this particular...within that period.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58And there are very similar pieces in China in major collections there.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01And it's not, as you can see, terribly well made.
0:39:01 > 0:39:06It's got a lot of what we call glaze crawl here.
0:39:06 > 0:39:12There's little holes in the glaze, which is typical of the end of the Ming dynasty.
0:39:12 > 0:39:18And if you look, you can see at the side of the pot, there's a seam round here.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23Because Chinese porcelain was made, at this time, in sections.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26In fact, I'll rip off the neck.
0:39:26 > 0:39:31If you look at it, you can see it is made in sections.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35And this comes apart and sits in there quite nicely.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39So that tells us all about this piece.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43I love it, because it's a very satisfying shape.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48It's a melon-type shape and it's got all the symbols you associate with Chinese culture.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52You've got dragons on the side, symbolising the emperor.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56You've got the phoenix, this strange bird here,
0:39:56 > 0:40:00that symbolises the empress, Feng-Huang.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04But what we look for is the colour of the glaze. It's very bluish.
0:40:04 > 0:40:09This colour is not white. This is typical of late-Ming porcelain.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13And the very fact it's made in sections is again characteristic.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17So this is a genuine Ming piece with the imperial marks on it.
0:40:17 > 0:40:22Because it's come adrift here, that's probably devalued it.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27I imagine, in perfect condition, this would be £6,000 to £8,000.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32With this coming adrift here, maybe £3,000 to £4,000.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37- Wow.- So there you go. - So I need to get it mended?- Oh, yes. - Lovely. Thank you very much.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:40:40 > 0:40:46I don't think we've ever had a Gainsborough portrait. I may be wrong as we go back some 25 years.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49But I'm sure this is what this portrait is.
0:40:49 > 0:40:56What's the story behind the picture and your family? Is the painting connected with your family?
0:40:56 > 0:41:01It belonged to my grandmother, Catherine Calveley, and she married into my family.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Right, so it's come down to you by descent?
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Yes, my grandmother left it to my brother and he gave it to me.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13How nice. It's a charming portrait.
0:41:13 > 0:41:18Condition is a problem and I think we'll have a look at that in detail.
0:41:18 > 0:41:25But I think these wonderfully sensitive eyes and slightly pursed lips are beautifully expressed.
0:41:25 > 0:41:32But you can see these shadows where the actual ground is coming through,
0:41:32 > 0:41:36because it wouldn't have been painted directly onto the canvas.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40There would have been a ground colour put in.
0:41:40 > 0:41:46On the forehead, you can see this larger area of paint, where it's more robust, remaining,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50but these are thinnesses. Then we come on to the dress.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53This is painted with great vitality.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57This is all Gainsborough's rapid painting.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02This is painted with really quite heavy paint.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05It's been cleaned a number of times.
0:42:05 > 0:42:12It would have taken probably the glazes and the more delicate paints away,
0:42:12 > 0:42:17while this more robust paint has been preserved in greater relief.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22But we have to consider also the date of the painting.
0:42:22 > 0:42:28I imagine that it was probably painted in the early-Bath period.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32He went there - left Suffolk in 1759.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36But I would imagine that it was painted in 1760 or 1762.
0:42:36 > 0:42:42Well, value-wise, if it had been in wonderful condition,
0:42:42 > 0:42:46we could talk of a value of £100,000 or even £200,000.
0:42:46 > 0:42:52I don't know what you think, but I think that quite a modest figure on this would be £15,000,
0:42:52 > 0:42:58possibly £20,000, and I think for insurance it should be £25,000.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01If anywhere should be haunted, it's Chartwell.
0:43:01 > 0:43:07Several people have said to me that they felt a presence as if the great man was still in charge.
0:43:07 > 0:43:12And as far as the show is concerned, it's cigars and victory signs.
0:43:12 > 0:43:18But for now, from Sir Winston Churchill's garden in Kent, the Garden of England, goodbye.