0:00:28 > 0:00:30You've heard of Middle England,
0:00:30 > 0:00:36well, today the Roadshow has arrived at the geographical centre of the United Kingdom.
0:00:36 > 0:00:42Stick a pin at a spot between Sheffield and Chesterfield and you will find Renishaw Hall, Derbyshire,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44home to the Sitwell family.
0:00:44 > 0:00:50The hall was built with nails, or rather with the fortune made in the 17th century
0:00:50 > 0:00:56by the Sitwells whose iron foundries turned out more nails than anywhere else in the world.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02Renishaw has been the abode of the Sitwell dynasty for over 350 years.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06In the 18th century, Squire Sitwell Sitwell
0:01:06 > 0:01:10got down to the business of spending the family fortune.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15He enhanced the original manor house by adding two wings.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20He built the classically styled stable block to house his horses and a pack of harriers.
0:01:20 > 0:01:27Once, the hounds were sent to catch two Bengal tigers that had escaped from a menagerie in Sheffield.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32Sitwell Sitwell's other building works included the dining room,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36incorporating a cock-fighting ring,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39the vast drawing room
0:01:39 > 0:01:41and this magnificent ballroom.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46The first ball was held in honour of the Prince of Wales.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50The royal guest's thank-you card came in the form of a baronetcy for his host.
0:01:50 > 0:01:58Subsequent Sitwells, Sir George and Sir Reresby, dedicated themselves to the pleasures of spending,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01so that when Sir Reresby died in 1862,
0:02:01 > 0:02:07his two-year-old son George's inheritance consisted of the title and an empty house.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12Sir George was a quirky lad with an offbeat sense of humour and a talent as an inventor.
0:02:12 > 0:02:18Among his brainwaves were a toothbrush that played Annie Laurie and a revolver for shooting wasps.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23He also had some ingenious plans for the house.
0:02:23 > 0:02:29Fortunately, under the restraint of his friend Sir Edwin Lutyens, few of his ideas were realised.
0:02:29 > 0:02:36An exception was Renishaw's gardens. Sir George made a serious study of the subject
0:02:36 > 0:02:41and his designs created the classically styled gardens we see today.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47Next time, we'll hear about Sir George's extraordinary children - Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell -
0:02:47 > 0:02:53who made the Sitwells one of the most famous literary families of the 20th century.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58Now, let's meet the people who have come for this week's Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:58 > 0:03:05- Who is Hazel?- Hazel is my elder sister by some 11 years. Mrs Froggatt is Hazel's mother.
0:03:05 > 0:03:11The connection with Sir Osbert, who wrote the letter, is that my father was the head gardener at Renishaw
0:03:11 > 0:03:14in the '40s through to the '50s.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Really? "My dear Mrs Froggatt, I've ordered the vaccine,
0:03:18 > 0:03:24"but Hazel must only be given one quarter of one tube at a time. That's enough for a child of four."
0:03:24 > 0:03:30I love this letter. It finishes off, "Send me the coupons at once." I assume they were for this stuff.
0:03:30 > 0:03:37- Rationing was still...- "Love to Hazel. Tell her Father Christmas is very tired this year.
0:03:37 > 0:03:43"Yours, Osbert Sitwell". Another letter, from the Grand Hotel Palace, Locarno.
0:03:43 > 0:03:50It says, "My dear Fred..." Your father. "How are ya and Mrs Froggatt and Hazel and Josephine?
0:03:50 > 0:03:56"I hope well." Then he goes on, "Really, one feels so ashamed about our Government.
0:03:56 > 0:04:03"Foreigners feel so bad for us, which I hate. Two years ago, we were a great nation with a future.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07"Attlee, Shinwell and Co have accomplished
0:04:07 > 0:04:13"more than Hitler did in five years of war, in two years of peace. Yours, OS."
0:04:13 > 0:04:20That's rather nice. Tremendous. Then his writing here is becoming rather bad. What is happening here?
0:04:20 > 0:04:26Sir Osbert suffered with Parkinson's disease for over 20 years of his later life
0:04:26 > 0:04:30- and eventually he was unable to write any great amount.- Yes.
0:04:30 > 0:04:36"Could you note, no daffodils are to be cut until I come down,
0:04:36 > 0:04:41"except a few to be sent here, and that I'd welcome some eggs and broccoli?"
0:04:41 > 0:04:47- Why would he want broccoli? - He obviously liked it, because he's underlined it.- I hate broccoli.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52- This is a wonderful collection. You've got 22 letters here?- Yes, 22.
0:04:52 > 0:04:58- From 1943 through to 1960.- Right. Have you any idea of their value? - Not a clue.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Well, he doesn't pull great amounts of money,
0:05:02 > 0:05:08- but I think you've got roughly about £2,000 worth here. That's a very nice legacy.- Yeah.
0:05:08 > 0:05:14They're part of a collection put together by Clare's father in the early '60s.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18I believe there are ten swords altogether. Swords and rapiers.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24There are five daughters in the family and the collection's been broken down between them.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Your father was a man of good taste.
0:05:27 > 0:05:33If we start with the earliest one, this wonderful rapier known as a Pappenheim.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37A very long blade designed as a prodder rather than a cutting blade,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40although you could cut with it.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Tremendously long, so that you got the advantage over any opponent.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Even so, it's tremendously, beautifully well-balanced.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54- Named after Pappenheim, who was an Imperialist general in the Thirty Years' War.- Right.
0:05:54 > 0:06:01- He didn't make or invent them, he was associated with them.- Yes. - But they're very distinctive
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and very sought-after by collectors.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08And one is going to be £2,500 to £3,000.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10So that's a very, very good start.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16Very similar, and of about the same period, is this dagger,
0:06:16 > 0:06:22- which is known as a left-hand dagger or "main gauche", which is French. - Right.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28- This would have been carried in that hand...- Yes.- ..with the rapier in the other hand.- Yes.
0:06:28 > 0:06:34You would have been able to either block an opponent's blade with that or, if you got close up to them,
0:06:34 > 0:06:40you could push right into them and give them one in the ribs with the dagger.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45Or you could carry the dagger on its own when it would have been inconvenient to carry a sword.
0:06:45 > 0:06:51Most men carried daggers up until the beginning of the English Civil War, so it was part of male dress.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55- This, I believe, is a Victorian version of it.- Right.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00The Victorians produced lots of good-quality arms and armour
0:07:00 > 0:07:06to decorate all the castles and country houses, because there wasn't enough of the real thing.
0:07:06 > 0:07:14- It's still worth £400 to £500. - Right.- So, if we move on from the 17th century to the 18th...
0:07:14 > 0:07:16- J'accuse!- Right.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- You are a burglar.- No.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24When I left home yesterday, THAT was in my kitchen over the Aga,
0:07:24 > 0:07:29absolutely identical, apart from the fact mine's got the tail.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31- The tail.- Where did you get yours?
0:07:31 > 0:07:37My grandfather had it in a shed, oh, going back...must be 30... 30-odd years ago,
0:07:37 > 0:07:42- two old clocks just sitting in the corner.- Really?
0:07:42 > 0:07:47- And I was offered whichever one I wanted.- And you chose this one?
0:07:47 > 0:07:52- Yes, and it's just been sat in a cupboard most of the time. - Well, I love mine.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57It's wonderful. It's majolica ware. But not English majolica ware.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02This is French. It's either Longwy or Bordeaux. I don't know which.
0:08:02 > 0:08:09And it dates from the same period as the English majolica, about 1870-75, somewhere around there.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16I don't know if yours is the same. Mine is extremely well-fitting...
0:08:16 > 0:08:22- You have to lever this off with a knife to get into it. I got sick of doing that.- Right.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27It's an eight-day movement, so what I've done - terrible thing, don't tell the clock people -
0:08:27 > 0:08:33what I've done is to take the movement out and put in a quartz movement.
0:08:33 > 0:08:40I've kept the original, so if ever I pass it on, or die or whatever, the movement's there.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44I love this brilliant blue.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I think it'd make £600 to £1,000.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- Nice shed buy, wasn't it, really? - Was really, wasn't it?
0:08:54 > 0:09:00These swords are also known as claymores. Claymore is the Gaelic word for "great sword".
0:09:00 > 0:09:05- It's generally applied to these huge, two-handed swords.- Yes.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10This basket's very distinctive and it protects the hand.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13And it's also a very useful knuckle-duster.
0:09:13 > 0:09:19That will have been made in either Glasgow or Edinburgh, in about 1780-1800,
0:09:19 > 0:09:25- so that's right at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars.- Right.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29- And that's worth about £2,000. - Right.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35But this absolutely splendid sword,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38made for a heavy dragoon officer...
0:09:38 > 0:09:41- Right.- ..and...
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Actually, wonderfully dated - 1788.
0:09:47 > 0:09:54It's very typical of swords that were carried in the American War of Independence - that was earlier -
0:09:54 > 0:10:00and typical of swords between the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05- And the grip, do you know what that's made of?- No.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- It's fish skin. - Oh, is it?- Really?- Yes.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12The skin of a shark or a giant ray.
0:10:12 > 0:10:19And it enables you, if your hand is either sweaty or bloody or even wet, to really get a good grip of it.
0:10:20 > 0:10:26And it would have originally been wrapped with wire round there just to keep it all on.
0:10:26 > 0:10:34- I think a sword as good as this, in such good condition, is worth between £4,000 to £5,000.- Right.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39A lovely pigeon fancier's clock.
0:10:39 > 0:10:45- My grandfather did race pigeons. - Did he?- Yes.- What sort of date would that have been?
0:10:45 > 0:10:50- I would say the 1930s. - Right. It's a Turner's Patent model.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55Although there is another patent number on the top by Hattley.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00There are three dials at the top, from 1 to 24. Their hands are missing,
0:11:00 > 0:11:05- which is unfortunate.- Yes.- And then you've got a normal dial underneath.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It's called a "homing pigeon" clock.
0:11:08 > 0:11:14Inside, if you were to take the back off, you'd see there is a key-wind movement with a lever platform.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- Yes.- Also in there is a paper disc.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23The pigeons are all released from the loft, however many miles away,
0:11:23 > 0:11:29and they hopefully come back to you, as the handler. As your pigeon arrives,
0:11:29 > 0:11:36you take off its leg what they used to call a thimble, which contained the identification of that pigeon.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40- You popped it into one of these holes here.- Yes.
0:11:40 > 0:11:47- As it went into that hole, it caused a little mark to be made on the paper disk.- Oh.
0:11:47 > 0:11:53Every single piece of this clock is numbered, and that is because it was taken very seriously.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Even the inside bits are numbered.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02They didn't want a situation where an unscrupulous pigeon fancier could just whip on a different back.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- As a sort of rural antique, it's great.- Yes.
0:12:06 > 0:12:13If it came up at auction, somebody would pay £500 for it, maybe a bit more, because the condition is good.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18In the 1880s, everybody was trying to grab power in Africa.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23This commemorates one bit of it, when Stanley went across Africa.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28During his trip, I think he bumped into Livingstone.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33I've never seen anything like it. I think it's extremely rare.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I can only hazard a guess...
0:12:35 > 0:12:39£300, I think, is probably what it's worth.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Oh, that's more than I thought.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46- Do you have no involvement with the exploration of Africa?- No.
0:12:47 > 0:12:53About the same date are these two claret jugs. Stanley could have used either of these!
0:12:53 > 0:12:59This one is Doulton, in Lambeth in London, particularly interesting in being marked by George Tinworth.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06He specialised in doing little models of frogs and little animals.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08He was a great modeller.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13He would have designed and made most of that jug. It's wonderful.
0:13:13 > 0:13:19Isn't it funny he put his mark slap in the middle of the decoration? Yes.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24- No respect for his own work. Had you noticed that before?- No.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26There's the key thing to the pot.
0:13:26 > 0:13:32THIS jug is made by Royal Worcester. It's a claret jug again, 1892.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34It's got a Sheffield hallmark.
0:13:34 > 0:13:40So we're looking at, for the Royal Worcester jug, something like £500 or £600.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45- It's a good, good pot.- Oh.- And for the Doulton pot by Tinworth -
0:13:45 > 0:13:49unfortunately a little bit damaged, but a splendid pot -
0:13:49 > 0:13:56- we must be looking at £400, £500. - My granny kept string in it. - Did she, indeed?!
0:13:56 > 0:14:01A few years ago, my daughter and I used to go on holiday to a cottage in Barnard Castle.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06- Every night, we'd go down to the River Tees and beachcomb, or RIVER-comb!- Yes.
0:14:06 > 0:14:13- We were picking wood up to burn. I kicked this piece of wood over and this was on the other side.- No!
0:14:13 > 0:14:19That is an amazing story, because it's a rather wonderful picture. I guess that's why this area here...
0:14:19 > 0:14:22- is rather faded and damaged.- Yes.
0:14:22 > 0:14:28- That must be water damage.- Yes. - But it's amazing that all this area survived so beautifully.- Yes.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33- I wonder how long it had been in the river.- Probably a long time.- Yes.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38- It's on wood...- It's on panel. - ..which I don't know much about. - Well, if you look at the back...
0:14:38 > 0:14:44- It's actually rather beautiful. You see this sort of chamfering here?- Yes.
0:14:44 > 0:14:49That's an indication it was on a great piece of panelling.
0:14:49 > 0:14:55The wood panellist would have shaped this bit down to put in the frame,
0:14:55 > 0:15:00so it fitted nicely in the frame. But this side has not been shaved.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- It looks like it's been split.- Yes.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08- And I guess...that, either in the river, or perhaps it was broken by the original owner...- Yes.
0:15:08 > 0:15:14..and they chucked this top bit away. It might have been this size. This is an amazing find.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18I guess, by looking at it, it's Dutch.
0:15:18 > 0:15:24Um...it's, I would say, almost certainly 19th-century. It's a pity it's not signed.
0:15:24 > 0:15:30It's like an artist called JC Schotel, who painted these sort of landscapes.
0:15:30 > 0:15:37They're copying the 17th century, but there was still a huge tradition in the 19th century of seascapes.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42If this came on the market, we would say £300 to £500, £400 to £600.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- Oh! Well, not bad...- No. - Not bad for an evening's work,
0:15:46 > 0:15:51- getting driftwood.- Amazing!- I've been back - there's nothing there.
0:15:51 > 0:15:57- These are recipe books, dating back to 1908.- I'm not actually very good at cooking.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59What are they? Sweetmeats?
0:15:59 > 0:16:06No, for steel, Sheffield being famous for steel. These belonged to my grandfather in the 1900s.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11Each steelwork would have had its own secret recipe
0:16:11 > 0:16:16that they wouldn't have wanted other steelworks to know.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20This recipe, for instance, for CTVC - whatever that is -
0:16:20 > 0:16:24had 14lb of DGL, 10lb of OAK,
0:16:24 > 0:16:3015lb of CTVC scrap, 2lb of ferrous chrome and 2¾oz of charcoal.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35I believe, with the chrome, it's possibly part of stainless steel.
0:16:35 > 0:16:42I've got a photograph of him here pouring the smelted steel from a red-hot crucible.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48They had to be quite fit to do that, because each crucible weighed up to 40lb or 50lb.
0:16:48 > 0:16:55- He'd have known the secret of all these books?- Yes. He's taken the secret to his grave. Possibly not!
0:16:58 > 0:17:03My mother bought it in the early '60s. The story that she tells
0:17:03 > 0:17:07is that she was driving through a village
0:17:07 > 0:17:13and saw one half of it being off-loaded off a truck outside an antique shop.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18She stopped and said, having looked at it,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22"I'll have it, so don't bother to take the other bit off".
0:17:22 > 0:17:29- No need to unload.- Yes.- Brilliant. And it's been there ever since? - Until she died,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33- when my wife and I inherited it. - It's a typical late Georgian form,
0:17:33 > 0:17:38made throughout the 18th century and into the early 19th century.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44But there are certain stylistic, unusual elements which perhaps pin it down a little bit closer.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49One of them is this pierced, waved cornice, which is rather quirky.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54Perhaps a provincial craftsman enjoying himself in making various things.
0:17:54 > 0:18:00- And you've also got these unusual things - where you've got mahogany used as the cross-banding wood.- Mm.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05So, although they've used incredibly good oak with very visible medullary rays -
0:18:05 > 0:18:10these white streaks are called medullary rays, and they're very visible throughout it -
0:18:10 > 0:18:16they've then used a mahogany cross-banding, which is quite an expensive, exotic timber to use.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21It also has these very quirky, stylised floral patera,
0:18:21 > 0:18:27which is the sort of thing you see particularly on furniture made in the West Midlands.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31And, again, this amazing, exaggerated wave apron,
0:18:31 > 0:18:37with these very idiosyncratic cabriole legs with the pointed pad feet. They're so overblown!
0:18:37 > 0:18:40- Aren't they just?!- They're great.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45I needed to pack this drawer up. This top moulding had broken off.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48I actually had to use some Formica.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51I know that's a horrible term to use with an antique!
0:18:51 > 0:18:56- But the drawer now slides an awful lot better.- Slides very easily.
0:18:56 > 0:19:03It's full of telephone directories, and it slides a lot more easily than it did.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07- Do you know how much she paid for it?- £70.- £70?- Yes.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13If you were to try and replace it now, you would probably have to spend in the region of £3,500.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- Oh, that's good.- It's lovely.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I was given it by a friend of mine
0:19:18 > 0:19:23who had to move into a home recently. She asked if I'd like it.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32The shells are modelled from real shells. They would have made a plaster mould from real shells,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36then made the shells and put them onto this little rocky base.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40And here there's the mark of Chamberlain's, Worcester,
0:19:40 > 0:19:45- which proves that it dates around the 1840s.- Uh-huh.- 1840-1845.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50At that time Chamberlain's factory were terribly interested in shells.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53They were very popular things.
0:19:53 > 0:19:59They used them to mount round frames of pictures, and scenes, and pots, and all sorts of things.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05- They almost look like seaside souvenirs, you know, you get from Brighton...- Yes, yes.
0:20:05 > 0:20:11..modelled with real shells all the way round, but here fantastically beautiful porcelain shells.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13They're delightful.
0:20:13 > 0:20:19And shells in the end of the 18th century, early 19th century, were incredibly popular.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23- They used to pay an enormous amount of money...- Really?
0:20:23 > 0:20:28..for a new shell discovered in the Red Sea or the Far East.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33So this reflects this great craze with shells.
0:20:33 > 0:20:39And they're beautifully done. You expect to see little crabs crawling out from under here!
0:20:39 > 0:20:42What are the little red things?
0:20:42 > 0:20:46They're little berries you get in the sea, seaweed berries.
0:20:46 > 0:20:52- And nicely gilded. It's just had a little bit of damage, hasn't it? - Just a little bit, I think, yes.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56Just a little chip there, not too bad.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58But that big shell is fantastic
0:20:58 > 0:21:01and these cone shells are gorgeous.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04- Everything done by hand.- Really?
0:21:04 > 0:21:07A gorgeously lovely thing
0:21:07 > 0:21:11and, although damaged, it's still a very desirable object.
0:21:11 > 0:21:18- Do you want to know the value? Of course, the value is immaterial as it was a gift.- Exactly.- But...
0:21:18 > 0:21:24- say...£400 to £500.- Oh, my goodness! - Which is very nice. - Thank you. I had no idea.
0:21:26 > 0:21:33It's been in the family since the First World War, when Great Uncle Eric brought it back from Germany.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38This was made by Bing, who was the greatest train maker of that period,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- Gebruder Bing, of Nuremberg.- Yes.
0:21:41 > 0:21:48One of the earliest British manufacturers, initially retailers, was a company called Bassett-Lowke,
0:21:48 > 0:21:55- who you've probably heard of.- Yes. - Initially Bassett-Lowke were simply retailers selling German trains.
0:21:55 > 0:22:01What they, and others, got Bing to do was to make trains that were specifically for the British market.
0:22:01 > 0:22:07Previously, you bought vehicles that were obviously German and nobody minded.
0:22:07 > 0:22:13There was no sense of reality. But as the habit of having toy trains became quite widespread,
0:22:13 > 0:22:18people began to say, "Why have we got German trains? We want British trains."
0:22:18 > 0:22:21So here is a live steam locomotive,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23London North Western Railway,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27about 1902, 1905, 1906, that sort of date.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Then we have a range of vehicles of a similar date,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35which are in a sense a random assortment.
0:22:35 > 0:22:41We've got a fish van, this very nice car carrier,
0:22:41 > 0:22:47a covered wagon which has lost its roof, and then an open wagon for the Great Northern Railway.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52- This is a set that was in Britain long before the First World War, 1906, 1908.- OK.
0:22:52 > 0:22:59Maybe he acquired it second-hand before, during or after the First World War.
0:22:59 > 0:23:05- The rarity is this. You probably knew that?- I thought so.- Why?- Well, I've never seen anything like it.
0:23:05 > 0:23:11That's the piece that any collector would - not quite die for - but would be VERY keen.
0:23:11 > 0:23:18You can imagine what's happened - the chains have got broken, somebody playing with it,
0:23:18 > 0:23:24they didn't bother to put it back together again. This becomes a toy car, that becomes part of a railway.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Here, they're still united.
0:23:26 > 0:23:32Everything was made for the complete railway, before anybody significant in Britain was in the business.
0:23:32 > 0:23:39Bassett-Lowke then got going and, of course, in the early '20s, Frank Hornby starts his Hornby Trains.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44But he's the first mass-manufacturer for the British market. What's it worth?
0:23:44 > 0:23:47That one in that condition
0:23:47 > 0:23:51is probably, to a collector, about £100 to £150. The fish van,
0:23:51 > 0:23:57which is unusual and again in very nice, virtually unplayed-with condition, I'd say £150 to £200.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02Let's deal with the locomotive, worn, inevitably, through the firing
0:24:02 > 0:24:08but still a very nice, detailed model, possibly retailed by an English company.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14I'm going to say £800 for the locomotive. Now let's come to THAT.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19In relative terms, that is a very rare wagon,
0:24:19 > 0:24:25so I'm going to say about £300 to £500 for that, simply because it is such a rarity.
0:24:25 > 0:24:31- But it means that altogether you've got getting on for £1,800 to £2,000. - Yes, a good investment, then.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40- She must have been given these by Edward Seago?- Yes, Edward apparently gave this painting,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43somewhere in Scotland, as a gift,
0:24:43 > 0:24:49- with the picture of the pixies, then drew these in her autograph book.- Before the war?
0:24:49 > 0:24:51- Mm.- How lovely!
0:24:51 > 0:24:57Through his childhood he was often bedridden and took to drawing rather against his parents' wishes.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01They didn't encourage him, as far as I can understand.
0:25:01 > 0:25:07But he developed a tremendous talent for, in this case, nice little sketches and caricatures.
0:25:07 > 0:25:13I think it's nice that, although you've got this oil painting, which most people will be familiar with -
0:25:13 > 0:25:20Seago's best known to the public for his marvellously worked-up oils and watercolours in the post-war era -
0:25:20 > 0:25:25you have these beautifully-observed caricatures. Now, after 1939, Seago goes off to the war
0:25:25 > 0:25:32and paints, not as an official war artist, but produced paintings which essentially established his name.
0:25:32 > 0:25:38I don't know that they're of enormous value, but sentiment in this case is everything.
0:25:38 > 0:25:44An oil like that, without a signature but with a nice story and proven provenance
0:25:44 > 0:25:50- would be worth about £500, £600, I suppose.- Really? - And each of these sketches,
0:25:50 > 0:25:56which I think are in a way nicer than the oil, are probably worth £300 or £400 each.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- To me, they're priceless.- Exactly.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04This cresting here is completely wrong.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09I think it's been made specifically to go on this chair, to replace an earlier cresting.
0:26:09 > 0:26:15- The other one might have been broken, damaged or lost or simply offended whoever it was.- Yes.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19A lot of this period oak furniture
0:26:19 > 0:26:22was carved up in the 19th century,
0:26:22 > 0:26:28and this type of carving is certainly second half of the 19th century, possibly even 1880-1900.
0:26:28 > 0:26:34There were clubs of... You know, people would go to evening class to learn about carving.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37This is certainly amateur.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41So, whether somebody replaced it because they preferred that...
0:26:41 > 0:26:46The iconography's lost. The cresting means not a lot to me.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51It's a mad-looking man. Was it bought in this part of the country?
0:26:51 > 0:26:56- Sheffield saleroom, yes.- Right. There's something about this back,
0:26:56 > 0:27:03certainly this panelled back, and the marquetry is more typical of Yorkshire, specifically Leeds.
0:27:03 > 0:27:10- When you think that this chair is middle of the 17th century, 1640-60, that sort of date.- Right.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Leeds was one of the wealthiest towns in the country outside London,
0:27:14 > 0:27:19and the opportunity to build an important joiner's chair in oak.
0:27:19 > 0:27:26And they favoured marquetry. You can see how thick it is where this piece is missing,
0:27:26 > 0:27:32and probably mother-of-pearl there, by the look of it. And it's of tulips.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Tulips at this time were very valuable.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40Whole estates were wagered and lost on the price of a tulip bulb.
0:27:40 > 0:27:46When the tulip crash came, many people were ruined. One tulip bulb was worth thousands of pounds.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51So that's part of the aesthetics of this period.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56With the cresting later, when you look at these teeth mouldings, as they're called,
0:27:56 > 0:28:01this shiny colour here is not 17th-century.
0:28:01 > 0:28:07- I suspect they've all been replaced. - It did have some restoration work done on it about ten years ago,
0:28:07 > 0:28:13because this was dragged here and there for children's parties, and lots of these fell out.
0:28:13 > 0:28:20- What do children do at a party on this?- They sit on it. The birthday person at the head of the table.
0:28:20 > 0:28:27How lovely! There's lots of wear on the arm, nice, genuine wear. Genuine 17th-century arm.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30And very nice decoration down here.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34The front and the sides have got this nice lunette, incised carving,
0:28:34 > 0:28:41which is all perfectly period and genuine. It often has been copied in the 19th century.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46But this is all perfectly genuine in my opinion. The problem is value.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Dramatically altered, I'm afraid, by the back.
0:28:50 > 0:28:56If that cresting was right, I can see that in a shop for £4,000, possibly even more.
0:28:56 > 0:29:02- But the cresting has made a huge difference to the value.- Yes.- £1,000 might be more realistic.- Yes.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05- Because of that alteration.- Yes.
0:29:05 > 0:29:12It's so exciting to see, not only a coverlet that is just so intricate and so beautifully made,
0:29:12 > 0:29:17but the colours are still so wonderful. Where have you kept it?
0:29:17 > 0:29:21Well, I keep it in pure cotton sheets
0:29:21 > 0:29:23and I open it frequently,
0:29:23 > 0:29:30because if it's creased in the same place regularly, it will break the fabric.
0:29:30 > 0:29:36- You're absolutely right. Do you roll it?- Sometimes I roll it instead of folding.
0:29:36 > 0:29:42Apart from the fact that it's all in such brilliant colour and condition,
0:29:42 > 0:29:47- the fact that it's still got the tacking cotton on it!- That's true.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51I'm pleased that I can see it as it was left.
0:29:51 > 0:29:58- Yes.- And I believe it's two or three generations who had a go at completing it.
0:30:00 > 0:30:06- I'm going on the fabrics that... some seem to be becoming more modern.- Yes.
0:30:06 > 0:30:12- Some older.- Some much older. So I think there is a lot of history here.
0:30:12 > 0:30:18I found the templates mention London quite a lot.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23I think the templates are mainly London newspapers.
0:30:23 > 0:30:29I think this design is the Grandmother's Garden design.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33These diamonds are meant to be flowers and these, flower beds.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36We've got a flower there and there.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40And these are the paths, these white areas.
0:30:40 > 0:30:46- And this, I believe, is calico. - It looks like it, doesn't it? - Do you think?- Yes.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51- I think we're talking about the middle of the 19th century.- Yes.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Oh, look, I've got something here.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59This one goes back to..."July 13th 18..." and then it's..."4"...
0:30:59 > 0:31:05- and then it's cut off. So, it's 184..., say 1840.- Yes.- So...
0:31:05 > 0:31:10one can assume that they were doing it in the mid-19th century
0:31:10 > 0:31:15and maybe finished it in the late 19th century. Maybe it just took a very long time.
0:31:15 > 0:31:21- Well, I would estimate there are about 2,500 pieces.- Really?
0:31:21 > 0:31:26- I think so.- Because it's a double one, isn't it? - Yes, it's about 108 inches by 98.
0:31:29 > 0:31:36- If you insured it...- Yes.- I think you'd have to insure it for £2,000. - Really?- Thank you for coming in.
0:31:39 > 0:31:44This is one of the most intriguing 19th-century watches I've ever seen.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47- It is absolutely massive.- Isn't it?
0:31:47 > 0:31:52I can't believe it was ever worn. How did you get hold of it?
0:31:52 > 0:31:57It was handed down from my mother's side of the family. It belonged to her parents.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02I do remember that at the time, particularly during the War,
0:32:02 > 0:32:08they owned a public house, and it was subject to numerous wagers regarding its weight.
0:32:08 > 0:32:14- Tell me how much it weighs. - It weighs 3lb 10oz. A little bit heavy to put on a chain.
0:32:14 > 0:32:20- Well, you would have to have very deep pockets.- Or strong braces.
0:32:20 > 0:32:25You've had it out occasionally, because there's a bit of damage to the dial, which is a great shame.
0:32:25 > 0:32:31- The minute hand and second hand have been changed. The hour hand's original.- OK.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36Let's crack into it, because it is such a weighty piece...
0:32:36 > 0:32:40And you've got a lovely, lovely dust cap here.
0:32:41 > 0:32:47- I often wondered how that came off. - Just roll it over to see the maker's name.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49"Jackson, Maker of Tunstall."
0:32:49 > 0:32:52You can see the fusee and chain.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58- Oh, that's the chain?- Yes. They were made by a female workforce
0:32:58 > 0:33:02- on the south coast of England. - It's a very small link.- Tiny.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05The lever is what you'd expect.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09It has a brass three-arm balance.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14So, mechanically, it's typical state of the art.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19- And that hallmark in there, London, 1864.- 1864, is it really?- Yes.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23It's a pretty old piece, for something like this.
0:33:23 > 0:33:29I have NO idea why anybody would have ordered a watch of this size.
0:33:29 > 0:33:36I was always of the opinion that it was probably made for exhibition in a jeweller's window.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38It's a possibility.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43A little repair to the enamel, not a lot of money, replacement of those two hands...
0:33:43 > 0:33:50- I would have thought at auction, I could see it making £2,000. - Really?- Yes. It's so unusual.
0:33:53 > 0:33:59This is a lovely piece of local history. A very old map, going back to 1723. Is it yours?
0:33:59 > 0:34:01Well, it belongs to the family.
0:34:01 > 0:34:07It is a map of the Rodes Estate, in Barlborough. We're a Barlborough family.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10We knew of this map for many years.
0:34:10 > 0:34:17The person who owned it was willing to sell, so my brother, who wanted to keep everything in the village,
0:34:17 > 0:34:19made an offer which they accepted.
0:34:19 > 0:34:25My brother's died, but he's left it to my sister and myself to take care of it.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27And do you feature as a family?
0:34:27 > 0:34:32Yes, there is our...our name, which is Machin.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- "William Machin."- Yes.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39A book would go with it, which unfortunately we haven't got,
0:34:39 > 0:34:46- which is a shame.- And that's got where the treasure is buried, I expect.- Well, we could do with it!
0:34:50 > 0:34:52I think that's great.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56The head is porcelain, almost certainly German.
0:34:56 > 0:35:01But I think she could have been assembled in France.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04France were very keen on automata.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09This one might have been a French construction. I love that action!
0:35:09 > 0:35:11A wooden base...
0:35:11 > 0:35:14with a paper panel inset here...
0:35:15 > 0:35:18..little steel wheels...
0:35:19 > 0:35:24It's dating from the 1890s. Today, it would have a value of around...
0:35:25 > 0:35:28- ..£400 to £600.- Oh, lovely.
0:35:28 > 0:35:34I swapped it at an antique arcade for a silver dog-head cane handle.
0:35:34 > 0:35:40- You're still quite happy with your swap though, are you?- Yes.
0:35:41 > 0:35:47These were used for sealing documents in the days... This was in the days before stamps even!
0:35:47 > 0:35:52Your envelope was part of the letter. You got your sealing wax
0:35:52 > 0:35:55and did that.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59So you knew who the letter was from by the seal.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02This one is 1780, around there,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04so it is an early one.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09Unusual, because we've got a man who's in a cap with a tassel.
0:36:10 > 0:36:17That kind of cap and tassel was worn either by artists, or actors, or literary people.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22And then we've got a curious mask on this side...
0:36:22 > 0:36:26of, I don't know, tragedy or something like that.
0:36:26 > 0:36:32- Yes, I'd wondered whether it was something like comedy and tragedy. - It isn't.- It isn't?- No.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34It looks a bit French to me,
0:36:34 > 0:36:40and I'm wondering whether it's somebody like Diderot or one of the French writers.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43- They had him with a hat sometimes. - They did.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48But it could be even Hogarth. He's another possibility, could be English.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Very nice thing.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55I think your swap with your dog-headed cane was right.
0:36:55 > 0:37:02- I think it would fetch somewhere in the region of £400 to £600.- Great. - Lovely.- Yes, I like the piece.
0:37:02 > 0:37:07- Star of your collection.- Good. - Thank you very much.- Thank YOU.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12- Which of you is the Japanese freak who collects all these things?- Me.
0:37:12 > 0:37:20- ..And you approve of this?- I do, because I know exactly what to buy him for Christmas and birthdays.
0:37:20 > 0:37:25- Did you start by buying that one? - Yes. I got that when I were 15,
0:37:25 > 0:37:27in a market for... I paid £1.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31Well, you did probably all right paying £1 for that,
0:37:31 > 0:37:36but size in this class of Japanese Satsuma ware -
0:37:36 > 0:37:41second half of the 19th century - isn't necessarily a virtue.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43Right.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47In terms of quality, these small ones,
0:37:47 > 0:37:51which have much finer decoration,
0:37:51 > 0:37:56- are much better in terms of quality and actually better in terms of value.- Right.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01This, which represents Gama-Sennin, who was a great Japanese immortal,
0:38:01 > 0:38:06dates from the same period, the last quarter of the century.
0:38:06 > 0:38:12Now, I see at one time it was in France, and there's a long label here.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14"Satsuma", that's right.
0:38:16 > 0:38:22"Japan, dynasty Edo or Tokugawa, 1603-1867."
0:38:22 > 0:38:28- I think it's slightly later than that.- Right. - It's probably about 1880.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32It's quite an impressive lump, this piece.
0:38:32 > 0:38:38- If you were to sell that today, you'd probably only get £400 or £500.- Right, right.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40Whereas THIS...
0:38:40 > 0:38:45is, to my mind, a most beautiful and unusual piece.
0:38:46 > 0:38:53Most of these things are what we call...what the Japanese served up to the European market.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01No self-respecting Japanese would have bought this for his own home.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05But he WOULD have bought something like this.
0:39:05 > 0:39:11And this is the kind of Japanese art that had an immense influence in Western Europe,
0:39:11 > 0:39:15- on people like Whistler...- Oh. - ..and the French artists.
0:39:15 > 0:39:20This gave rise to "Japonaiserie" in the 1870s and 1880s.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24You see it at Minton, all over the English ceramic factories.
0:39:24 > 0:39:30This is, to my mind, a really beautiful object. Where did you find it?
0:39:30 > 0:39:34- I bought it him for Christmas. - My wife.- And did you...?
0:39:34 > 0:39:39- He's not listening - did you have to pay a lot of money for it?- No...
0:39:39 > 0:39:44- Am I allowed to say?- Yes. - I paid about £200 for that.- Well...
0:39:44 > 0:39:46Gosh!
0:39:46 > 0:39:51I think you've got a real steal there. It should be worth a lot of money.
0:39:51 > 0:39:58In fact, it's probably only worth £500 or £600. I think it should be worth more and will be.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03But I think you did awfully well. In buying this, you bought a real gem.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06I'm so excited to see it,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10because it's completely different from this.
0:40:10 > 0:40:16- THIS is a star object. Find some more like that. Let HER go out and find it.- Yes.
0:40:16 > 0:40:22- Probably a lot better.- I'll choose in future.- Particularly when she's paying with HER money.- Correct.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26- Have you had it for many years? - Yes, from 1964.
0:40:26 > 0:40:32It was bought at an auction. It was the first thing my husband saw when he walked into the place.
0:40:32 > 0:40:38- He said, "I'd love that, but I won't be able to buy it". - Oh, right. And?- So...
0:40:38 > 0:40:45- when the auctioneer said, "We'll start at one pound ten shillings", nobody put their hand up.- Right.
0:40:46 > 0:40:52And it was quite a while, so my husband put his hand up and we got it.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Brilliant!
0:40:54 > 0:40:58- Do you know who it's by? - Yes, EJ Smythe.- Right.
0:40:58 > 0:41:04- I think it absolutely is a member of the Smythe family who painted this. - Yes.- If you look carefully here...
0:41:05 > 0:41:10..you can make out the signature. I think it's ER, Edward Robert Smythe.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15- We couldn't quite see the middle one. - He was a good 19th-century artist -
0:41:15 > 0:41:19his quite famous brother was Thomas Smythe -
0:41:19 > 0:41:24and he specialised in paintings of animals and landscapes.
0:41:24 > 0:41:30What is interesting about the time, 1850-1860, when this was probably painted,
0:41:30 > 0:41:37- was that zoos were building up... - Yes.- ..people were becoming rather interested in exotica.
0:41:37 > 0:41:44- Yes.- And they were fed up with the portraits of horses and dogs and went for the more exotic animals.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46He's a rather friendly-looking lion.
0:41:46 > 0:41:53- The eyes and the fur, so beautifully done.- Everybody remarks on the eyes. - Yes.- Yes.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58It's a very imposing picture, very unusual format.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03We have a few condition problems on it. It's received a knock here.
0:42:03 > 0:42:09- My grandchildren walking along the hall.- I don't think we can blame your grandchildren for this.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14- No, this is deteriorating over the last few years.- It's not serious.
0:42:14 > 0:42:20- But it is the paint flaking off. - Yes.- If any more comes off, it's going to be a worry.
0:42:20 > 0:42:26- But we'd all be flaking a bit if we were around 1860, wouldn't we?- I am.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Nonsense! It's a wonderful portrait.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33It's full of life and got great quality
0:42:33 > 0:42:38- and, you know, Smythe's works are collected.- Yes.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43- I would say something like this should be insured for around £5,000. - Yes.
0:42:43 > 0:42:49- So quite a good investment from your one pound ten shillings you paid in 1964.- Yes, that's true.
0:42:49 > 0:42:56- But it's a wonderful, wonderful thing, and I hope you'll enjoy it for many years.- Oh, I shall.- Good.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00- Thank you for showing it to us. - Thank you.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03That's it for this Antiques Roadshow.
0:43:03 > 0:43:09Next time, I shall tell you more about the colourful characters of the Sitwell family
0:43:09 > 0:43:13and we'll see more treasures from the people of Derbyshire.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18If you're interested in antiques, you can go to our website.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22But for now, from Renishaw Hall, goodbye.