0:00:29 > 0:00:34If this was a feature film, I'd be surrounded by ghostly music,
0:00:34 > 0:00:35the shades of elegant gentle folk
0:00:35 > 0:00:41would be wafting past me as they arrived at the Manor House for the grand ball.
0:00:42 > 0:00:49Up this drive lay a once grand manor house where Humberside's gentry were entertained at lavish parties.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54All that stopped in the 1920s when Appleby Hall,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56which once dominated this spot,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00was burned down and there wasn't enough money to rebuild it.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04The fate of this north eastern estate was echoed all over the land.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09During the 20th century, mansions were demolished at an astonishing rate.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12At one point it was about one a week.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14They were hugely expensive to run
0:01:14 > 0:01:17and with death duties wiping out inheritances,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20not even selling the family silver could save the day.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Over 600 have vanished since 1945.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26These are the lost houses of Britain.
0:01:26 > 0:01:32Their disappearance has left a gap in the landscape and a sense of loss in the community,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35but some have survived.
0:01:35 > 0:01:41And just eight miles from where Appleby once was, stands our venue for today - Normanby Hall.
0:01:44 > 0:01:50Standing on the outskirts of Scunthorpe, Normanby has belonged to the Sheffield family since 1589.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55The discovery of ironstone here was the secret of their success.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Quarrying proliferated and afforded the development of the nearby town.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03But when resources dried up in the 1960s,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07worryingly for Normanby Hall, the house fell on troubled times.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13In 1964 the Sheffield family left, and Normanby's fate appeared to be sealed.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17It could easily have become another of the lost houses,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21but Scunthorpe Borough Council stepped in front of the bulldozers
0:02:21 > 0:02:26declaring the house and grounds a focal point for the community.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31By leasing the hall to the council, the Sheffields gave the townspeople a place of their own
0:02:31 > 0:02:33to enjoy their leisure.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Today they come here to put on plays, to get married,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39or just to wander about.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41And if you ask very nicely,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45you can even use the front lawn for an Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Well, these are a most extraordinary collection of Worcester vases
0:02:49 > 0:02:52making a sort of a garniture of the whole thing -
0:02:52 > 0:02:56with powder blue blowed on through a tube, through a gauze -
0:02:56 > 0:03:00and looking, I suppose, remarkably like 18th century in a way,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04and yet turning into the 20th century. What's the history of them?
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Yes, well they came down through my courtesy aunt.
0:03:08 > 0:03:15Her mother was married probably around the turn of the last century - a young married woman before the war.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20And we think that she acquired them over time, collected them.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25And they've always been a memory in my aunt's house, it's the one thing I always remembered.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Yes, that's interesting because the date codings on them...
0:03:29 > 0:03:31you've got a vary of date codes.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36You've got date codes running from 1928...
0:03:36 > 0:03:39- to 1932.- Oh, right.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44So they were collected each year and they paid for another little bit.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Oh, yes. Well, she probably had to save up for them.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Well, these would have been expensive.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55They're not only powder blue, but they're an extraordinary shape. I see that shape very, very rarely.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- Oh, really? - Fantastically crazy shape really.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02And then painted with panels of fruit in the Worcester style
0:04:02 > 0:04:06with gilding around the outside and the whole thing looks absolutely scrumptious.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09The interesting thing is you've got different painters.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13You've not only different dates but you've got different painters.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17This major one... A beautiful piece that, isn't it?
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Signed Edward Townsend. I knew him very well.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24He became foreman painter many years later, this is in 1920s.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28But he became foreman painter in the 1950s and was a grand old chap.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32I enjoyed Ted Townsend very much. He spent most of the afternoons asleep at the factory
0:04:32 > 0:04:36but he was a wonderful, wonderful painter and these are super.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39This one is painted by, um, Moseley.
0:04:39 > 0:04:45Moseley there... I think you've probably got all sorts of different painters here.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Who's this one? This is Shuck, Albert Shuck.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50He lived next to my wife in Friar Street.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54A wonderful painter. And you've got a complete,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57not only interesting group of vases,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00with powder blue, but an interesting group of painters
0:05:00 > 0:05:07who were all wonderful painters in the 1920s to '30s and some of them continuing after the war.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- Do you like them?- I do, very much, the colour calls to you.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Fantastic. And wonderful quality.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17I mean you must be looking for that pair at about,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I suppose, £1,000 happily.
0:05:20 > 0:05:26And this chap, certainly £1,000 on his own. It's a marvellous pot.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28And, um, a little pair of these.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- Yes, they're such a nice shape. - They're beautiful, aren't they?
0:05:32 > 0:05:36And there you're looking at £800, £900.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39This, £1,000 with the lovely cover - perfect.
0:05:39 > 0:05:45- So what have we got? £3,000...£4,000?- Yes, they'd better go on the insurance.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50They'd better go on the insurance and they also must go into a lovely, lovely spot at home
0:05:50 > 0:05:54- because they're superb and very unusual.- Oh, good.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Well, this looks like a heap of double rocking trouble.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01This is fantastic. What a lovely childhood toy.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Two little chairs mounted on this rocker.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06I can picture the happy scene.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10- A happy scene from your childhood or before then?- Not exactly,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14- because it was got for me and my next eldest brother.- Yes.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19And the thing was, that when he wanted to play with it, I would say "no, I don't feel like it today".
0:06:19 > 0:06:23When I wanted to play he'd say "no, you wouldn't rock with me, so I'm not rocking..."
0:06:23 > 0:06:30It was used very little I'm afraid, but as you can see, I've a photograph here and that's...
0:06:30 > 0:06:35that was taken a year or two later probably when I was three year old maybe or four.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Is this Mum in the background?
0:06:37 > 0:06:40- That's Mum and that's my next eldest brother.- Fantastic.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44So you got on long enough just to stand there for the photograph to be taken.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49Terrific to still have that, can you remember the year that you might have been given it?
0:06:49 > 0:06:54I can, exactly, it was when I was two year old and that was 1934.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58When you see it from a distance it's got a nice sculptural quality,
0:06:58 > 0:07:04but when you look at it close up, it's got nice details like the lining on the little tray here.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09But it's also around the edge of the chair and on other details, on the rockers and so on.
0:07:09 > 0:07:15- I think that that means to me that it's of an earlier date than the 1934 that you mentioned.- I see.
0:07:15 > 0:07:23- I would say that it is probably around 1910 - 1915, so from a previous generation.- Oh, yes.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28Well, your Mother probably would never have mentioned how much it cost at the time.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31She told me in later years that she gave ten shillings for it.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34I don't know if that was new or second-hand.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Ten shillings in 1934, I mean that...that was a lot of money.
0:07:38 > 0:07:39What's it worth today?
0:07:39 > 0:07:44There's a lot of interest in children's furniture from all sorts of people -
0:07:44 > 0:07:49whether they collect just children's furniture, or whether they collect them as toys or amusements.
0:07:49 > 0:07:55I would have said that this in, in an auction would probably fetch around £250 something like that.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00- Oh.- The great thing is, being an ungrateful child, you and your brother must share the blame,
0:08:00 > 0:08:06has meant that it's remained in really good condition and is a great piece of children's amusement today.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Well, yes, yes.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Can you give me a hand just on that side?
0:08:11 > 0:08:14I can't believe it! It's never been used, has it?
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- It's unused.- Completely unused. - Completely unused.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- All the way down.- All the way. - Let's see.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Oh, look at this, still in the Cellophane!
0:08:29 > 0:08:31That is...
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Well...I've been looking at toys for an awful long time.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38I've never ever seen a completely unused Outfit Number 10.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42How on earth has it been kept in this condition?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45It was bought by a colleague of my father's
0:08:45 > 0:08:47who unfortunately didn't have any children,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51and it was bought as a complete outfit.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54It was passed to my father and then passed to me when my father died.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59Unfortunately we have no children so we thought we'd keep it as it is.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03We actually have a working Meccano set at home that we do use, but this is something different.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07- This is for Sunday afternoons to gloat at, rather than play with? - Yes.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Meccano was started way back in 1901.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15Frank Hornby founded the company, that went on to make Hornby trains,
0:09:15 > 0:09:21Dinky cars, probably the most important collectable toy manufacturers in the 20th century.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26And, of course, he made Meccano. And there is some stories that because of Meccano
0:09:26 > 0:09:32our efforts in engineering were matured at a very young age because if a ten year old got into this,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35they went on to become mechanical or civil engineers.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- Who knows if that's true or not? - He did.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Oh, you did? You didn't play with a Meccano set?
0:09:42 > 0:09:46And in, I think it was 1926, they went to this very recognisable colour
0:09:46 > 0:09:50of green and bright red, but I think it has so many memories
0:09:50 > 0:09:53for so many people. They remember having toys just like this.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57But now, the Number 10 was the biggest you could get.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01You've some of the catalogues here - this is actually a reprint.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04I think this crane here, you could only actually build
0:10:04 > 0:10:06- with a Number 10.- Yes.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08So it was the ultimate toy.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12I think the date of this, going back to remember when you were a child
0:10:12 > 0:10:16and you saw it in that toy shop, was it sort of 35 to 40 years ago?
0:10:16 > 0:10:21- Something like that, yes. - Yeah, so I would have thought it's certainly '50s, probably post-war.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26- The catalogues are slightly later. They're probably bought in the 1960s to go with the set.- Yes.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30At auction, one in play condition but quite complete can fetch
0:10:30 > 0:10:32£1,500 to £2,000.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34I think for this, in this condition,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37we're talking about a value in excess of £3,000.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41- So...- Ouch.
0:10:42 > 0:10:43- Fantastic toy.- Yes.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- But not to be played with.- No.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Do you use this at home?
0:10:47 > 0:10:53Yes, we do, we do. Children are always jumping about on it, so it gets a lot of use, yes.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57- Where did you get it from?- I bought it in Germany about 13 years ago.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59It was from like an antique junk shop.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04I just saw it there at the end of the room and really liked it, so that was...
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- Were you living there?- Yes, I was, I living and working in Germany, yes.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10What did they describe it as, at the time?
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Well, the man didn't know what it was. He said it was an old sofa.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- Do you want me to tell you where it's from?- Yes. I just presumed that it was German.
0:11:18 > 0:11:24- Well, you've probably heard this word, Biedermeier?- I have, yes, yes, I have heard that in Germany before.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29It literally means "plain man" and it was a fashion that started in the 1820s in Germany
0:11:29 > 0:11:31and was very popular. You see wonderful watercolours.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35And Mary Ellen Best with these lovely interiors,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38she was, I think, British but had a German husband.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Wonderful interiors with this plain furniture.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43It's become very popular in the last 20 or 30 years.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48Perhaps he didn't understand it, or rate it because it's not actually German.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- So if I tell you that the wood on the back is pine.- Right.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56That directs me to the Baltic area - Riga.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58- Oh.- The Russian coast.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02- The wood on the front is Karelian birch.- Oh, I've never heard of that.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06That's from the Russian forest in the North Russian/Finland area
0:12:06 > 0:12:11and it was very, very popular in the 1830s, and '40s, '50s, on the Russian coast.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14If you look at the leg here, you've got this...
0:12:14 > 0:12:17- horns of plenty where you get cherubs in designs.- Oh, yes.
0:12:17 > 0:12:23They're all holding up a horn with flowers in them called a cornucopia or horn of plenty.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25- Right.- That's what this is. - Oh, really?
0:12:25 > 0:12:29It's been exaggerated in shape and is very typical of the Biedermeier
0:12:29 > 0:12:32but very provincial, ie Russian Baltic type furniture.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35But also the curve here, it's sort of very pneumatic -
0:12:35 > 0:12:39typical of the middle part of the 19th century, 1830 to 40,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41something like that. Did it cost you a lot?
0:12:41 > 0:12:48Um, about £250, something like that, which I thought was a lot.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53- Hang on a minute, £250?- Yes, yes. - Well, that was a lot wasn't it?
0:12:53 > 0:12:57I thought so at the time, but I liked it so much.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02Have you any idea how popular this type of Russian furniture has become over the last 10 or 15 years?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05- No, no, I haven't followed that at all.- Very popular.- Really?
0:13:05 > 0:13:10You are sitting on a settee, or we are sitting very comfortably on a settee worth...
0:13:10 > 0:13:14- £5,000.- Really? Oh, my gosh.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Well, when the children have left home, I'm going backpacking and travelling,
0:13:18 > 0:13:23so I'll have something to pay for my travels then.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Well, they say on a hot day there's nothing better than a cup of tea,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29and we are taking tea with the great Suzie Cooper.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33But, tell me, when did you first take tea with this Suzie Cooper?
0:13:33 > 0:13:39Well, when I was 18 I went to train to be a physiotherapist at the Manchester Royal Infirmary.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43And, um, before then we'd only had white pottery,
0:13:43 > 0:13:49because this was after the war. All the printed pottery went to America mainly,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53And then we heard that in one of the big stores in Manchester
0:13:53 > 0:13:57they'd got a lot of odd Suzie Cooper in, so...
0:13:57 > 0:14:00- which was decorated.- So you all high-tailed it down the road.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Not all, but quite a lot of us went down, yes.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- Was it a bit of a bun fight? - It was a very great bun fight.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I notice you've got two odds. I take it you haven't got a set?
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- You've just odds?- I've six odds.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Well, of course, Suzie Cooper, she had such a great career,
0:14:15 > 0:14:16I mean she started...
0:14:16 > 0:14:21pre '20s, 1918 at the Burslem School of Art under Gordon Forsyth.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23She went on to work for A E Gray.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28She went on to open up her own works which became the Crown Works - Suzie Cooper Works.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30What we've got here are two pieces
0:14:30 > 0:14:36which are just absolutely typical of that post-war 1950s period.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39The one I've got personally is my favourite
0:14:39 > 0:14:43because it's actually using a technique that we call scraffito.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45What she's done is painted on the decoration
0:14:45 > 0:14:49and then carved away to reveal the white china underneath.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53- Oh, I wondered how it was done. - And then overpainted.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58It's funny because she loved vegetation, and plants, and fruit, and seeds and pods.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Here you have kidney beans, and runner beans, and fronds.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05It's very linked to the textile patterns of the day as well -
0:15:05 > 0:15:08a lot of sort of decoration on textiles and wallpapers.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11- Do you like the one you have?- Yes, it's my favourite.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13- I don't know what it is. - Well, you can see,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17she sort of very much uses this sort of birds and stag motifs in her work.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Yes, and that's under the sea.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23I mean in terms of value there's a bun fight in her memory
0:15:23 > 0:15:29- and an era gone that reminds you of that...no longer having to suffer white china.- That's right.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34The one that you're holding, if it were to be sold at auction,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37you would be looking somewhere in the region of
0:15:37 > 0:15:39£80 maybe £100.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44But the one I'm holding, because of the runner beans, broad beans, and the fronds,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46and all that nice scraffito work,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48I think you're looking realistically
0:15:48 > 0:15:53over the £100 and maybe the sort of £120 to £150 mark as a sort of value for it.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Well, I shan't be selling them.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57So this is a photograph of your grandfather
0:15:57 > 0:16:01standing in front of his Spitfire looking very pleased with himself.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04- He's slightly relieved I think, yes. - Relieved?
0:16:04 > 0:16:11He was flying to bomb German HQ during the Second World War in Egypt when he was hit by...
0:16:11 > 0:16:14This is the nose cone of the shell that actually hit him.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18You can see in the photograph, the...
0:16:18 > 0:16:23Right, so this piece of shrapnel got embedded in the front of the plane?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Yes, we think it was a British shell.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31- Perhaps a British and German aircraft facing each other and... - Right, got them by mistake.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36Yes, pretty much but Grandpa managed to get back to base with no oil
0:16:36 > 0:16:39and landed it just as it started to fire...
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Wow, so he lived to tell the tale.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Yes, he did, I think he worked out that if it had been
0:16:45 > 0:16:49two degrees higher, the trajectory, that it would have taken his eye out.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Goodness me, so with that problem he limped home.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56- Yes.- And the whole thing is recorded in these logbooks here.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Yes, it's quite a small mention but it's...
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- You've got the first volume and the second volume.- Yeah.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04This is the page that records the event.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Yeah, and it's this, the 4th January 1945.
0:17:08 > 0:17:15Flying Spitfire IX, pilot - self, bombing Jerry HQ south of Lugo.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20And he's put the extra parts there, he's written a lot more.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Yes, he really crammed it in. "What a show.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27"We got six direct hits and left the whole place burning.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31"I got a direct hit in the oil tank.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34"Just got back as she started to burn,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38"No oil or glycol in the engine, target observed still burning..."
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- Is that "three hours later"?- Yes.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44- Wow, what a tale! - Three or four hours later.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48- So your grandfather joined the RAF at the beginning of the war? - Yeah, about 1940.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52I believed he lied about his age to get in, he was desperate to fly
0:17:52 > 0:17:57- and he did his training during the Battle of Britain.- Right.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00The Battle of Britain was over when he completed the training,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04then he was in the North Africa campaign and the Italy campaign.
0:18:04 > 0:18:11- Well, they're a fantastic pair of logbooks. I guess you won't ever sell these?- No, never.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13But I'll put a commercial valuation on them
0:18:13 > 0:18:17and on the open market in auctions, they'd fetch between £300 and £500.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22- That's a bit of a surprise?- Yeah, I didn't think they'd be that much.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25This week's collector is a racing champion
0:18:25 > 0:18:29and his vehicle of choice is the lawn mower,
0:18:29 > 0:18:34though how you could win a race this way, I can't imagine.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Brian Radam, this has been your passion -
0:18:37 > 0:18:41to the applause of the crowd - your passion since when?
0:18:41 > 0:18:46It all started in 1945 when my father opened the first DIY shop in Southport
0:18:46 > 0:18:52and he repaired lawn mowers and we ended up with a big pile of scrap iron in the back,
0:18:52 > 0:18:57which should have been thrown away, but because it was British engineering,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01it was the best in the world and instead of throwing them away, we started restoring them.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I presume you didn't race in a thing like this?
0:19:04 > 0:19:08- Er, not quite like this, more power. - Big sit-ons?- Yeah.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- And what is this one that I've just used?- This is a Qualcast Panther.
0:19:11 > 0:19:17It's 1955 and it was owned by Jean Alexander who's famous for Coronation Street.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20I say! Wow, a star's lawn mower!
0:19:20 > 0:19:23A wonderful collection here, out of how many?
0:19:23 > 0:19:25- It's about 400.- 400.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Now this is fine-looking machine, what does it say down here?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32This is the Ransome's New Automaton
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and it was the next generation after they were invented.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Edwin Beard Budding invented them in 1830,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42and he worked in a cotton mill and the cotton-mill owner asked him
0:19:42 > 0:19:46to make a machine to cut the cloughs and the bobbly bits off the cloth
0:19:46 > 0:19:50because they'd got an order for guardsmen's uniforms.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54And he invented the cutting cylinder and it's never changed to this day.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58They make a lovely noise and make you smile when you cut the grass.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Oh, yes, and what do they cost?
0:20:00 > 0:20:05They can cost anything from a few pounds to a few thousand pounds.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09- Some of them are extremely rare now. - What year would this be?
0:20:09 > 0:20:12This is quite modern, it's from the late '50s-1960,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16and it was a special-edition model made for an exhibition. It's chrome.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Oh, so this didn't go into general use, then?
0:20:19 > 0:20:22This was designed specifically for a bowling green.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25It would give an absolute perfect finish
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and it was one of Greens' more modern machines.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33- Why do lawn mowers mean so much to you?- Well, these machines give a beautiful finish,
0:20:33 > 0:20:39and with us losing nearly all our British lawn-mower manufacturing - and lawn mowers are very British.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Lots of people when they go out to buy a new lawn mower,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46they'll come home with a grass cutter without realising it,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and we're losing our lawns as well.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51- Is this your favourite? - It's one of my favourites,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54but probably my favourite is the Wilkinson Sword,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- which is this one here. - Oh, this sharp-looking item.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02That's sleek, isn't it? What's the secret of this one?
0:21:02 > 0:21:07The secret of this one is... Wilkinson Sword liked the idea of this.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11It was a Norwegian company called Flexa Lawn Mowers and they made a cutting principle
0:21:11 > 0:21:17that was slightly different to Edwin Budding, and the blade hits the bottom blade at a different angle
0:21:17 > 0:21:19and you never need to sharpen it.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23And because it was £9 at the time, which was a lot of money,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26not many people bought them, but it's a lovely lawn mower to use.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29- Does it work?- It does work.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37There it goes, that lovely English sound of a lawn mower...
0:21:37 > 0:21:43at full throttle and a man thinking about a nice, cool bottle of beer.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51I don't know how to explain myself, but I think I've fallen in love.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55And I think I've fallen in love with your friend
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- because she is just stunning. - She's beautiful, isn't she?
0:21:59 > 0:22:05Words are not enough, but I know that there's an interesting story
0:22:05 > 0:22:09behind this woman of mystery, so reveal all.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14I was given it about two years ago when we had a conservatory built. A friend came round and said,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18"I've got something that will look beautiful in your conservatory."
0:22:18 > 0:22:23So I went with him, picked it up, and he'd got it previously about 25, 20 years ago,
0:22:23 > 0:22:28from a clergyman who'd given it to him, and that's basically how's I got it,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32But she does look gorgeous with the sunlight on her in the conservatory.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35- She does as well, doesn't she?- Yes.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40And just one look at this girl, um, tells you that she started life
0:22:40 > 0:22:45in around about 1900, because just stylistically,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49she's very much in the sort of Art Nouveau style.
0:22:49 > 0:22:56- Now first of all she's in carved white marble, OK, so she's obviously a one-off in this situation.- Yeah.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Now I say that because there were, certainly in Italy,
0:23:00 > 0:23:05a production team of people who can make one marble after another that would look identical,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08- but I think that this is a commission.- Yeah.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13Which makes it that little bit special. Who's responsible? It's got to be somebody good.
0:23:13 > 0:23:19Um, and I look down here and I see "A. Leonard." Agathon Leonard.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24Good news, he's a good man. He's a very good man.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30- Um, he was born in Lille in Belgium in the early 1840s.- Oh, right.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34And he died in Paris in about 1923.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Not a bad innings and in the interim period,
0:23:37 > 0:23:42- he actually became a sort of naturalised Frenchman.- Oh, right.
0:23:42 > 0:23:48So he's working in Paris - Paris is the epicentre of all this type of sculpture,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52- riding under this banner of Art Nouveau.- Yes.
0:23:52 > 0:23:58Lots of naturalistic emblems and motifs incorporated into it and a sense of movement...
0:23:58 > 0:24:02You look at her hair and you feel as if that lock has just fallen...
0:24:02 > 0:24:05- I know what you mean, yeah. - ..Seconds before.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10So he turns up in many guises in Art Nouveau sculpture, in bronze, in mixed media
0:24:10 > 0:24:15where sometimes you'll get marble with bronze as well,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18and he's regarded as being important.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22As for the neighbour, this could be very tricky,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26because I've got no great precedent to go by,
0:24:26 > 0:24:31but I think that if I wanted to buy this girl today
0:24:31 > 0:24:36I don't think I'd get any change out of £15,000.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41- How much was your conservatory? - Oh, about ten.- Well, there you are,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44you build a conservatory for ten and you get a pressie for 15.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49Now I'd like to finish by saying "I'm thinking of building a conservatory at the moment
0:24:49 > 0:24:53"and I'd like to meet your neighbour because I'll have lots of gaps."
0:24:53 > 0:24:55I'll have to bring him down!
0:24:55 > 0:24:58I think you're in a tricky situation here, aren't you?
0:24:58 > 0:25:02- SHE GIGGLES Well, bless him! - Bless him?- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Right, are you ready for kick off?
0:25:04 > 0:25:09- Yes, I am.- Tell me about this wonderful set of footballers.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10- Well, they were my father's.- Yes.
0:25:10 > 0:25:16He was born in Mandalay in India in 1906 and when I was 11,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19he passed them onto me and I've had them ever since.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21- So did you play with them as a young boy?- Yes.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25- Well, we've got two teams here, haven't we?- Yes.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28And this is obviously the England team,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31with the Union Jack on their shirts.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33This team I'm not so sure about.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37- It would presumably be another international team.- Yes.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42- But I don't recognise the colours. Have you got any idea as to who they might be?- None at all, no.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46- Well, let's see if we can have a little bit of a game.- Right you are.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Ready for this?
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Oh, fantastic!
0:25:53 > 0:25:57- So what have we got here? - Well, it's a christening mug.
0:25:57 > 0:26:03- Mm.- And there's quite a story with it because I have a friend who lives in Crowle.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- Crowle is where? - The other side of the river.
0:26:07 > 0:26:13Crowle from the Isle of Axholme, and Pidd is an Isle of Axholme name.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- Yes.- And Jo, my friend, lived on the Isle
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and she saw this christening mug in an antique shop in Bawtry
0:26:20 > 0:26:23and bought it.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28And when she showed it me, my mother was a Pidd and lived in Crowle,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32and this Catherine whose christening mug it is,
0:26:32 > 0:26:38- is on my family tree and so she's an ancestor of mine.- Good heavens!
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I said, "It's more mine than yours" but she wouldn't give me it.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45And then when I was - had an "0" on the end -
0:26:45 > 0:26:50- she gave it to me for a birthday gift.- As a special present.- Yes.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52It's a lovely little piece, isn't it?
0:26:52 > 0:26:54- And this was made in 1856.- Yes.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58- I think it's a super little mug. So the value - not very great.- No.
0:26:58 > 0:27:04- But to you it is priceless. - Because of the story, yes, that's right. And we're still friends.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06- Well done!- Yes. That's right.
0:27:06 > 0:27:07Hasn't got any arms, this one.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Oh, he's passed to him...
0:27:10 > 0:27:12So do you think I'm allowed another go?
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Definitely, it's in your half, anyway.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16Yes, rather.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20- Oh, dear, - And this defender comes out.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23- What about the date?- No idea, no.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27No, I suspect... They're very much like early Britain lead soldiers,
0:27:27 > 0:27:32so I think they probably date from around 1900-1910,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- which would tie in with your father, wouldn't it?- Yes, yes, it would.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39They're very unusual, it's difficult to put a value on them, as I say,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42not in the best of condition,
0:27:42 > 0:27:47but nevertheless I think each figure's got to be worth £15-20,
0:27:47 > 0:27:52so if you add it all up you're probably looking at £500 for the complete set.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Oh, really? My word, I am surprised.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00- Naked ladies.- Yes. - Why have we got naked ladies?
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Well, I went to an auction and I just fell in love with them.
0:28:04 > 0:28:10I paid £50 each but not at the same auction, about a year, a year apart.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14The question is, why were they made?
0:28:14 > 0:28:19- I'm not sure.- Well, these date from about 1900-1905...
0:28:19 > 0:28:23they were made in Germany,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27they're made of porcelain and these have always puzzled me slightly
0:28:27 > 0:28:31because here you've got two naked women
0:28:31 > 0:28:34and another naked lady lying down
0:28:34 > 0:28:41- at a time when naked women were just not part of the scenery.- Mm.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45You know, we're talking here late-Victorian/early-Edwardian
0:28:45 > 0:28:49and you saw a woman's ankle and you were overcome with emotion,
0:28:49 > 0:28:54and here we've got naked women, so who were these made for and why?
0:28:54 > 0:29:01I think one explanation is possibly they were just bits of amusement which one man gave to another
0:29:01 > 0:29:05and they went into the billiard room for a bit of fun.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09I think another possibility is, because they're German,
0:29:09 > 0:29:13nude bathing was quite common in Germany at this time.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16- Really?- Yeah, and still is...
0:29:16 > 0:29:19This one's very amusing
0:29:19 > 0:29:25because somebody has knitted her a bathing costume
0:29:25 > 0:29:29out of a stocking material or something,
0:29:29 > 0:29:35um, which one's only got to move down a bit and she's got her nakedity still there.
0:29:35 > 0:29:41Um, I think they're great fun and they are collectable, they are collectable.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46They're almost never marked, one factory which did make comparable...
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Oh, yes, I'm so sorry, you're quite right...
0:29:49 > 0:29:55- One factory that did make them was Gebruder Heubach. - Yeah, they make dolls.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58That's absolutely right, yes, at Lichte,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01and it's possible they come from there, but I'm not sure.
0:30:01 > 0:30:08I think your £50 was well spent because I think the reclining lady with or without her bathing costume
0:30:08 > 0:30:10is worth in the region of £70 to £100
0:30:10 > 0:30:15and the second one with the two naked ladies, which is very rare,
0:30:15 > 0:30:20- I can see that making £200 without any trouble at all.- Very nice.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24- Well, I love them.- Well, that's the main thing, thank you.- OK.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29It's fantastic that people still bring in these large pieces of furniture to the Antiques Roadshow,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33and I saw you earlier on staggering in with this, across the lawn.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37- How did you get it here?- Well, we had to bring it in two pieces.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41I love this. It's just so original and so, what we call "clean".
0:30:41 > 0:30:45It might look dirty to you, but it looks clean to me.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Let me show you this lovely key.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52It's, I think, the original key, with a little coronet on the top.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56- It's fantastic, isn't it? - Well, let's look at the outside.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00It's a secretaire, with the two short and two long drawers below.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02It looks pretty good and original to me.
0:31:02 > 0:31:07I suspect the bun feet have been fiddled with, but that's common.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11I'm not going to worry about that. I bet there's a secret drawer...
0:31:11 > 0:31:12Do you know where they are?
0:31:12 > 0:31:17Yes, there's a couple of them tucked away, quite difficult to get to...
0:31:17 > 0:31:21Under the top there there's a little compartment for coins or something.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Oh, isn't that nice, yes.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27Mm, doesn't smell. Sometimes they're a wonderful dry smell.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31- It's such a nice thing.- Yes, I think it's been in use in the family.
0:31:31 > 0:31:36I wonder whether anyone would have ever found that?
0:31:36 > 0:31:38Any more?
0:31:38 > 0:31:42Yeah, there's one hidden away in the door. Ooh...if I can get it open.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46- At the bottom here there's a catch that slides out.- Ah, all right, OK.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51- So there's something else that's in there.- Any money in this?- Afraid not!
0:31:51 > 0:31:56Shame. No guineas tucked away. Isn't that lovely? Gosh, that's nice.
0:31:56 > 0:32:02- Let's stick it back and let's have a look.- Just slides back in there.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05I mean, what date is this?
0:32:05 > 0:32:07- It's a secretaire.- Yes.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11It's been passed down through the family, came through my grandfather,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15and he was under the impression that it was made of English oak and it's from 1790,
0:32:15 > 0:32:20- but beyond that we don't really know anything about it. - It's certainly English oak.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24- 1790 - you think it's that old? - I have no idea myself.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29I mean, we wondered about whether these were the original details on them.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31Let's have a look.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35- Well, glorious, look at that. See that there, that pin?- Yeah.
0:32:35 > 0:32:41Just tip it so you can see it properly, you've got that lovely little steel wire like a pin
0:32:41 > 0:32:44and just tucked in either side, just holding it steady,
0:32:44 > 0:32:48so it doesn't spin round. And let's look at the front...
0:32:48 > 0:32:52This is the original little pear-drop handle. So many of those have been replaced,
0:32:52 > 0:32:56so that's totally original. The most charming thing to me
0:32:56 > 0:33:00is the originality of this piece. It's just totally clean, untouched.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06It's a bit dark and it's loved and it's been used, in the same family, you think, since 1790?
0:33:06 > 0:33:10Yeah, well, as far as I know. That's the family legend about it.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13- I'm afraid you're wrong about the date.- OK.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Sorry about this.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18- It's made in 1690.- Ah-ha.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23So it's late Charles II, William and Mary, James II,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27difficult to be precise about the date, 1680-1700.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31But this lovely shape, these geometric shapes here
0:33:31 > 0:33:36is typical of the Restoration of the Monarchy after about 1660. And I think it's just a gem.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39Um, value - 300 years old,
0:33:39 > 0:33:43it's not worth a lot for what it is, I think they're undervalued,
0:33:43 > 0:33:47but it's not terribly useful, except for hiding things in.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51At auction, estimate between...
0:33:51 > 0:33:54- between £2,000 and £3,000. - Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59A very elegant leather box, and what have we got inside?
0:33:59 > 0:34:04- These two trays.- Yes.- Are they for sandwiches, do you think?
0:34:04 > 0:34:08I would think they're for sandwiches or to put the tea on, to serve.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12- And then two cups and saucers. - Two cups and saucers.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17- And this is made by Royal Worcester. - Royal Worcester.
0:34:17 > 0:34:23Bee's knees, and here I assume we've got the kettle.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26- That is the kettle.- Oh, that's heavy.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30- Because it has things inside it.- Oh, right, that's why it's so heavy.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Oh...is that for the milk?
0:34:34 > 0:34:39No, that's for the sugar and the tea, there's the stand for the teapot.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42So you put one in the bottom of that, and one in the top.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45- That's right.- And this chap goes on here?- That goes on there.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50- And...- That's the lid.
0:34:50 > 0:34:56That is then the teapot which also has the milk and sugar inside it.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59I'm enjoying myself here, we're going to have a good picnic.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03This is what I presume you would bring the milk in, and here,
0:35:03 > 0:35:08which is a bit difficult to get out, is the little burner.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13- That goes on the... - Which goes underneath there.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Good. All we need now is a match and we're away.
0:35:16 > 0:35:22I've never seen such an exquisitely made picnic set.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24It's by Royal Worcester.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29It's got the 20 dots on it which dates it to precisely 1911.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34- And that was the time when people were taking motor cars out into the countryside.- Yes.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38And I would have thought this could have been for a very smart car.
0:35:38 > 0:35:45- We would have had this charming tea together with the chauffeur, who'd have acted as butler.- That's right.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50A really first-class piece. What's the history behind it?
0:35:50 > 0:35:57It belonged to my husband's parents and I know that my mother-in-law,
0:35:57 > 0:36:03she was a great lady, a very clever lady visiting many antique sales in the early days,
0:36:03 > 0:36:09- and this is one of the things she bought. She gave it to us about 40 years ago.- You've used it?
0:36:10 > 0:36:14No. We don't have a Rolls-Royce.
0:36:14 > 0:36:21No, we haven't, I've had it open on display, but for a while it's just been closed up.
0:36:21 > 0:36:26Well, I think for somebody who is maybe a motoring enthusiast, if you've got the ultimate car,
0:36:26 > 0:36:31this is the ultimate picnic set to go with it and therefore I wouldn't be surprised
0:36:31 > 0:36:35with all the quality here, that a collector would pay maybe
0:36:35 > 0:36:39- £1,200 to £1,500...- Really?
0:36:39 > 0:36:43..just to acquire a picnic set of this quality. Cup of tea?
0:36:43 > 0:36:44Thank you very much!
0:36:44 > 0:36:50Here in the gardens of Normanby Hall I feel a bit like this figure in the centre here,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53surrounded by flowers and wonderful buildings.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55Haven't seen a spotted leopard!
0:36:55 > 0:37:03It's a great embroidery, in lovely condition. How did you come by it?
0:37:03 > 0:37:07Well, my daughter lives in Australia, coming back to England shortly.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10- Don't tell me it's from Australia! - No, it's not.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14She's coming back to England shortly and she was wanting a house
0:37:14 > 0:37:19and, um...we purchased a house for her in the village where we live
0:37:19 > 0:37:23and we acquired the contents as well,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26and, um... this was left among the contents.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29I don't believe you! Things like that don't happen any more.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33- Just occasionally.- You lucky chap! Do you know what it is?
0:37:33 > 0:37:35I know it's embroidery.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40I believe it's 17th century and that's about it, I think, really.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Well, you've got a good start, I have to say.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47Yes, it is, it's a wonderful piece of English domestic embroidery
0:37:47 > 0:37:52and this style of picture had a real flourishing in the 17th century,
0:37:52 > 0:37:58from the time of Charles I into the Puritan period - they were still embroidering then -
0:37:58 > 0:38:00and then again in the Restoration in 1660.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05But this figure here, although I have an idea who she is,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08could be drawn from all sorts of references.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13Sometimes you might find that it's a Biblical scene, but in this case,
0:38:13 > 0:38:19I happen to know that this figure actually appears in an illustrated book by Thomas Johnson of 1630
0:38:19 > 0:38:23and it is the figure of Smell. And there she is
0:38:23 > 0:38:26holding an extremely highly perfumed dianthus
0:38:26 > 0:38:30which we all know smells very strongly of cloves,
0:38:30 > 0:38:34and anybody looking at that would know immediately
0:38:34 > 0:38:38that that was a symbol of the sense of smell.
0:38:38 > 0:38:44And she's surrounded by all these wonderful flowers that you'd find in any Stuart knot garden.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48Why were these done? They were done really, obviously as decoration,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51but also to show the woman's mastery of embroidery,
0:38:51 > 0:38:55the different stitches and her competence as a stitcher.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58It wasn't for her to show her competence as an artist.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04All these various elements, absolutely everything in it,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07maybe with the exception of that castle,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10has been drawn from the books of the period. What she did was,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13she simply copied them,
0:39:13 > 0:39:17drew them onto this wonderful rich satin background
0:39:17 > 0:39:20and then stitched over them.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24And we sent her a copy of the embroidery over to Australia
0:39:24 > 0:39:28and she sent it onto an embroiderers' society in America...
0:39:28 > 0:39:31Oh, what was the response?
0:39:31 > 0:39:35The lady replied and said that she would give both arms to own something like that.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38- And for an embroideress to say that, that's quite something.- Yes.
0:39:38 > 0:39:44She said that it would be somewhere in the region of between 2,000 and 8,000.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47Quite a broad spectrum!
0:39:47 > 0:39:50Yes, she sort of kept her options open, didn't she?
0:39:50 > 0:39:53- That's right.- Between two and eight thousand dollars,
0:39:53 > 0:39:59well, I sort of agree, but I agree at the upper end, let's say between £3,000 and £5,000...
0:39:59 > 0:40:04that's where I would put the value - between £3,000 to £5,000, rather than dollars.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07No, I mean to say it's a cracking thing
0:40:07 > 0:40:11and to have it really thrown in with the house,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14- we just don't hear stories like that any more.- No.
0:40:14 > 0:40:19- And I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time. - It's my first time.- Well done.
0:40:19 > 0:40:26If you want to give it a go with this one as I do it, and we'll see. Shall we grip and twist...?
0:40:26 > 0:40:28No-one's asked you to do that today.
0:40:28 > 0:40:34Jolly good, yes, we haven't broken them, excellent. We've got a pair of telescopic candlesticks
0:40:34 > 0:40:38and they're tremendous fun and they're still holding up
0:40:38 > 0:40:42which is a plus point because any telescopic candlesticks I've seen,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45you do that and they fall straight back down again.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47Where did you get them from?
0:40:47 > 0:40:51- Well, we won them in a national newspaper competition.- Really?
0:40:51 > 0:40:53- Yes.- And these were the prizes?- Yes.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56I missed that edition of the newspaper!
0:40:56 > 0:41:00Well, fantastic, I've never heard the like of it.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04Did they tell you when they were made or who made them... anything like that?
0:41:04 > 0:41:07No, that's what we'd like to know.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09We believe that they were 1814, Birmingham.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Right, right, Birmingham. I'm from Birmingham.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17I was born in Birmingham and raised in Birmingham and so were these
0:41:17 > 0:41:21and have a look at the hallmarks - MB - the most famous Birmingham silversmith
0:41:21 > 0:41:26that ever lived, Matthew Boulton. He set up the assay office in 1773
0:41:26 > 0:41:33and these candlesticks were made in 1816, so you were close, only two years out.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37Even though it's got his mark on them, he'd been dead seven years,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41so he didn't make them personally, otherwise they'd be terribly rare,
0:41:41 > 0:41:44but the company went on and they're all marked,
0:41:44 > 0:41:49they're all fine, absolutely. That one should be marked, and it is,
0:41:49 > 0:41:51and that's the same date so they're splendid.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56How much was the competition prize supposed to be?
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Was there a cash value or did you just get the candlesticks?
0:41:59 > 0:42:03- Well, they mentioned £1,200 ten years ago.- Right, ten years ago.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Well, silver's been in a bit of a slump over the past ten years,
0:42:07 > 0:42:14but these are very nice and they're Birmingham which is a rare provincial factory at this time.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19For a pair like this, you couldn't go into a shop in London today
0:42:19 > 0:42:23and buy them for a penny less than £6,500.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Oh, I don't feel well.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30- What did you do to win them? - I was lucky.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33- Unbelievable.- Unbelievable.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36What do you want in a Roadshow?
0:42:36 > 0:42:40Lovely location, decent weather, interesting items and occasionally the bonus
0:42:40 > 0:42:44of some very good news, and, Marilyn, you've had some very good news today.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47- Yes.- From Eric Knowles, what did he tell you?
0:42:47 > 0:42:52I brought a marble bust in today for him to have a look at and he told me it's worth about £15,000.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57- £15,000? And this was a gift?- Yeah, when we had the conservatory built,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00a friend gave us it, said it would look lovely in the conservatory.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04And now it's worth £15,000. The question now comes up, how do you tell him?
0:43:04 > 0:43:09Oh, I'll come to that one when I get home, but he's lovely, so I know he won't mind.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11- I'm sure he's lovely, he'll enjoy it.- Yeah.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15Well, that's another Roadshow story, there are many more where those came from,
0:43:15 > 0:43:18until the next time, from Scunthorpe, goodbye.