0:00:36 > 0:00:39We're back for our second programme from Gloucester.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40One thousand years ago,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43the cathedral was home to a community of monks
0:00:43 > 0:00:46who would have been confused to know that this historic place of
0:00:46 > 0:00:50pilgrimage was to become not only the location for a television show,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52but a school for wizards.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57Harry Potter, the boy wonder from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
0:00:57 > 0:01:00and Wizardry has captured the imagination of muggles
0:01:00 > 0:01:05the world over, and if you're going to battle evil on a grand scale,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07you need a grand place to do it.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09LIGHTNING STRIKES
0:01:16 > 0:01:21Preparing Gloucester Cathedral for our Roadshow is a fairly subtle process...
0:01:21 > 0:01:26adapting it for a blockbuster movie was something else. Do you remember the scene?
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Harry Potter and his mates are running for their lives down this corridor pursued by a troll,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33they take refuge here
0:01:33 > 0:01:36in the monks' lavatorium.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38On this wall, a message written in blood warning
0:01:38 > 0:01:41that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened...
0:01:41 > 0:01:43disaster!
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Water pours out of this door, everyone's up to their necks in trouble,
0:01:48 > 0:01:53the climax of the scene takes place about here.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56The troll is destroyed, and Harry and his pals survive
0:01:56 > 0:01:59to face many more dangers. Thrilling, eh?
0:01:59 > 0:02:02But so clever, just look at this.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10Hogwarts is a school of course, not a church, so some of the
0:02:10 > 0:02:16stained glass windows were disguised and one or two doors just vanished.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19The film unit brought 52 trailers with them
0:02:19 > 0:02:22and were on location for 100 days...
0:02:22 > 0:02:25all that to produce ten minutes of screen time.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28On the other hand, without a trailer in sight,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31we can value 10,000 items, create hours of television
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and still have time for a game of quidditch.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39Having said that, let's see if we can conjure up today's Roadshow.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43HARRY POTTERESQUE MUSIC PLAYS
0:02:53 > 0:02:57This must be one of the most charming naive or primitive pictures
0:02:57 > 0:02:58I think I've ever seen.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Do you have any idea who the children are or where they come from?
0:03:02 > 0:03:03They would have been
0:03:03 > 0:03:09great aunt and uncle of my great grandmother Rotheridge,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12but unfortunately we're not sure whether they died in a fire,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16but there was a house fire shortly after this was painted.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Oh, dear.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20So...that's all we know.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24- And it's painted by a man here in Gloucester.- Yes.- Called Fisher.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Yes, that's right but we are unsure who, who the artist is.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32- I've tried to find out a bit about... and I really have failed.- Right.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36And I think, you know, there must be records of artists
0:03:36 > 0:03:40but these sort of primitive artists perhaps were not very commercial
0:03:40 > 0:03:44and didn't keep records, so it's going to be very difficult
0:03:44 > 0:03:46to know anything about Mr Fisher.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48But, clearly, they were well to do children,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51the house was called Sandpits Court, is it?
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Sandpits Court, which is just outside a village called Turley
0:03:54 > 0:03:56which is in Gloucester, Gloucestershire.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01- So they're, they're local children? - Yes, very local, very local family.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Well, what's quite extraordinary about it is here you've got
0:04:04 > 0:04:07- the little girl with her lovely coral necklace.- Yes.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09And she's holding a little basket.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12- That's right. - And here we have the very basket.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16- Yes.- I don't think I've ever seen that and it's made of straw-work.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- Yes.- Which is terribly fragile,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24so to have that... And the little whip that the boy is holding is here.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28- Yes.- And it dates from 1834 and all these are contemporary objects
0:04:28 > 0:04:32with, with the children, lovely bonnets and so on. Just...
0:04:32 > 0:04:35jam-packed with contemporary detail, a lovely thing.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39So how do you remember it as a child?
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I remember going into my grandmother's attic as a child
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and being fascinated because of the connection with the whip and the basket.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- Were you allowed to play with them? - I played with it.- Did you?
0:04:49 > 0:04:53- Yes, and it's lucky to have survived.- Extraordinary, isn't it?
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Yes. Well, I think it's terribly important to keep it all together,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59it would be an awful shame if, they were parcelled out
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- to various members of the family. - Absolutely.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06I wonder, if it's passed down, nobody's probably bothered to ever
0:05:06 > 0:05:09pay attention to its worth, cos they love it, so it doesn't matter.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Doesn't matter. It'll be in the family for years to come.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17Well, I hope so too, but none the less, it does have a value and
0:05:17 > 0:05:21I think it's such a charming thing, with the objects as well,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and as a group of things I think it's probably worth
0:05:24 > 0:05:29- about somewhere between £3,000-5,000.- Right.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34It's marvellous to be here in this wonderful building among
0:05:34 > 0:05:38these fantastic stone works, I mean it's glorious, isn't it, really?
0:05:38 > 0:05:42- Yes, wonderful, yes.- And this is your collection, or part of your collection.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- Part, yes.- Yes, and how did you come to start it?
0:05:45 > 0:05:52Well, um, I come from Tunstall and we lived opposite
0:05:52 > 0:05:54- the factory that made this.- Yes.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58- And we, er...- This is the factory is it?- That is the factory, yes, yes.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02- Yes.- Yes, and we had, my family had a butcher's shop
0:06:02 > 0:06:06just opposite there and I used to watch it being made, you know.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- The building looks very like a pottery.- Yes.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13- But of course doesn't go right back into Victorian days.- Absolutely not.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Not until the 1950s or so...
0:06:15 > 0:06:18- That's right, that's right, yes. - A firm called Friar.- Yes.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22And it's very, very exciting stuff isn't it?
0:06:22 > 0:06:23THEY LAUGH
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- Do you like it?- Not particularly, no.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29In actual fact, I think you know...
0:06:29 > 0:06:32my memories go back...
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- the pot bank used to belch out such terrible smoke.- Yes.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38We couldn't peg the clothes out because it always
0:06:38 > 0:06:43got black with dust and soot and to think that something, you know, quite bright really...
0:06:43 > 0:06:46- because that's what it is... - Came out of all this dirt.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48..came out of all this dirt and...
0:06:48 > 0:06:50So why did you collect the stuff?
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Just really collected it because of the family connection
0:06:53 > 0:06:57and the fact we knew where it was made and could visualise
0:06:57 > 0:07:01the people actually painting it and making it, er...
0:07:01 > 0:07:05I'm to blame generally, because whenever I saw any I bought it
0:07:05 > 0:07:07and then got told off for buying it.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13- So you used to buy it?- I used to do the buying...- Did you like it?
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Well, I did, but I didn't know a great deal about it, to be honest,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20and it looked rather attractive, so I thought,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23well, all right, I'll start collecting some
0:07:23 > 0:07:26on behalf of my wife, as she had associations with the factory.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Looks a bit like Clarice Cliff?
0:07:28 > 0:07:31I don't know about that. We could have bought,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35- we could have done that.- You could have bought Clarice Cliff? - We didn't like it.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40But years ago you could have bought Clarice Cliff for next to nothing but the people who produced it, and
0:07:40 > 0:07:46the people who lived in the area, didn't like Clarice Cliff at all, and, er there is a story
0:07:46 > 0:07:50that there was a large hole in one of the roads that was going to be brought into the area.
0:07:50 > 0:07:56- Yes.- As a new arterial road, and two lorry loads of Clarice Cliff was dumped to fill the hole up,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59so there's a fortune underneath the roadway.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02- Somewhere there it's worth digging up.- Oh, we know where it is.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07- Because Clarice Cliff is more valuable now than it used to be in the old days.- Oh, yes, yes.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- But this isn't of great value. - No, no, we know that.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12It'll be a long time before it gets valuable,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15per piece I suppose £10, £20 perhaps, something like that.
0:08:15 > 0:08:21- Yes.- But well done though, and wonderful to think about Tunstall in those old days.
0:08:21 > 0:08:22- Yes, thank you.- Oh, yes, yes.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27Now, most people have to wait a lifetime to get a jewel like this,
0:08:27 > 0:08:28as spectacular as this.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33And it seems that it's fallen to you at the right time in your life, tell me how.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Um, well when my gran died and...
0:08:35 > 0:08:38my Dutch Grandma, Grandma Oma, she left it to me
0:08:38 > 0:08:42and I just acquired it, but I've never worn it - I've been too scared.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45What happened when you first opened the box, what did you feel?
0:08:45 > 0:08:50I was in awe. Just too beautiful, with all the light shining on it.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53It is, it's the most fantastic return of light, isn't it? That's...
0:08:53 > 0:08:55There's a word for that -
0:08:55 > 0:08:57scintillation and it's doing it, isn't it?
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- Yes.- And so that was your granny's and she bought it where?
0:09:00 > 0:09:05- At a shop in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.- Marvellous.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Curiously enough it doesn't actually look like a Dutch jewel to me,
0:09:08 > 0:09:13it looks almost German and it's made in about 1900 and it's in the style
0:09:13 > 0:09:15called Jugendstil, the young style.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19It's modern for its period, it's made of platinum which is not often found
0:09:19 > 0:09:22much before this period and we see inside here
0:09:22 > 0:09:24a little message from her, what does it say?
0:09:24 > 0:09:28- It's in Dutch.- It says "this is for Hanna Kus Oma" and then her name.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Very touching isn't it?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32And you knew her well, obviously?
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Yes, but I was quite young when she died, so...
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Yes, well I think the magic of these sort of jewels in the family
0:09:38 > 0:09:41is that they march through from one generation to the other
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and it's the same piece of jewellery for your granny as it is for you,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47and it's a lovely token of remembrance from her,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50and that's what we see on the Antiques Roadshow -
0:09:50 > 0:09:54family jewels, but not necessarily valuable jewels in their own right,
0:09:54 > 0:09:59but they're, they're priceless within the family. So here's one that's spectacularly marvellous
0:09:59 > 0:10:05in every possible direction because it is a valuable jewel, it's set with diamonds and it's worth
0:10:05 > 0:10:06£10,000.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10That's incredible.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Interesting objects, where do they come from?
0:10:17 > 0:10:21They belonged to our late mother and she loved them, they were her
0:10:21 > 0:10:26favourite bits, my father bought them for her about 30 years ago now.
0:10:26 > 0:10:32- Do you know much about them?- Um, not really just that they're enamels
0:10:32 > 0:10:37and come from China, Canton, and are quite valuable, I think.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39- You're sisters, are you?- Yes.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Is there a fight going on as to who has what?
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Not really, we just had them altogether and...
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Oh, I see, OK.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51The history of enamels in China is really quite interesting,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55it probably goes back to...
0:10:55 > 0:10:59certainly goes back to the 15th century and to me,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03the quality of the painting on enamels
0:11:03 > 0:11:07is often infinitely superior to that on the porcelain,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11and you know, these display it really very well.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16These two dishes are beautifully painted with a rock...
0:11:16 > 0:11:18this blue thing is a rock...
0:11:18 > 0:11:20a sort of scholar's rock,
0:11:20 > 0:11:25chrysanthemums, classical flower, bird and this wonderful,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28scrolling peony border on here
0:11:28 > 0:11:32and characteristically, this blue squiggle
0:11:32 > 0:11:35which you find very frequently.
0:11:35 > 0:11:42All the pieces that you've got here date from 1740 to 1760
0:11:42 > 0:11:45right in the middle of the 18th century.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49You've got a very beautifully decorated bowl here,
0:11:49 > 0:11:54I mean, superb quality painting on there.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57We've got a teapot,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01- wonderfully decorated teapot. - I've got another one.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- Mm?- I've got another one. - You've got another one?- Yes.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Well, that's one each then, isn't it?
0:12:07 > 0:12:10One each, yeah, we can split them, and another one of those.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15I think it was collected with you two in mind somehow.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18That of course, is a tea canister
0:12:18 > 0:12:24and that's actually a Chinese wine ewer form.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- Oh.- But I think it was probably made for a Western teapot.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32- Right. - Well, I think they're absolutely fantastic, I love them desperately.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Um, you've got...
0:12:35 > 0:12:39I would actually think about these as individual to be quite honest,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42a set of those would be worth around...
0:12:44 > 0:12:48..£1,000. A pair of those,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52£400 the pair...
0:12:54 > 0:12:58That in that state, £120.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02- Each one of those...£400 to £600.- Oh!
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- And that, £1,000.- Right. Those are beautiful. Yes.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Aren't they wonderful? They could fetch more, they're really wonderful.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- Well, that's terrific, thank you so much.- Thank you.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17- Thank you for bringing them in. - Thank you.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21I have never ever seen a needlework picture
0:13:21 > 0:13:27- done with the text here so that I can read it.- Yeah.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- And on the right-hand side it's in reverse.- Yeah.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32- Very unusual.- It is, is it?
0:13:32 > 0:13:35It dates from about 1870,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38this was sewn by somebody from quite a good background.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- Right.- You can tell this for various reasons - one is its size.- Yes.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45The canvas and the wools, probably from Berlin,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49would have been expensive, so it's a big picture
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and look here, you've got a summer house,
0:13:52 > 0:13:57a conservatory, an orangery with two figures sitting outside.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01- These look like pennants, banners. - Right.- Maybe that's...
0:14:01 > 0:14:05- to denote some sort of hidden meaning in here.- Yeah.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10- Which we'll come to, so you've got a mirror image on each side.- Yeah.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15- A girl spinning with her distaff represents virtue.- Right.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18- The fish, fish...- Right.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21- ..for godliness.- Right. - And the poem...
0:14:21 > 0:14:23do you know anything about the poem?
0:14:23 > 0:14:28The poem was written by somebody called Isaac Watts and from about 1715 I think it was.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31- So this is a known text? - I believe so, yes.
0:14:31 > 0:14:38Now if you look at the text, the text is about the clothes that we wear.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41- Yeah.- And it shows that we're rich on the outside.- Yeah.
0:14:41 > 0:14:47- But what matters is that the clothing is only an image.- Yeah.
0:14:47 > 0:14:54In fact what matters is that you hold in your heart "knowledge and virtue".
0:14:54 > 0:14:57"These are the robes of the richest dress."
0:14:57 > 0:15:00- Yeah, yeah.- Here we have it in reverse,
0:15:00 > 0:15:05it goes on to another verse, now my hypothesis is...
0:15:05 > 0:15:08- you don't see everything when you first meet somebody.- Yes.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12They're dressed in their clothes, you can't read that straightaway,
0:15:12 > 0:15:17you need to know what that says and by looking in a mirror...
0:15:17 > 0:15:21- Yeah.- ..the words appear,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23- so it's not straightforward. - Yes.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27This is all about what you need to be a virtuous good person.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31- Yes.- You can have all the trappings of money and elegance,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35but if you aren't good inside you won't go to heaven.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40- Right.- But it is rare and because it's unusual, it's rare,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and overall condition, it's not bad.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46- Yeah.- You need to be careful.- Yes.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51- Value is reflected in its unusualness.- Yeah.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54I think if this were to go onto the open market,
0:15:54 > 0:16:00- I would put something around £1,500 to £1,800.- Right.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Thanks for telling me about it cos it's been there all my life
0:16:03 > 0:16:05and I've never known anything about it.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12- Have you been to Gloucester Cathedral before?- No.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14- Harry Potter has, did you know that? - Not really.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Some of it was filmed in the cloisters round the corner.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23- So, er...are you a Harry Potter fan? - Yeah. I've read all the books and seen all the films and everything.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28I've read the first two, I wavered at that point. What have you brought along today?
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- Um, a wax sealing stamp.- How do you end up with this wax sealing stamp?
0:16:32 > 0:16:34I bet you don't use it every day to seal your letters.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38- No.- You probably don't post letters. - Not really.- Are you an email person?
0:16:38 > 0:16:42- Yeah.- Right, then a completely useless object really, isn't it?- Yes.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Anyway, how do you end up having it?
0:16:44 > 0:16:48My great grandfather was a fireman in the Blitz
0:16:48 > 0:16:52and he was at Bexhill-on-Sea and one night a bomb landed
0:16:52 > 0:16:55and this flew through the air and hit him on the head,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00- and he went to take it back, but he couldn't because the shop was bombed.- Completely flattened?
0:17:00 > 0:17:05Yes, so he kept it and it's been in the family ever since.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09And here it is today, well it's a really lovely hand seal,
0:17:09 > 0:17:14as you say it's for sealing the wax on the back of envelopes,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17so that was in the Blitz, 1939-1940.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21So do you have a hunch as to how old it might be?
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Do you think it was brand new then, or do you think it was old then?
0:17:24 > 0:17:27- I don't have any idea. - Oh, go on, have a guess.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Um, brand new or something?
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Well, in fact it dates from about 100 years before that,
0:17:33 > 0:17:38so I'd be interested to know what kind of shop he was in front of.
0:17:38 > 0:17:39I think it was a stationers.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43A stationers or maybe even a sort of antique shop or something,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47but it's a really, really lovely example of a hand seal,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50it has a lapis lazuli handle, um, a gold top here and then
0:17:50 > 0:17:54this is blood stone and in fact it even has initials in the top, "JS".
0:17:54 > 0:17:59Who JS was, we'll never know but remarkable really that,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02first of all that it flew through the air,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04hit him on the head or whatever, didn't hurt him,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07didn't damage the hand seal. So are you wondering
0:18:07 > 0:18:11whether it was a worthless bit of shrapnel that hit him in the head,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- or something of value? - Mm. I am wondering, yes.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Well, it's really nicely made and really quite collectable
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and I guess that if this was to appear on the open market at auction,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26it would carry a value of something in the region of £400 to £600,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28so it wasn't such an unlucky night for him
0:18:28 > 0:18:33- that evening in Bexhill-on-Sea after all, was it?- No. Thank you.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Do you know, I am now touching...
0:18:38 > 0:18:43to my knowledge... the oldest piece of furniture we've ever had on the Roadshow.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- Oh.- This has to be 1400s
0:18:46 > 0:18:51and it's amazing and I have to ask you straightaway, where's it come from?
0:18:51 > 0:18:54From the church of which I'm church warden,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57St Mary de Crypt, here in Gloucester.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Well, how fitting, in this wonderful building, this cathedral,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03we should have a piece of ecclesiastical furniture
0:19:03 > 0:19:08and the only ones I've seen outside museums are in illustrations in books,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12I mean, they just don't exist on the market as such.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Um, they were made to take vestments
0:19:15 > 0:19:19and of course the church plate and, and tithes, money,
0:19:19 > 0:19:23hence all these locks and of course all the church wardens
0:19:23 > 0:19:25had a lock each for security.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29There are always doubts as to their authenticity,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32even some of those in collections
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and much of that arises from the fact that
0:19:35 > 0:19:39we're always taught that woodworm always comes in and out of wood,
0:19:39 > 0:19:41- it doesn't go along the surface.- Mm.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43And here you can see it's considerably infested
0:19:43 > 0:19:49and here particularly where it's almost gone to cork.
0:19:49 > 0:19:55Now the reason for that is, that this was probably painted originally,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and over...
0:19:57 > 0:20:0250 years after it was done, or 200 hundred years after it was done, it went out of fashion,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04it started to wear and it's been cleaned
0:20:04 > 0:20:09and the surface will have been stripped and that would expose
0:20:09 > 0:20:13the work of the woodworm and that's why, certainly in areas like that,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17it's just deteriorated further than one would have liked,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20but I bet if you put a pin or a little, a needle,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23after about a quarter of an inch, it would be like iron.
0:20:23 > 0:20:29Such solid, dense wood, it was the original strongbox
0:20:29 > 0:20:32and if you take it off of those blocks,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35or imagine in your mind's eye they're not there,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37it would stand very well indeed.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Obviously it's raised up to protect it, raised off the ground,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43but it didn't start life like that, this was it.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Wonderful ironwork everywhere and what do you keep inside it?
0:20:47 > 0:20:52Ah, as far as I'm aware there's nothing, well, of course...
0:20:54 > 0:21:01- ..we wonder if it's opened that we may find a skeleton, something like that.- Has it not been opened?
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Not to my knowledge, no.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08- For how long?- Never.- Good heavens!
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Well, anybody should ever question whether or not this programme
0:21:11 > 0:21:15is totally unrehearsed, we're now going to find out.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Let's see, I think we... How does it come up? What happens to that bit?
0:21:19 > 0:21:24- Er.- OK, it's stopped.- Well, there's a, there's a stop there, yes.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28OK, so we've got to undo this, gosh,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31a 100-year-old nut and bolt on here.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36- We'll get some help, see if I can get someone...- I think we'll need some.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Does this count as being a legend in your own time?
0:21:39 > 0:21:42I wonder, I never thought we'd actually start looking
0:21:42 > 0:21:44at Roadshow memorabilia on the Roadshow.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47- You never know.- Now tell me where, where did you get this?
0:21:47 > 0:21:51- I worked as assistant stage manager in Oldham...- Yes.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54- ..in the late 70s, early 80s.- Yes.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59And it was one of those signatures that I acquired later.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02How funny, cos this is a picture of the Antiques Roadshow in Oldham,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06it must be 1979 or '80 because we've got Angela Rippon there
0:22:06 > 0:22:11and wonderful Arthur Negus, the man with the highest trouser waistband in the world,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15and it's wonderful. It's the same thing going on,
0:22:15 > 0:22:23gosh, what's this? 27 years ago and here we are in Gloucester
0:22:23 > 0:22:25doing exactly the same thing.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28The objects have remained the same,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32the faces have changed, but a great bit of Roadshow memorabilia.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Do you know, it might be worth money one day.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37- I'll keep it and see.- Exactly!
0:22:37 > 0:22:39- Thank you very much. - It's a pleasure.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43Ah...
0:22:46 > 0:22:48OK? Well...
0:22:50 > 0:22:54My goodness me.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Now be careful...
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Are you ready?
0:23:00 > 0:23:01Ah, yes.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- Ah.- Oh, dear.
0:23:15 > 0:23:16HE LAUGHS
0:23:16 > 0:23:19It would seem as though it has been opened, you know.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21What, what date are the newspapers?
0:23:23 > 0:23:27Ah, ah, September 1963.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30THEY LAUGH
0:23:32 > 0:23:34So, after all that...
0:23:35 > 0:23:40I, I was afraid it might prove to be disappointing.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47It's impossible to value and so has your story
0:23:47 > 0:23:53proved to be just wonderful, my goodness gracious.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Well, just...
0:23:56 > 0:24:01so much fun and thank you very much for giving us some excitement.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Well, this is very difficult to value...
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Ecclesiastical fitments really
0:24:08 > 0:24:13don't have a market value, it's impossible to say
0:24:13 > 0:24:18because for obvious reasons they should never come on the market.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22However, it is wonderful and a privilege
0:24:22 > 0:24:24to handle something quite as old as this, I must say.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27I shall still remember it as not being opened,
0:24:27 > 0:24:32- until we opened it on this programme, for a hundred years, so thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- I understand it's a payment in kind. - It is really, yes, yes, for my son.
0:24:39 > 0:24:40- Your son?- Yes.
0:24:40 > 0:24:47The story is that about 25 years ago, he was at Imperial College, London.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51- Right.- And his father and I went up to visit him one weekend and he said to me,
0:24:51 > 0:24:56"Mum, I'd like to come round to this charity shop round the corner and see this object in there."
0:24:56 > 0:24:59We went round and she said, "I haven't even priced it yet".
0:24:59 > 0:25:05- She said, "Is a pound all right?" A year later he owed me some money and...- How much did he owe you?
0:25:05 > 0:25:06Well, it wouldn't be more than £20.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- Right, yeah, but this was 25 years ago?- This was 25 years ago.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13- OK.- So he said "Oh, Mum, how about having the cane handle?"
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Is he a very elegant gentleman? Does he have...?
0:25:15 > 0:25:17- My son?- Well, it's a cane handle.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20No, he's a rugby player, he's a big, big fellow.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22It's funny to think of a rugby player, 25 years ago,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25going into a shop to buy a bit of decorative porcelain.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30- Oh, Gareth was like that.- Do you know when this dates from?- No.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34- It's nearly 250 years old.- Really?
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Yeah, this was made round about 1760.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- Was it really?- That's the year George III came to the throne.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44It would have had a lacquered wooden cane coming off it.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47- Yes, yes, where would it have been made then?- Well, it...
0:25:47 > 0:25:49there are no marks on it to tell you.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- No.- And no marks on the gold mount either.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55- No.- You've only got the style and the porcelain to go on,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57this is made in Germany.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01- Yes.- The top factory is the Meissen factory.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04This is not a Meissen cane, it's typically Rococo,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08we've got a Rococo scroll here and this lion's face is...
0:26:08 > 0:26:11- Do you like it?- Not really, no.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13I think, I think it's great.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15- Do you?- Yeah, it's really funny.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18If you don't like it much, why did you take it as payment in kind?
0:26:18 > 0:26:21To help him out at that time, because he was a student.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23- You are a good mum. - Yes.- You are a good mum.- Yeah.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Yeah, well it's a very nice thing,
0:26:26 > 0:26:28when it comes to its value,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30it's round about £500.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Never! Good heavens,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36and he paid a pound for it... well done.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38It's a great thing.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42We've got a Symphonium musical box, what history can you tell me about it?
0:26:42 > 0:26:48Well, I inherited it from my grandfather, who bought it in a sale near Gloucester
0:26:48 > 0:26:51just after the First World War, with other furniture,
0:26:51 > 0:26:56I always loved it as a child and he gave it me when I was about 12 in his lifetime so...
0:26:56 > 0:27:01- Oh, you can remember a long way back? - I've had it for a long, long time. - Any other history about it?
0:27:01 > 0:27:08We had a fire in our cottage, um, 33 years ago and our baby was only two-weeks old.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12I put the baby outside in her pram and Ross rescued his musical box.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16- So the fireman said, "You can go back and take..."- One item.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20- So you got the baby? - I took the baby.- I took this!- Yes.
0:27:20 > 0:27:21What an amazing story!
0:27:21 > 0:27:25That's a little reflection of how much you appreciate this piece.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Now when I look at a musical box and to put a value on it,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30there are many things I have to look at -
0:27:30 > 0:27:32the condition of the case is important,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34but it's a moving thing, and therefore,
0:27:34 > 0:27:40it's important to actually have a look and see how it actually works.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42If you take out the disc,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46underneath we have two steel combs,
0:27:46 > 0:27:48now this is actually what produces the music,
0:27:48 > 0:27:53these are tuned steel combs, um, now if one of these teeth are broken,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56that can decrease the value by up to £100.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Underneath the actual teeth,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02I don't know if you can see, but there, are lead dampers.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04As the actual tooth resonates,
0:28:04 > 0:28:08that makes it dampen down a bit, and if they're touching,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11if they oxidise, they can squeak.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14A squeaking tooth doesn't sound very good,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16but this is in fabulous condition,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20it's got both combs, called Sublime Harmony and as the disc rotates
0:28:20 > 0:28:22these projections here,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25just turn these star wheels and pluck the tooth
0:28:25 > 0:28:27so it's quite a complicated mechanism,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29but this is in absolute perfect condition,
0:28:29 > 0:28:34but the final thing about, thinking about a value, is to see what it sounds like.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37It might look good, but what does it sound like?
0:28:37 > 0:28:39So we put the disc back on,
0:28:39 > 0:28:40put down the...
0:28:40 > 0:28:42bar above,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46and then just on the side here is the on/off switch
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and round she goes.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51TWINKLY TUNE PLAYS
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Got quite a good tone, hasn't it?
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Wonderful tone.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04- What is the song? Is this a favourite of yours?- Swanee River, isn't it?
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Swanee River. I'm not going to attempt to sing along with it.
0:29:07 > 0:29:13- Finally, I think what makes this quite an extraordinary piece is the stand.- Yes.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17These were imported from Germany and normally came with the musical box
0:29:17 > 0:29:23and they were put on any old table, but this is the original table that came from Leipzig.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27- Yes.- This would have been a Symphonium table, so we've got something that is...
0:29:27 > 0:29:32sounds good, plays well, fantastic condition and probably what's more,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35you appreciate it because you saved it,
0:29:35 > 0:29:39and I'm sure as you saved it from a burning cottage you're not going to part with it easily.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43- Oh, no.- However, at auction, with that story behind it,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46which any auctioneer would put in their catalogue,
0:29:46 > 0:29:47I'd see it making about £3,000.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51- Thank you.- Can you remember what your grandfather paid for it?
0:29:51 > 0:29:54I can't, no, not very much, I think.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57- Well, it's great fun, thank you so much.- Thank you very much indeed.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02I think I must be dreaming, this is just too good to be true,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05this is the stuff that kind of...
0:30:05 > 0:30:08when you wake at night hoping what you might see on the show,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12this is absolutely it, I mean it makes me think, you know,
0:30:12 > 0:30:14that I'm heading up Cockspur Street,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17the most fashionable shopping street in London,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20in my carriage and I say to the driver,
0:30:20 > 0:30:24"Stop at Mr Giles' china and glass emporium."
0:30:24 > 0:30:28And I pull out and I step down from my carriage
0:30:28 > 0:30:32and I go into Mr Giles' shop and I say "Mr Giles, you know me
0:30:32 > 0:30:39"as the wealthiest man in Britain, show me instantly your most expensive glassware"
0:30:39 > 0:30:43and Mr Giles dutifully arrives and he brings this piece out, and this,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46in my opinion, is probably the most expensive
0:30:46 > 0:30:50- piece of glass available in a shop in London in 1765.- Yes.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53So tell me, what's the story?
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Well, it's on display at Gloucester City Museum and Art Gallery,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01and it was given to us by Stanley Marley who is a local collector
0:31:01 > 0:31:05- back in the late '50s. - Well, good old Stanley.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10Yes, very good, yes, he gave us quite a big collection of early Turin glass and paintings.
0:31:10 > 0:31:15James Giles is quite a well documented chap because unfortunately for him,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19- but fortunately for us, he went bankrupt twice.- Yes.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22He had to sell his stock at auction a couple of times,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25and the records of these transactions remain,
0:31:25 > 0:31:30and we have detailed descriptions of what was sold at that time,
0:31:30 > 0:31:35and about 70-80% of his output was on Royal Worcester Porcelain,
0:31:35 > 0:31:37- he was a china man.- Oh, right.
0:31:37 > 0:31:44He bought in blanks from Worcester and painted them in a variety of scenes and patterns but we know also
0:31:44 > 0:31:49that about 20-15%, the balance of his work, was on glass,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51we know where he bought his glass from,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54we know in large part who he sold it to.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58He sold it to Clive of India, he sold it to Richard Sheridan, the playwright,
0:31:58 > 0:32:03he sold it to Princess Amelia, his clientele was la creme de la creme
0:32:03 > 0:32:07- of English society and he was the most expensive glass man in London. - Yes.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11So we are looking at the finest of London glass
0:32:11 > 0:32:14and these would have been applied... this is solid gold,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17this is gold leaf that is floated on,
0:32:17 > 0:32:22the pattern would have been laid out in an egg yolk
0:32:22 > 0:32:24that would have been painted on
0:32:24 > 0:32:27and then water gently poured onto this
0:32:27 > 0:32:30and the gold floated on, against the egg yolk
0:32:30 > 0:32:31and that would have engaged,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35that would have bound the gold onto the required space,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38which would then have been fired in an oven to melt
0:32:38 > 0:32:40the gold onto the body of the decanter,
0:32:40 > 0:32:43and then it would have been scratched away afterwards
0:32:43 > 0:32:45to create the exquisite detail.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48So here we have a shoulder-shaped decanter,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53here a pot of some description, not precisely what its use was...
0:32:53 > 0:32:57- I think just for keeping ladies accoutrements, I suspect.- Yes.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01This sunflower pattern on here is a recurrent theme of his work,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04as are the bouquets of flowers,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08so with values on a thing like this, it is tricky
0:33:08 > 0:33:10because if you wanted to...
0:33:10 > 0:33:11if you wanted to replace it,
0:33:11 > 0:33:13you would not find another one,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17you would be very hard pressed,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20but in terms of Giles' output,
0:33:20 > 0:33:24as an indication of how his ceramics sit with his glass.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28A Giles painted teapot was sold in New York earlier this year,
0:33:28 > 0:33:33for 135,000,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36whereas a decanter very similar to this
0:33:36 > 0:33:41- was sold last year in England for £15,000.- Yes.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45- So it just goes to show how underpriced glass is.- Yes, yes.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50- But you're not selling these? - Definitely not.- But they are on permanent display?
0:33:50 > 0:33:56They are. We've got lovely new galleries in the City Museum and these are on permanent display.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58- That's a really good excuse to see them.- Yes.
0:34:02 > 0:34:07Right, you're clearly the run away winner for the award of the biggest gun at Gloucester.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Do you know what this firearm was used for?
0:34:09 > 0:34:13I believe it's for shooting ducks with, but that's all I...
0:34:13 > 0:34:17- Well, why do you think that? - Because my dad told me so, and I've got a book...
0:34:17 > 0:34:21- Yes.- ..that's in there that shows a picture of it,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24which he highlighted which shows a boat and...
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Ah right, that's called a punt gun
0:34:26 > 0:34:29and that was a great big gun that fired a big charge of shot
0:34:29 > 0:34:32at a flock of ducks that people in the 19th century
0:34:32 > 0:34:36- used to use for getting ducks for the market.- Yes.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Not the most sporting, very, very skilled though.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44- This isn't one of those.- Oh, right. - Even though it's about the same size.
0:34:44 > 0:34:49This amazingly is a gun that was used for defending fortifications...
0:34:49 > 0:34:51- for long range sniping.- Right.
0:34:51 > 0:34:56Yeah, well that's why it's so big and it's really an over-sized rifle,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00it's got grooves in it, makes the bullets spin, it makes it accurate.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04Now a rifle from this period, which is about the sort of 1820s,
0:35:04 > 0:35:05something like that,
0:35:05 > 0:35:10if you were a really good shot you could hit somebody at about 200 metres with it.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13With this, with a whopping charge of powder
0:35:13 > 0:35:17and a ginormous bullet, you could probably hit
0:35:17 > 0:35:21an individual in a group of people at about 500 or 600 metres
0:35:21 > 0:35:23and they're called wall pieces or rampart guns
0:35:23 > 0:35:25and they're really very, very rare.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29So, tell me, how does this get into Gloucester and into your family.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33Er, I think it was my grandfather's gun and my dad's had it
0:35:33 > 0:35:37and it's been sitting in our hallway for as long as I can remember.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40So I suspect that nobody's thought about what it's likely to be worth?
0:35:40 > 0:35:44No, not really, that's why I was sent down with it today.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48Well, it's an extremely unusual gun,
0:35:48 > 0:35:52you don't see many of them, it's a sort of cross between
0:35:52 > 0:35:55a small arm and light artillery
0:35:55 > 0:35:59and there are some people who have houses big enough and strong enough
0:35:59 > 0:36:04to sort of collect things like that, and it's a very desirable thing
0:36:04 > 0:36:06worth on the retail market at the moment
0:36:06 > 0:36:08between £3,000 and £4,000.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12- Worth getting it back home.- It needs a big pair of brackets in the hall.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15- Yes.- It'll look great on there, very, very unusual item.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Brilliant. Thanks very much.
0:36:17 > 0:36:23I think The Sluggard is a wonderfully appropriate name for this bronze.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25How did it come into your family?
0:36:25 > 0:36:27Well, my mother inherited it from her father,
0:36:27 > 0:36:32she's South African, and my grandfather bought it in Johannesburg.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35- Oh, did he?- I don't know how many years ago it was,
0:36:35 > 0:36:37but it's now come into my mum's possession.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39Well, probably 50, 60 years ago.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43- Probably.- Yes, how interesting, and do you know who it's by?
0:36:43 > 0:36:45- Fred Leighton?- Absolutely right.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48- Do you know anything about him? - Not a huge amount, no.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Well, he was a remarkable man, he was born in Scarborough in Yorkshire
0:36:51 > 0:36:54and he was a very talented painter
0:36:54 > 0:36:57and he came to London, exhibited at the Royal Academy
0:36:57 > 0:37:01and he became a pillar of the Victorian art establishment.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04He was President of the Royal Academy, he was knighted,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07then he was made a baronet, then towards the end of his life
0:37:07 > 0:37:12he became Lord Leighton, and is the only artist ever to have been elevated to the House of Lords.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14So he was a very talented man,
0:37:14 > 0:37:18and let's have a look at it, it is, as we said entitled The Sluggard
0:37:18 > 0:37:22and it shows a man stretching and there's a wonderful story
0:37:22 > 0:37:27about how this particular pose came into existence.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32Leighton was in his studio and a male model
0:37:32 > 0:37:38was doing a life study for him and had been sitting there for hours, he was an Italian, Giuseppe Versani
0:37:38 > 0:37:43I think his name was, and eventually Leighton said, "right that's enough Giuseppe, we can relax now"
0:37:43 > 0:37:48and he got up and he was exhausted after sitting there for hours in the same pose and he stretched
0:37:48 > 0:37:54like this and Leighton said "hold it, that's a wonderful pose, stand there, just like that"
0:37:54 > 0:37:58and he got a maquette and immediately made a wax model, of it so he could...
0:37:58 > 0:38:00and so poor old Versani was...
0:38:00 > 0:38:05had to stand there for another hour, but that is how the sculpture came about.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08- I think it's absolutely terrific. - I think it's lovely.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10- Um, have you ever had it valued?- No.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14- Any idea? Have a guess.- I wouldn't have a clue.- No?- Not a clue.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17Well, bronzes like this, obviously there
0:38:17 > 0:38:20are several made from the mould, so examples do come on the market
0:38:20 > 0:38:24from time to time and it's one of the great bronzes
0:38:24 > 0:38:28by one of the great 19th century artists and sculptors.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33It's in lovely condition, the patina I think is fabulous
0:38:33 > 0:38:36and if this came on the open market
0:38:36 > 0:38:40I'm confident that it would sell for £20,000.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42Thank you.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46- Absolutely terrific thing. - Get it insured now. Yes.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50- So thank you so much, it's a pleasure to see it, it really is.- Thank you.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53What's this kit bag? What's the story?
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Well, it's just my ATS kit bag
0:38:55 > 0:38:59and they were just issued to us then, when we were going abroad
0:38:59 > 0:39:06by ship to Naples and then, so that was the new style ATS kit bag.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09- This was the latest thing?- That was the very latest thing,
0:39:09 > 0:39:13otherwise you had a kit bag like a man, with the over-your-shoulder...
0:39:13 > 0:39:16I'm going to rummage, cos there's things in it.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20- That's fine.- I'm going to take out the first thing that comes to mind...
0:39:20 > 0:39:22what have we got? A piece of sheet music
0:39:22 > 0:39:24"Holiday For Strings".
0:39:24 > 0:39:27- Yes.- Now, what are all these names?
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Well, at the top there is Glenn Miller.
0:39:30 > 0:39:37- Go on.- And the rest are the members of his American band of the AEF.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41- They came over here about August, September '44.- Yes.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45And, um, waiting obviously to go to Europe.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48- Yes.- And so,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52in the meantime, they filled in every other Thursday at the Queensberry All Services Club.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55- In London?- In London. - Now I'll tell you something,
0:39:55 > 0:39:59I have had a passion for Glenn Miller since I was ten.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02When I was at school I was regarded as a freak,
0:40:02 > 0:40:06- I wasn't interested in Bill Hayley - which I am now.- Yes.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11Because it was always Glenn Miller for me and I just played his records all the time.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Now this is 1950s so it had all finished, it had all gone on, in fact...
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Oh, look at that!
0:40:21 > 0:40:24I think the least you could is give me that.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28- I mean it's not a real one, but I had to have fun.- I bet you did.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31This is my Glenn Miller jacket... so let's get back to this.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33- When did you get it? - Um...- How did you get it?
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Well, there's a story... in here there's a small...
0:40:36 > 0:40:41and I think you'll find the one-off that he autographed.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45Oh, yes, there's another Glenn Miller autograph..
0:40:45 > 0:40:47That was autographed when he used to come round
0:40:47 > 0:40:50- and he'd speak to everybody, so I got that.- Right.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53And he'd come and talk to you all.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57- So you chatted to him?- Everybody said you called him "Glenn" and I said "called him Glenn?"
0:40:57 > 0:41:02- He was a Major, I was a sergeant and it was 'Sir' you know.- Sir.
0:41:02 > 0:41:08- And then I said "I love your version of "Holiday For Strings". - Right.- I think it's beautiful"
0:41:08 > 0:41:13and in those days I could play it, you know, so I said, "Would you autograph it for me?"
0:41:13 > 0:41:18he said "Yes, send it to me, send me the music" so this was my music.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21- You had this.- Cost me three shillings.- So you sent this to him.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24I sent it to him and that was the beginning of December.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26Yes, 1944.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Yeah, and I got it back...
0:41:28 > 0:41:32I now know he must have had it posted
0:41:32 > 0:41:36the day before he went on that ill-fated trip,
0:41:36 > 0:41:39because the band had gone then, the band was in Paris.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41- Let's deal with the history. The band went ahead.- Yes.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44- He stayed behind to do some business. - That's right.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48- He flew out in a single, um engine Norseman.- Yes, that's right.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52He never arrived, disappeared into the Channel, December...
0:41:52 > 0:41:55- Nobody's ever known... - We do know what happened -
0:41:55 > 0:41:58he was a victim of what is now called friendly fire, that's been discovered.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03- Well, that's right, yes.- But, so you received this after he died?
0:42:03 > 0:42:05Yes. A day or two after.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08So almost the last thing he did before he died.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11- Was post a letter to me. - Was post a letter to you. Gosh.
0:42:11 > 0:42:17Now I feel all sort of shivery, this is like his last will and testament.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20- Well, yes.- Gosh what a story!
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Now we have... you know on the Roadshow
0:42:22 > 0:42:25we have to do this thing about talking about the value of things.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28- I mean to me this is... - You couldn't value that.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31- I can, but, I mean, it's... - Can you?- ..priceless.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Now a Glenn Miller signature is about £100...
0:42:33 > 0:42:37- they're not that rare, he signed a lot of things.- I know, very good.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40You've got two, but this,
0:42:40 > 0:42:46because of the totality of the band is going to be about £2,000.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Don't tell my son.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50OK, I won't tell your son,
0:42:50 > 0:42:55but you have got here THE most wonderful document, you've had a most wonderful life.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Oh, I've had a whale of a time, I really have.
0:42:57 > 0:43:03And if I say you've made my day, it's a ridiculous, an under-statement, you've made my year.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16Well, it's been fun following in the footsteps of a boy wizard although the people of Gloucester
0:43:16 > 0:43:19have been so keen to open up their chamber of secrets,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22that we never got time for that game of quidditch after all...
0:43:22 > 0:43:28Next visit perhaps... but for now, from glorious Gloucester Cathedral, goodbye.