0:00:41 > 0:00:44We're back for a second visit to the seaside town
0:00:44 > 0:00:48of Wells-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Sitting comfortable in this rural landscape is Holkham Hall,
0:00:51 > 0:00:54built in 1734 by Thomas Coke.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Although this particular Thomas Coke predates the package holiday,
0:00:58 > 0:01:03the design of the hall was inspired by his travels in Italy as part of the Grand Tour.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Thomas Coke's name lives on. There have been seven so far,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12and between them they can lay claim to a number of innovations.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15And this is one of them.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20This legendary titfer was created by the Bowler brothers in 1850
0:01:20 > 0:01:24on the instructions of the third Thomas who wanted to protect his gamekeepers
0:01:24 > 0:01:29from deer, overhanging branches and the occasional poacher.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32They still wear them today in Holkham.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37With such an elegant look you can understand why city gents latched onto the bowler,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40though it was more for style than for protection.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Thomas number two was more of an agricultural visionary.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49He inherited the estate in the late- 18th century when farming techniques
0:01:49 > 0:01:51were still in the Middle Ages.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56Coke pioneered the concept of crop rotation and soon the entire nation
0:01:56 > 0:01:59was enjoying bumper yields.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02And that's just what our specialists are hoping for,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05as they plough though the offerings at today's Antiques Roadshow
0:02:05 > 0:02:09here in the gardens of Holkham Hall.
0:02:09 > 0:02:16Now, Lady Glenconner, you're no stranger to people on the lawn here at Holkham.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Well, I'm not really because the last time I was more or less standing here
0:02:19 > 0:02:23surrounded with people, was at my wedding in 1956.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26- I was married here...- Because this is your family home.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30It's my family home, exactly, my father was the 5th Earl of Leicester
0:02:30 > 0:02:32and my mother, who was also Lady in Waiting to the Queen,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36started the pottery here in 1950.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38She started at the top, didn't she, really?
0:02:38 > 0:02:44Well, she did really, I mean, they were made for the coronation
0:02:44 > 0:02:49and I went off to America to sell them, not very successful,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52until I was sent a telegram by my mother saying,
0:02:52 > 0:02:57"You've been asked to be a maid of honour and carry the Queen's train at the coronation."
0:02:57 > 0:03:02So I was absolutely thrilled and I came back with an order book bulging.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05The Americans must have been buzzing around you like bees round a honey pot.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Absolutely, and I spent a great deal of time trying to teach them how curtsey
0:03:09 > 0:03:14because they thought for some unknown reason I knew how to curtsey.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16The proof of the pudding with these figures -
0:03:16 > 0:03:20and I've got to say that the likeness of the Queen has it for me,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23whereas the Duke, I'm a bit dubious about that likeness.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Well, the Duke looks terrifying actually,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28something slightly wrong with his eyes, I think.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31The mark is quite straightforward, what does it say?
0:03:31 > 0:03:35- It says, "The Duke of Edinburgh by..."- "By Elizabeth Leicester,"
0:03:35 > 0:03:41my mother, my mother signed them so they were her... She designed them.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Well, this is number 79, so this was a...
0:03:45 > 0:03:47- Was this a limited edition? - Very much so, yes.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- I think there were 500. - Oh, were there?
0:03:50 > 0:03:54- So maybe they're worth quite a lot, one never knows.- Well,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I'll tell you what they're worth.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59- I'd say they're worth a sovereign each, how about that?- OK.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01- That's as good as it gets. - Are you sure?
0:04:01 > 0:04:04The proof of the pudding's going to be in the eating with those.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08You've brought something a bit earlier. What's the significance here?
0:04:08 > 0:04:13Well, these two figures were a wedding present
0:04:13 > 0:04:15and we've never really known anything about them
0:04:15 > 0:04:17and I think that's very chic and beautiful.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21I think they're lovely, because I love the colours.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27- Yes.- And at first glance they look as though they could be sort of Ralph Ward of Staffordshire and...
0:04:27 > 0:04:29They're certainly 1790 but, um...
0:04:29 > 0:04:32- Are they 1790?- Around about. - Yes, yes.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36They're either French or Belgian, but what I like about them
0:04:36 > 0:04:38are the colours and the fact that you've got...
0:04:38 > 0:04:41There's nothing on the base, there's just a label of a retailer
0:04:41 > 0:04:45who I recognise because they're no longer in London,
0:04:45 > 0:04:46- they're now in New York.- Oh, right.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50- So there are ways and means of getting to the bottom of these.- Yes.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53But I just love the, the colours and the fact that the glazes have got...
0:04:53 > 0:04:56They've had a little bit of tin glaze added to them.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- Have they?- To make them that little bit more opaque.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01So at first glance people might be forgiven for suggesting
0:05:01 > 0:05:03they might be Delft or something like that.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06- But they are a form of faience, um...- Yes.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09I love the girl with the fishes.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Well, I love her holding the fish in her hand.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15It's not the sort of thing that turns up in this country on a regular basis.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- That's why I'm slightly foxed, quite frankly.- No, I see.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22But, um, this sort of thing, if I was to walk into New York today
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and go into the people that sold these originally...
0:05:25 > 0:05:27- Yes, yes.- Probably...
0:05:27 > 0:05:32these would probably have a price tag of somewhere in the region of around about 6,000.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- 6,000?- 6,000.- Yes, yes.
0:05:34 > 0:05:41I suppose we're talking around about...£3,500, something in that region.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45But the great thing about the colours is that
0:05:45 > 0:05:47those colours go with anybody's curtains,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49even the curtains here at Holkham.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52This has been in my family for a long time,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57passed down through my husband's side and my husband died 11 years ago
0:05:57 > 0:06:01and he always said that if there was an Antiques Roadshow
0:06:01 > 0:06:05anywhere in the area, that he would bring this box to it,
0:06:05 > 0:06:11to find out what it is, so here I am, I've brought this in his memory,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14and I'd like you to tell me all about it, please.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18- Oh, that's so... Wonderful story. - Because I know nothing and he knew nothing either.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Really? Well, I have to say,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23I haven't seen one of these before, I've heard about them.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- Oh, you've heard about them? So I don't even...- Now, this is commemorating
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Frederick William III, King of Prussia.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- And on the other side, slightly more elaborate...- Yes, yes.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39..King George III, born June 4th, 1738.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44Now it doesn't go back that far, it's much more likely to be commemorative
0:06:44 > 0:06:47which were, many of them done in the mid-19th century.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49- Mm, yes. - So maybe we're talking about,
0:06:49 > 0:06:54could be up to sort of 1830-1840, it's not silver-gilt, I'm afraid,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56I've checked it out, I hoped it would be.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58- Is it brass?- It's brass.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00It's brass, yes, it's brass, yes.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05And inside we have a seal and the wax, we've got all that,
0:07:05 > 0:07:10which is fine, for carrying around when you want to seal your envelopes
0:07:10 > 0:07:13that you've sent to your lover or your mistress or something,
0:07:13 > 0:07:15and on the other...
0:07:15 > 0:07:17This is what excites me.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21And me, because I know what's in there.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24- Now that to me is quite extraordinary.- Yes, yes.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28We have a gaming tool, if you like.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31It's... Probably, it was illegal.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36- Oh, really?- So you know, ostensibly on one side we have...
0:07:36 > 0:07:38- This is our seal.- The seal, yes.
0:07:38 > 0:07:44- My seal and let's go next door and look what it does. - Oh, I see, yes.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46What do you bet?
0:07:46 > 0:07:49- A six and a four.- Wrong!
0:07:49 > 0:07:51I think it's fantastic.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54It's going to stick, there we are, one, two, three...
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Well, that's neither one thing or the other.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Oh, there we are, ooh, a pair of two's. That is so unusual.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03I have to tell you, I've done a bit of research on this
0:08:03 > 0:08:07because it is something that I checked with the silver and the jewellery
0:08:07 > 0:08:08because they've seen them,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11but they haven't ever seen anything like this,
0:08:11 > 0:08:17- because normally they have scenes of battles inside.- Yes, yes.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22Events in the reign of George III and William, William III,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26but never a gaming tool, and so this is particularly unusual
0:08:26 > 0:08:28and I'm going to put more on it because of this.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33It would be worth at auction, in the right sale, as much as £300 to £400...
0:08:33 > 0:08:37- Gosh!- ..even though it's brass.
0:08:37 > 0:08:38Brass, yes.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- Expensive brass.- Yes, well...
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I'm thrilled, I wouldn't mind going back in there and having a little...
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Yeah, oh, a little go and see what dice you...
0:08:46 > 0:08:48- ..little betting.- Yes.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51It's a bit...
0:08:51 > 0:08:54- Oh, a six and a four!- There you are. A six and a four.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58The first thing I want to know is,
0:08:58 > 0:09:04do you think they had a stormy relationship or a nice, sunny, romantic relationship?
0:09:04 > 0:09:05I don't honestly know,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I think they probably had a fairly romantic relationship.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Perfect. Well, that's the first question,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16when I look at a portrait I want to know something about the sitters.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- Yes.- Now tell me, can I see any likeness here?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Well, you might do,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25it is my great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother, yes.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Perfect, perfect and they're obviously a well-to-do
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- Victorian couple.- Yes, yes.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Because if you look at some of the clothes they're wearing,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37and I'd like to perhaps start here.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- I mean, this jewellery would have cost a lot of money.- Yes.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44And it's all dated from the period, so 1850-1860,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48and thank goodness for the back of pictures because on the back
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- it tells me the artist and indeed, the date.- Yes.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55- It's by Solomon Cole, they're both by Solomon Cole.- Yes.- From 1861.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59I know that he lived in Worcester and London,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03and actually these pictures were painted in London, weren't they?
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Yes, which is surprising because they both come from Worcestershire.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- They don't?- Yes.- That's extraordinary, isn't it?- Yes.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- So they picked a local artist.- Yes. - How fascinating, how fascinating.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16- Now she's in black which is a bit, um, worrying.- Yes.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21And he's obviously well alive but in 1861 Prince Albert had just died,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25so maybe it was in respect to Prince Albert.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27- Don't you think?- It could well be.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Yes, and as I said, they look rather, um, comfortably off.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35- Yes.- And this is obviously a sort of record of their life.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38- Yes.- And a great lover of greyhounds.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41- Yes, yes.- Do you know anything about this greyhound?
0:10:41 > 0:10:48Well, family history tells us that he had a dog that won the Waterloo Cup.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- Ah!- Now whether this is the one, I have no idea.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53- It seems likely, doesn't it? - Yes, it does.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57I think it does, and I love... I mean, only the British, to me,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01would have a portrait of themselves with their favourite, um, hound.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04And it's absolutely wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08Now, it's always impossible to value portraits to a certain extent
0:11:08 > 0:11:11because other people's relations, you know, our own are quite tough
0:11:11 > 0:11:13- but other people's can be... - Yes, yes.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16But they're a good looking couple, they've got...
0:11:16 > 0:11:19- They're very... You want to engage with them all the time, don't you? - Yes.
0:11:19 > 0:11:25Um, and I would say for the pair, we're probably looking at,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28in the region of £3,000 to £5,000 for the pair.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- Mm, mm, thank you very much indeed, that's lovely.- A pleasure.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35My great-grandfather, whose medals these are,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39was in the Charge of the Light Brigade and thankfully survived the engagement
0:11:39 > 0:11:40but on his return up the valley
0:11:40 > 0:11:44- he was shot in the shoulder with a piece of canister shot.- Really?
0:11:44 > 0:11:48And that piece of shot rested in his shoulder for some three years thereafter
0:11:48 > 0:11:52until the local surgeon, James Paget, had the skill to remove it.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56The family story goes that Queen Victoria actually gave permission
0:11:56 > 0:11:58for him to wear it as a medal,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00but whether that's family myth or not, I don't know.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04I don't know, I can believe that such a thing happened,
0:12:04 > 0:12:05because after all's said and done,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08we know that the Charge of the Light Brigade was a disaster,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12but it was a very heroic disaster.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Now, here we have the three medals,
0:12:15 > 0:12:20we have his Crimean War medal, three bars, the Alma,
0:12:20 > 0:12:25Balaclava, which is the Charge of course, and Sebastopol.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30- Now, he's also got a DCM which is a Distinguished Conduct Medal.- Yes.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Now, that really makes this group very important
0:12:34 > 0:12:38and of course he has the Turkish award, now there's the three medals,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and of course the wonderful thing is, you can bring it alive because
0:12:41 > 0:12:44you've actually got photographs.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46There he is, as a young man,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50and here is as an elderly man.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Now, have these photographs been in your family possession?
0:12:53 > 0:12:56In the family since they were taken, yes.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59This particular one though, um, I was aware of it,
0:12:59 > 0:13:04having seen it as a young boy, but it went missing from the family after my aunt died,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I think the house clearance people came in and things went missing
0:13:08 > 0:13:10and I came across it in a bric-a-brac shop a few years ago.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14- Gosh.- So I recognised it instantly and bought it quickly.
0:13:14 > 0:13:15- Weren't you lucky?- Very.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Oh, that's marvellous, marvellous. And the belt, of course.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21That allegedly is the belt he wore during the Charge
0:13:21 > 0:13:23and it's certainly seen some action.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Well, it is a belt of the time,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28- it's a pity you haven't got more of it.- Mm.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Or perhaps his tunic or his jacket.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Now, with the Charge of the Light Brigade medals,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37they're absolutely magic.
0:13:37 > 0:13:43They were awarded without inscription, that's the sad part.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48Collectively in value you have here
0:13:48 > 0:13:53something like £5,000 to £6,000,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56but what a wonderful thing,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59and I'm so thrilled that you brought it in today.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01- Thank you very much. - Thank you very much.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Do you know, all through the 18th century there were cabinets
0:14:04 > 0:14:07and tables to take toiletries,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11and this is a retro piece because it has certain features
0:14:11 > 0:14:17which from a distance you could say, "Well, maybe 1770, Hepplewhite, serpentine front,"
0:14:17 > 0:14:21this wonderful serpentine apron and that leg, with the cross banding
0:14:21 > 0:14:26was copied from, er, work by Ince and Mayhew,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29you may have heard of those, very famous makers during the 1780s.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33- Oh, really?- Absolutely, and it has such quality
0:14:33 > 0:14:36that it couldn't be 18th century because this is walnut
0:14:36 > 0:14:40and of course by 1770 this was no longer the fashionable timber.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- No.- It was satinwood or rosewood.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46And there are other little features which just lead you to think,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49"Hello, there's more going on here than meets the eye."
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Little knobs, these little handles, delightful though they are,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54are certainly Queen Anne period,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58so there's a combination of the past which has inspired this.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01- Yes.- But when you lift this lid,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05I mean, there is the 1930s,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09and what an eyeful of wonderful, wonderful pieces.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11These are just fantastic.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15This opens up... Now, look...
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- see that little ivory button?- Yes.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21To stop that rubbing on the carcase.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24- Oh, I see.- What quality, I mean, they thought...
0:15:24 > 0:15:26we'd say they thought of everything.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28And in the back is a mirror.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Now, I know about the cabinet and I love it
0:15:32 > 0:15:34and I could go on and on telling you about it,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38but I don't know enough about these to really give you a good opinion,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40and I've asked Eric.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42I've been waiting in the wings...
0:15:42 > 0:15:45It's quite a revelation, isn't it, when you open it up.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Um, and full of Georgian silver.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51- I wish.- Oh, no, no, let me quantify that
0:15:51 > 0:15:54because obviously we're looking at something from the reign of George V
0:15:54 > 0:15:56so, you know, that's why I say "Georgian."
0:15:56 > 0:16:01But, I mean, it shouts sort of Art Deco, I mean, look at these brushes,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03fantastic quality,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07you've got this sort of simulated lapis lazuli in here, haven't you?
0:16:07 > 0:16:09And almost like a simulated jade.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12What are we doing for marks, John? Oh, we've got, um...
0:16:12 > 0:16:15It's an imported mark of some sort, it's continental.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- Oh, right.- Not English origin.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Oh, yes, um,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21it's been imported for G...
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Goldsmiths' and Silversmiths' Company...
0:16:23 > 0:16:28so it goes without saying it's a top maker, you've only got to look at a cabinet like that,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32I mean, you look in here and you think you've just pinched it from a bedroom upstairs.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Well, it's been hidden away for a long time.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40- Um, but it's all there, isn't it? - Yes.- You've got... Oh, how decadent!
0:16:40 > 0:16:44- I know.- Look at that, for buffing one's nails!
0:16:44 > 0:16:46- You probably use one of these every day, John.- Every day.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47Of course you do.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52Well, I've got an idea what the dressing-table set is worth.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56I should quantify them and say that they're not normally easy things to sell
0:16:56 > 0:16:59- because nobody wants to use anybody else's brush.- I understand that.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03- And if you want to re-brush something like this, they cost you a fortune.- A fair amount.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05But this was expensive when it was made originally.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10So all I can say is that the dressing-table set alone
0:17:10 > 0:17:13is probably worth in the region of around about £3,000,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16I would suspect. So, John...
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Well, as a whole, what would I like to pay for that?
0:17:18 > 0:17:23Or what would I have to pay for that if I went into a shop, opened it up? I would...
0:17:23 > 0:17:25It's £7,500, I would say.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30- Doesn't surprise me, wouldn't surprise me. But quality has never come cheap.- No.- No.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35- That is quality with a capital Q. - Very kind, gentlemen, thank you very much.- Not at all.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40I was immediately struck by the ease of composition of this figure,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43she's very beautiful but in a very simple way,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45there's no great detail to her,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49yet she works very well, I think, she's very nicely formed
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and I think she's very beautiful. Do you know anything about her?
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Yes, this is my grandmother
0:17:54 > 0:17:59and I think my grandfather had her sculpted
0:17:59 > 0:18:02rather than a portrait painted.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06- He was the British Military Attache in Stockholm.- Ah.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09And I think it's a sort of slightly Baltic name there.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12That's wonderful, that makes her very special in my eyes -
0:18:12 > 0:18:15not only do we have a beautiful bronze,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18we have a bronze that has really superb personal connections
0:18:18 > 0:18:20and that's something you don't find very often.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24Now, if we look at her, you mentioned down there this name,
0:18:24 > 0:18:25and if we can see here...
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Ida C Thoresen, 1921.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Now, she was born in Gothenburg in 1863 in Sweden
0:18:31 > 0:18:35so that ties in beautifully with what you've said.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40Now, she was very interesting, she studied in Paris and was very well thought of,
0:18:40 > 0:18:45and believe it or not, she was very famous for doing portrait bronzes
0:18:45 > 0:18:49of Scottish celebrities and Swedish celebrities.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Now, I don't know how that quite came about.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Well, my grandmother was a Scots woman.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- Oh, was she really?- Yes, and my grandfather was Robertson so...
0:18:57 > 0:18:59That's wonderful, so there's a connection there as well.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03The whole thing just ties in beautifully, that really is wonderful.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07I like the bronze very much, I think if we just have another look here,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11we've got the founder's mark, Otto Meyers, on the back here,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13nice to see all of that information.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17I think, to be honest with you, she's rather undervalued
0:19:17 > 0:19:19and perhaps not as well known as she should be
0:19:19 > 0:19:22because she really is a superb sculpture
0:19:22 > 0:19:26and I think this works wonderfully, this figure.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29We've got a little bit of a problem with the violin bow,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33it's quite fragile and could do with being straightened a little bit.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37- Um, I presume your grandmother was a good violinist.- Yes.
0:19:37 > 0:19:38Did she perform in society?
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Yes, I think so, but I don't think she performed publicly.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Right. Apart from the fact that she's a beautiful bronze,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48the family connection is wonderful and it's rare to have that
0:19:48 > 0:19:50and that adds a lot to it for me,
0:19:50 > 0:19:56- and in terms of value I think we have to be talking about £1,500 at auction...- Yes, yes.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59- ..for such a beautiful stylish bronze, I think.- Oh, thank you.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02- It's a pleasure, lovely. Thank you for bringing her.- Thank you.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06When I first saw this clock in the distance, I thought to myself,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10"This is a typical Scottish mahogany longcase clock."
0:20:10 > 0:20:13But it suddenly dawned on me
0:20:13 > 0:20:16that the dial is not showing normal time at all,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19in fact it's not showing any normal time.
0:20:19 > 0:20:25We've got "railway time", "Calcutta time", "St Petersburg time", "New York time",
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and it's by a maker I've never heard of, Mr Betteridge,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31and I have looked up Mr Betteridge and we know nothing about him.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- We couldn't find anything out about him.- And you tried?- I tried.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Well, do you know why it says "railway time"?
0:20:37 > 0:20:43- No.- In around the 1830s, 1840s, when railways were starting to be built,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47they had a problem because the time that was taken
0:20:47 > 0:20:50in different locations was different,
0:20:50 > 0:20:55so for example the time in London at 12 o'clock was different from the time in Oxford.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00It would be two minutes after 12 o'clock in Oxford from the time taken in London,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03that is because we were taking time from the sun
0:21:03 > 0:21:08and sun time differs wherever you are in the United Kingdom,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10or in America, or in St Petersburg or in Calcutta.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15And of course if you wanted to put together a train timetable,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19it was rather confusing, so the railway companies decided
0:21:19 > 0:21:22that they would make time universal.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Later on, in the 1880s, by 1880, Greenwich Mean Time had come in
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and railway time no longer existed, but for a long period of time,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34not many people know, the railway time was important.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39Why this clock has time for Calcutta and St Petersburg and New York,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41I simply can't tell you,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44but when you open it up and you actually move the hand...
0:21:44 > 0:21:48- They all go together.- ..all the hands go together, isn't that fantastic?
0:21:48 > 0:21:54Actually, I do know the St Petersburg time is three hours faster than London time
0:21:54 > 0:21:58and we know the time in New York is five hours slower than London time.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01- I can't tell you what time it is in Calcutta.- So you'd set all three in line with...
0:22:01 > 0:22:03You would set them properly and you'd know.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08It could, I suppose, have been in the first class lounge at Victoria Station,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12for people who thought it was smart to know what the time was in Calcutta
0:22:12 > 0:22:15or St Petersburg, or New York, I have no idea,
0:22:15 > 0:22:16but it's fascinating.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19So as far as value is concerned...
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- Mm-hm.- ..if this clock were sold at auction but with a standard dial,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26it would be worth between £2,000 and £3,000,
0:22:26 > 0:22:31but because it has these interesting subsidiary dials telling us the time
0:22:31 > 0:22:34in places where we really had no need to know where the time is,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37and certainly they had no need to know where the time was in 1840...
0:22:37 > 0:22:40because it's such an interesting feature,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44I would have thought that it's worth between £4,000 and £6,000.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46- Good. - I hope that makes you happy.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50- Yes, it does, thank you very much. - Thank you.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55This is one of the most spectacular pieces of art glass
0:22:55 > 0:22:58I've seen for a long time, it's absolutely magnificent.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Have you any idea where this was made?
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Someone said it's French.
0:23:04 > 0:23:10You're absolutely right, it's French Art Nouveau, 1880s-1890s,
0:23:10 > 0:23:16and it's by one of the masters of French art glass at this period,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19it's by Emile Galle. I don't know if you've heard of him,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21he is one of the masters of art glass.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23The main decoration on this,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27obviously influenced from Japanese woodcuts and things like that,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30sort of very Japanese influence on this piece of glass,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34all the decoration that you can see is in relief,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and that relief decoration is created
0:23:38 > 0:23:40with an acid that eats the glass, basically,
0:23:40 > 0:23:45acid etching the glass away, so not only have you got that decoration
0:23:45 > 0:23:51with some sort of sense of depth to it, it's then highlighted even more
0:23:51 > 0:23:53with these absolutely wonderful enamels,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56and they've got all these sort of autumnal colours,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58it's fantastic colours, these.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02And something that you might never have noticed on this,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05is it's actually signed here,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08it's signed Galle,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11but it's done in such a way that it's very Oriental-looking,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14so it's sort of a script, it almost looks part of the decoration
0:24:14 > 0:24:15rather than a signature
0:24:15 > 0:24:18so this is something that you could easily miss, you know.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Now, with something this wonderful,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23it must have pride of place at home, doesn't it?
0:24:23 > 0:24:27- It's actually been in the shed for the last few years.- In the shed!
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Have you ever given it any thought about what it might be worth?
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- No, I really haven't. - Any guess, no guess at all?
0:24:33 > 0:24:38- No, I've no idea.- Well, I'd be confident at auction to expect it to make
0:24:38 > 0:24:44certainly within the region of say £2,500 to £3,500,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47and, um, if it exceeded that, I wouldn't be surprised.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49It is magnificent.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52I really appreciate that you brought this in and made my day.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56I think you've made mine!
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Well, this lovely lady is one of the biggest bisque dolls
0:25:00 > 0:25:04- you can come across.- Yes. - You know that?- Yes.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06So tell me how, how did you get her?
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- Well...- She must have been bigger than you at one point.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11That's right, I had her when I was three year old.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- Did you play with her?- Yeah, course I combed off her hair, didn't I?
0:25:14 > 0:25:18- You combed her hair.- That's right, yes. Like all children do.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Absolutely, absolutely.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24- Well, she's still got her original hair underneath.- That's right, yes.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27But before we go to that, she's got a very beautiful face.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29That's right, her face is porcelain.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33- Do you think that's beautiful?- Yeah. - I think that's really beautiful.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38- She's got paperweight glass eyes... - Mm.- ..probably made in France.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42- That's right, yeah.- And her face would have been made in Germany,
0:25:42 > 0:25:48and sold in Paris by a very well known make called Simon and Halbig.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Her eyelashes are absolutely extraordinary.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Yes, I haven't done anything to it.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56You've been so good the way you've kept her, because so often that goes.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- They're made of cotton. - Is that right?
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Then they're also painted onto the bisque as well and then fired again.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04- And she's got porcelain teeth. - Oh, yes.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07And a dimple in her chin, she's really beautiful,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11and she would have had, got pierced ears, she would have had earrings.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- That's right.- She's not really a dolly, she's a grown-up lady.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19And when she's as big as this,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22she goes into a different category of doll collecting.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24I'll take her wig off, if I may.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26- Is that all right?- Yeah.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Well, that's not too bad.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33No, well, she... THEY LAUGH
0:26:33 > 0:26:36- She's not TOO bald, is she?- No, no.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38- She's still beautiful, isn't she? - Yes.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41But this is real mohair from the mountain goat.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43- Yeah.- You didn't like it, did you?
0:26:43 > 0:26:45No, I didn't.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47That spoiled the look of her.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52Now this is a typical very, very good marking.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56- Now, see this, 1079, that's the mould number.- That's right, yeah.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58S&H, Simon and Halbig,
0:26:58 > 0:27:03DEP is Deponiert, it's a registration, basically, in Germany.
0:27:03 > 0:27:09- Now 18 would be the size and size 18 is over 40 inches.- Oh, yes, yes.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14Now that is one hell of a size, that's a little girl doll.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16- Yes, yes. - Have you any idea what she's worth?
0:27:16 > 0:27:20No, but I have got a person interested in it.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23- What were you offered then?- 600.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25And what did you say to that?
0:27:25 > 0:27:28I said I didn't want to part with it at the time, you know.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- And would you now?- I don't think so.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Well, I was going to say she's going to be worth
0:27:36 > 0:27:41- in excess, at auction, of £2,000. - Mm, mm.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46- Well, she's one hell of a big babe. Thank you very much for bringing her.- Thank you.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Now what's all this stuff?
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Well, they're not actually antiques
0:27:51 > 0:27:56- but it chronicles the life of this lady.- Now who is this lady?
0:27:56 > 0:28:02- She's May Savage, she's my aunt-in-law.- Aunt-in-law,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- so you are married to her nephew, is that right?- That's right, yes.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07And what was her profession?
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Well, she started life as...
0:28:10 > 0:28:13At the age of 14 she would design headscarves
0:28:13 > 0:28:20- and then she went on to Sanderson and she did wallpaper designs.- Is this what this is?- Yes.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23- Oh, look.- That's it. - Isn't that wonderfully colourful?
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Well, this was in the '20s and she did a lot of designs for...
0:28:26 > 0:28:29They were very keen on Chinese and that sort of thing.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33It was a very fashionable style, so I thought this looked '20s,
0:28:33 > 0:28:37- and in fact so she was... When was she born, then?- In 1911.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39So she was working almost from her teens as a designer.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44Yes, yes, she was, but then when the war came, she...
0:28:44 > 0:28:47she thought she ought to be doing something a little bit more important
0:28:47 > 0:28:51so she re-trained as one of the first draughtswomen
0:28:51 > 0:28:56- and she worked for De Havilland engineering on Mosquitoes.- So she...
0:28:56 > 0:28:58- she helped design the Mosquito? - She didn't design it,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01- but she was a draughtswoman. - Is this what we have here?
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Hang on, is this...? Look, here's an engineer... So this is... Whoops.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09- It's an engineering design.- This is an engineering drawing by her...
0:29:09 > 0:29:12..for some aircraft component, the De Havilland 60,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16whatever that may be, the name of a machine, 1942.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18- That's it. - So this was some aircraft component.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21So how did she get on in an all-male environment?
0:29:21 > 0:29:23- Well, she was a feisty lady.- I bet.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28She had dark red hair and she was really pretty and why she never married I'll never know,
0:29:28 > 0:29:33but she was in a room, she was the only woman
0:29:33 > 0:29:35and she held her own, she really did.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40They didn't give her a light over her, her drawing and she ended up
0:29:40 > 0:29:45going to Moorfields and got a letter from Moorfields Eye Hospital
0:29:45 > 0:29:48which said that she ought to have a light because she was doing night work.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52- So she was resented as a woman in a man's world.- She was.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54- Even though she was doing vital war work.- Uh-huh.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56What is this life supply of milk?
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Well, we nearly threw these away,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01I mean, I haven't told you half of it yet. She...
0:30:01 > 0:30:08she wrote diaries and she stored them in Marvel milk.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11- So all her diaries are in these packets?- Absolutely.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15- So let's just take... I'll take one completely at random.- Of course.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18So right, so we've got a date,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22- we've got money, that's her accounts is it?- Yes.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24And it's immensely detailed.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27- Yes.- Let me just look and read a bit.
0:30:27 > 0:30:34- Is this typical?- Yes.- "Pets' suppers 6pm, packed up, locked gate 7.45pm,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38"rather dark, black clouds around too."
0:30:38 > 0:30:41The weather forecast is always there and the ships in the harbour and...
0:30:41 > 0:30:44- So it was amazing observation of detail.- Yes.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47- Even though nothing important happened.- Everything is there.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49So this is the story of her life.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53- It is, her whole life is here.- Why did she do it? Who was she telling?
0:30:53 > 0:30:59I don't know. I firmly believe that somebody ought to tell her story now,
0:30:59 > 0:31:01because she was telling her diary.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05We used to visit her and she was, she was a closed lady
0:31:05 > 0:31:08but when we read her diaries we find it's all in there.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10- Every secret of her life.- That's it.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- And what, all her accounts, everything she spent?- Yes.
0:31:13 > 0:31:20- So this is... If you wanted to find a 20th-century life, it's here. - This is it.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23I've got a natural affinity with the contents of these bottles,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26so the reason for coming along today was to enquire
0:31:26 > 0:31:29what you can tell me about them, the contents of them,
0:31:29 > 0:31:33the reason for the seals on the front of both of them,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36and a little bit of the history, why we had the seals, etc.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Right, well, let's see what we can do. This is a black glass bottle,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42it's a wonderful colour...
0:31:42 > 0:31:46It's really very dark green but it's called black glass.
0:31:46 > 0:31:52The seal is a known seal, John Okes, Bury St Edmunds, 1777.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54- So it's reasonably local.- Yeah.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57An 18th-century bottle, would have contained wine
0:31:57 > 0:32:00and this one is earlier, this is called an onion bottle.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03- Right.- It's a greener metal,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05just got a seal on the front with no date.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Why would they have a seal on the front of the bottle?
0:32:07 > 0:32:11You filled it up with wine, and you drank the wine,
0:32:11 > 0:32:13and then you refilled it again.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16If it went anywhere else to be refilled they knew whose bottle it was
0:32:16 > 0:32:18and it came back to you.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22Oh, OK, so it's like a deposit, but knowledge of where it came from.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- Absolutely.- OK, thank you.
0:32:24 > 0:32:25Where do you have them in the house?
0:32:25 > 0:32:30- We have them on the windowsill.- And do you have any animals or children?
0:32:30 > 0:32:33We've got two dogs, a springer spaniel and a Jack Russell, so...
0:32:33 > 0:32:35- Are they lively? - Very lively, I'm afraid.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40We were told they were going to calm down but they're still as nutty as fruit cakes.
0:32:40 > 0:32:47This bottle, the James Okes, Bury St Edmunds, £1,000.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Right.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53And this one, the earlier onion bottle of about 1720 in date,
0:32:53 > 0:32:57£2,000 or more, if we can identify the seal.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01- Are you going to leave them on the windowsill?- No,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04I don't know where I'm going to put them, but away from the dogs.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07- I should have a drink when you get home.- I'll have one before I get home!
0:33:07 > 0:33:10- You look as though you need one. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13- Now what's this?- Well, it's a little part of her life really.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16What, you...? There were boxes like this, were there?
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Well, I haven't told you about the house. Er, she...
0:33:19 > 0:33:22- Well, just let's deal with the box first.- OK.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25- Because she is this hoarder, she is this collector.- Yes.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28I've opened this, and at random I'm going to pull out what I see.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Packets of used envelopes.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Every envelope she ever had.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Packets of... piles of dog food labels.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Yes, but, but they're all clipped together and if you look on the back
0:33:40 > 0:33:45they're all re-used, she was an archetypal recycler before her time,
0:33:45 > 0:33:46but she never actually recycled.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50This is just a treasure trove, and you dig down further... Good God,
0:33:50 > 0:33:55- look, hundreds of bus tickets. - I must show you. The pink ones...
0:33:55 > 0:33:58they're all beautiful colours, the pink ones...
0:33:58 > 0:34:02- Oh, that's a dog ticket. - For her dog, yes.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05- "Dog accompanying passenger, Harlow station".- Isn't it lovely?
0:34:05 > 0:34:08- Every... I can't believe this...- Every bus ticket.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11One can go on rummaging in here for hours, you keep finding new treasures.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13Um, a Morse key.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17Yes, she was a radio ham, we thought she was a spy at one stage
0:34:17 > 0:34:20because she kept all her letters all in duplicate.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23This is a sort of lunacy. Why on Earth did she do it?
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Well, I've thought about it a great deal.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28I think for a number of reasons.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31One, she didn't want to throw anything away,
0:34:31 > 0:34:36she didn't want to waste anything because she came from a poor background,
0:34:36 > 0:34:41but it's more than that. She lost her dad when she was quite young
0:34:41 > 0:34:44and she lost her mum before she was really grown up
0:34:44 > 0:34:47and so her possessions became a comfort to her really,
0:34:47 > 0:34:53because if you saw her house, there were boxes all around, her life was all around her.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55What's this house here?
0:34:55 > 0:34:58This is the first house, and the only house she bought.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59- And where is that?- It's in Ware.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02- Yes.- Well, it was in Ware,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05and half of it was a bakery but they wanted to knock it down
0:35:05 > 0:35:06to build a roundabout.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10- That looks to me a medieval building, is that right?- It is, yes.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14- So this is a timber-framed house in Ware in Hertfordshire.- Yes.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17And they want to knock it down for a roundabout. So what happens next?
0:35:17 > 0:35:18Well, Aunty May being Aunty May,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21she got the scouts to help her and she numbered all the beams
0:35:21 > 0:35:25and she said, "Well, it's oak pegged, it's only a kit of parts,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29"I can move it somewhere else and I'd love to live by the seaside".
0:35:29 > 0:35:32She was about to retire so she...
0:35:32 > 0:35:35So she came to Wells, bought... Is that here at Wells?
0:35:35 > 0:35:39- Yes.- So this is what she got, that's her house?- That's it, yes.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41- And there she is.- A kit of parts.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43- A kit of parts. - 40 foot of scaffolding.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45But how did she know how it went together?
0:35:45 > 0:35:49Well, because she was a draughtswoman so she did copious plans.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52- Did she have professional help? - Not with the plans, no.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55- Or the building?- No, people helped her every now and then,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57but most of it she did herself.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00There she is... God, what an amazing woman.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04Well, she's my heroine, really, for a woman to do this on her own...
0:36:04 > 0:36:07- I think it's incredible. - ..is incredible.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10She sounds remarkable, but chronicling a life like this,
0:36:10 > 0:36:11and it was an extraordinary life,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14someone who was a designer, draughtsman,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16- pioneer in so many fields. - Yes, she was.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20So stubborn, so strong - I mean, how many people, you know, can do that?
0:36:20 > 0:36:25- Yes, as a retirement.- As a retirement. I'll just take my house to pieces and put it together again.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27But your job I see, I can see why you took it on,
0:36:27 > 0:36:33is to say, "Here is THE greatest, most remarkable 20th-century life," it's all here for the future.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35- Uh-huh.- Amazing.
0:36:37 > 0:36:44This is the largest flintlock duck's foot pistol I've ever seen
0:36:44 > 0:36:48and I've seen, I've seen many over the last 50 years.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Where on Earth did you get it?
0:36:50 > 0:36:52Well, I bought it at a local auction.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55- Really?- Yes. About, well, a few years ago now.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00Right, well, first and foremost, it's not an English one.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Now, it's been proved in Belgium
0:37:03 > 0:37:06so I take it that it's Belgian manufacture,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09but they are usually much smaller than this.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13You might say, "Why make such a pistol?"
0:37:13 > 0:37:17but anybody that's subject to some sort of violence
0:37:17 > 0:37:22or even a boarding party, such a pistol could be very useful.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26I see that it's got a belt clip on the side which would suggest
0:37:26 > 0:37:28it might be sailor, a sailor item,
0:37:28 > 0:37:33and to add to a little bit of romanticism,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36this engraving on the bottom
0:37:36 > 0:37:41with a pirate rolling a barrel of gunpowder, or whatever,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44I think is added at a later date.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Now, the only thing I can find wrong with it, looking at it,
0:37:48 > 0:37:51is the safety catch on here's been broken in half,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54because when you put it back onto first cock...
0:37:56 > 0:37:58..you push that,
0:37:58 > 0:38:00which holds that on first cock.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02That's the safety but that's been broken,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05there's about an inch, or three-quarters of an inch gone off of there.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08That is the only thing I can fault it with.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11That is full cock so it's all ready to fire.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16There's four little holes in the flash pan and when that is primed
0:38:16 > 0:38:21and that closed, that is all ready to fire those four barrels.
0:38:21 > 0:38:27This is an extremely rare piece. Out of curiosity, what did you pay?
0:38:27 > 0:38:28£1,100.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Right, OK.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35If it was of English manufacture and of the usual size,
0:38:35 > 0:38:40a value of something like £5,000,
0:38:40 > 0:38:46but although this is Belgian and in collectors' eyes not as good
0:38:46 > 0:38:49as an English manufacturer, a London or Birmingham manufacture,
0:38:49 > 0:38:52it is unusually large -
0:38:52 > 0:38:54I keep endorsing this.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59You could expect something in the region of about £8,000.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04It's a ginormous thing and I think any gun collector would be proud
0:39:04 > 0:39:07to have that in his gun collection, lovely.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11- Thank you very much.- Well, thank you very much for bringing it in.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15And with that, another Roadshow heads into the sunset,
0:39:15 > 0:39:19from Holkham Hall, Wells-next- the-Sea in Norfolk, goodbye.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46Subtitles by Red Bee Ltd, 2007