0:00:34 > 0:00:36This week, the Roadshow team
0:00:36 > 0:00:39has infiltrated Hughenden Manor in Buckinghamshire.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Now, Hughenden is a house with a secret.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45It's common knowledge that it was the home of Benjamin Disraeli,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47the Victorian Prime Minister.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49But what happened here during World War II,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52none of us have known anything about.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Until very recently, that is.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Like many country houses in wartime,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Hughenden was taken over by the military,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06but not just to provide comfortable accommodation.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Otherwise, why would Hughenden be on the hit list for German bombers?
0:01:12 > 0:01:15These days, a helpful member of the National Trust
0:01:15 > 0:01:18sits in the hallway at Hughenden, to welcome visitors.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19Hello.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21In the war years,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25a rather more stern military policeman sat in the same place,
0:01:25 > 0:01:29and would admit only those with top-security clearance.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34Disraeli's drawing room had become literally that. A drawing room.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Dozens of artists sat here at lines of desks,
0:01:37 > 0:01:43their job was to interpret aerial photographs of mainland Germany.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47From these, they drew target maps for a range of Allied missions,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50missions like the legendary Dambusters raid,
0:01:50 > 0:01:55and the bombing of Hitler's secret bunker in the Austrian Alps.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56This is the very map,
0:01:56 > 0:02:01and the spot marked "A" pinpoints the Fuhrer's hideout.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07The drawings were then carried from the manor, through the woods,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11to a photographic studio, set up in this former ice house.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14A camera team would then photograph them,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17and a strictly limited number of copies were made.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20It was nicknamed "Operation Hillside".
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Finally, the maps were brought to the stable block,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28where a fleet of cars were waiting to deliver them,
0:02:28 > 0:02:33driving under cover of darkness to airfields throughout Britain.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Then the RAF would put them to effective use.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39It took 60 years before we discovered
0:02:39 > 0:02:42what really happened at Hughenden Manor.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Today, on the rear lawn, and under the full gaze of the general public,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49the Antiques Roadshow is ready to do its vital work.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51No need to draw you a map.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56You know, it's great for me to come back to High Wycombe,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59because I went to school here during the war,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02and especially to see beautiful Royal Worcester pieces.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06From one extreme of here, High Wycombe...
0:03:06 > 0:03:09I now live in Worcester, and to see this together, here...
0:03:09 > 0:03:11This is marvellous, isn't it?
0:03:11 > 0:03:15This is part of a coffee set. A cup...
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Just a coffee cup and saucer, but...
0:03:17 > 0:03:20I've got the whole set, actually, it's a boxed set,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- and I took a photograph to show you. - A picture, yes.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24- Not uncommon.- No.
0:03:24 > 0:03:31These were made in considerable numbers in the 1910s, '20s, '30s.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- Yes.- But they're beautiful. You've got the whole set?
0:03:34 > 0:03:40Yes, my father gave it to my mother as a wedding present in 1932.
0:03:40 > 0:03:41Did he? Isn't that lovely?
0:03:41 > 0:03:45They make wonderful presents, don't they? But do you use them?
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Never. The only time I ever remember the plate being used
0:03:48 > 0:03:49was when I was sick in bed,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53and my mother brought up a bunch of grapes and gave it to me.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55- This plate here?- Yes.- Did she?
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- The grapes on the plate to cheer you up, obviously.- Yes.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- That's beautiful.- I'm scared to use them, because I...
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Well, don't be scared to use them,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06- but treat them with great care... - Yes.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09..because they're works of art. They're incredible.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12This is signed by the painter here, Horace Price,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16and he was one of the great fruit painters of all time,
0:04:16 > 0:04:17and he was marvellous.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Those strawberries, and the plums, I mean...
0:04:21 > 0:04:25You can feel the bloom on them, can't you?
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Absolutely gorgeous, but what is extraordinary is this...
0:04:29 > 0:04:31What is this?
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Well, I found these, my parents never referred to them,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38and when we were sorting out their affairs,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40I think it was after my mother died,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44and I presume that my father sent for a pattern,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48perhaps he was wondering what to buy her for a wedding present,
0:04:48 > 0:04:53- because this is nearest because of being fruit.- Yes.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57I just found them among her things, just sort of lying there.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00I've never seen these out in the open,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02these would be for the dealers,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07so they could show customers what was the possibility of being made.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10These should never have left the factory or the dealer's hands,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14- so it's very... And this one is... this one is gorgeous, isn't it?- Yes.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16- This is for a dressing table set. - I see.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19There would be the pieces on the tray,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23- and a candlestick to light your way to bed at night.- Yes.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Instead of the fruit, this is painted with a landscape
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- in the style of Corot.- I see, yes.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32And the great painter copying Corot's style
0:05:32 > 0:05:34at Royal Worcester was Harry Davies.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Now, this isn't signed,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39but it certainly looks like the work of Harry Davies.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44- Right.- And if so, that's an incredibly valuable piece.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- But marvellous that it's got out in the open.- Yes.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49But the whole thing is marvellous.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54A coffee set like that, with the six cups and saucers in a fitted box,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58is going to be worth about £3,000, £4,000,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00but these...they're beautiful.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04I mean, if that is actually Harry Davies' own work,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08those watercolours on the candlestick and the tray...
0:06:08 > 0:06:13- Yes.- I mean, you're looking at about £2,000 or £3,000 just for that.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18And perhaps a bit less for the fruit paintings.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Do you know who painted that one?
0:06:20 > 0:06:22It looks like the work of Harold Austin.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26- Right.- I think the same painter as this little saucer.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28- I see.- Very like his work.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Thank you very much.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34When I was 16, I bought my first roundabout horse,
0:06:34 > 0:06:35from the Billy Smart family.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Now, didn't they have an antique shop locally here?
0:06:38 > 0:06:41In Cookham, and that's where I bought it,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44and then I started collecting roundabout relics ever since,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48horses, carved work, everything to do with roundabouts.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53And tell me, these are very unusual in that they are centaurs,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57- with a man's torso on a horse's body. - Yes, on a horse, yeah.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01We've got three that we're looking at here,
0:07:01 > 0:07:06all carved with obviously recognisable faces. French?
0:07:06 > 0:07:09That's General French from the Boer War.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12- Yeah, and Buller? - General Buller, yeah.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16But you can imagine, at that time, when a fairground arrived,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- of course, these people were the heroes.- Yeah.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21They were the ones that the kids wanted to sit on.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Exactly, so they were all fighting to get on,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26and ride their favourite General,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- Kitchener, or Buller, or Roberts, or French.- Exactly.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Now, Spooner were based in Burton on Trent, weren't they?
0:07:32 > 0:07:35They were one of the great companies.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Another great company was Anderson.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38Anderson of Bristol, yeah.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43- And they, I think, started out as carvers of...- Ship figureheads.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47And this, rumour has it, is an Anderson figure.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49This is an Anderson, yeah.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Now, tell me why it's in a completely different scale,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and is also of somebody unrecognisable.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01- This was made for a hand-turned children's roundabout.- Right.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06And it would have had about four horses, and cockerels, and...
0:08:06 > 0:08:08- This one?- That's the one, yeah.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13This was made for Thomas Prewitt, quite a famous showman.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17All the rounding boards, all the animals, were made by Andersons.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21There's four centaurs on there, and to my knowledge,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25they're the only four that were ever made by Andersons.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29So, how did this one arrive in your hands?
0:08:29 > 0:08:31A friend in America phoned me up,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34and said there was an Anderson centaur coming up
0:08:34 > 0:08:37in an auction in about three months' time,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39so they sent me the photographs,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42there were about 20 or 30 that had come through.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45I started research, and I found this photograph,
0:08:45 > 0:08:50and then realised Anderson did carve what appears to be that one set.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52- Interesting.- Then I was excited.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- You were hooked. - Somehow, I had to get this.- Yeah.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57And then I researched it further,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01and the auctioneers asked me if I knew who the figure was,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03and I said no. I didn't, at the time.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05- Would you have told them?- No!
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Of course not.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10So, that was really it,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14so then I had to try and research who the captain was.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Well, there are a few tiny clues.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19The first, if we just turn it round, I love here...
0:09:19 > 0:09:21This looks like a little whale, or a dolphin.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23On the back of the saddle.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- That's right.- OK, so we know that he's definitely a seaman,
0:09:26 > 0:09:31and then he's got a white star on his lapel, here.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35But, I suppose, the big giveaway are the initials
0:09:35 > 0:09:38carved into the top of his telescope, "E. J. S."
0:09:38 > 0:09:41That may not mean anything to anybody out there,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44but you and I know that relates to Captain Smith.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46- That's right. - He was the captain of the Titanic.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49- He was.- I know you bought this recently,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51so I feel I can ask the question,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53how much did you pay for it in auction?
0:09:53 > 0:09:55It was 13,500 dollars.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Oh, actually, that doesn't sound a lot.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02But, of course, it was your secret, wasn't it?
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Yeah, exactly, nobody knew it was the Titanic captain.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Now, as far as prices on these are concerned...
0:10:08 > 0:10:12The two larger figures, I would say,
0:10:12 > 0:10:16would fetch 15 to 20,000 dollars each,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19which is about, what... £13,000...
0:10:19 > 0:10:2112 or 13,000, yeah.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25- This... I'm going to stick my neck out on this.- Go on, then.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Because everything in me says that I should be valuing it
0:10:28 > 0:10:31at the same, or slightly less, because it's smaller.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- Yeah.- But there is that wonderful, unknown X factor,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38- which is the Titanic link.- Yeah.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41I AM going to stick my neck out. I'm going to say £15,000 to £20,000.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43I mean, I think it's a great piece.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Wow, that's excellent.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Well, once in a while on a Roadshow, you see something,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53and you don't know exactly what it is, but the quality stands out,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55and this is such a piece. How long have you had it?
0:10:55 > 0:10:58In the family, probably 25 years we've had it,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01and then, before that, it was with my aunt.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- So, it's come down through the family?- Yeah.
0:11:04 > 0:11:05What do you know about it?
0:11:05 > 0:11:08All I know is that it's English Civil War,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11and it's a water bottle on the side of a horse.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Water bottles, at the time, were made in leather,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and they were normally called blackjacks, as you might know.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21- Yes.- The name originated because when they air-dried the leather,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23that was called "jacking".
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- Right.- The leather was dark, so it was known as "blackjack."
0:11:26 > 0:11:29- Right.- And you think it dates from the Civil War period?
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- That's what we were always told, but...- 1640-1650.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35- Something like that. - I don't actually think it's English.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36Oh, well, fair enough.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39I think it's Mediterranean,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43and more specifically, probably Spanish, or possibly Portuguese.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48The English blackjacks at the time tended to be shaped like flagons,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50- and this is a different shape.- Right.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55And also, on this, you have the extraordinary silver decoration.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57- I know. - Which I have never seen before.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00I think it's absolutely beautiful.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02I think probably, originally,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05they would have had a broad piece of leather,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07and they would have stitched the silver
0:12:07 > 0:12:09into the flat piece of leather,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11so, if we could see inside,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13we would see the back of the silver threads...
0:12:13 > 0:12:15And they've curled it round...
0:12:15 > 0:12:17And then, curled it round,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19and then wet it, put it on a mould and shaped it,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22and that's how I think it would have been made.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26And blackjacks in Nelson's time, they were known as "boots"
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and were the origin of the expression, "fill your boots".
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Have a lot to drink, fill your boots.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34- OK.- And being the quality this piece is,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38I'm sure it would have belonged to a nobleman or a grandee of the period.
0:12:38 > 0:12:44To me, it's museum quality, and I think if that came up at auction,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48it deserves to have an estimate of perhaps £3,000 to £5,000 on it.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51- Very nice.- I think it's a terrific example
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- of an early 17th century blackjack. - Thank you.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01"C. Rein and Son, patentees, sole inventors and only makers,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05"30 Charing Cross Road, London."
0:13:05 > 0:13:09So, that's rather fun. Looks a bit like a stylised swan, doesn't it?
0:13:09 > 0:13:10It does a bit, yes.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Well, of course you know what it is.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- Yes, it's a hearing device or a hearing piece.- Absolutely.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- A trumpet, an ear trumpet.- Yes.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23So, the sound is actually... Does it actually...
0:13:23 > 0:13:26- Oh, it actually works very well. - It does, doesn't it? Yes.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30- Gives an extraordinary echo. - Yes.- In your ear.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Well, it was my ex-husband's,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34and when we were clearing out the house,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37- he was about to throw it in the dustbin.- Right.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41And I said "Oh, I've always liked that. Can I have it, please?"
0:13:41 > 0:13:43And so he said, "Yes, here you are, take it."
0:13:43 > 0:13:47So...about to go in the dustbin, that's an interesting thing to do.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Plus, it looked like just brass,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52because we'd never cleaned it,
0:13:52 > 0:13:54and I thought, "Oh, I'll give it a polish up."
0:13:54 > 0:13:58- And then, of course, you saw... - And then I saw the inscription, yes.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- So, in fact it is electro-plated on nickel.- Right, yeah.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06I think I would probably just leave it, actually, as it is, there.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Date-wise, I would think we're looking,
0:14:09 > 0:14:10certainly into the 19th century,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13- probably the latter part of the 19th century.- Right.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Value...
0:14:15 > 0:14:18I should think, £400 to £500.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22That's good for something that was going to go in the dustbin.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25She's a very pretty girl, and how did she come to you?
0:14:25 > 0:14:30Well, her story in our family started in the 1880s,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34and my grandmother had beautiful handwriting,
0:14:34 > 0:14:39and a rather well-to-do lady went to her school,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43and asked for a little girl who did nice writing,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46and they chose my grandmother,
0:14:46 > 0:14:51and she had to go to this lady's house, one evening, after school,
0:14:51 > 0:14:57every week, and she was given a "tasty and nutritious tea,"
0:14:57 > 0:14:59then she had to write the lady's letters,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01because the lady had arthritis or rheumatism,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04something that stopped her from writing.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07So, your granny was essentially the secretary?
0:15:07 > 0:15:11- You could say that, yes. - Well, how old was she at this time?
0:15:11 > 0:15:15- She was born in 1872, so she was quite a little girl.- Yeah.
0:15:15 > 0:15:22And, when the old lady died, she left the lady to my grandmother,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25because she'd noticed that she used to gaze at her.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29While she'd been penning these beautifully written letters,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31she'd seen this thing, and she inherited it.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- That's right.- Now, I want you to stroke it. Do you want to stroke it?
0:15:35 > 0:15:38- Yes.- Now, what do you think of when you're stroking it?
0:15:38 > 0:15:41- What material? - She feels a bit like marble...
0:15:41 > 0:15:44- She feels like marble... - She feels like...
0:15:44 > 0:15:46That's exactly... She FEELS like marble,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48and, you know, it isn't marble.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50This is a material called Parian ware.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53It was developed very early on in the Victorian period,
0:15:53 > 0:15:54up in Staffordshire,
0:15:54 > 0:16:00and it was because of a rise in the wealth of Victorian England,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03- people want to fill their houses with ornaments.- Yes.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05But there isn't enough marble to go round,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08besides, marble is extremely expensive,
0:16:08 > 0:16:12so when the Staffordshire potters came up with this material,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15which feels like marble, they called it Parian,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19named after the island of Paros, where classical marble was mined.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23The wonderful thing about this is that you can pump it with water,
0:16:23 > 0:16:24so it becomes a liquid.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27- Yes.- And you can pour the liquid into moulds,
0:16:27 > 0:16:28so once you've made the moulds,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32you can actually make hundreds, if not thousands, of these pieces.
0:16:32 > 0:16:38So, this very pretty young girl was produced originally by the artist
0:16:38 > 0:16:41whose signature appears on the back, William Calder Marshall, R.A.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46Now, he was actually elected to the Royal Academy in the 1850s,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48so that gives you a bottom date,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52it wasn't all that old when your granny was penning those letters.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54- Right.- Um, I think in this state,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56if you were to put her up for auction,
0:16:56 > 0:17:01- she would probably fetch somewhere in the region of £300 to £500.- Yes.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03But she's worth a lot more to you,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- because of that lovely family association.- Yes.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12I inherited it from an uncle who lived in Malta.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13I've had it about 10 years.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15I understand that it's an old family,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18going two or three generations back, anyway.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Other than that, I don't know.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24Well, the interesting bit about it is the Maltese, actually,
0:17:24 > 0:17:25in what you've just said,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29because I've been toying with where it was made,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33and it's got some marks on it inside, up in the lid,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35but they are so indistinct,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37that they don't really tell me anything,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41certainly not, quickly being able to have a look at it here.
0:17:41 > 0:17:47- Yeah.- It's very much in the French taste, and in the Swiss,
0:17:47 > 0:17:52if you like, of the period of about 1810-1820, something like that.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56And you've got the sort of classical motifs and designs,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00and workmanship and elements that are all typical of the period.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04It's got French Empire, in a way, coming into that period,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06or the end of the French Empire,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08but I'm not immediately sure that it's Swiss,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10and I'm not certain it's French,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14so when you say that the family came from Malta,
0:18:14 > 0:18:19there's a possibility that it might be Austrian or Italian.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23The way it's made...it's made of 18 carat, or possibly 20 carat gold,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26there's no hallmark to say which...
0:18:26 > 0:18:29and it's chased onto a matted ground, they've applied gold work,
0:18:29 > 0:18:34and it's very difficult to see in this bright sun that's appeared...
0:18:34 > 0:18:37In fact, it's done in more than one colour,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40so you have green gold and yellow gold.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43- Was it actually used for snuff? - It's snuff, that's right.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Have you had it valued, at all?
0:18:45 > 0:18:48I've no idea of the value.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50An uncle of mine, from whom I inherited it,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54had it looked at by the Victoria and Albert, I think.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59- Oh, right.- This was a note that we found that sits within the box.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03So, I'm probably now going to now prove that I'm talking rubbish.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04I don't think you are.
0:19:04 > 0:19:075th November 1946, that's a long time ago.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Well, that's when it was either sent in,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11or viewed by them, I'm not sure how.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13"Dear Sir, if you bring your snuff box along,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16"I will endeavour to tell you something about it.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18"I'll make it clear that our regulations
0:19:18 > 0:19:20"do not permit us to give a valuation."
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- Obviously, it was seen and it comes with a note.- OK.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26"Period approx. 1810. A beautiful piece of work.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29"Mark does not denote French or English,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31"so probably Italian Neapolitan."
0:19:31 > 0:19:33- OK, well...- Or Austrian.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Well, there we are, so I haven't told you very much,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37but I haven't wasted your time.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42But we CAN, under BBC regulations, we can actually give you a valuation.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46And I would reckon this is £3,000, possibly even £4,000.
0:19:46 > 0:19:47£3,000 to £4,000.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Gosh, really?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Condition's wonderful.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Hughenden Manor's secret war effort would have remained secret,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04if not for one extraordinary coincidence...
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Victor Gregory, you came here a couple of years ago on a visit,
0:20:08 > 0:20:09tell us about that.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13I came here with my grandson, he wanted to know
0:20:13 > 0:20:16where I'd been in the RAF, and we came over here on a visit.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20One of the stewards saw me talking to my grandson,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23and it went from there, really,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26and it's grown from there too, really,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28it's got more and more publicity,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31and more and more people are interested.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34You told him you were one of the people who produced the maps.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37I told him that I was working in the drawing office,
0:20:37 > 0:20:42and I'd been involved in the map on Berchtesgaden.
0:20:42 > 0:20:43Ah, you've mentioned that.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46I actually have that, and there it is...
0:20:46 > 0:20:48This must look very familiar to you...
0:20:48 > 0:20:50this was Hitler's country hideaway.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52This was Hitler's hideaway.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57We produced this map here at Hughenden for two factors.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01there was a plan during the war to assassinate Hitler,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06and the assassination attempt was going to be made by special forces,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08and a very large RAF raid,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12and this map was produced for the very large RAF raid,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16which took place on 25th April 1945.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18And then he committed suicide.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Five days later, he committed suicide,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22we didn't catch him at Berchtesgaden,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25because he was hiding in the bunker in Berlin.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28But you would have, because that's a beautiful map.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31And do you keep in touch? Are there any of you left?
0:21:31 > 0:21:35Well, I'm certainly one who's left, as is obvious today.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38There is another lady living in West Wycombe,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Katherine, who was here as a WAAF,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44but it's been very difficult to locate anyone.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Lots of sons and daughters have got in touch with me,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50and said, "My mother or father was here",
0:21:50 > 0:21:52and I've shown a few people around the house.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55It's been very emotional for these people, too.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58But you've lived to tell the story.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04This is a collection of English Victorian jewellery,
0:22:04 > 0:22:09you couldn't get more absolutely English-looking jewellery than this,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13so, tell me, is it family bequeathed pieces from the source of England?
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Yes, quite a few pieces of jewellery were inherited by my mother,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21from her mother and her grandmother.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- So, we're going back a few generations.- Yes.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Have they been valued? Have you taken them to a jeweller?
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Has he said anything about them at all?
0:22:29 > 0:22:31I've never had them valued,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35and I think some of the pieces were last valued about 40 years ago,
0:22:35 > 0:22:36for probate purposes.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- 40 years?- Yes, about £2.
0:22:39 > 0:22:40- £2?- Yes.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44The garnet snake, therefore, was valued at a couple of pounds.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48- I think so.- It's a garnet snake, in its original fitted box,
0:22:48 > 0:22:53mounted in gold, coiling round in this rather pretty shaped case,
0:22:53 > 0:22:54and those were the days, perhaps,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58when you could buy a snake for a couple of pounds, I don't know.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02It's a lovely piece, it's English, mid-Victorian, lovely garnets.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06The type of garnets are called pyrope garnets,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10there are different names for different colours of garnets.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13These are this deep blood-red pyrope garnet,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15and snakes are very good indeed for garnets,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18they blend beautifully together,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20doesn't the fitted box look lovely?
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- It's lovely.- It really does.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24So, that's a garnet necklace,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27and there's a garnet brooch, English, 1850,
0:23:27 > 0:23:32garnet drop in the middle, a pyrope stone, and a garnet in the bud.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35And you've got a gold locket, do we know who the subject is, here?
0:23:35 > 0:23:37That's my great-grandmother.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42Right, OK, and this therefore was the locket she probably wore?
0:23:42 > 0:23:45I would think so. It has her initials on it.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48It's got this monogram on it, that was a Victorian feature,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51that they would put a little monogram on a locket,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53which, I have to say, restricts them a bit,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55you put an engraving on it,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and it slightly narrows the appeal in a commercial market.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01- Yes.- Then you've got this brooch, what do you know about this?
0:24:01 > 0:24:03I don't know anything about it.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05I'm not sure if it was my grandmother's,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07or my great-grandmother's.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- It's just there.- Part of the group.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13- Yes.- Did you know that it was a big diamond in the middle?- No.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Mm, well, it is.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18It's an old Victorian cut diamond,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20and did you know that it weighs about...
0:24:20 > 0:24:25Well, you didn't know that it weighs about two carats.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30- Oh.- It's a large, chunky diamond in the star in the middle.- Right.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32So, this is going to be a surprise,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34- these prices that I'll give you. - It is.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Well, let's start from this end, here.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39The oval Victorian gold locket,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41I suppose, in a nice box like that,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43- £250 for it, possibly.- Gosh.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45The garnet brooch, here...
0:24:45 > 0:24:48I think you're looking at least at £400 to £500,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52- probably £600 on that one. It gets better.- Really?
0:24:52 > 0:24:55It does, yes, it gets better.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59The garnet snake, I've always had a great affection for snake jewellery,
0:24:59 > 0:25:01what do you think that's worth, then?
0:25:01 > 0:25:04I know you've got no idea, but take a stab at it.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08- £800.- Yeah, that's very good. I think so, yes...
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Well done, that's around about £800.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13This thing, which for all I know,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16you might have thought was paste, or something like that,
0:25:16 > 0:25:17- a bit of glass...- Um, yes.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20Well, it's not the greatest diamond in the world,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24but it IS a two carat brilliant-cut old mined Victorian diamond,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27- so, do you think it's worth £1,000? - I would hope so.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Well, I think it's worth £2,000.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38- Wow.- And, in fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's such a pretty stone,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40in an appealing gold mount, £2,000 to £2,500...
0:25:40 > 0:25:44So, let's say minimums of £2,000, £800,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46£2,800, £3,000...
0:25:46 > 0:25:49- £3,500 to £4,000.- Gosh.
0:25:49 > 0:25:55- So, last valued in 1960s, for £2. - Yes.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57This is the Roadshow for you.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04You know precisely what this is, don't you?
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Yes, it's a wine cooler.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10The interesting thing is that we can date it fairly accurately,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12it's English, made of mahogany,
0:26:12 > 0:26:17- and it would be made between 1827 and 1835.- Right.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19It's an extremely important example.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21- Really?- It's wonderful.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23I'll tell you why, and how we can date it.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25A - it's a sarcophagus shape,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28which became extremely popular after the death of Nelson,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31particularly with the Classical renovations
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and restorations being carried out throughout Europe,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37the Grand Tour, and our military and naval campaigns.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41Now, this is the bit that's probably the latest clue...
0:26:41 > 0:26:45The vine leaves, this type of carving, was almost continental,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48it was not an English type of carving,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51and, of course, it alludes to wine from the continent,
0:26:51 > 0:26:52rather than England.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57By the 1810 period, we'd lost most of our wine production in this country,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00so we imported it, and this is an instant indication
0:27:00 > 0:27:01that of course it's a wine cooler,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04there are the grapes and the vine.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Now, inside, well, it's a typical...
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Look at the wonderful quality hinges, as you'd expect,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13a very expensive and important piece when it was made,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15with its original lead lining,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and in the bottom, that's where the plug was, originally,
0:27:18 > 0:27:20to let the melted ice out,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22and the ice, of course,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25would have come from an ice house similar to here,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27which has its own history.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31In terms of value, wine coolers vary hugely.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Most of them range between £4,000 and £6,000.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38This one, because of its obvious clues to date,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40and the importance of manufacture,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43- I would say between £8,000 and £10,000...- Really?
0:27:43 > 0:27:45..is a true value for that.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47- Oh, really?- Yes. - I thought about £500.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52Well... what can I say? No, no, no, £8,000 to £10,000.
0:27:52 > 0:27:53Thank you very much.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56And it's a joy to see, it's a real pleasure.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59- So, we need to insure it, then. - I think I would.- Thank you.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16- I don't do vehicles, is there any furniture?- Some rubbish.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Well, this is not rubbish, what's this?
0:28:18 > 0:28:21What a wonderful way to arrive at an Antiques Roadshow.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Me van, it's an Austin 12, and it's a proper...
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- What date? - 1936, this one,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29and we use it all the time, driven all over the place,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and we camp in the back.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34I learned to drive on an Austin Ruby, it's about the same..
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Have you got something back here for me?
0:28:36 > 0:28:38See what we've got in here.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41- In the back. - Oh, great, oh, local chairs.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43- Local chairs.- Are you a local man?
0:28:43 > 0:28:46- I'm afraid so. - What do you mean, "afraid so"?
0:28:46 > 0:28:47High Wycombe chairs...
0:28:47 > 0:28:50But these came from my great-grandfather's factory.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53We've got the set of four...
0:28:53 > 0:28:59So, that's two of them, and that's typical Wycombe run-of-the-mill,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02built...what, 1850s on to about 1900?
0:29:02 > 0:29:05So, let me get this right, so your...
0:29:05 > 0:29:07- Your family made them.- Yeah.- OK.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11- In their workshops. - In their factories in the town,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14from the 1850s, up to when it burned down in 1936.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16I know the Mealing family, as chairmakers,
0:29:16 > 0:29:18go back to about 1814-1820.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22Yeah, well, these are theirs, and as I say, we have a set,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25and we have a set of the straight-backs,
0:29:25 > 0:29:26and a set of the slat-backs.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29Most people know this as a Windsor chair,
0:29:29 > 0:29:31but Windsor chairs are from High Wycombe,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35and just the great centre of chair-making in the world, really.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37Well, they went all over the empire, didn't they?
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Talking about the empire...
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Queen Mary, the Queen Mary.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44We're hopping about... now, we've got Queen Mary.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49This is another Wycombe chair, now, it's a bit tatty, but it's used,
0:29:49 > 0:29:50I've got a pair of these,
0:29:50 > 0:29:54The Queen Mary... They were the second-class saloon,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56they came back to Wycombe for repair,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59but war broke out, it converted to a troop ship.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01This is the Second World War.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03Converted to a troop ship.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07We ended up with two, and there must be hundred in Wycombe.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11- Which most people know as Ercol. - Yes, yes, and this is Wycombe beech.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14This is why, apart from the fact you have the river as well,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17but we have water, but the beech growing here
0:30:17 > 0:30:19was why they were able to make these chairs.
0:30:19 > 0:30:20This is typical.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24- That's elm, but the arm of that is typical.- And...
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Lovely, comfy chairs, a bit tatty,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30but meant to be used, it's not a museum piece,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33and we have two, and we have Grandfather's comfy chair,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37they didn't make those as well, they made these, here we are...
0:30:37 > 0:30:39My father used to go motor-racing with the son.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41And that's the comfy chair,
0:30:41 > 0:30:45machine-made, typical sort of stuff we churned out, good at Wycombe...
0:30:45 > 0:30:47I think that's beech again, isn't it?
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Yes, it is, you can tell,
0:30:49 > 0:30:51the flecks here are a typical giveaway of beech.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55And there was a firm in Wycombe, called the Russian Cane Work,
0:30:55 > 0:30:59which is still in Wycombe, that did all this caning.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02What I like about this, the fact that it's cane,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05is that caning came in in about the 1660-1680 period,
0:31:05 > 0:31:07the Charles II, James II,
0:31:07 > 0:31:10and this chair is copying that Carolean, Jacobean revival
0:31:10 > 0:31:12of the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660-1680.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16- In a completely modernised form... - Machine-made, yes.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Twenties, 1920s look, but one thing about value,
0:31:19 > 0:31:21double-caning always makes more money,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- when things are sold at auction. - Oh, right.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27It's difficult to value, because they're priceless.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29My wife sits in this, doing her sewing,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32that's in the kitchen, I use that in the study,
0:31:32 > 0:31:33you know, it's family stuff.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37- Without the family history, that's a £500 chair.- Yeah, probably.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38The Windsors...
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Well, they're only £100 each, there's two.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47Well, there's the set, and then the others, to go with them...
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Perversely, these are probably worth more,
0:31:50 > 0:31:53there's great interest in that great Art Deco liner,
0:31:53 > 0:31:56- albeit they're second-class saloon. - Oh, second-class.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00So, £500-£800 the pair, perhaps more. Thank you very much.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03No, thank you for your time.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10They belonged to my grandmother's brother, and she was Danish.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12When the war broke out,
0:32:12 > 0:32:16unfortunately, he went off and joined the Nazi party.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20- Oh, dear.- And it caused a bit of a rift in the family,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22and...after the war,
0:32:22 > 0:32:26when my grandmother came over to England to live permanently,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29I don't think they ever saw each other again,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32but she came over with the bear,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35- as a memento of her brother. - And it was his bear?
0:32:35 > 0:32:37It was his bear, yes.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39Great-Uncle was born in 1907,
0:32:39 > 0:32:44and we know it was given to him at some point during his...
0:32:44 > 0:32:45Either at his birth,
0:32:45 > 0:32:47or he was a couple of years older.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50That does actually tie in with when these particular ones,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54- which are known as the muzzled ones, the muzzled bears.- Yeah.
0:32:54 > 0:32:59As you probably know, they were emulating, typical of the day,
0:32:59 > 0:33:02when they'd had these performing real bears in the streets,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05poor little things, poor big things, but...
0:33:05 > 0:33:11..but very dangerous without the muzzle, and this is made by Steiff.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15- Yes.- You know?- We know because he's got the little button in the ear.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20- You found the button. So, you knew that?- Yes.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24The fact that these performing bears were around, they thought,
0:33:24 > 0:33:29"Well, we'd better try out a performing bear with the muzzle,"
0:33:29 > 0:33:30- and they made a lot.- Right.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34They made silver ones, they made black ones,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38they made dark brown ones, they made this beige colour,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41in different sizes, and really, for a very short period,
0:33:41 > 0:33:45because, rather like the black ones they tried out,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48children went "Aaagh," because he's very frightening.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51What did you think when you first saw him?
0:33:51 > 0:33:53I remember seeing it when I was about six,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56and it wasn't something I wanted to see again after that.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Yes, exactly. Anyway, it didn't take off for that very reason,
0:34:00 > 0:34:03- just that children were frightened. - Yes.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06And so, because of that, they're rarer,
0:34:06 > 0:34:11and these are very much in demand for bear collectors,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14teddy bear collectors love these.
0:34:14 > 0:34:19He's not a very rare colour, he's very worn here.
0:34:19 > 0:34:2220 years ago, he'd have been more valuable,
0:34:22 > 0:34:26because they didn't see enough of them.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29- Right.- We've had a lot coming onto the market.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Having said that, even in an auction,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35he's going to be worth somewhere around £2,000.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39- OK.- What a character, I think you should give him a name.
0:34:39 > 0:34:40We'll have to think of a name.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43- What was the name of your great-uncle?- Beur.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47- Beur.- Doesn't really go, does it? - Doesn't ring, no.
0:34:47 > 0:34:48Beur the bear.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54It's an interesting bronze, it's a type of model I haven't seen before.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58It's entitled at the base, "The Treasure Seeker",
0:34:58 > 0:35:01and here we have a man digging, presumably for gold,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03and like most bronzes of this period,
0:35:03 > 0:35:09typically, of the bronzes made in 1890s-1900s in Austria and Germany,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12it's signed on the side, here, we can see the signature.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17"T. Curts," and also, on the back, it has the retailer's mark,
0:35:17 > 0:35:19so, if we turn it round,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22we can see that it was retailed by a firm in Vienna,
0:35:22 > 0:35:26but there's something slightly different about this bronze.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Isn't there, just?
0:35:28 > 0:35:32Very unusually, it's in two pieces, and we can reveal all now,
0:35:32 > 0:35:37if we lift up the treasure seeker, lo and behold, he's found his gold.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42And there we have it, a naked lady, lain out,
0:35:42 > 0:35:46slightly risque for the time,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49which is why, obviously, she was covered up on most occasions,
0:35:49 > 0:35:54and all respectable men could have these bronzes in their drawing room
0:35:54 > 0:35:58or dining room, and, depending on who your friends were that came round,
0:35:58 > 0:36:02you could reveal what was underneath, or not, as the case may be.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04Any idea of the value of the bronze?
0:36:04 > 0:36:08- No idea.- It's an unusual model, and with the erotic connection,
0:36:08 > 0:36:10I would think, if that came up at auction,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13it would probably fetch between £800 and £1,200.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17- Really?- Yeah, it's a delight to see the treasure seeker and his friend.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21- Thanks for bringing them in. - Thank you.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Now, if there was a fire in your house,
0:36:27 > 0:36:32and you had to grab one object, what are you going to grab?
0:36:32 > 0:36:36I think I'd grab two, actually, I'd grab the two beer mugs.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38Does that tell me something?
0:36:38 > 0:36:42We do use them, it's nice to pull them out on special occasions.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46They're 18th century, they're actually tankards, not mugs.
0:36:46 > 0:36:47- Oh, right.- They've got lids.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49Mugs don't have lids, tankards do.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51That's not what I would grab.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56- Right.- Do you know what I would grab?- Um...
0:36:56 > 0:36:59You're going to go for the dirtiest thing, aren't you?
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Close, well, it's one of the dirty...
0:37:01 > 0:37:02I'm going to grab that.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05- Right.- So, when did you get that?
0:37:05 > 0:37:09I got that at an auction, local to here in Watlington,
0:37:09 > 0:37:11about four or five years ago.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13I've researched the hallmarks,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15and the catalogue said it was early 1800s,
0:37:15 > 0:37:19but it didn't have the King's head on the hallmark,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21so I thought, "That doesn't sound right."
0:37:21 > 0:37:23So, it was going fairly cheaply.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28Well spotted, because it certainly isn't early 1800s,
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- it's actually early 1700s.- Right.
0:37:30 > 0:37:36- We've actually got the hallmarks here for 1726.- Right.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38Last year of the reign of George I,
0:37:38 > 0:37:42- and the maker is a chap called William Darker.- Right.
0:37:42 > 0:37:43London maker.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48It is a very early and a rare form of sauce boat.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52It's fascinating, if you go back, not...
0:37:52 > 0:37:55In fact, to the end of the reign of Queen Anne,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57you might just find a sauce boat.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01We didn't have sauce boats in England, we didn't need them.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06English food was so good, the raw materials.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09You know they talk about good English fare,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12that was a great compliment to English food.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15It didn't need spicing up in any way.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19Now, in France, things were very different.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22The French raw materials were pretty awful,
0:38:22 > 0:38:24so what did the French chefs do?
0:38:24 > 0:38:27They developed sauces to disguise how bad the food was.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30But what happened in the early 18th century
0:38:30 > 0:38:33was that English aristocrats started to...
0:38:33 > 0:38:36one or two had done it before... but started to employ French chefs.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39They made sauces, there was nothing to put them in.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43So, they started making sauce boats,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46and, of course, they followed the French idea
0:38:46 > 0:38:48of the two lips and the two handles.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52One thing that we do have... The Victorians, God bless them,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55have added their own initials there.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58That does have an effect on the value.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01The original initials, funnily enough,
0:39:01 > 0:39:03are just tucked on the handle there.
0:39:03 > 0:39:08- Right, yeah.- Those certainly are right for the reign of George I.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11So, what did you pay for it?
0:39:11 > 0:39:13It was £160.
0:39:13 > 0:39:19£160... Ah, yes, interesting.
0:39:19 > 0:39:25I think that you could easily think of adding another nought to that.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29- Really? Mm. - Easily, such a rare piece.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34This is one of the most exciting pictures
0:39:34 > 0:39:36I've ever seen on a Roadshow,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39so thank you for making my day, probably my year.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44Is that an interesting start?
0:39:44 > 0:39:47- Has that raised your hopes? - It's made our day, too.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Well, I haven't told you enough, yet.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54As you can clearly see, it is signed by the Irish artist, Paul Henry.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Now, I have to ask you, have you any Irish blood in you?
0:39:57 > 0:39:59- None.- No, we haven't.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03Oh, really? So how did this picture come to your family?
0:40:03 > 0:40:08Well, it was owned by my parents, and it's now in my brother's house,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11and as far as I know, it's been there about 50 years.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Really? So, no real connections.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16- None.- And do you know about Paul Henry?
0:40:16 > 0:40:18- Only this amount.- Only this amount,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22as in the picture you've been seeing for the last few years, yes.
0:40:22 > 0:40:28- Beautiful painting.- Well, it is, and Paul Henry, obviously an Irishman,
0:40:28 > 0:40:32studied in Belfast, and like many good artists,
0:40:32 > 0:40:37he went abroad in the 1890s, to Paris,
0:40:37 > 0:40:39and allegedly, he studied with Whistler.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42I can't quite see the connection, but that's allegedly.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46But the point is that after he'd worked in Paris,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49he then came back to Ireland in 1910,
0:40:49 > 0:40:54and, really, was part of a very academic group, a very Irish group.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57This was the time when Ireland was asserting itself,
0:40:57 > 0:40:59wanted national identity,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02and Paul Henry, I think, did this very well,
0:41:02 > 0:41:05he was a great, great painter,
0:41:05 > 0:41:11and he captured the Irish spirit in simple landscapes,
0:41:11 > 0:41:12and this is a wonderful landscape,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15painted, I think, probably later in the 1930s,
0:41:15 > 0:41:21in the Connemara area, and I love the whole perspective.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Here you are, rather low down,
0:41:23 > 0:41:27- looking up at these cottages over the bog here.- The light.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Yes, and these wonderful, strong clouds coming over,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34it's about to throw down a huge amount of rain any second.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36And it's wonderful. Also, I like the type of painting,
0:41:36 > 0:41:39it's quite blocky, and it's free,
0:41:39 > 0:41:40and I love that sort of feeling to it.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43It's very uncluttered, isn't it?
0:41:43 > 0:41:45Very uncluttered, exactly.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49In fact, some of his work was used in posters for the tourist industry,
0:41:49 > 0:41:51"Come to Ireland," that sort of thing.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55- I see.- And it's much more than a landscape painting.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57- Yes.- It's a bit of propaganda, as well.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00Now, you may be interested to know...
0:42:00 > 0:42:03Also, the Irish market has moved quite dramatically upwards,
0:42:03 > 0:42:07and 20 years ago, if you'd come to me and had showed it to me,
0:42:07 > 0:42:11I would have been interested, but not that interested, money-wise.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15But now, with the Irish being such a buoyant economy...
0:42:15 > 0:42:18a lot of rich Irish people making money...
0:42:18 > 0:42:20They are very interested in buying...
0:42:20 > 0:42:22- They want their paintings back. - Exactly.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24So...is it insured?
0:42:24 > 0:42:28- As far as I know, no.- No, we don't think so.- No, not at all.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33Well, I think if it appeared on the market today,
0:42:33 > 0:42:37we'd be talking at least £40,000 to £60,000.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41- Oh, never!- That's unbelievable.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43It's amazing, it's quite amazing.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48And I think you may well find that is slightly conservative as well,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52but to find good Irish pictures gets tougher and tougher,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55so, as you can see, I'm really excited,
0:42:55 > 0:42:57and I can't thank you enough, what a day.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01- Thank you very much for the information.- Pleasure.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04Many important things have happened at Hughenden Manor.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Disraeli, planning the nation's future,
0:43:06 > 0:43:09those RAF types beavering away at their maps in World War II,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11and their spirit lives on.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15We have our own team planning the route for the next Roadshow target.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17Top secret at the moment, of course...
0:43:17 > 0:43:20As soon as we have the details, we'll let you know,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22but for now, from Buckinghamshire, goodbye.