0:00:41 > 0:00:44Welcome back to the ancient and atmospheric
0:00:44 > 0:00:45cathedral of Rochester,
0:00:45 > 0:00:50setting for Charles Dickens' last novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53The organ here has nearly 4,000 pipes...
0:00:53 > 0:00:57roughly the number of characters in the average Dickens novel.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01And let me show you something else that's very interesting that I've found here.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03ORGAN MUSIC PLAYS
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Have you ever wondered why a cathedral is called a cathedral?
0:01:08 > 0:01:13It sounds so grand and yet it all boils down to a chair, admittedly a very grand one.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15It's the Bishop's chair.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19The Latin word for this impressive object is "cathedra"
0:01:19 > 0:01:23and apparently the purpose of a cathedral is to house the bishop's seat.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24This is Rochester's.
0:01:24 > 0:01:30I would ask John Bly to value it, but he's busy in the nave with the rest of the experts.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37- Well, it's a bit rough isn't it? - It...yes.- Where's it been?
0:01:37 > 0:01:42- It's been in the shed for two, two and a half years.- Dear, oh, dear.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45So tell me the story behind it.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48I bought it from a junk shop, second-hand furniture and junk shop,
0:01:48 > 0:01:53- I wanted to buy some more practical furniture, some chest of drawers.- Right.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57And this caught my eye, tried to negotiate a better price
0:01:57 > 0:02:05- for the chest of drawers and the chap sort of threw this in as the bonus.- This was your discount?
0:02:05 > 0:02:08- Yes, yes.- "What's your best price?"
0:02:08 > 0:02:10"That is my best price but I'll give you this sideboard."
0:02:10 > 0:02:16- Indeed, yes, yes. - Well, it looked like this, obviously, this bit's broken off,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18and if you put that up there...
0:02:18 > 0:02:21we can't leave it there... but that starts to make it look something.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24And, in fact,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28this was, when made, an extremely expensive bit of furniture.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30This cost a lot of money.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Imagine making that...
0:02:32 > 0:02:34the wastage of material to make that,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37and these doors, I mean look at this!
0:02:37 > 0:02:42Look at the depth there. It's like a vase, it's three-dimensional this thing, fabulous, fabulous.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46That's a hugely important piece of furniture of its time
0:02:46 > 0:02:50and its time was 1860.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54It was very expensive, very exclusive, and if you look...
0:02:54 > 0:02:59they didn't want to spoil those doors by putting a keyhole anywhere,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03so they put the keyhole in a secret little opening round the side.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05So it looks immaculate.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09- Fantastic quality and a waste of huge amounts of material to make it.- Yes.
0:03:09 > 0:03:15- Trays in one end, cellaret here for the wines.- That's right, yes. - Phenomenal.- Oh, for the wine?- Yes.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19- Oh.- Yeah, you put ice in there. - Oh, right, OK.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Or beer, if you like, I don't mind, but that's what it was for.
0:03:22 > 0:03:23You don't need to do much to this.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28I mean, it wants mending and it wants nicely, lightly cleaning.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Do not have it polished, have it nicely waxed, it'll look wonderful
0:03:32 > 0:03:35and it's worth £2,500.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38- Is it really? - Absolutely, absolutely.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Oh, that certainly is good news, well thank you, cheers.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43You'll go back to that shop again.
0:03:43 > 0:03:44No!
0:03:44 > 0:03:45THEY LAUGH
0:03:47 > 0:03:52Most people who have three works of game birds basically,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54are fanatical shots.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57- Can I ask you, are you a wonderful shot?- No, not at all, no.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59- Don't shoot at all?- Not at all, no.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01- Are you a great countryman? - Er, no, not really.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Your family? No, nothing like that?
0:04:03 > 0:04:06- No, no, not at all.- So how come you've got three wonderful works
0:04:06 > 0:04:10in your collection, if you don't shoot or like the country very much?
0:04:10 > 0:04:14- Well, um, my dad, his step-father was a bricklayer.- Right.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16And he done a job for somebody.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- Yeah.- Who couldn't afford the payment for the job so, um, the guy gave
0:04:20 > 0:04:23my dad's stepfather these as part payment for the job.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- Do you know what the debt was? - No, not at all, no.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30- Guess. Few hundred quid? - Yeah, probably about that, yeah. - Few hundred quid.- Yeah.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33So tell me, do you like these pictures?
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Er, I think they're OK, I mean I'm not a big fan of paintings really.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- OK, of paintings. - No, not really no.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Do you hang them in your house or do they sit under the bed?
0:04:43 > 0:04:45No, my mother hangs them in her house.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48- Ah.- Up until ten years ago they were just wrapped in brown paper.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52- Really?- And then we thought, well we'll put them into the frames
0:04:52 > 0:04:54and they've been on our wall for about ten years.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- Do you know anything about these works?- Not at all, no.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Well, you can see very faintly in the corner of each one,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03there's the artist's name,
0:05:03 > 0:05:04George Edward Lodge,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and he actually was an incredibly important painter of
0:05:08 > 0:05:12animal and bird life, he was a great naturalist and his best friend
0:05:12 > 0:05:17was the greatest of these naturalists called Archibald Thorburn.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22They paint very much in the same sort of style, so very realistic, very...
0:05:22 > 0:05:27almost photographic portraits of birds.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Now there is a big hierarchy in purchasing of birds.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36Now song birds - not very desirable really. I mean, they're OK but a robin's very sweet and all that,
0:05:36 > 0:05:42a thrush...not so easy, a starling - not very commercial, but game birds are always commercial.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46The great thing is they're alive, they're not dead game birds as well,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50so we have three fantastic works by George Edward Lodge.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55What do you think, probably painted around 1900-1910?
0:05:55 > 0:05:59So they've got a bit of age to them, so let's look at the top one.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Partridge in a sort of meadow, really beautifully done
0:06:02 > 0:06:07and you've really got the atmosphere of that nice low countryside
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and then below, we have two pictures of pheasants.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Have you any idea what you think they might be worth?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Er, no, not at all.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21OK, so if I gave you £1,000 for the lot, would you be happy?
0:06:23 > 0:06:25- He's tempted.- Tempted, yeah.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Well, we can't do that on the BBC, of course, but I think...
0:06:28 > 0:06:31I think they're absolutely wonderful.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35I would say they were worth between £1,500 and £2,500 each.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38- Really?- So even by my maths, that's quite a lot of money.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- It is, yeah.- Well done, I mean, you know, for a small debt...
0:06:41 > 0:06:43- or maybe a big debt.- Yes.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47You've made a big investment, so congratulations, enjoy them.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49- Yeah, thank you.- Thank you. - A pleasure.
0:06:51 > 0:06:59Now although this looks like a fantastic radiogram, I actually know it's more than that, as you do.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Now let's see what we've got here, let's open it up.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07So what appears to be a radiogram is actually much, much more.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- Yes.- Because we've got the gramophone, we've got the radio.- Yes.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14But most important, here we've got the television.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Now, my memories of television start,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21like so many people of my generation, in 1953 watching the coronation.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24- Yes.- When do your television memories start?- I would think
0:07:24 > 0:07:30they go back to, um, because I was a war baby and I grew up with this,
0:07:30 > 0:07:36- so I would think in the '40s, mid '40s, late '40s and onwards. - Right, was this working then?
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Absolutely right, yes, my father bought this
0:07:39 > 0:07:44brand-new in Harrods and he paid 101 guineas for it.
0:07:44 > 0:07:50- Right.- He was married in 1936 so it was to actually celebrate my parents' wedding.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Right, so in a sense it was like a grand celebration of a great occasion.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- Yes. Yes.- Do you play the record player?
0:07:56 > 0:07:59All the time, all the time.
0:07:59 > 0:08:05My father was always playing opera there, Edmundo Ross, Caruso.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09I can remember when I was a teenager putting on, um, Elvis Presley...
0:08:09 > 0:08:14- So Elvis was played on here? - Absolutely. On the old 78s. Yes. Because you'd put eight...
0:08:14 > 0:08:16It's only a 78 gramophone?
0:08:16 > 0:08:19- Yes, yes.- Maybe we should look a bit at how this works.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23The problem with early televisions was the screens were tiny
0:08:23 > 0:08:26and so, very cunningly in this particular design,
0:08:26 > 0:08:31they arranged for the image to be projected onto a mirror which was a way of actually
0:08:31 > 0:08:35seeing it larger, it also meant that the cathode ray tube,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39which is very big, could be arranged vertically
0:08:39 > 0:08:44rather than having a hugely deep cabinet behind, and so you'd sit over there, as I imagine you did.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- I did.- And you'd watch it in the mirror.- All the time. - I've got something to show you.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51- Thanks to the wonders of the internet.- Yes.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55- Here is the catalogue of this particular machine.- Oh, right.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58It's the "model 703, television,
0:08:58 > 0:09:03"six-valve, four-waveband radio receiver and automatic gramophone".
0:09:03 > 0:09:06- Oh.- And it had the wonderful title of the "Marconi Phone Mastergram".
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Marconi were pioneer television producers, there were others.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15They made 13 different models between 1935 and 1939
0:09:15 > 0:09:20and, of course, by 1939 it all came to a stop because of the war,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24but in 1939 there were about 19,000 televisions in Britain.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29It had taken off in quite a big way even though viewing was very limited,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31so your father was a real pioneer.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Now what this also shows, tells us, is that it cost 120 guineas.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Yes, I thought he said 101 but it could have been 121 or something.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43- So that's what it was.- Yes.- So it was a very, very expensive thing.- It was.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45I mean that was the price of a car.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- Yes.- So if you were buying a television today, it would be
0:09:48 > 0:09:52- in equivalent terms of about £6,000 or £7,000 or even £8,000.- Really?
0:09:52 > 0:09:54It was very, very expensive.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Now I gather that this is a very rare machine.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04I think in the world at the moment there are only
0:10:04 > 0:10:06- about four or five of these known.- Really? Oh.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Now when it was new it cost 120 guineas, or £5,000 or £6,000.
0:10:10 > 0:10:16Well, things have changed. In a sense this is useless.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19You can play the radio, you can probably play the gramophone.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22You'll never watch the TV without fiddling with it beyond reason.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24So what's it worth?
0:10:24 > 0:10:30I think a collector's going to pay somewhere between £3,000 and £4,000.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35- Really? - So not quite what it was worth when it was new, but getting there.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38- No, no, well thank you very much. - Thank you.- Thank you.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45- William Stephen Coleman, W S Coleman, and it's dated 1905.- Right.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51- He was a very interesting artist because he started life off in training as a surgeon.- Oh, really?
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- And he turned to art and both his sisters painted as well.- As well, good grief.
0:10:55 > 0:11:01- He also worked for the Minton factory designing, er, designs for tiles and pieces of ceramic.- Right.
0:11:01 > 0:11:08- Beautiful designs, and I'm very used to seeing his oils and watercolours which are of Egyptian girls.- Right.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13- Young girls, some Roman scenes with marble, very Classical.- Oh.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15- So he's quite a prolific painter? - Not that prolific.
0:11:15 > 0:11:21- You see a lot of pictures and a lot of prints of his work, there are a lot of reproductions.- I see.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25When he does something like this, these country garden scenes, they are superb.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30- There's a lot of detail.- Oh, yeah, and I prefer these to the oils, and when you look at this, you've got...
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- well you've got irises here, you've got poppies.- Oh, yes.- Cabbage.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38So soft. He's very, very like Birkett Foster in some ways.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42- Yes.- But actually almost more loose and impressionistic.- Right.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43Wonderful picture.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Have you ever thought what it might be worth?
0:11:46 > 0:11:50Um, I must admit the thought has occurred to me but, I mean, I have no idea.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Well, given the subject matter and the strong colour,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56I mean that would make at least £3,000 to £5,000 at auction.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- Really? That much?- Yeah, and maybe £4,000 to £6,000.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02It's a really, really good image.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- Oh, right. Not bad.- Everything good about him is in that picture.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08So you want me to tell you what it says on here I expect.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Yes. Yes, please really and...
0:12:10 > 0:12:12I hate to disappoint you, I can't.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16- Oh.- I can't read it, it's in Chinese but the text on that side is almost
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- certainly related to the scene we see on this side.- Right.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Which is two young ladies reading,
0:12:21 > 0:12:26I guess some sort of a romantic story from their book on this table.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30- Beautifully painted. - Do you know approximately what sort of year it is?
0:12:30 > 0:12:35- Yeah, it's about, it's about 1860 but you can date it almost from the style of the painting of the faces.- Yeah.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39That's a really good clue and then these under-glazed blue borders.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42It's a nice little teapot and I want to know, do you actually use it?
0:12:42 > 0:12:47- No it sits at my mum's still, on top of the wardrobe. - Do you, do you go for picnics?
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Yes, but I wouldn't take something like that, no.
0:12:50 > 0:12:56- Why not?- Too scared of damaging it. Because my grandad brought it back from the Navy.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02- Yeah.- It's something he really sort of looked after, my mum wouldn't sell it, I wouldn't sell it.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04It's something that will stay in the family.
0:13:04 > 0:13:10- But it is a picnic teapot.- Oh, it's for picnics.- Yeah, well you've got the original padded box.- Yes.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13And in fact you could almost say that the padded box
0:13:13 > 0:13:15is almost better than the teapot itself.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17- Oh.- It's a wonderful...
0:13:17 > 0:13:21They've even left a little nozzle for where the spout of the teapot sits.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23And once you've brewed up your tea, you stick it in there
0:13:23 > 0:13:28and it sits nice and snugly in this lovely little wicker basket.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31It's basically a sort of 19th century thermos.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- Right, with you, yeah.- But even today in China you can buy
0:13:34 > 0:13:39- kits like this.- Right.- An age-old design, it's absolutely timeless, it's a nice object.
0:13:39 > 0:13:46Well, the teapot on its own is really actually not worth that much money.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Let's put the whole thing together, the teapot with its container,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54probably worth somewhere between £100 and £200.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Right, yes, I wouldn't sell it.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01- Time for a brew up.- Yeah, yeah, I'll see if she wants to take it on a picnic, but I don't think she will.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Deep in the Roadshow is a small but very select club,
0:14:11 > 0:14:16it has only three members - Simon Bull, David Battie and Roy Butler.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17Apart from being all Bs
0:14:17 > 0:14:22they're the only experts who've been with this show in every series since it began 30 years ago.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23But, Philip Hook,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27as an art expert, you did a very respectable 25 years.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30I did, yes, and I...
0:14:30 > 0:14:33I remember the beginnings, that first series.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38We were making it up as we went along really, I mean we just didn't know what was going to happen.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Would anyone bring anything in?
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Would anyone turn up?
0:14:42 > 0:14:44What would they bring in?
0:14:44 > 0:14:45You were a very young expert.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50Well, I'm absolutely staggered looking at the footage of that first programme
0:14:50 > 0:14:5530 years ago, of how young I did look, it's been of great amusement
0:14:55 > 0:14:59to my daughter who's seen the footage.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04And ironically I remember at that time thinking "Oh, if only I had grey hair,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08"people would take me more seriously as an expert" and now it's a different story.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Between £200 and £300 now at auction.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17I think another interesting difference was that in that first series,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20no-one knew very much when they came in. I think the Antiques Roadshow
0:15:20 > 0:15:25over the past 30 years has really educated people, educated the public with the result that
0:15:25 > 0:15:30people now come in knowing more, and perhaps with a greater degree of expectation,
0:15:30 > 0:15:36so in that first series we were giving more people very happy and pleasant surprises.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41And what was it about the show that kept you coming back year after year? Apart from being asked.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Well, it was the objects. But it wasn't just the objects
0:15:44 > 0:15:48that people brought in, it was the people, it was the owners -
0:15:48 > 0:15:50they were such a wonderful mix of characters.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54And I remember one great garage owner
0:15:54 > 0:15:58who brought an L S Lowry in, in Manchester.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Three years ago I was doing a job for a chap in London
0:16:01 > 0:16:04on an E type Jaguar and he was short of the payment
0:16:04 > 0:16:07of about £250 and he asked me would I like to take this painting,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09and I took it and that's how I acquired it.
0:16:09 > 0:16:15And when I had to tell him that, er, that his L S Lowry was not actually genuine, he was a bit crestfallen,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18and then he brightened up and he said that it didn't really matter
0:16:18 > 0:16:21because the car repair had fallen off the next day anyway.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25So all's well that ends well. What's your own personal favourite find?
0:16:25 > 0:16:31Well, there were many wonderful things that one finds over the years,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35but I suppose one particular one sticks in the mind.
0:16:35 > 0:16:36It was at a north London Roadshow.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40The owner hadn't intended to come but he was sitting in a cafe
0:16:40 > 0:16:45outside the venue, having a cup of coffee, watching the queue
0:16:45 > 0:16:51get slightly less and then suddenly on a whim he got up, nipped round the corner back to his house -
0:16:51 > 0:16:55he was an American guy - and picked up a picture his father had left him.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58He didn't know what it was, what it was worth,
0:16:58 > 0:17:03and when he brought it in and I was able to tell him, he was absolutely flabbergasted.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Down in the corner here we've got this signature here.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08T Foujita.
0:17:08 > 0:17:15Here we have the most important Japanese painter in a Western style, of this century.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Well, I suppose, I suppose...
0:17:19 > 0:17:24How can I put it? I think you should probably insure it for £50,000.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33And I am sure there are plenty of Japanese lurking round the corner
0:17:33 > 0:17:37who would probably pay you even a bit more for it.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42- Wow.- He's the most desirable name for Japanese collectors.- That's the best cup of coffee I ever had.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45And then one thing the cameras didn't get at the end,
0:17:45 > 0:17:51was him turning to this little old lady in audience just next to him,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54who'd he'd never met before in his life,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and he said, "Want to marry me now?"
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Now I have to say, this looks like
0:18:06 > 0:18:08a very simple ring, almost like a wedding ring.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Is it a wedding ring from your point of view? What's the story behind it?
0:18:12 > 0:18:18No, um, 25 years ago I was digging the garden, digging the potatoes up,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22talking to my next door neighbour. My mother was with me and she bent down,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and picked something up
0:18:24 > 0:18:29- and she just opened her hand and there sat this ring.- Oh!
0:18:29 > 0:18:33Do you know anything about the people who were living in the house,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37- who might have owned the garden, going back a few hundred years?- No.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Originally it was a cherry orchard, before we had the bungalow put on it.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45And what have you done with, with the ring since?
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Well, I used to wear it, because I had it valued
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- and they said it would be about £7.- £7, yes, OK.- Yes, so I thought,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54"Well, I might as well wear it."
0:18:54 > 0:18:58If they said £7, first of all did they tell you what it was made of?
0:18:59 > 0:19:04- Um, no.- So from your own point of view, this is the first time anyone's seriously studied it.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- Yes, yes.- Well, although,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10um, it does have an appearance of a rather simple gem ring, there's something
0:19:10 > 0:19:14slightly more interesting about it. It is in fact an old mourning ring.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18- Right.- And if it was £7 you would assume it was made of something like
0:19:18 > 0:19:21base metal, but of course it's very high carat yellow gold.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- Oh, it's not!- It is.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28So that's the first good thing.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32The second thing that's quite interesting is that using my lens,
0:19:32 > 0:19:37I can see right into the hoop itself and there is an inscription.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42- Yes.- And, um inside the hoop is engraved as follows -
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- "William Back..."- Yes.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47- "William Back..."- Yes.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49"..obd..." - died -
0:19:49 > 0:19:53- "..7th November 1718".- Yes.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57In other words we've got a ring here that is nearly 300 years old.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02Does one assume that it was lying forgotten in your potato patch...
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- Yes, yes.- ..for all those years?
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Well, OK, the top of the ring is set with
0:20:09 > 0:20:13a blue stone and it is not contemporary with the ring.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16What's the story there? Do you know anything about that?
0:20:16 > 0:20:22Well, I was having a driving lesson and I think I must have hit it on the steering wheel
0:20:22 > 0:20:26and it was like crystal and it fell out and I couldn't find it.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- Right.- So the jeweller... - That would figure,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33because mourning rings were mounted with little crystals at the tops,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36- but often contained a little lock of hair underneath.- Oh.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39That's dropped out and a jeweller's put this blue lapis lazuli in.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44So it must have been really small because I didn't see a hair at all,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46so it must have been really small.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Well, your lucky find in your potato patch -
0:20:49 > 0:20:52you've been told it's worth £7 -
0:20:52 > 0:20:55I think it's probably worth something like £300 to £400.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Now that was a good find.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03I'm speechless.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05And I used to wear it.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Well, these are items of war,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14but we're standing here in a place of peace, Rochester Cathedral,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17and this is your cathedral, so tell me how they got here.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20I can't answer for my ancestors, but in the 17th century
0:21:20 > 0:21:23amazingly, the cathedral employed six militia men.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28Those militia men were kitted out with muskets and swords and they were told to keep the peace.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32We don't know whether just for the cathedral, or for Rochester as a whole, and this is part
0:21:32 > 0:21:37- of what they were equipped with. - And these were found recently? - They were in the crypt.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39We don't know when they were found in the crypt.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44They've been passed on to the museum who look after them for us at the moment.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Let's look at them in a little bit of detail and talk about them.
0:21:47 > 0:21:55They're both Civil War items from the English Civil War, this is what is called a mortuary hilted
0:21:55 > 0:22:01back sword. It's called mortuary hilt because if you look at the hilt here,
0:22:01 > 0:22:05- you see it's got masks. I don't know if you can see.- Yes.- Just there.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09That's supposed to represent the severed head of King Charles.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13- How nice(!)- And that's why it's called a mortuary hilted sword.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17What interests me about this however, is that I think this composition -
0:22:17 > 0:22:19I think this has been put together.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24Now this hasn't been put together 400 years ago, 300 years ago, this has actually been put together,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28- I suspect, in the last 50 to 80 years.- Really?
0:22:28 > 0:22:31But it's still a nice object and it's an early object
0:22:31 > 0:22:33and it's certainly mid-17th century.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Let's go to the musket next
0:22:36 > 0:22:40because actually this is more interesting.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Although this is scarce, this sword is rare, the musket itself
0:22:43 > 0:22:45is as rare as hen's teeth.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50This is called a dog lock and it's a dog-lock musket
0:22:50 > 0:22:53from the Civil War period, and they're incredibly scarce.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56- Really?- They are incredibly scarce.
0:22:56 > 0:22:57They would have been used.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00These are objects of war - they would have been used
0:23:00 > 0:23:05in battle I suspect. You mention six militia men who were here during the Civil War.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10In theory, there's no reason to suspect that they weren't using
0:23:10 > 0:23:13these very weapons that were found in the crypt.
0:23:13 > 0:23:19But cathedrals were used for many things, and what was the cathedral used for during that Civil War?
0:23:19 > 0:23:24It would be nice if we had a film, a documentary of what was happening but we know, for instance,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28that horses were stabled here during the Civil War. Some people have said that's in the crypt
0:23:28 > 0:23:31but I suspect they might have been in the nave.
0:23:31 > 0:23:38- Now, as a matter of interest, you've got them in the museum, do they have them insured?- They do.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41OK, they need to have them insured for quite a substantial amount.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Are you going to tell me how much?
0:23:43 > 0:23:49Well, I saw three or four muskets like this selling at auction last year, made a lot of money.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52- So let's start with the sword.- Mmm.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57The sword you should insure for £3,000.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59The musket...
0:23:59 > 0:24:02you should insure for
0:24:02 > 0:24:07- £10,000 to £11,000.- Right, well...
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- These are nice objects. - Very nice objects.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12- I hope the museum looks after them well.- I hope they do,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16especially in the light of what I now know.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21A rather battered box, what have you been doing to it?
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Well, that's how it came to us.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29I think what it did, it came out of Russia and then it was moved to France,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33miles up in the Alps, but it lived in a wardrobe
0:24:33 > 0:24:38under a load of shoe boxes because the person that owned it then felt
0:24:38 > 0:24:41nobody would take the shoes and they wouldn't find the box.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45- So there aren't any shoes in there? - No shoes in there, have a look.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47OK. And, of course,
0:24:47 > 0:24:52what you've got is this fantastic fitted flatware service.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57Not its original case. So when did it come out of Russia?
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Well, I guess sort of, you know the Revolution time
0:25:01 > 0:25:05- I'm thinking, I don't know.- Ah, now, we've got a clue here
0:25:05 > 0:25:09because if you look on the box itself, the box says,
0:25:09 > 0:25:10- "Savory and Sons".- Yes.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15Now, Savory's were a very important London firm
0:25:15 > 0:25:19that ended in the late 19th century.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22So it has to have come out of Russia before the Revolution.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- Right, OK.- So we're looking at the Victorian period.- Right.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30But it is quite an amazing service.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34It's not unusual to come across Russian spoons like this.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37It's a particularly good Russian spoon
0:25:37 > 0:25:41because we've got this decoration here which is known as niello work.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42Yes.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47Basically what they did was to carve the surface
0:25:47 > 0:25:51with that decoration. What you see as black was carved out.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Then they put the niello powder on the surface
0:25:54 > 0:25:58and they fired that in, but the whole surface then would be black.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02- OK.- Then they rubbed it back
0:26:02 > 0:26:05until they got to the original surface
0:26:05 > 0:26:07and that left the black as an infill.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11So let's have a look and see just what date we're looking at, 1837.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14It's earlier than I thought, mmm.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Yeah 1837 and we've got there the mark for Moscow
0:26:18 > 0:26:20which is Saint George and the dragon,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24- because Saint George was the patron saint of Moscow.- Yes.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27And we've got really everything going on here.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30These knives are interesting as well.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33We've got the same decorative scheme
0:26:33 > 0:26:37- but that is not a Russian blade.- Oh.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41And what you see there is "Savory"
0:26:41 > 0:26:45so they were re-bladed when they came to England.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Why would that have been?
0:26:48 > 0:26:52- Probably because the original knife blades were already worn out.- OK.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Does that detract from the quality, the fact that they've been re-bladed?
0:26:55 > 0:26:59Not really, so many knives are re-bladed at some stage.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02I mean, clearly, it would be that much nicer if they were
0:27:02 > 0:27:06the absolutely original knife, but to get Russian knives like this, is so unusual.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09So what a service.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Now it's an extraordinarily difficult set to value
0:27:13 > 0:27:17because odd spoons do come on the market.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22I cannot remember a set like this ever coming on the market,
0:27:22 > 0:27:27- but of course the Russian market is a very good market at the moment.- Yes.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30A lot of money in Russia - well, certain individuals -
0:27:30 > 0:27:34and, of course, they absolutely love and want
0:27:34 > 0:27:38pieces like this. I mean, this is absolutely right for the market.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42I would not be surprised, and this is a guesstimate,
0:27:42 > 0:27:47- that this might sell for about £15,000...- Really?
0:27:47 > 0:27:50- ..because of the Russian market. - The Russian market.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Paul, Rochester Cathedral
0:27:54 > 0:27:57is becoming the spiritual home of the Antiques Roadshow
0:27:57 > 0:28:00with so many people claiming connections, but yours is impressive.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I think I can claim the best one ever.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09We're actually descended from his brother,
0:28:09 > 0:28:13so it's co-lateral, not quite, but it's a pretty good claim I think.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16- Bishop of Rochester?- Yep. Well, he was actually quite a guy.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19He was born in the 1660s.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21He was a cleric all his life.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25He became Bishop of Rochester in 1714.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29The trouble was, after that, he became Dean of Westminster
0:28:29 > 0:28:32and then he got into trouble, as you might say, by backing the wrong side.
0:28:32 > 0:28:38He became a Jacobite, or he'd always been a Jacobite, and he was seen as a rebellious cleric.
0:28:38 > 0:28:44When George I came to the throne, he was actually sentenced to death for saying the wrong things
0:28:44 > 0:28:50and was exiled to France, where he died. So he simply made a bad choice at a certain point
0:28:50 > 0:28:54and whether I've inherited those traits I don't know.
0:28:54 > 0:29:00- You've certainly inherited something - very noble hooter of the Atterburys there.- Oh, the big conk?
0:29:00 > 0:29:03- Let's be honest about it. - The Atterbury hooter, very distinguished.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07Yes. He's, in a sense, my only claim to fame
0:29:07 > 0:29:09because when I was a child,
0:29:09 > 0:29:15we were often taken to Atterbury Street in London by my grandmother which is beside the Tate Gallery,
0:29:15 > 0:29:19and she always used to say "that street is named after your..."
0:29:19 > 0:29:22however many great-great-great uncle it was,
0:29:22 > 0:29:26and so there are photographs of me standing beside Atterbury Street sign,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29my children standing beside Atterbury Street, the sign,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32and so it goes on.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35CHOIR: # Away in a manger... #
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Rochester's Cathedral Choir have been in fine voice this weekend
0:29:39 > 0:29:42and where better to celebrate the coming of Christmas
0:29:42 > 0:29:47than the place where Charles Dickens drew inspiration for his heart-warming novels -
0:29:47 > 0:29:51as full of convivial and sprightly characters as any Antiques Roadshow.
0:29:51 > 0:29:58With that, let's wallow in seasonal nostalgia as we welcome the cheerful ghosts of programmes past.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01He was my father's, who was born in 1907
0:30:01 > 0:30:07and he's been looking after our Christmas trees, as a family, for 90 years.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09- How wonderful. - So every single year he...
0:30:09 > 0:30:12- And was he used this Christmas? - This last Christmas, yes.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Lovely, well he's got his little Christmas tree here
0:30:15 > 0:30:20and he's dressed in what would have been a bright red coat.
0:30:20 > 0:30:26- Maybe in the folds you can see it's a little bit brighter...- Yes, yes.- ..than what it's faded to now.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29The first Christmas card was invented by a man called Henry Cole
0:30:29 > 0:30:33in England, and I think it was 1849, late 1840s.
0:30:33 > 0:30:38And so all the nonsense we go through, the rituals today, are part of our Victorian legacy
0:30:38 > 0:30:40and the cards like this, I think,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43are a wonderful mirror of what the Victorians thought about it.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Particularly desirable are these ones
0:30:46 > 0:30:50with pierced paperwork, fantastically complicated in their technology.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54What fascinates me, though, is his head because what we have here
0:30:54 > 0:31:01is a bisque head which one associates with pretty smiling attractive dolls
0:31:01 > 0:31:04- of the period.- Yes. - But this is anything but.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07He's got a very pointed nose,
0:31:07 > 0:31:12he's got lines here on the bridge of his nose, he's wrinkled,
0:31:12 > 0:31:14he's obviously an old man
0:31:14 > 0:31:18and that makes it really quite an interesting doll.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23Now, these are the most desirable sort because here we have a church saying "Happy Christmas".
0:31:23 > 0:31:25And what you do, is,
0:31:25 > 0:31:29you pull the ribbon, and it animates - it all comes to life.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33And there inside is the church, the stained glass,
0:31:33 > 0:31:38and inside the children praying, as a wonderful image of Christmas.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42Now, of course, in collector terms they're not particularly desirable,
0:31:42 > 0:31:46I mean they range from £5 to £15 but that's completely irrelevant.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50- Yes.- For once we're not talking about money. For the total album it might be £200, £300, £400
0:31:50 > 0:31:54but it's not the money, it's what it represents about Victorian life.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59And Santa Claus, as a figure, is actually very widely collected
0:31:59 > 0:32:06- and a little figure like this could easily realise between £800 and £1,200.- No!
0:32:06 > 0:32:09- And in the right sort of venue.- Yes.
0:32:09 > 0:32:14- I think next Christmas... - We'll keep him in a parcel rather than putting him on the tree.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21We have it hanging at Christmas.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23At Christmas?
0:32:23 > 0:32:26- Yes.- Just every Christmas I can remember, we just bring it out.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29- So you treat it like a Christmas decoration?- Yeah.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32It comes out with the decs at Christmas. I know.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35That's extraordinary. If I owned this, I'd want to look at it all the year round.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38How long have you had this?
0:32:38 > 0:32:40About 20 years I think.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43My husband actually bought it from a book dealer in Edinburgh.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48- Yes.- And when he died, his wife wrote to my husband to say
0:32:48 > 0:32:53how much they loved having it in their family, and we hope we get as much pleasure in our family.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58- It's obviously a watercolour that's charm generates that kind of personal interest, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02- I think so.- Yes, so do you know about the artist, Kate Greenaway?
0:33:02 > 0:33:07Um, a little yes, I know she was a Victorian watercolour and I think she...
0:33:07 > 0:33:09didn't she paint a lot of children?
0:33:09 > 0:33:11- Absolutely her thing.- Yes, yes.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14I just love that little detail of the child asleep
0:33:14 > 0:33:17and the way the light is falling on her, presumably moonlight...
0:33:17 > 0:33:23just caught the features of her face and her lovely eyelashes, it's beautifully done.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27- Yes, it is, isn't it?- It's really sweet and I find it interesting that
0:33:27 > 0:33:32- it was bought from a book dealer because it's possible that this was a book illustration.- Right.
0:33:32 > 0:33:37And then again it occurred to me that it might even have been a design for a Christmas card.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40- Yes. Well, we actually had a Christmas card made.- For yourself?
0:33:40 > 0:33:43- For ourselves, and sent it out. - Such a good idea.
0:33:43 > 0:33:49- In my opinion, it's worth at least £6,000 to £8,000.- Right.- Gosh.
0:33:49 > 0:33:50Yes, that's amazing.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03Now, according to this piece of paper
0:34:03 > 0:34:08it says "Wine glass of first Emperor Napoleon...
0:34:19 > 0:34:22And if we look inside we find...
0:34:24 > 0:34:28..that, which looks to me
0:34:28 > 0:34:30precisely
0:34:30 > 0:34:34like a Napoleonic wine glass. So what's the story?
0:34:34 > 0:34:40The only thing that I know about it is that my father had it
0:34:40 > 0:34:43and when he died it passed on to me,
0:34:43 > 0:34:49but I've tried to find out about this inscription and had no success at all.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53- Right, you don't know where he got it?- No, I have no idea at all
0:34:53 > 0:34:56- where he got it from. - So he wasn't a friend of Napoleon's? - I don't think so.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58- Slight age problem there.- Yes.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Well, let's look at the evidence here, what have we got before us?
0:35:02 > 0:35:05We have precisely Napoleon's cipher.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09- That's what it looked like, that's absolutely correct.- Yes.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12We're talking about a piece of exactly the right form and date.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17We have a nice coin-disc foot, star-cut base.
0:35:17 > 0:35:23We have hexagon facets up the stem, solid bottom bowl.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27- Weighs a tonne, doesn't it? - It is quite heavy, yes. Heavy lead crystal. Yeah.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31What do you think a glass like that was used for?
0:35:31 > 0:35:36- You wouldn't drink out of that, would you?- No.- If I served you wine... - Wouldn't get enough in there.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39Not enough in it. So it was for toasting.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41- Oh, right.- So this glass
0:35:41 > 0:35:47conformed to the etiquette of the period which was that you didn't have the glasses on the table.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50You would toast to your neighbour. You'd say "cheers"...
0:35:52 > 0:35:56down the hatch and then the glass would leave the table, be refilled
0:35:56 > 0:36:01- and come back, that's why it's so small.- Same glass, mmm. Good.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05So I reckon that's a pretty hot bit of stuff and it's ironic is it not,
0:36:05 > 0:36:09that while Europe was blazed and was destroyed by Napoleon and his armies,
0:36:09 > 0:36:15his little wine glass, perhaps the most fragile thing around him, has survived to the present day!
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Brilliant.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22Value, I reckon that the auction estimate would start at £3,000
0:36:22 > 0:36:26and if it sailed past £5,000 I wouldn't be at all surprised.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29- That's very nice.- Isn't it just? - Very, very nice.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31What a nice man you are.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35Can't help it. Born like it, gal.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Well, I went to the verger after I saw you with this service
0:36:38 > 0:36:44and I asked him if we could borrow one of their candles and he's very, very kindly obliged.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49But before I get all romantic over the candle, you tell me about this tea service.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Well, I really want to know, we know a lot about it, but I've taken it
0:36:53 > 0:36:59- to one or two places and I wanted to know really where it was made.- Yeah.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03A name for it. We're more worried about the provenance than the value.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07Your provenance, your own family, you've been using this as a tea service.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11- No.- You haven't been using it? - It's on the wall on shelves.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13OK, because look, going through it individually
0:37:13 > 0:37:17piece by piece we've discovered that maybe 40% of the pieces
0:37:17 > 0:37:20are damaged or imperfect in some sort of way.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23- That's why we had it.- So somebody obviously enjoyed using it. - Way back.
0:37:23 > 0:37:30And maybe were a little bit rough with it. Maybe there wasn't enough light where they were using it.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34- Maybe.- Maybe they were working in candlelight and tallow light
0:37:34 > 0:37:37and so things got a bit chipped.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40- Possibly, yes. - Do you know how old the service is?
0:37:40 > 0:37:47No, I know the man, John, um, Sleigh, we've chased him back on our family tree
0:37:47 > 0:37:53- and he bought it, he didn't inherit it, and he was born in 1872.- OK.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55This is going to be earlier than that.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59This takes us back to the Regency, this is something you might see
0:38:00 > 0:38:05in one of those television dramas about young women, usually by Jane Austen.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09In the Regency period - we're talking about the early 19th century,
0:38:09 > 0:38:14the early 1800s - it became more and more popular to take tea,
0:38:14 > 0:38:19and one of the things that you would do is, especially with a service like this,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22you would take tea in the evenings
0:38:22 > 0:38:25when the light was low and when the candles came out.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30And this particular service really answers to and resonates
0:38:30 > 0:38:35- to that late Georgian desire for brilliance and sparkle.- Oh, really.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39You'll see there is absolutely tonnes of gilding on here,
0:38:39 > 0:38:42acres, I should say, and the whole reason is if you are...
0:38:42 > 0:38:45if you are taking tea by candlelight,
0:38:45 > 0:38:51then it really does show off in a way that the other colours don't.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54The essential idea of this is Japanese.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57These radiating semicircles and circles
0:38:57 > 0:39:02- are what the Japanese would recognise as heraldic devices called "mon".- Oh.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07Here the English have made it all their own, this is English porcelain. We turn it over...
0:39:07 > 0:39:12you can see that characteristic dark blue...rather soapy texture.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14But no markings.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19- No marks. I've been through every single piece.- No.- We've got this stippling on the foot rim,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21that's also quite characteristic.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25So we know it's English from the actual colour of the paste.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27I think this is by a Coalport factory.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31- Coalport.- Yeah, and of course you know the name.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Coalport's one of the great names of English porcelain.
0:39:34 > 0:39:40It's absolutely typical of what they did. This would have been a very expensive service when it was new,
0:39:40 > 0:39:47in around the 1820s. This would be state of the art, very expensive, high fashion, high taste.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52I know that you're not interested in the value but antiques do go up and down with time, with fashion,
0:39:52 > 0:39:59- and today you could probably buy a service like this for under £1,000 at auction.- Mmm.- Yeah.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04- So I think it's a superb service and I'm thrilled that...- We do.
0:40:04 > 0:40:09- ..the verger let us use one of his candles.- Yes.- I think we'll offer a little prayer
0:40:09 > 0:40:12to the verger, and thank you for bringing this huge service in.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15Thank you for all that information, Lars.
0:40:17 > 0:40:23I can't believe that two such diverse pictures have been brought in by one person today.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26Now, how come you've got these two very different pictures?
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Well, my dear uncle, a retired GP in Bristol,
0:40:29 > 0:40:34it's been his lifelong hobby collecting antiques and particularly paintings.
0:40:34 > 0:40:40He goes to the big auction rooms and purchases and, er, gets catalogues of things.
0:40:40 > 0:40:45He's down-sized from a bungalow to a flat and he just lives in a room.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49Every time we've been very fortunate that he's allowed us to choose
0:40:49 > 0:40:53maybe what we like, if he doesn't want them to be put up in his room.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57This one is in memory of my grandma who died in 1977
0:40:57 > 0:41:02and this was one of them that's always been on the wall which I really rather like.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06The first one up here is really interesting because in fact it's Dutch.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08- Yes.- It's 17th century.
0:41:08 > 0:41:13It's by an artist, or attributed to an artist, called Van Brekelenkan.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15I'd catalogue this as "circle of this artist".
0:41:15 > 0:41:20In the 17th century, the Dutch were very, very keen on doing interior scenes.
0:41:20 > 0:41:26You can look at Ostade and Teniers, you know, wonderful detail. This is quite good -
0:41:26 > 0:41:28very good detail on here.
0:41:28 > 0:41:29But it is a bit thin
0:41:29 > 0:41:33and it's thin because it's had over-cleaning at some time
0:41:33 > 0:41:38and also it's had the split in the panel, but it's a nice painting.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42When we come down to the bottom here and we've got a 20th century picture.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45- Yes, yes.- And it is signed
0:41:45 > 0:41:50- by Munnings, 1908.- Mmm.- And I'll just tell you about Munnings.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Munnings is actually one of the favourite artists of mine.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58- Oh.- He is very famous for painting horses, he was an equestrian artist later on in life.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01He was born in 1878.
0:42:01 > 0:42:07This is 1908 and it would have been painted when he was 30 years old.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12- Oh.- But really lively painting and you look at the way that he gets the blossom on the tree.- Yeah.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15And just a few brush strokes to get the water, really positive.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18And, you know, when he was very young,
0:42:18 > 0:42:24he started off working for Colman's Mustard doing the design for their cans. Yes, I've seen
0:42:24 > 0:42:27some of the original designs and then... He was a genius really.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31In the early 1900s painting like this and becomes very famous for his horse paintings
0:42:31 > 0:42:36in the '20s and '30s. He actually became President of the Royal Academy
0:42:36 > 0:42:42and gave a very famous speech in the '50s where he derided modern art and he was not a popular man.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45- Oh, right.- But this is fantastic.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47We have to come to values now.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51I hate talking about values because it's such a nice picture. But the top one here...
0:42:51 > 0:42:56- Yes.- ..um, I think today if one had this as attributed to Brekelenkam
0:42:56 > 0:42:58I would say...
0:42:58 > 0:43:05somewhere in the region of, er, £3,000 to £5,000.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09The one down here is absolutely sensational.
0:43:09 > 0:43:15- I know that this is worth £20,000 to £30,000.- No!
0:43:15 > 0:43:18- I thought the top one would be the expensive one.- Wow.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21And having told you that, it could even go on more
0:43:21 > 0:43:26and make £30,000 to £35,000. It's a really lovely picture.
0:43:26 > 0:43:27He would just be so thrilled
0:43:27 > 0:43:33to know that... He bought it in memory of his mum and he'd be so thrilled.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39A day of delightful discoveries
0:43:39 > 0:43:41including some extraordinary personal links
0:43:41 > 0:43:45between the Roadshow team and Rochester Cathedral.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49Relatives have included one dean, one canon, one verger
0:43:49 > 0:43:52and assorted members of the choir.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55My own father was born just down the road in Chatham
0:43:55 > 0:43:56but he never achieved high office
0:43:56 > 0:43:58and he wasn't much of a singer either.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01Many thanks to everyone who's joined us today,
0:44:01 > 0:44:03and from Rochester in Kent, goodbye.