0:00:05 > 0:00:11This week, our location has to be our most dramatic setting in this series.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Nestled near to this rugged coastline is our venue for this week's Roadshow,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16and it's a bit of a find.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21Hartland Abbey in North Devon, about 15 miles from Bude,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24is one of those rare stately homes that's still a home.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27In almost 1,000 years, it's never been sold so,
0:00:27 > 0:00:34not only is it a stunning building, it's also Roadshow heaven, stuffed full of objects with tales to tell.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow, from the point where Devon meets Cornwall.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40BELL RINGS
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Hartland Abbey.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26It may not be on the most visited list of Britain's great houses,
0:01:26 > 0:01:32but it's one of those places that lures you inside with a promise of tantalising stories.
0:01:32 > 0:01:39Today, the Stucleys are guardians to its hundreds of years of family history.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Whether it's the people in the recent photos,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43or in the ancient family portraits,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47it's clear that every member of the family has made their mark,
0:01:47 > 0:01:53particularly this one, Sir George Stucley. He was MP for Barnstaple in the 19th century
0:01:53 > 0:01:58and he commissioned an ambitious Gothic makeover of the house.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02He commissioned George Gilbert Scott, architect of St Pancras Station,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06to design this incredible Alhambra passageway.
0:02:06 > 0:02:13But, living with an ancestor's taste in interior decoration, can be a mixed blessing.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Sir George modelled this room on the House of Lords.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22But, by the 20th century, it was all felt to be a bit gloomy,
0:02:22 > 0:02:27so someone decided at some point to put wallpaper on the ceilings and the walls.
0:02:27 > 0:02:33It was only when the current owner stripped away the old paper these fascinating murals were discovered,
0:02:33 > 0:02:39depicting significant moments in history at which the Stucley family were apparently present,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42like the landing of William the Conqueror, for example.
0:02:43 > 0:02:49'The magic of somewhere like this is, you never know what might turn up.'
0:02:49 > 0:02:54Hm. Portraits of the Poltimores.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57That name sounds familiar.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01These are some of the ancestors of our very own picture specialist Mark Poltimore,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04who's related to the Stucleys of Hartland.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07In fact, he used to holiday here as a child,
0:03:07 > 0:03:12so it's only fair that he has opening honours on today's show.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Well, how wonderful to be in North Devon and to see a picture
0:03:16 > 0:03:21of probably one of the most famous villages in North Devon, Clovelly,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25which is clearly depicted here. What's your connection with Clovelly?
0:03:25 > 0:03:29My family used to have a long association with the ownership of the village of Clovelly,
0:03:29 > 0:03:34and this painting is done by Walter Fane who was my great great grandfather's brother.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38So the whole thing is absolutely heaped in family history?
0:03:38 > 0:03:39That's right.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Both the village and the artist. Tell me about Walter Fane?
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Walter's day job was a soldier.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49He was born in 1828, and then he joined the army.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53And wherever there was a spot of bother in the Empire, he went out there.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- So he quelled...- He was in India, I think, wasn't he?- That's right.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01- But did he actually live in Clovelly?- No. He was born in Lincolnshire.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04How come is he painting Clovelly? Was he on holiday?
0:04:04 > 0:04:09Like people of taste and distinction, he came down to North Devon for his holidays and he painted that.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15So here we have distinguished soldier, painting the most beautiful oil painting.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18That's quite something to undertake.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21So he's full of confidence, so much so he's signed it twice,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24on the left-hand side, and the right-hand side.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30Tell me more about the village here because, has it changed much over the last hundred odd years?
0:04:30 > 0:04:37- The roof line of the Red Lion has changed slightly, following renovation eight years ago.- Right.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42But otherwise, it's exactly the same. We have a lime kiln here. Crazy Kate's Cottage.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Crazy Kate's Cottage? Tell me about Crazy Kate.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Kate was the wife of a fisherman.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52- And when she saw her husband drowning, it turned her mind, unfortunately.- I'm not surprised.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57It's a memorial to her, but it's known as Crazy Kate's Cottage.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02And then these wonderful cliffs, rising 300 or 400 feet above the village.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05- So, have you ever had it valued? - No, I haven't.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11- Well, I would say something like this was worth between £7,000 and £10,000.- Yeah.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12I think it's a fantastic view.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24Daily news reports, daily newspapers, and now the internet. They've seen off the barometer.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27It's not something we find practical any more really around the home.
0:05:27 > 0:05:28We know what's going to happen,
0:05:28 > 0:05:32probably the day before we experience the weather of the day.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Why on Earth do you have this? Do you still use it?
0:05:34 > 0:05:40Well, I do, to a point, I have to say, but it's been very much a family piece, and I love the Art Deco.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43And it's just got a lovely form and shape.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46It has, I think it's that, that's the real appeal here. Where did you get it?
0:05:46 > 0:05:50- Did you buy it because it was a stylish piece?- No, very much not.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53My grandmother, who is from Cornwall actually, gave it to me as a gift.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57And her sister owned a jewellery shop in Cornwall.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01And I believe it used to be left in the window of the jewellery shop
0:06:01 > 0:06:06and possibly used as a marketing tool, to lure people in to see what the weather might be doing.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10That's great! But the greatest thing about it, is the style.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15- As you rightly say, it just screams Art Deco style.- Absolutely.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20Use of chrome, very geometric lines, and of course this stepped base here.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26- All sort of suggestive of skyscraper, speed and the machine. Just a wonderful looker.- Yes.
0:06:26 > 0:06:34- For that reason, I could easily see somebody looking at £350, £400 for it.- Yeah, wonderful, yeah, super.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38- It's a lovely piece, and something I'd like to display in my home. - Yes, yes, well you're not going to!
0:06:38 > 0:06:42- Enjoy it, in that case. - I will do, thank you. - Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Mm! Well, there can't be a much better way to start the day
0:06:52 > 0:06:54than with a spoonful of cream.
0:06:54 > 0:07:00- It's fantastic!- It's not just cream, it's clotted cream. Devonshire clotted cream.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03We've always made it. I was born and bred here.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- You and your family have been involved in making clotted cream for generations?- Oh, yes.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09We were all brought up on cream.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Is this what the clotted cream would have been sold in?
0:07:12 > 0:07:18Well, clotted cream, there's various forms of selling the cream. This was for general...
0:07:18 > 0:07:24Back in the late 1800s, this was how it would have been sold from the local dairies and nationally.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27This pot would have been made in the middle of the 19th century
0:07:27 > 0:07:34when they were able to make pots mechanically because, up until this time they were handmade.
0:07:34 > 0:07:40So you had a pot that was a regular size, so you knew exactly the amount of cream you were going to get.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- Yes, that's right. - But I love this one.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49It says: "Cream is recommended for children and invalids."
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Now this is not quite the sort of information that we would be giving these days, is it?
0:07:53 > 0:07:59- Oh, cream's very healthy! Some people say it's fattening, but it's not. - I couldn't have guessed!
0:08:00 > 0:08:04So, tell me about this bowl in the front here?
0:08:04 > 0:08:08The other things what I've brought you. The milk is put into bowls, similar to this.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Then it's settled for 12 hours, and gently heated for 20 minutes
0:08:13 > 0:08:18until you get the right scud on the top, or scud, or head, whichever you like.
0:08:18 > 0:08:24Then it's put into a cool place for another 24 hours to let the head rise.
0:08:24 > 0:08:30- Then you dip it off with a skimmer and put it in those. - So this is a dairy pan?- Yes.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Not just a dairy pan, this is a dairy pan with connections,
0:08:35 > 0:08:40because this is the coronet of a viscount.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44- Oh, I didn't know.- So this pan... - That's what I want to know, yes, right.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48This pan, made by Mintons in the Edwardian period,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52was for an aristocratic family, household,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55in their own personal dairy.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58And, to show that, it has this viscount's coronet on it.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02So it is a stately cream pan.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- Very good.- Oh, I've come up market, then!
0:09:06 > 0:09:08And this fantastic pail.
0:09:08 > 0:09:14A pottery body, with a brass cover,
0:09:14 > 0:09:20made of earthenware, by Malings, which was a very successful pottery in Newcastle.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24It dates from about 1910.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29They became successful on the back of being able to make mechanical cream jars.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32They put the money they made from making those
0:09:32 > 0:09:35into producing much more decorative wares.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39This one would have been on a counter of a shop,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and the customer would come in with their jug
0:09:42 > 0:09:46- and the shopkeeper then would dip out their milk.- And pour it into the jug.
0:09:46 > 0:09:52- Proportionately you see, that one is a pint, that's a half pint. You get various sizes.- Aren't they wonderful?
0:09:52 > 0:09:59- And they hook inside there.- And so that just stood on the grocer's counter all day to keep it fresh.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03- That's right, yes.- Well, it's a most beautiful object.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06I suppose we need to think about values.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13This cream pan by Mintons has been elevated from the every day
0:10:13 > 0:10:16just by the addition of the coronet.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20I would put that somewhere around £500.
0:10:20 > 0:10:26The spoon, because they always got broken, is very much a collector's item
0:10:26 > 0:10:30and I would say £200 to £300 for the spoon.
0:10:30 > 0:10:38But of course, the piece de resistance is this fantastic Maling milk pail.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39Beautiful condition.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Where are you ever going to find another one?
0:10:42 > 0:10:48I think I would expect to have to pay somewhere in the region of £6,000.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52HE CHUCKLES
0:10:52 > 0:10:57Ah, that's a very... I didn't think you'd put it so much as that, to be quite honest.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59You've made me worth a bit more.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06- Not at first sight a particularly interesting object.- No.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- Just a sort of brown stick.- Yes.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Do you like your brown stick?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15I like it because it was my brother's godmother's,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- so it gives me a memory of her. - Right. Did she give it to you?
0:11:18 > 0:11:24No. When she died, the executor of her will gave me the chance to choose something
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- because I'd helped look after her. - Right.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30And that was always on the table in her drawing room,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- so it made me think of her. - Very good.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36We've got here a lotus bud.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Ah, I wondered what it was.
0:11:40 > 0:11:47So, which religion is associated with the lotus?
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Oh, dear, um.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- Would that be Buddhism?- It would, it would.- Oh, gosh.
0:11:52 > 0:11:58- The Buddha is nearly always shown on a lotus throne.- Oh, really?
0:11:58 > 0:12:05- It's made of an Oriental rosewood around the middle of the 19th century.- Yes.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Extraordinary technical skill
0:12:09 > 0:12:16to get all these runnels carved at exactly the right distance apart,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19not running into one another,
0:12:19 > 0:12:24and ending in very fine inscribed lines.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- It's a technical tour de force, this.- Oh, really?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Although it doesn't look like anything very exciting.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34It becomes more exciting when you take the front off,
0:12:34 > 0:12:40and inside you've got a grotto with swirling clouds.
0:12:40 > 0:12:47You've got inlay in mother of pearl and gold, with a deity. I don't know which one he is.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51It's a thoroughly beautiful object.
0:12:51 > 0:12:58- Its only drawback is this was originally hinged.- Yes. You can see it's broken.- It's broken, yeah.
0:12:58 > 0:13:04It would be possible to get it fixed but I don't know that I would bother, really.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09- I think this is a small devotional object for one man.- Oh, really?
0:13:09 > 0:13:14And he would probably carry this around Japan when he was on his travels.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Which they all did at that time.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19And he would carry this with him, open it up
0:13:19 > 0:13:23and he would pray to his god, and then close it up again.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Well, it was a very nice thing to be left, I think.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34How much would one have to pay to own an object like that?
0:13:34 > 0:13:40- Getting on for £1,000.- My goodness! Such a little thing, good heavens!
0:13:41 > 0:13:45- It's a rarity.- Oh, it is, oh, thank you.- It's a rarity, yeah.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00You know the game by now. Paul Atterbury has set us a little challenge.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05Here are three postcards. One, a basic postcard worth a couple of quid.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10One, rather more significant in value, £50.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15And then one is worth £100, which is a fantastic price for a postcard.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19I've no idea which is which but, have a look, try and work it out.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22In the meantime I'll ask our visitors, see if they can help.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- Do you collect postcards? - No, I don't.- Right.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Basic, £2. Better, about £50.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- Best about £100.- Right. - Which do you think is which?
0:14:40 > 0:14:41And the best is there.
0:14:41 > 0:14:47This style of thing is very popular. If it's popular, people presumably will pay for it.
0:14:50 > 0:14:51It was this.
0:14:55 > 0:15:01It's very unusual. I've seen postcards of these before, and that one. But I've never seen that before,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05- and I'm getting on a bit!- Madam!
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Basic, better, best.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10There can't be many of them around like that.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14- Can I swap those two?- Oh, you want to change your mind? OK, hang on.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Well, lapis lazuli.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23It's called lapis lazuli because it means
0:15:23 > 0:15:25"the stone of the midnight sky".
0:15:25 > 0:15:28I don't think anything could be more poetic than that, could it?
0:15:28 > 0:15:32- Was that one of the reasons you were drawn to it?- My husband and I went to an auction in Exeter,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36and it was obviously quite near to my birthday.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41We saw the bangle and thought just how beautiful it was. We both like jewellery.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45- Jewellery-buying husbands are incredibly rare, so you'd better keep him on, I think.- I will.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- Almost non-existent, especially ones who get it right.- Yes.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52The shape of it is actually a very ancient shape,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56it's a torc-shaped bracelet. Look at this illusion at least of pure gold.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59It probably isn't made of pure gold but it wants to give that effect.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04It's a shape that derives from the ancient world, from Greek jewellery, and also Celtic jewellery.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09It's interesting because the maker of this object was very interested in the past.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14In the 19th century, there was a supreme lack of self-confidence about design, and they thought
0:16:14 > 0:16:16if they looked to their antecedents,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20that somehow everything that they did would be honourable and worthy.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24So Greek and Roman jewellery was a source,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Renaissance jewellery a source, Assyrian jewellery was a source.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31And the greatest exponent of that style in London perhaps
0:16:31 > 0:16:34was a man called Robert Phillips.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37He had a tiny premises just south of Trafalgar Square
0:16:37 > 0:16:41which was the venue of the contemporary elite, the intellectual elite,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45the aristocratic elite, the royal elite. Queen Victoria was a customer.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51And this bracelet, presumably made in the 1870s, comes from the finest point of Phillips' career.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56- And it's thrilling to see it. - It's just a very beautiful piece, it's lovely to wear.
0:16:56 > 0:17:02It's a stunning combination of colours, isn't it? The stone of the midnight sky, buttery yellow gold.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06The surface of this jewel has been enhanced to make it look as if it's pure gold,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09because the torc itself in antiquity would simply open by bending it.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13You'd simply tear it open and put it on your arm and leave it there.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18- But this is actually beautiful engineering as well.- Superb, yes. - Hinged and sprung.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22We know that it's by Robert Phillips because there's a little signature here
0:17:22 > 0:17:29which is a trademark really, to alert me and others to the fact this is a very, very distinguished maker.
0:17:29 > 0:17:36He was one of the few jewellers that turned the jewellery world, the goldsmiths' world, round in London.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40And took it from what was really quite banal and mass produced, into high art.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- Are you going to put it on your wrist?- Yes, yes.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47I think so, and look at that. And opens and closes.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52- It turns you into Helen of Troy, something like that, do you think? - Not quite sure.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56- What does it feel like?- It just feels so glamorous actually, yes, wonderful.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01- And it increases your pulse a bit when you see that?- Yes, it does, and my husband's, I hope.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Yes, indeed, absolutely.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06This is the sort of jewellery that's very widely collected.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09It's the focus of a great deal of academic study at the moment.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13So, in every possible way, this is a deeply enviable object. As we can see, everyone's looking at it.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16With that comes quite high value.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21This could fetch £8,000.
0:18:21 > 0:18:27In a wildly impulsive moment, in the right kind of sale, it might go as high as £10,000.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32- I think it would take a great deal more than £10,000 to get that off your wrist.- Absolutely.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- It's never going to leave, is it? - Thank you so much. - Isn't it marvellous?
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Well, it's windy, it's looking a bit stormy, good for surfing?
0:18:41 > 0:18:45In certain locations here, there's a couple of sheltered bays you could go to.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49- I bet there's a secret surf spot. - There is, but I'm not telling you, or anybody else.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- You could tell me and then you'd have to kill me.- Yeah, I would.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56So let's talk about surfing in the area. I mean,
0:18:56 > 0:19:00presumably Newquay is the centre for UK surfing?
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Yes, definitely in England, definitely.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06- And have you always been a surfer? Are you a Newquay boy? - No, definitely not.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10I moved from a city to North Devon 18 years ago.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13And why didn't you get any new boards?
0:19:13 > 0:19:17I did to begin with. Then, a couple of years after starting surfing,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20I was out surfing and I'd seen someone riding an old board.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25And the way he rode it just looked nicer than new boards, and that was the start of it really.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Let's wind back the clock a bit. Because surfing,
0:19:29 > 0:19:36- unlike Australia or California, which had a sort of Hawaiian influence, didn't it?- Yeah.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41- Surfing started here rather differently. It started really with body boards.- Yeah.
0:19:41 > 0:19:47There's pictures from the 1920s of people riding these, obviously prone, lying down.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49That continued, still continues.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53There's a world championships in Cornwall every year riding these, no wet suits.
0:19:53 > 0:19:59- You need to be a hardy, hardy animal to be doing that in the Cornish waters.- Yes, definitely.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03So, we've got represented here, boards from the '60s and the '70s
0:20:03 > 0:20:07- and obviously the- '50s. Pre, yeah. '40s, '50s, these.
0:20:07 > 0:20:13The bigger boards tend to be from '63, '64, up to '67
0:20:13 > 0:20:17when we had the transitional boards which are these ones. Slighter shorter.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Bigger fins on them. Then they went to the even shorter boards.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23It basically just follows the fashion.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26I'm just back from Australia and like to think I'm a surfing expert.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Of course you're going to show how little I know!
0:20:30 > 0:20:35So, the development of surfing in Newquay really didn't start until the '60s, did it?
0:20:35 > 0:20:39No, Doug Wilson and Bill Bailey, the lifeguards,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43and they were using like a hollow plywood board, a kind of rudimentary surfing.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48And an American turned up with a fibreglass board and sold it to them when he left.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50And suddenly the light bulb went on.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Four Australians came with another board,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55and they got together and basically started Bilbo.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58So it was from there, for 20 years
0:20:58 > 0:21:03- they were making 50, 70 boards a week.- Which is going some.- Yeah.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Now, as far as prices are concerned,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11I know that an absolutely spectacular board
0:21:11 > 0:21:15went for a world record price of US 220,000,
0:21:15 > 0:21:20- and that was a couple of years ago. I guess you're not paying that money for these?- No, definitely.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24- The American and Hawaiian markets are a different ball game altogether. - Yeah, yeah.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29- So you're paying what, £200, £300, that sort of figure?- I've paid £3 for this one at a car-boot sale,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33and I've paid £400 for one of the bigger boards.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38- I have a feeling, after today, you may not be able to get another one for £3, I'm afraid.- That's right.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- But the others, yes, are in the hundreds.- Yeah.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Fabulous collection, thanks very much indeed.
0:21:44 > 0:21:50- And I'll find out where that secret beach of yours is.- I'll tell you off camera.- Off camera, OK.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53- It'll just be yours and my secret. - Yeah.- Brilliant.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56SPOOKY VOICE LAUGHS: Wipe out!
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Here you are boss, deal done.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Many collectors...
0:22:06 > 0:22:08The wind is moving the ship to the left and right.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10HE LAUGHS
0:22:17 > 0:22:21I reckon this is a really nice, lovely early piece of glass,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and I'm just dying for you to tell me how you know it.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27We found it when we cleared my great aunt's house,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29who was living in Gibraltar.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31And we found it in an understairs cupboard, locked up,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- wrapped in newspapers. - Just this piece?
0:22:34 > 0:22:35Along with other pieces.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39There are three like this and about 15 to 20 other pieces of...
0:22:39 > 0:22:41- 15 to 20 others?- Yeah.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46Great. So you arrive at the house, the cupboard's locked, then what?
0:22:46 > 0:22:48We tried to find a key, so we found an old key box
0:22:48 > 0:22:51and in there were all sorts of keys. As we went in,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54we opened the door and there was a treasure trove of things,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57all sorts of things wrapped up in newspaper,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59and as we went further in, we found this collection.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01- How big is this staircase? - Pretty big.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03- So a Narnia?- Yes.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07It's quite plain for Spanish glass.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11You know, the Spanish are known for fairly ebullient taste.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Over-the-top by English standards.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17We like it conservative and kind of Yorkshire pud-like,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21and this is a bit too Yorkshire pud to be on show in a grand house,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23so what we're looking at, I think,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27is a rustic object, so it's glass with a function.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30You actually kept stuff in it.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34You know, it is wonky-donkey but I do love these handles.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37I think they look like, you know, ears...
0:23:37 > 0:23:40You know, with these tiny ribbons, the way they come round.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44There's not a scratch on it and if you think that's late 17th,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47early 18th century, how about that for condition?
0:23:47 > 0:23:53Well, I think on a valuation, this one is worth £2,000.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57So if we multiply £2,000 by 25,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00my maths isn't good, but that's £50,000!
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Wow, wow.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05There is one thing that I might point out,
0:24:05 > 0:24:09is that down where we live we've got some stuff called washing-up liquid.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10SHE LAUGHS
0:24:12 > 0:24:15And I tell you, this could do with a little lick because...
0:24:15 > 0:24:19- The dust is protecting it.- I reckon you can fill a hoover bag off this.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21LAUGHTER
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Paul Atterbury, you set us quite a challenge with these postcards,
0:24:34 > 0:24:35I have to tell you.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38One worth about £2, wasn't it? Another worth 50 and another,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41what was to me an astonishingly high figure, £100.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44I didn't know you could get postcards worth £100.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49I've had a bit of a go... Basic, better, best, I reckon.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52We see so many postcards.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56The postcard is the sort of e-mail, the Twitter of its time.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58A few words, just a message, off it goes.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02And people sent them in millions and millions and millions.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Postcards were a big thing from the early 1900s.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09They're mostly just souvenirs but the ones I've picked here,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11all tell different stories.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Go on, then, put me out of my misery. How does this work?
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Well, you may be a great postcard writer,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20but you're not a great postcard picker, I have to say.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22OK, we'll start at the bottom. Basic.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Right. Why?
0:25:26 > 0:25:28This is a very pleasant picture
0:25:28 > 0:25:31of some ladies in smart tea gowns on a train
0:25:31 > 0:25:33travelling to Liverpool to catch a ship.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Good story, nice colour.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38It's early 1900s.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41It was issued by a railway company to promote their services
0:25:41 > 0:25:43and it exists in huge quantities.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It's part of a series, people collect those series
0:25:46 > 0:25:49but it's not a rare card, so that's the basic.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50Better...
0:25:50 > 0:25:55- is that one.- I've got it completely wrong!- I'm afraid you have.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Oh, goodness! OK, so this... When I touch this and I could feel...
0:25:58 > 0:26:00I wondered if it might be hand-painted.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02You're nearly right. This is what's called...
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Printed by a posh wire process which is a French process
0:26:06 > 0:26:09of the '20s and '30s which is like hand-applied stencils.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12It's hand-printed but not hand-painted.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16And a great category for collectors is signed artist cards.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19This is by an Italian called Giuseppe Meschini,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21and it's a classic Art Deco image.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23It's one of a series, he's famous for these.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25It's like a fashion shot.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28It's wonderful in its printing, its colours.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31It is a hand-crafted object but in a large quantity.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34- Therefore it's only worth about £50. - Only. But it's still £50 pounds.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Which brings us to the one
0:26:36 > 0:26:39I thought was the most basic and you say it's the best.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42- Is that because it is of a specific event?- Yep.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44In 1913 for the first and only time,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47motor racing was held on Weymouth Beach.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52And that is a photograph of that July event in 1913.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55It was taken by a famous local photographer called Seward,
0:26:55 > 0:27:00who did hundreds of Weymouth views, most of which went into postcards.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02It just so happens that this one,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05that may be the only one that survives.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It was a small issue at the time.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11The event came and passed very quickly, it's all over in a day.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13And there wasn't one in 1914, so the story ends.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17And so this photograph of a Benz motor car sitting on the sands
0:27:17 > 0:27:20in Weymouth is incredibly rare,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and so that is at least £100.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25It looks dull, but it's the story it tells.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28I must say, it didn't catch MY eye,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30but £100 is an amazing figure for a postcard.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Are there postcards worth more than £100?
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Yes. £100 is not a lot.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38There are postcards worth many hundreds of pounds.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40In America, for example,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44early shots, by which I mean 1900 shots, of baseball teams
0:27:44 > 0:27:45can fetch 1,000,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49- and the world record for a postcard is £31,700...- Wow!
0:27:49 > 0:27:52- ..set in 2002. - And what was that of?
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Well, it's 1840.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Someone did a drawing, put a stamp and address on the back and sent it,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00and it's right at the beginning of postal history
0:28:00 > 0:28:02and it's the first postcard.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05I don't collect them but I'll show you something.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Here's a slightly different postcard.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09And this is the sort of thing I would collect.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Miss Pullen.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Yeah, it's an address, it's blank. There is a picture.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17It's a topographical scene of no particular interest.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Why do I like that? Look at the stamp.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23It's sideways.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- That...- What makes THAT so special? - There's a whole language of stamps.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28He doesn't need to write a message.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32What that stamp means sideways is "I'm longing to see you".
0:28:32 > 0:28:35It's a love message and there's a whole...
0:28:35 > 0:28:37- Isn't that amazing? - ..story of postcards
0:28:37 > 0:28:40where what is not said is what is important,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43and everybody knew that, so she got that and thought,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45"Ah, he loves me."
0:28:45 > 0:28:47That's all that matters. He didn't need to say a word.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50- You old romantic. - Ah. It's a postcard. That's my bit.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53You learn something every day on this programme.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55If you've got postcards at home and you want to find out
0:28:55 > 0:29:00a bit more about them, why don't you have a look at our website.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03And if you've got some postcards, bring them along to a programme.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05We'd love to see them.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12It's a jolly good-looking gentleman's watch,
0:29:12 > 0:29:13so obviously not yours.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17No, it belonged to my husband's grandfather.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19- Right. - Family came from India.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24- Which explains the retailer. Walters & Co of Calcutta.- Yes.
0:29:25 > 0:29:26It's a lovely thing.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30I really like it. I'm going to take it off its strap.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34What do you think is unusual about that?
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Well, obviously the little...
0:29:38 > 0:29:41- Exactly.- ..cover for the winder. - Absolutely right.- Yes.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46And we can unscrew that and access the winding crown there.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50Some would say a possible start of an early waterproof watch.
0:29:51 > 0:29:56I don't know from the dial who made it.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Let's have a look if there's any possibility of finding out inside.
0:29:59 > 0:30:00It's a screw back.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07The movement is lovely, lovely quality.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Lever escapement,
0:30:09 > 0:30:12damascene nickel movement, Swiss throughout,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16but not signed by anybody and no factory mark of any sort.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18The case, I see there,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22is very nicely hallmarked in 14-carat gold.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28There were various strange wrist watches
0:30:28 > 0:30:30that seemed to start life
0:30:30 > 0:30:32in the Indian market.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35The West End Watch Co had Swiss products
0:30:35 > 0:30:38that were retailed in Calcutta.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Also in waterproof-type cases.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44In that instance, they tended to be made by people like Longines
0:30:44 > 0:30:47and shipped out to the Indian market.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51And this is an item, frankly, that is really quite scarce.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56The date - round about 1920.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59All the luminous paint is still on there.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02When do you last recall it being used?
0:31:02 > 0:31:05- Never.- Never! - It's been in the drawer.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Oh, what a shame.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09So nobody... You haven't seen anybody wear it at all?
0:31:09 > 0:31:10No. No, I haven't.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Well, the reason it's in such great condition
0:31:14 > 0:31:16is it HAS sat in the drawer for all those years.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18I love it!
0:31:18 > 0:31:21There's a great interest in early wrist watches,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24particularly wrist watches of this sort,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27and the condition is all-important.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29- It's mint.- Wow!
0:31:29 > 0:31:33Well, I'm sure most wrist watch jewellers would very happily pay
0:31:33 > 0:31:38a minimum of £1,500 to £2,000 for it.
0:31:38 > 0:31:39Well, that's lovely.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42It would've been an expensive thing new.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44- Yes, yes.- I love it.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50The garnets on this Reliquary are blazing red,
0:31:50 > 0:31:53and they're blazing red because it's a reminder of the fact
0:31:53 > 0:31:55that this is a relic of the true cross
0:31:55 > 0:31:57and it's a reminder of Christ's blood.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59It's an object of veneration. Tell me about it with you?
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Well, it's been in the family for quite a long time.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05It was given to a member of the family,
0:32:05 > 0:32:07I suppose about 100 years ago.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10And it was supposed to have been passed down
0:32:10 > 0:32:13by Sir Thomas More through that family.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17It's a most marvellous relic indeed and although it's not impossible
0:32:17 > 0:32:20that the relic within came from Saint Thomas More,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23we can actually rule out the fact that it's any earlier
0:32:23 > 0:32:26- than the mid-19th century. - Oh, really.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31It is a supreme example of exuberant Neo-Gothic design
0:32:31 > 0:32:35perfectly suited to contain a relic of what is presumed to be
0:32:35 > 0:32:37a relic of the true cross
0:32:37 > 0:32:39and somebody venerated and believed in it,
0:32:39 > 0:32:41- and that's what really counts.- Yes.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43So do you feel a little bit about that
0:32:43 > 0:32:45when you heard about it or not?
0:32:45 > 0:32:48- I didn't really think it was probably quite as old as I'd been told.- No.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51But, you know, it meant a lot to my grandmother,
0:32:51 > 0:32:53- who was an ardent Catholic.- Yes.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56When we were children and anything special was happening,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59or when we went away, she would make us kneel down in front of this
0:32:59 > 0:33:04- and kiss it, to make sure that we were safe.- Wonderful.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07I think all this is very, very fascinating
0:33:07 > 0:33:09and the great cliche about relics of the true cross
0:33:09 > 0:33:12is that they proliferate to the extent where it's said that
0:33:12 > 0:33:15you could build a boat with them as there are so many
0:33:15 > 0:33:18and amongst them perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, some are genuine.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20It would be lovely to think that.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24But the thing about relics is, it's not their authenticity that matters,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27it's the history of their veneration which is so deeply fascinating.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30There's been an exhibition at the British Museum of relics,
0:33:30 > 0:33:32and people have come in profusion to see that.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Enormous number of people have visited it,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38and it's interesting that you refer to Saint Thomas More
0:33:38 > 0:33:40because he is a late saint,
0:33:40 > 0:33:43and the idea that he should own fragments of the true cross
0:33:43 > 0:33:44is very, very captivating.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Perhaps somebody believed in that and then commissioned
0:33:47 > 0:33:52a silversmith or jeweller in the mid-19th century to contain that.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55The craftsmanship of the object itself is very redolent
0:33:55 > 0:33:59of John Hardman Powell, who was a manufacturer in Birmingham
0:33:59 > 0:34:01who worked for Pugin and for William Burgess
0:34:01 > 0:34:04and it is somewhat of a Gothic fantasy
0:34:04 > 0:34:08and we're in the most embarrassing position of having to value it.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13And I think it's utterly absurd to try to value it as a true relic
0:34:13 > 0:34:16because it would be almost heresy to do that,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19so we'll just put that aside completely
0:34:19 > 0:34:23and try to value it as a piece of 19th-century decorative arts,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26and I feel in a way that somebody would be very pleased
0:34:26 > 0:34:31to give £2,000, maybe £3,000 for it, if it found the right place.
0:34:31 > 0:34:32Gosh, that's very nice, I must say.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34But the right place is with you, isn't it?
0:34:34 > 0:34:36It is. And then with my children.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Yes. I envy you. I think it's marvellous.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46What a stunning little object.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49A model of Brighton Pavilion.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52I think it's a piece of tourist ware.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55When Brighton Pavilion was first built,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59nobody had seen anything quite like it, with its turrets...
0:34:59 > 0:35:04So in the early 1800s when Prince Regent was visiting Brighton,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07this sort of tourist ware was there on sale.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12It would date from about the early 1800s. Did you buy it?
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Nearly 30 years ago, and I was offered three objects.
0:35:16 > 0:35:22This and a similar, little unscrewable thing, a wooden thing,
0:35:22 > 0:35:25and a piece of glass, I think, out of a washboard. I don't know why
0:35:25 > 0:35:27but they insisted I had to have all three.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29They said, "No, that's it, three of those."
0:35:29 > 0:35:32- So the price you paid? - £21 for the three.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36- £21, what a bizarre figure. - It was a lot of money then.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38So, what is it?
0:35:38 > 0:35:42I didn't know when I bought it, but if you unscrew the top...
0:35:44 > 0:35:51- ..off it comes and here is a grater which is loose...- How brilliant!
0:35:51 > 0:35:53..so we'll take him off...
0:35:53 > 0:35:57and that piece and then... squeaky noise.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00- Perfect.- And there...- Is the nutmeg.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04- ..is a piece of nutmeg. - So, it's a treen spice tower.- Right.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09- The grater sits at the top.- Indeed. - The gratings fall down
0:36:09 > 0:36:12into compartment number two and the storage compartment
0:36:12 > 0:36:15- is compartment number three.- Yes.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17That really is a most fantastic little thing.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22This would have had this slightly treacly-coloured glaze over it.
0:36:22 > 0:36:27So the foundation is a simple wood, a local wood.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31It could have been beech, a soft wood, which would have been turned,
0:36:31 > 0:36:35then it would have had some sort of base layer of paint,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39then it would have been decorated on the top and then varnished.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43Of course, over time, these were used, they were novelties,
0:36:43 > 0:36:47they were in the kitchen, but they were decorative ornaments as well,
0:36:47 > 0:36:51so the varnish has gone. However, to me, the appeal of it is
0:36:51 > 0:36:57- that it just sings old kitchen, life, food...- Yes.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02Nutmeg was a fantastic spice because it could be used
0:37:02 > 0:37:06for puddings as well, fruit... It was being used all the time.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Grated on scrambled eggs, whatever you want,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12- and kept in the thing so it would keep it fresh.- Yes.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16Your little jewel is worth...
0:37:18 > 0:37:21..£3,000.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23THEY GASP
0:37:23 > 0:37:25No, you can't be right.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Have you any more at home like this?
0:37:27 > 0:37:29THEY LAUGH
0:37:29 > 0:37:32No, I'm afraid I haven't. I wish I had, I wish I had.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41So we've got these two notebooks with quite sort of boyish writing.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46- Who is. . ?- That was my brother, 15-years-old...- Right.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- About 1944, 45 and I was ten-years-old.- Right.
0:37:49 > 0:37:54- He was writing these notes every day during that period...- During the war?
0:37:54 > 0:37:58..of every plane that he saw going over the house or round about.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01- In Reading, this was.- Right. - So he was noting it down.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05- Fantastic, and even drawing them on occasions.- Yeah, all on his own.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09- English planes going away...- Yes, the bombing raids.- Rather than
0:38:09 > 0:38:12German planes coming over us, he was noting us going to them.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16It's a great bit here. One night, "about 250 to 300 Halifaxes
0:38:16 > 0:38:18"and a few Lancasters,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21"flying south east." I mean, that's a lot of planes.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25Just after the bombing raids. And there's another one in there,
0:38:25 > 0:38:29850 Lancasters accompanied by a Liberator
0:38:29 > 0:38:31going to bomb Cologne.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35But he would have only known that the following day when the reports...
0:38:35 > 0:38:38He counted all these Lancasters going out.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42- There is one extraordinary entry in here.- There is.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44Friday, December 15th, 1944
0:38:44 > 0:38:49and he notes in the afternoon that a Norseman was going east, south east.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52Well, a Norseman is an American military transport plane.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56- Now, Glen Miller... the famous American...- Band leader, yeah.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01- ..musician, flew out of England... - On that day, on this day here.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04As far as we understand, there was only one Norseman
0:39:04 > 0:39:07that flew that day, so your big brother is standing in Reading,
0:39:07 > 0:39:11- "Oh, look, there's a Norseman." Had no idea of the significance.- No.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13And then the next day, Glen Miller is gone.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- Disappeared in the Channel. - So that's the very plane.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19In 1969, he read in the newspaper that that's the day...
0:39:19 > 0:39:20and he put the two together.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22How extraordinary is that?
0:39:22 > 0:39:25I'm emotional when you think, crumbs, that can't be.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30Puts you completely in touch with a well known moment in history.
0:39:30 > 0:39:31Yes, it does.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33And those are the only two books you've got?
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Yeah, only two books, yeah.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39So, what are they worth? I suppose they might make...
0:39:39 > 0:39:43- the best part of £1,000 at auction. - Oh, that's...
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Yeah, emotional and fascinating and poignant, the whole thing is.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57So, we've got a pin cushion, some samples of cloth and scissors.
0:39:57 > 0:39:58So we know he's a tailor,
0:39:58 > 0:40:02but an extraordinary depiction, riding on a goat.
0:40:02 > 0:40:07- What's the family history?- Well, he belonged to my great grandfather.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11I don't know how... where he got it from, but he used to be
0:40:11 > 0:40:14a Sandon of Savile Row who were quite famous tailors.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Oh, right. Namesakes of ours but a tailoring firm.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19They were a tailoring firm, yes.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23And the window of the firm had a black velvet covering to it,
0:40:23 > 0:40:25and just this standing in the middle of it.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29- Oh, well it's a very appropriate thing to advertise a tailor's ware...- Absolutely.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33..because, of course, this is perhaps one of the most famous tailors of all.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38- We have here Count Bruhl's tailor. - That's right, yes.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Count Bruhl was the wealthiest man in Saxony
0:40:40 > 0:40:43and was famous for his lavish banquets.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45And the story goes that on one occasion
0:40:45 > 0:40:49he wanted a very special set of clothes made for an upcoming banquet,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52and he said to his tailor that,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55"If you can make them in time and really well, you can have anything you want."
0:40:55 > 0:40:59And the clothes were duly delivered and the tailor said,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01"Well, yes, I'd like my reward, please."
0:41:01 > 0:41:04He asked for an invitation to come to the banquet himself,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07to attend the fantastic banquet.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11And this was an astonishing thing for a humble tailor to ask of poor Count Bruhl,
0:41:11 > 0:41:18and it was unheard of for a tailor to come to the lavish court of Augustus and Bruhl.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22So, as a result, the Count says, "Well, I'll see what I can do."
0:41:22 > 0:41:24But Count Bruhl owned the Meissen porcelain factory
0:41:24 > 0:41:27and he had a word with the modeller there, Kaendler,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30and says, "Can you make a model of my tailor on a goat,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33"so that then we can have him on our table,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36"so he sits at the king's table, at the banquet."
0:41:36 > 0:41:38But not really there, just in porcelain.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43- So here we have the Meissen porcelain version of Count Bruhl's tailor.- Right.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46Sitting at the banquet in all his finery.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49And this is the sort of clothes... I don't know...
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Did Sandons of Savile Row make suits like that?
0:41:53 > 0:41:58No, they didn't. They made uniforms, army uniforms, I think.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Here we've got the most splendid costume,
0:42:00 > 0:42:05all of it decorated in gold, but they're making fun of the poor chap.
0:42:05 > 0:42:06They put him on a goat,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09which rather sort of suggests his more lowly origins,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12but pretending to be a fine gentleman.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16These were made in several sizes, normally they're little ones.
0:42:16 > 0:42:21- Right.- But this the jolly big full size. And really quite wonderful.
0:42:21 > 0:42:26- I mean we're looking here, an example from the 1840s, that sort of time.- Right.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31When this particular subject was particularly popular in Britain.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33You see far more of the Count Bruhl's tailors in England
0:42:33 > 0:42:36- than you do in Germany. - Oh, right.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40But they're rarely in as good a shape as this.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43- Stuck in the window where it was, I guess it was looked after.- Yes.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47Because I can just see a tip of a horn missing here but...
0:42:47 > 0:42:49- That happened during the war.- Oh.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52My mother used to put velvet cushions on top of him,
0:42:52 > 0:42:58so that the bombs wouldn't get at it, and one day she broke the horn.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01Well, it's actually quite an expensive chap, nowadays.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06I suppose a good large size Count Bruhl's tailor...
0:43:06 > 0:43:08- £12,000. - GASPS
0:43:10 > 0:43:15SHE GIGGLES All right, that's very nice to know, yes.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19- It's lovely to meet him and to meet a namesake.- Yes, yes.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21Of all the things we've seen at the Roadshow,
0:43:21 > 0:43:24I never thought I'd see a collection of surf boards,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27let alone hear that the most valuable surf board ever
0:43:27 > 0:43:31was US220,000, my goodness.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34But I suppose we are in the part of Devon famous for its surfing.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Very close to the beach and in this kind of weather,
0:43:37 > 0:43:38who wouldn't want to surf?
0:43:38 > 0:43:41From the Antiques Roadshow in Hartland Abbey,
0:43:41 > 0:43:43until next time, bye-bye.