Wentworth Woodhouse 2 Antiques Roadshow


Wentworth Woodhouse 2

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# Gloria... #

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It's fair to say we like to hold our Roadshow days

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at grand stately homes,

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and today's venue near Rotherham is no exception.

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Look at it. Gorgeous.

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But this is nothing - wait till you see the other side.

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This is Wentworth Woodhouse

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with the longest facade of any grand house

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between here and Istanbul.

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It's twice as long as Buckingham Palace

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and we're here for a return visit.

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Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow from South Yorkshire.

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Completed in 1760,

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Wentworth Woodhouse has long been

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one of the great country houses of Europe.

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It was once home to the Fitzwilliams,

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a powerful aristocratic family that included a Prime Minister.

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But since the end of the Second World War,

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Wentworth has been in decline.

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Worst of all, parts of the house have started sinking.

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Take a look at these doors here,

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particularly the door handles.

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See how this one is lower than this one?

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The cause is said to be

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the very substance that made the Fitzwilliam family

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one of the richest in Victorian England -

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coal.

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It drove the steam engines of the Industrial Revolution

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and Wentworth sat on the richest coal seam in Yorkshire.

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Thousands of miners worked deep underground

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for the Fitzwilliams.

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But after the Second World War, Britain needed rebuilding

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and there was a shortage of coal.

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So the Minister for Fuel and Power, Manny Shinwell,

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ordered the Wentworth grounds to be dug up for open-cast mining,

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a move seen by many as class warfare.

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The land was ripped up all the way to the edge of the drive here,

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leaving the house effectively marooned in a coal field.

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The house survived the digging and blasting,

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but a year later, in 1947, the coal industry was nationalised.

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Overnight, the Fitzwilliam family was stripped

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of all its income from mining.

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This was the beginning of the end for Wentworth Woodhouse.

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In 1948, unable to afford the upkeep of this palatial home

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and crippled by death duties,

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the family sold off the contents.

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The building was then leased to the council as a PE college.

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The Fitzwilliams finally sold Wentworth Woodhouse in 1989.

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The current owners have done

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a lot of restoration on the house,

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but there's still an awful lot to go

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and they're just beginning to welcome people here on tours,

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so we're delighted today to invite the people of South Yorkshire here

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for the Antiques Roadshow.

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And remember, you can try your hand at being an expert

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by playing along with our valuation game.

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Press the red button on your remote control

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or use our app

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to see if you've got an eye for antiques.

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Well, from a crowded Roadshow queue into a crowd of Samurai.

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-Yes.

-Bringing us from dark Yorkshire

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to the brilliance of a bygone Japan.

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Tell me, what is the story of these two pieces?

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Well, from being a little girl,

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they were in my cousin's house - first cousin -

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and I always loved them, and she knew I loved them

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and she gave them to me before she passed away...

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-Uh-huh.

-..and asked me to safeguard them.

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-Well, we see a great deal of Japanese ceramics.

-Yes.

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And the irony of Satsuma ware -

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which is what both of these pieces belong to -

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is that on these pieces, we see ancient Japan,

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the traditional Japan of the Samurai,

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being depicted at a time when, in fact, Japan was going through

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a massive modernisation and transformation.

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So all of these fabulous gatherings of Samurai -

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my goodness, look at the...

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-Well, look at the hairdos on some of them.

-Yeah.

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-They've really stepped out into the Yorkshire Moors, haven't they, here?

-Yeah.

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And the painting is fantastic.

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The ability to get all of these figures into a great crowd,

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overlapping and still having a sense of space

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is legendary for the Japanese artists.

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If we turn it upside down, we see a lovely Satsuma mark.

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The Satsuma mon, this circular mon,

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incorporates the cross of the Satsuma family.

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The Satsuma families were actually Christian,

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which is why you get this circle with a cross in it.

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Now, I'm going to have a closer look at this figure.

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Um...do you have a favourite out of these two?

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I love this, because every time you look at it,

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-you see something different.

-Yes.

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But I love the serenity of that, I think...I think she's beautiful.

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Well, Japanese figures from this period

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are generally made of ivory.

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And Satsuma ware figures are much, much rarer.

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So vases we see a-plenty, but figures are much, much fewer.

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-Right.

-Again, she comes from a bygone era in Japan.

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These were both made right at the end of the 19th century.

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When looking at this, I immediately think of Madame Butterfly, you know?

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That was the sort of huge appeal, this sense of another period,

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which flooded into Europe.

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I think she is exquisite.

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Her dress is covered

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with these beautiful scattered autumnal leaves

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and fragments of brocade,

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and then she's wearing that beautiful bustle - or obi -

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at the back.

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And as you feel on both of these vases,

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the gold that they use in decorating this

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actually sits proud on the surface.

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So these are good things.

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Two pieces of Satsuma, late 19th century,

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a vase and a figure, both at the upper end of quality.

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Right.

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In terms of value, have you any idea?

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When I first inherited them, we had someone look at them,

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and he said somewhere about 400 for this one

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and probably about 250 for the lady.

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-That was how long ago?

-Three years?

-OK.

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I think the vase is extremely detailed,

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it's very high quality and I think, even today,

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-in today's market, which is middling...

-Right.

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..I would say that that's probably still capable of making

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-well over £1,000.

-Really?

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-Better than the figure you were given.

-That surprises me.

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-The figure...she is rather badly rubbed, you know.

-Yes.

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The gilding on the base has basically perished, more or less.

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-And I have to take that into account on valuation.

-Yes, of course.

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So I'm going to put a mere

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-£1,500 to £2,000.

-Really?

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-Yeah.

-Gosh, that's a surprise!

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So, together,

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it's going to be somewhere between £2,500 and £3,000.

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That's a real surprise!

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Now, I suppose it shouldn't surprise me,

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but here you've got a pretty table

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-and a man of the cloth, shall I say?

-Indeed.

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What brings you two together?

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I just love oak furniture, that is my passion.

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I like formal dining and it fits in with that

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because of the surprise element to it.

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As if by magic...

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-That is...

-CROWD: Ooh!

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SHE LAUGHS

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That is wonderful.

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It's to put the church collection plates on.

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LAUGHTER

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But it works like magic - suddenly, it's transformed

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into a completely different piece of furniture.

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These are familiar in the 18th century,

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made in mahogany and called dumb waiters.

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You're a bit of a man out of your time, though,

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because dining furniture is not exactly

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-the thing of the time, is it?

-That's right.

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Much to my family's chagrin,

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I trawl internet websites and auction sites,

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oak antique shop websites

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and I saw this some months ago.

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I managed to buy it.

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I snuck it into the house and I said to my wife,

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"Oh, that old thing? I've had it for years, dear."

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So, yes, I love the pollard oak.

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Because people think it's walnut - the grain is beautiful.

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-And it's beautiful and it's useful.

-Absolutely right.

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And do you use it as a dumb waiter?

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Yes, I love formal dining,

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so I've got oak furniture, oak dining furniture

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and I collect Victorian -

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anything to do with Victorian dining, I collect.

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And of course, all the three bits turn.

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-How magnificent.

-So you can just turn round to whatever you want.

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-And then at the end of the meal, you can just...

-You just...

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Just close it up for me.

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-That is magical, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's very interesting.

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I think that period in the early part of the 19th century,

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-they were passionate about metamorphic furniture.

-Yes.

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-So anything that could be changed into something else.

-Yes.

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And of course, also, gradually,

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that would help cope without servants

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or for a less wealthy class of people who didn't -

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or had perhaps one servant, and could lay this up.

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I think it's a lovely little thing

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and you could play with it for hours, really, couldn't you?

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Um...valuation.

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As I say, the brown furniture is not doing so well at the moment

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but I think something like this, because of all that it's got going -

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this lovely decorative top, the interest,

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the difference encapsulated in it...

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1,000 to 1,500?

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Well, that's very pleasing. I paid 700 for it.

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-Ah! Well.

-I thought I got a good bargain.

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The family, though, curse my brown furniture.

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I've a beautiful pollard oak sideboard,

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For years, I told the children, "Don't scratch it!"

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They said to me, "When you die, we'll bury you in that."

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I said, "That's fine, but when you lower me down,

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"don't scratch the sideboard".

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-LAUGHING:

-Wonderful!

-Thank you.

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"The Fitzwilliam Medal for Kindness."

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Now, what's that got to do with this chap?

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-Well, this gentleman's my grandfather.

-Right.

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He was born in 1886.

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And he went to work in the mines in Elsecar,

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although he lived in Wentworth,

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he went down and he was in charge of the pit ponies,

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helped care for the pit ponies.

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So how far away is that from where we are?

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-About a mile.

-Right, lovely.

-A mile, mile and a half.

-So it's very local.

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Did you actually meet him?

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Yes - my grandfather died when I was the age of seven,

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so I had seven happy years, you know -

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helping him in the allotment...

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I just remember this really kind gentleman.

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So wonderful that here,

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for kindness to pit ponies,

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he's receiving this medal from the Fitzwilliams

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in this amazing house that we've got here.

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-Very proud.

-I'm not surprised, I'm not surprised.

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And of course, here, what we've got is a tiny coal cart for the mines.

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You know, pit ponies...

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I mean, it's a thing we tend to think must be Victorian,

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but I can remember them when I was a child.

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-Right.

-They were still down the mines, particularly in Wales.

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-Yes.

-And there were societies to look after them.

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I've never seen one before. There can't be many of them around.

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I don't know of any more and my family don't know of any more.

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If we just flip him over,

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we've got the hallmarks there for 1904.

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-Oh, right.

-So does that tie in with when he...?

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-He would have been 18, wouldn't he?

-Yeah.

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Putting a value on, very difficult -

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there's no precedent for it that I can think of.

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But anybody interested in mining history,

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I mean, this has got to be one of the most extraordinary objects,

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-an extraordinarily rare object.

-Yes.

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Whether it's worth £100, £500,

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I have actually no idea.

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If I was going to have a stab at it,

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say 200, 250?

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It will never be for sale, never.

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It's my grandpa's medal and we're just so proud of it.

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Of course. That's exactly how it should be.

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These are lovely letters and notes, all the rest of it,

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written from Enid Blyton.

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Of course, this is her typical red-headed notepaper

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and it starts off, "Dear Girls,

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"thank you so much for your lovely letter."

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She then goes on and on and she says,

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-"Please thank Miss Hughes."

-Yes.

-So who was Miss Hughes?

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-Miss Hughes was a great aunt of ours.

-Yes.

-And she was a teacher.

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-At this school?

-At the Open Air School in Barnsley

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which was for children who had TB.

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So how did Enid Blyton get on to Miss Hughes?

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Or how did Miss Hughes get on to Enid Blyton?

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Miss Hughes must have written -

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we don't know if it was an exercise for the children

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-to write to Enid Blyton.

-Yes.

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And she replied to them.

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Well, you know, the funny thing about these

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is that they're all George VI postage stamps on them,

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-so they're all before Enid Blyton really became terribly famous.

-Oh.

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-This is pre-Noddy.

-Really? Oh!

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-So she wasn't terribly famous then.

-No.

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Do you know, this is very typical Enid Blyton.

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-She is so meticulous with her fans.

-Right.

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-She was good enough to write back to the children.

-Yes.

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She starts off, "My dear girls", as though she was writing generally.

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-In this one, "Dear Children".

-Yes.

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But I notice in this postcard here, she writes to "Dear John",

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and she's also sent here - which is, I think, incredibly good,

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because I've never seen these before -

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these two photographs here.

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One of herself, this is Enid Blyton

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sitting on her wishing well in her garden,

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and this is the house here - what is this house?

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-It's called The Old Thatch.

-The Old Thatch.

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We've got from the letter head there.

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"The Old Thatch, Bourne End, Bucks."

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And so these are of her

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and she's annotated those on the back...

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-Yes, she has.

-..which is absolutely lovely.

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And of course, she became so famous afterwards,

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-writing all those Noddy books.

-Yes.

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-And she's very collectable.

-Is she?

-Yes.

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-So, how much do you think that is?

-No...

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I reckon about £1,500.

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Oh, really?! Gosh!

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It's a lovely collection and it just shows you

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-what a lovely person she was.

-Yes.

-Yes.

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Fiona's mentioned that your organisation

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helped save this building -

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tell me about it.

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Um, in 1947, the Earl that was in residence died,

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and it was the third successive death that occurred in the family,

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which meant death duties were very heavy,

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and the sister of the 6th Earl, Lady Mabel Smith,

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came up with the idea

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that maybe a physical education college could be set up here.

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And the college was called?

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Lady Mabel College of Physical Education.

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Having been round the house and seen all the rooms,

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it's quite an amazing thing to think about,

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it being used for physical education.

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What was it like?

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Absolutely inspirational, wasn't it?

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-Yeah, lovely.

-Absolutely inspirational.

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You go in a room and you know that Pavlova danced for King George V,

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Yehudi Menuhin played, visitors to the house, kings, queens.

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-And you were a tutor here.

-I was a tutor, yes.

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-For how long?

-Almost 23 years.

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How many students did you have at any one time?

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It rose to 550. This was...

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We were constantly being urged to train more teachers

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because they were needed,

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but eventually of course, because of the lease,

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we couldn't expand, we couldn't build

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and so this is why we eventually had to amalgamate

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with Sheffield City Polytechnic

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and the building closed.

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So what was your feelings when it closed?

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Sadness, great sadness. It was such a great pity.

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To think of all these taking place in this magnificent building.

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Absolutely. We had assemblies in this room.

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This was the main dance area.

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And this was your memories of what you were wearing in those days.

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-Yes, indeed.

-All your equipment here.

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So you obviously do have very, very strong feelings for this.

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Absolutely. We meet once a year in the village

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with 100 plus students

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and we reminisce till the cows come home, literally.

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Well, it's wonderful to think that all this happened in this building.

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And as you say, a fantastic place to have a school.

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In terms of the valuation for something like this,

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it obviously means a tremendous amount to all of you

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and it's wonderful that it's being kept as an archive.

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For other people,

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it's not going to be worth a tremendous amount of money.

0:16:340:16:36

It's...you know, obviously,

0:16:360:16:38

-there's some sports memorabilia.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

0:16:380:16:40

It's going to be £100, something like that.

0:16:400:16:43

But I mean, for you...

0:16:430:16:45

Yes, it's priceless. It's priceless.

0:16:450:16:47

When I see a tray like this, I immediately look to the back.

0:16:530:16:56

I'm a bit disappointed

0:16:560:16:58

-because someone has put this hessian on there.

-Yes.

0:16:580:17:01

But it should have the name of one of the great tray makers -

0:17:010:17:05

Jennens and Bettridge or Henry Clay.

0:17:050:17:07

But when you turn it round...

0:17:070:17:09

..you know it's one of the greats.

0:17:100:17:12

The quality is just unbelievable. Tell me about it.

0:17:120:17:16

I came by it about ten years ago.

0:17:160:17:19

I bought a house.

0:17:190:17:21

The people who lived in the house were downsizing, they were retiring,

0:17:210:17:24

and they left quite a few bits of furniture

0:17:240:17:27

and odd paintings and things,

0:17:270:17:29

-and this was hung above the fireplace in the sitting room.

-Right.

0:17:290:17:33

And we just loved it.

0:17:330:17:34

It's a picture of Newton Chambers, Thorncliffe Works,

0:17:340:17:37

their old original iron works, when the company was founded,

0:17:370:17:40

which I think was in the late 1700s or early 1800s.

0:17:400:17:45

The house actually belonged to Newton Chambers,

0:17:450:17:47

it was one of their houses by the works,

0:17:470:17:49

-where the works is now.

-Oh, OK.

0:17:490:17:50

-It was owned by, I presume, someone from the company.

-Right.

0:17:500:17:55

I think it's oil, but I'm not sure

0:17:550:17:57

and really, that's as much as I know, other than that we love it.

0:17:570:18:00

It's the most beautiful thing, we think.

0:18:000:18:02

Oh, just stunning, and I can see why you love it,

0:18:020:18:05

and what you've found out is all bang-on -

0:18:050:18:07

I would date this to about 1815-1820,

0:18:070:18:11

-first quarter of the 19th century.

-Right.

0:18:110:18:13

And what's so great about it

0:18:130:18:15

is it just portrays a little snapshot of life at an iron works

0:18:150:18:19

in the early 19th century,

0:18:190:18:20

-which you just don't see on objects like this.

-Right.

0:18:200:18:23

Whoever had this tray made would have had this painting commissioned.

0:18:230:18:27

-Right.

-You'd have been pretty wealthy to afford it.

0:18:270:18:29

-It's in papier mache.

-Yes.

0:18:290:18:31

All hand painted, like you say, in oils.

0:18:310:18:33

-Its charm really is about how naive the painting is.

-I see.

0:18:330:18:37

-And that, to me, is...

-It's everyday working life.

0:18:370:18:40

Just...it's so lovely, it's so lovely.

0:18:400:18:42

And trays like this were made in centres

0:18:420:18:44

such as Birmingham and Wolverhampton,

0:18:440:18:46

that's where the majority of this type of tray was made.

0:18:460:18:49

-But I think this could have been painted locally.

-Right, right.

0:18:490:18:53

-Is it dirty? Does it need cleaning?

-It's...

0:18:530:18:56

To me, this is exactly how it should be.

0:18:560:18:59

It's got a little layer of dirt on it,

0:18:590:19:01

-probably where it's been hung over the fireplace.

-Yes.

0:19:010:19:03

I wouldn't touch it. As soon as you touch it,

0:19:030:19:05

they become too bright and they look over the top,

0:19:050:19:09

so I would leave it exactly as it is.

0:19:090:19:10

There's no signature on it just to know who...?

0:19:100:19:12

-You won't find a signature.

-No.

0:19:120:19:14

I think, at auction...

0:19:140:19:16

£3,000 to £5,000?

0:19:160:19:18

Thousand?

0:19:180:19:19

Thousand?!

0:19:200:19:21

Gosh! Well, I knew it was nice,

0:19:230:19:25

but I never thought of it being worth that sort of value.

0:19:250:19:28

Now, my gran had a mahogany sideboard just like this

0:19:310:19:34

and I'm sure viewers at home will just say, "Oh, I remember that",

0:19:340:19:38

because these were made, if not in thousands,

0:19:380:19:40

in tens of thousands.

0:19:400:19:42

-So as a piece of furniture, you know...they're not rare.

-No.

0:19:420:19:45

And who did it belong to?

0:19:450:19:47

Well, it belonged to my mother and father-in-law,

0:19:470:19:49

who were married in 1928

0:19:490:19:51

and they bought it in the first year of their marriage

0:19:510:19:54

to furnish the house.

0:19:540:19:55

-So we know exactly when it was made.

-Exactly so.

0:19:550:19:58

So a very standard piece of furniture,

0:19:580:20:00

but this is something different -

0:20:000:20:01

it metamorphises into something that's not just a sideboard.

0:20:010:20:04

-Exactly.

-And I think it all happens at your end.

0:20:040:20:07

-So it's a music centre.

-It is indeed - Lo-Fi!

0:20:100:20:13

Of course, my wife's known it all her life,

0:20:130:20:15

I've known it for over 50 years.

0:20:150:20:17

Our children love to hear it being played,

0:20:170:20:19

our grandchildren love to hear it being played

0:20:190:20:22

and we inherited it about 20-odd years ago and we love it.

0:20:220:20:26

What I also like about it is that it's in working condition.

0:20:260:20:29

But there's no volume control, is there?

0:20:290:20:31

No, there's no knob, but that's the volume control.

0:20:310:20:35

So that's loud, then you close it, and that's soft.

0:20:350:20:38

-Exactly, exactly.

-I love it.

0:20:380:20:40

And this is the hiss suppression system,

0:20:400:20:42

the Dolby - you close the lid!

0:20:420:20:44

Well, we know who made it,

0:20:440:20:46

there's the trade label on the front.

0:20:460:20:48

Did the records come with the gramophone?

0:20:480:20:50

Yes, the records are nearly all belonging

0:20:500:20:52

to my mother and father-in-law.

0:20:520:20:54

He was a Labour Party activist

0:20:540:20:57

and so some of the records we found are -

0:20:570:20:59

I didn't even know they existed - official Labour Party records,

0:20:590:21:03

and they're all very politically correct if you read the labels.

0:21:030:21:07

But we have one here, The Red Flag.

0:21:070:21:09

We'll certainly listen to that, but first of all...

0:21:090:21:12

It's not of any great value.

0:21:120:21:13

-No.

-But two reasons to actually retain things is sentimental -

0:21:130:21:16

and obviously, this belonged to your family - and fun.

0:21:160:21:19

You've got both - you've got something that's sentimental to you and your family

0:21:190:21:22

and it's certainly a fun object.

0:21:220:21:24

In value terms, we're talking maybe...

0:21:240:21:26

I don't know - £150, £200, maybe a bit more?

0:21:260:21:29

-But who cares?

-No.

-It works, it's fun.

0:21:290:21:31

-Let's listen to the music.

-Right, off with the brakes.

0:21:310:21:35

# The people's flag is deepest red

0:21:350:21:39

# It shrouded oft our martyr'd dead

0:21:390:21:43

# And 'ere their limbs grow stiff and cold

0:21:430:21:47

# Their hearts' blood dyed its ev'ry fold... #

0:21:470:21:50

So tell me,

0:21:510:21:53

what does the wheel,

0:21:530:21:57

the Archimedes screw,

0:21:570:22:00

and this bottle have in common?

0:22:000:22:02

I don't know.

0:22:020:22:03

They are perfect designs - they have never been bettered.

0:22:030:22:08

Nobody has come up - yet - with a better wheel.

0:22:080:22:11

-The round disc of a wheel works, it's unlikely to be threatened.

-Yes.

0:22:110:22:17

I live on the Romney Marsh in Kent

0:22:170:22:19

and Archimedes screws pull water uphill.

0:22:190:22:23

Archimedes, 4,000 years ago, never been beaten.

0:22:230:22:27

The cylindrical bottle, 1760 - it's never been bettered.

0:22:270:22:33

The glass making has improved, it's now a more refined object,

0:22:330:22:37

it's not so bumpy-wumpy as this one.

0:22:370:22:41

This is where it started.

0:22:410:22:43

This is one of the earliest bottles

0:22:430:22:45

that leads today to the standard wine bottle.

0:22:450:22:48

The first English bottle, a century earlier than this,

0:22:480:22:51

was almost round, a globe with a little spout on it,

0:22:510:22:55

-the English bottle.

-Yes.

0:22:550:22:57

But the round bottle had problems - how did you store your wine in it?

0:22:570:23:01

You had to keep a round bottle vertical,

0:23:010:23:04

because otherwise it would roll over.

0:23:040:23:06

You can stack 10,000 of these on top of one another

0:23:060:23:11

and they keep the cork wet.

0:23:110:23:13

If you get a dry cork, air gets in the wine,

0:23:140:23:17

-you have vinegar.

-Yes.

0:23:170:23:19

So what you have, really, is the birth of the future.

0:23:190:23:23

A major landmark in packaging history.

0:23:230:23:27

So, I've finished burbling, where does this one...

0:23:270:23:30

How do you know this one?

0:23:300:23:31

Actually, it came from Captain Vernon-Wentworth

0:23:310:23:34

at Stainborough Castle,

0:23:340:23:36

and Vernon-Wentworth was actually the cousin of the Earl Fitzwilliam

0:23:360:23:40

-who owned this property.

-OK.

0:23:400:23:42

And they were cousins.

0:23:420:23:43

-And a lady gave it to me who was in service to Captain Wentworth.

-Yes.

0:23:430:23:48

Well, we have his initial sealed onto the bottle

0:23:480:23:51

and it's as wild a kind of creation...

0:23:510:23:55

Look at the marks in it and all over the place!

0:23:550:23:57

But what we have is an important thing socially.

0:23:570:24:00

-Value, £200 to £300.

-Right.

0:24:000:24:04

No fortune, but boy, have I loved telling that story!

0:24:040:24:07

Yes, that's fabulous. Thank you very much.

0:24:070:24:10

Well, bearing in mind we're in the Marble Saloon,

0:24:140:24:16

I think it's rather appropriate

0:24:160:24:18

that you've brought along a white marble bust.

0:24:180:24:20

But not just any old bust -

0:24:200:24:22

first glances tell me this is not a Yorkshire lass.

0:24:220:24:24

How did this woman arrive in your life?

0:24:240:24:26

She arrived in my life, the late '70s,

0:24:260:24:29

maybe 35 years ago.

0:24:290:24:31

Going past a junk shop every morning

0:24:310:24:34

and I saw this one morning in the junk shop,

0:24:340:24:37

went in, offered £100

0:24:370:24:40

and I took it straightaway, took it out with me

0:24:400:24:42

and I've had it ever since.

0:24:420:24:44

I think she's absolutely lovely.

0:24:440:24:46

-I'm getting a love at first sight scenario.

-I think it was.

0:24:460:24:50

As soon as I saw it in the window.

0:24:500:24:51

It's the last thing I see at night

0:24:510:24:53

and the first thing I see in the morning.

0:24:530:24:55

Let's have a look at the girl herself.

0:24:550:24:56

She is a Baccante, she is a follower of Dionysus -

0:24:560:25:01

a religion that, you know, that actually endorsed

0:25:010:25:04

and encouraged revelry on a grand scale

0:25:040:25:08

and drinking to Olympic standards.

0:25:080:25:11

But the way it's been carved, it's a tour de force,

0:25:110:25:14

because you've only got to look at the complex carving

0:25:140:25:17

that's gone on here.

0:25:170:25:18

I mean, look - each one of those grapes, individually carved.

0:25:180:25:22

And this over her shoulder is like a lion's skin.

0:25:220:25:25

It's all in a name with sculpture

0:25:250:25:27

and the name's on the back and it says -

0:25:270:25:31

and I've got me specs on now because I've arrived at that age -

0:25:310:25:34

if I can turn it round,

0:25:340:25:36

it says here "A Carrier."

0:25:360:25:39

Have you done your homework?

0:25:390:25:41

-I've done a little bit, I've done a little bit of homework.

-Go on.

0:25:410:25:45

-French.

-Yeah.

-Mid 1800s.

-Yeah.

0:25:450:25:48

-Erm...came over here in 1850 to work for Minton.

-Correct.

0:25:480:25:54

And later changed his name after about 1867,

0:25:550:26:00

changed his name to Carrier-Belleuse.

0:26:000:26:02

-That's the man.

-So I think this is an earlier work.

0:26:020:26:06

He did come over to Minton, he was encouraged to come over

0:26:060:26:09

by a man called Leon Arnoux,

0:26:090:26:12

and Arnoux had been at Sevres.

0:26:120:26:14

And Minton's were very clever - they got Arnoux on board

0:26:140:26:16

and, you know, basically, he brought some great sculptors on board

0:26:160:26:20

and they made all that wonderful, you know, majolica.

0:26:200:26:23

And Belleuse - you know, Carrier-Belleuse -

0:26:230:26:26

did make for Minton.

0:26:260:26:27

And I know that he did a sculpture called Baccante in 1863.

0:26:270:26:33

There are a couple of things that are on the minus scale, OK?

0:26:330:26:37

One is, of course, you haven't got the original base.

0:26:370:26:40

-It was never there.

-It was never there.

0:26:400:26:42

You've been very clever insofar as you've had a piece turned,

0:26:420:26:46

it looks like burr wood

0:26:460:26:47

and it gives...it almost gives a marble effect.

0:26:470:26:49

The other thing is, unfortunately, over the years,

0:26:490:26:52

I think she's been kept outside and she's weathered.

0:26:520:26:55

From a collecting point of view, that's an important issue.

0:26:550:26:58

So she's quite matt - she almost looks like icing sugar

0:26:580:27:02

when she should have a nice, sort of, bloom to her.

0:27:020:27:05

But, having said all that, £100?

0:27:050:27:08

-£100, I paid.

-£100.

0:27:080:27:10

Bearing in mind the condition, I don't think you could buy this

0:27:100:27:13

for less than £2,500, maybe £3,000,

0:27:130:27:16

depending whether you're buying in Sheffield

0:27:160:27:18

or whether you're buying in Harrogate.

0:27:180:27:20

LAUGHING: I see! Yes, yes.

0:27:200:27:22

Well, that's fine - as I say, I wouldn't part with it,

0:27:220:27:24

no matter what it was worth.

0:27:240:27:26

If you said it was £100 or £100,000,

0:27:260:27:28

I still wouldn't part with it.

0:27:280:27:29

So I'm afraid it's going to stop with me.

0:27:290:27:32

I always think of these clocks

0:27:330:27:35

as being rather unusual,

0:27:350:27:37

and I tend to think of them as lighthouse clocks,

0:27:370:27:39

but actually, this is more of the town centre clock, isn't it?

0:27:390:27:42

-Yes, clock tower.

-And we have four dials, which is rather fun.

0:27:420:27:46

Is it something you bought?

0:27:460:27:47

No - it's been passed down to me from my grandfather,

0:27:470:27:50

through my mother.

0:27:500:27:51

He won it, he was a cross-country runner and he won the race

0:27:510:27:55

and so he was presented with a clock.

0:27:550:27:57

-That's a fairly generous present, actually.

-I think so, too!

0:27:570:28:00

When do you reckon he won the race?

0:28:000:28:02

We think it's about 1900.

0:28:020:28:04

That would pretty much fit in with the clock.

0:28:040:28:07

I think it's great -

0:28:070:28:09

you've got the typical, sort of, architectural brickwork,

0:28:090:28:11

we've got balustrading

0:28:110:28:12

and we have the four dials,

0:28:120:28:14

so it could be seen from all angles within a room.

0:28:140:28:18

-Where do you have it at home?

-In our downstairs bedroom.

0:28:180:28:21

-So people can't actually see each dial.

-No.

0:28:210:28:24

What it needs to be is on a centre table

0:28:240:28:26

-or a pedestal rather like this.

-Yes, that's right, yes.

0:28:260:28:29

You obviously have it running at home

0:28:290:28:30

-because it's in lovely condition.

-Yes.

0:28:300:28:32

And underneath, you've got a brass cover...

0:28:320:28:36

..to a lovely platform

0:28:370:28:39

and then the whole thing, the hands set here,

0:28:390:28:41

which turns - as you probably know - all the hands

0:28:410:28:45

and each dial turns as one

0:28:450:28:48

which is a good bit of gearing if nothing else.

0:28:480:28:50

-It's signed by Henry Marc...

-Right.

0:28:500:28:53

..who was a pretty prominent Frenchman

0:28:530:28:55

who made all sorts of good clocks,

0:28:550:28:57

carriage clocks and all sorts of things,

0:28:570:28:58

particularly at that time.

0:28:580:29:00

It's quite commercial these days

0:29:000:29:02

and I would have no hesitation in telling you that, at an auction,

0:29:020:29:06

it would fetch...ooh...

0:29:060:29:09

..£900 to £1,200.

0:29:110:29:13

-Oh, gosh! Thank you.

-Is that a lot more than you thought?

0:29:140:29:18

Absolutely, yes, yes.

0:29:180:29:20

It's the multi-dial that does it.

0:29:200:29:22

If it was single dial, it would be 250,

0:29:220:29:25

but it just makes it so much more interesting.

0:29:250:29:27

A very generous present.

0:29:270:29:29

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

0:29:290:29:31

The scale and elegance of Wentworth Woodhouse

0:29:340:29:36

makes it easy to admire,

0:29:360:29:39

but living in and looking after a vast house like this

0:29:390:29:42

is a mammoth undertaking.

0:29:420:29:45

It's a job that doesn't seem to faze current owner Clifford Newbold.

0:29:450:29:49

What possessed you, 13 years ago, to buy Wentworth Woodhouse?

0:29:490:29:53

The house with the longest facade in Europe.

0:29:530:29:56

Were you looking for a little country pile?

0:29:560:29:59

Well, I was looking for a small country house,

0:29:590:30:02

an historic house which did require a certain amount of restoration work

0:30:020:30:09

to be done on it, and quite small.

0:30:090:30:12

So what happened?

0:30:120:30:13

We were reading a Sunday newspaper and it was talking about this house

0:30:130:30:18

which was on the market, for sale,

0:30:180:30:22

and jokingly, the family said to me,

0:30:220:30:24

"Well, let's go and have a look at it".

0:30:240:30:26

We went over and the whole family fell in love with it.

0:30:260:30:30

The caretaker gave me a key

0:30:300:30:32

and I looked at it, and what was the key?

0:30:320:30:35

A little Yale key for a great big house like this.

0:30:350:30:40

And I thought that something was wrong.

0:30:400:30:43

Now how many of you, as a family, are living here in the house now?

0:30:430:30:47

It's my wife and two sons.

0:30:470:30:50

We've got the house split up into different sections,

0:30:500:30:54

and we've all got our own section.

0:30:540:30:55

Some of the rooms are in a state of considerable disrepair, aren't they?

0:30:550:30:58

-Yes, yes.

-So...

0:30:580:30:59

But we've concentrated on the principal rooms

0:30:590:31:03

to get them more into working order.

0:31:030:31:05

I hope you won't mind me saying -

0:31:050:31:07

you're 87 and you've taken on a pretty daunting task

0:31:070:31:11

at a time when many people might think about taking it a little bit easy.

0:31:110:31:15

Do you never wake up and think, "What have I done?"

0:31:150:31:18

No, no, no.

0:31:180:31:20

I'm perfectly happy, the family were behind me, I was behind it,

0:31:200:31:25

and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

0:31:250:31:29

But as a little end to the story I was telling

0:31:290:31:32

about receiving the key for the house -

0:31:320:31:35

I was searching round some rooms and found a box of keys

0:31:350:31:39

and I found this key.

0:31:390:31:42

And it's the key of the front door

0:31:430:31:47

and that key is basically 300 years old.

0:31:470:31:52

So now I've finally got the proper key of the front door.

0:31:520:31:56

-Thank you very much, and good luck.

-Thank you.

0:31:570:32:01

# Time on my hands

0:32:010:32:05

# You in my arms

0:32:050:32:09

# Nothing but love in view... #

0:32:090:32:16

Well, it's like being on board ship, here -

0:32:170:32:19

we're under a creaky tent in terrible conditions.

0:32:190:32:21

But you've brought me a family archive.

0:32:210:32:23

Tell me about it. Is it your family?

0:32:230:32:26

Yes, my grandmother's cousin was Alfred Lyndhurst Pocock.

0:32:260:32:30

He was a young artist with the Royal Academy

0:32:300:32:32

and he was working on the Victoria Memorial

0:32:320:32:35

outside Buckingham Palace

0:32:350:32:37

when the Queen wanted somebody to make some wax models

0:32:370:32:41

of some of the Sandringham animals that she wanted to have carved.

0:32:410:32:44

And he was recommended from the Royal Academy,

0:32:440:32:47

so he made the wax models for her.

0:32:470:32:49

Then he turned up the next day

0:32:490:32:52

with a couple of the pebbles he'd carved into animals

0:32:520:32:54

and she was so impressed

0:32:540:32:55

that she persuaded Faberge to take him on as a carver.

0:32:550:32:59

Well, this is one of the most spectacular commissions

0:32:590:33:01

the British royal family gave to Faberge

0:33:010:33:03

in the very early 20th century - 1905, 1906, 1907.

0:33:030:33:07

It was actually at the suggestion of Mrs Keppel, the King's friend,

0:33:070:33:11

and she suggested to the King

0:33:110:33:13

that he should have the farmyard animals

0:33:130:33:15

in the menagerie at Sandringham

0:33:150:33:18

sculpted by Faberge.

0:33:180:33:20

And this is very, very exciting stuff indeed.

0:33:200:33:22

Faberge came to Sandringham with his wax modellers

0:33:220:33:25

and they sculpted Queen Alexandra's pets and farmyard animals

0:33:250:33:30

and they were modelled in wax first, to make the composition free,

0:33:300:33:33

to make it real sculpture

0:33:330:33:34

and then given to the lapidary

0:33:340:33:36

for him to translate the wax model into stone

0:33:360:33:39

and that was the work of your predecessor.

0:33:390:33:41

Very exciting stuff.

0:33:410:33:42

And here we see Carl Faberge himself and this is a well-known portrait,

0:33:420:33:47

one of the very, very few that we have of him

0:33:470:33:50

and it derives from a famous photograph

0:33:500:33:51

where he's sorting precious stones with tweezers.

0:33:510:33:54

We can see it's captioned here, "Faberge",

0:33:540:33:56

which is the work of Pocock

0:33:560:33:58

because this is a plaster of Paris cast

0:33:580:34:00

that he's worked up from the famous photograph of Faberge,

0:34:000:34:03

but it's an endorsement of the fact

0:34:030:34:05

that Pocock was very excited by this commission,

0:34:050:34:07

because it was a Royal commission.

0:34:070:34:09

But I think probably the nub of it

0:34:090:34:11

was that Faberge was in a bit of a panic every now and again

0:34:110:34:14

to meet these commissions

0:34:140:34:16

and to find a lapidary in London was a hard thing to do,

0:34:160:34:20

that would meet the specifications of what he had grown used to.

0:34:200:34:23

And so there aren't many things that we can attribute

0:34:230:34:27

both to Faberge and Pocock

0:34:270:34:29

but one of them, possibly more, remain in the Royal collection.

0:34:290:34:33

I like to attribute this one to Pocock

0:34:330:34:35

and it's a fluorite Pekingese.

0:34:350:34:37

And it's a freer technique than we associate with Faberge,

0:34:370:34:41

it's altogether...

0:34:410:34:43

I wouldn't say it's cruder in any way,

0:34:430:34:45

but it's a more free hand

0:34:450:34:46

and it's not quite as meticulous as the St Petersburg lapidaries.

0:34:460:34:50

The word "lapidary" is very important in this regard

0:34:500:34:52

because it means stone-cutters.

0:34:520:34:54

What does your family feel about it?

0:34:540:34:56

Well, we're very proud of him

0:34:560:34:58

and we're proud to have things, like this, that he's produced.

0:34:580:35:02

We've got quite a number of things - none of his animal carvings,

0:35:020:35:06

but we've got a number of plaques.

0:35:060:35:08

-There's one of my grandmother.

-Yes, marvellous.

0:35:080:35:10

And it's very rare to see an image of him at all

0:35:100:35:12

-and I think you've got one here, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:35:120:35:15

He's standing next to my grandmother, there, at a family wedding.

0:35:150:35:18

Oh, I see -

0:35:180:35:19

that's the very first time I've ever seen an image of him myself

0:35:190:35:22

and I've been living this subject for ages

0:35:220:35:24

and it's a thrilling, thrilling thing to see

0:35:240:35:26

and it's full of context.

0:35:260:35:28

I don't know how to value it. It's priceless with you, isn't it?

0:35:280:35:31

-It is.

-Absolutely priceless.

0:35:310:35:32

There's a tiny precedent for these, because they're not unique.

0:35:320:35:35

There are casts and they do turn up from time to time

0:35:350:35:37

and surprisingly, they're not terribly valuable.

0:35:370:35:40

They're £200 to £300

0:35:400:35:42

and beyond that, there's nothing more I can say

0:35:420:35:45

except that you've made a very specific link

0:35:450:35:47

with one of the most famous goldsmiths that ever lived

0:35:470:35:50

with an English craftsman who deserved this great accolade

0:35:500:35:54

and it's a thrilling discovery for me.

0:35:540:35:56

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

0:35:560:35:58

Well, it will come as no surprise to those viewers out there

0:36:000:36:03

that we're looking at Miss Clarice Cliff once more.

0:36:030:36:07

But they do say the best things come in small packages,

0:36:070:36:10

and, quite frankly, these are perfection.

0:36:100:36:13

Tell me, where did they come from?

0:36:130:36:14

They belonged to my grandmother.

0:36:140:36:17

I got them from my mother and she got them from her mother.

0:36:170:36:20

So they've always been around, you've always known them.

0:36:200:36:22

Yes, they've always been in the family,

0:36:220:36:24

they're just family things, yes.

0:36:240:36:26

Well, it's really interesting, because these little vases

0:36:260:36:29

form part of a range of vases called the 177 Series.

0:36:290:36:33

And it was a collection of miniature little vases

0:36:330:36:37

painted in some of her most famous designs,

0:36:370:36:40

and there's a lot of debate and conjecture about why they were made.

0:36:400:36:43

Some believe that they were tradesmen's samples

0:36:430:36:46

to show how an artist would decorate a vase.

0:36:460:36:49

Other people think that they were enticers,

0:36:490:36:52

given to companies who ran china shops

0:36:520:36:55

as a little thank-you.

0:36:550:36:57

Other people think that they were just made

0:36:570:36:59

as little, beautiful, miniature pieces of Clarice's work.

0:36:590:37:02

Whatever they are, these are really nice.

0:37:020:37:05

-Do you like them?

-Yeah, yeah - I think they're really pretty,

0:37:050:37:09

I like the colours.

0:37:090:37:10

Well, to look at them just a little closely,

0:37:100:37:12

they are actually in a pattern called Inspiration Caprice.

0:37:120:37:17

-Oh, right.

-And Inspiration Caprice

0:37:170:37:19

was Clarice's first-ever landscape design

0:37:190:37:22

and it's combined in this wonderful turquoise glaze,

0:37:220:37:25

and underneath, it has got the most fantastic back stamp,

0:37:250:37:29

all hand painted.

0:37:290:37:31

And these two vases will date from around 1929 to 1930.

0:37:310:37:37

-So they're rare little survivors.

-Right.

0:37:380:37:40

So considering that they are small,

0:37:400:37:43

they're beautifully formed,

0:37:430:37:44

they're wonderfully painted,

0:37:440:37:46

they're going to appeal to the collectors.

0:37:460:37:48

-Yeah.

-So we've got to think about price.

0:37:480:37:50

A tiny little Clarice Cliff vase, a pair of them, what are they worth?

0:37:500:37:54

Well, if I tell you they're worth

0:37:540:37:58

in the region of £800...

0:37:580:38:01

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Wow!

0:38:010:38:03

But I'm being slightly mean,

0:38:030:38:05

cos they're worth £800 each.

0:38:050:38:07

GASPING: Oh!

0:38:070:38:09

Wow!

0:38:090:38:10

I didn't expect that.

0:38:100:38:12

-They're a great example of her miniature work.

-OK.

0:38:120:38:15

And you're looking well in excess of £1,500 for those.

0:38:150:38:18

That's a surprise.

0:38:180:38:21

-Well, I'm very pleased to see them, thank you.

-Thank you.

0:38:210:38:24

Arthur Wharton - a great Victorian sporting hero.

0:38:270:38:31

But now faded into total obscurity.

0:38:310:38:35

What can you tell me about him and his association with the local area?

0:38:350:38:39

Well, Arthur was the first black professional footballer,

0:38:390:38:42

he was also the first man to run 100 yards in even time,

0:38:420:38:46

ten seconds dead.

0:38:460:38:47

He held the world record for over three years.

0:38:470:38:50

He was a Victorian sporting hero who actually lived in this area,

0:38:500:38:54

played cricket for Greasbrough, just down the road from here.

0:38:540:38:57

Gosh - you know, you've told us so much

0:38:570:39:01

in just, literally, two or three sentences.

0:39:010:39:03

Well, there he is - I mean, where was he originally from?

0:39:030:39:06

He was from Accra which is now in Ghana -

0:39:060:39:09

then, it was the Gold Coast.

0:39:090:39:11

He was sent to England by his uncle for an education,

0:39:110:39:14

a public school education,

0:39:140:39:16

and then he went on to a Methodist College,

0:39:160:39:18

Shoal Hill College at Cannock in the West Midlands,

0:39:180:39:20

to study to be, probably, a Methodist preacher

0:39:200:39:24

or to go back to his own country as a missionary.

0:39:240:39:27

Did he become a preacher? Did he follow that path?

0:39:270:39:30

No, when he was at Shoal Hill,

0:39:300:39:32

that's when he discovered his sporting prowess,

0:39:320:39:34

and soon after Shoal Hill closed,

0:39:340:39:37

he went to Darlington, to Cleveland College

0:39:370:39:39

where, in 1885, he ran in a race at the cricket club there,

0:39:390:39:44

some sort of sports day.

0:39:440:39:45

He won it, although he ducked under the tape.

0:39:450:39:47

-Oh, no!

-HE LAUGHS

0:39:470:39:49

The officials wanted to disqualify him,

0:39:490:39:51

but the man in second place went, "No, he obviously was the best man."

0:39:510:39:54

And within a year, he was breaking the world record.

0:39:540:39:56

-So what a fantastic athlete he was.

-Yeah, yeah.

0:39:560:39:59

-Now, how would a black man cope with such success...

-Yeah.

0:39:590:40:04

..in a country that was very prejudiced?

0:40:040:40:07

And of course, this was the great time of expansion into Africa,

0:40:070:40:11

the European powers were grabbing land

0:40:110:40:14

and, of course, suppressing the people

0:40:140:40:16

that they came across.

0:40:160:40:18

But here's a man who completely reversed the attitude -

0:40:180:40:23

he was successful, highly educated

0:40:230:40:25

and, of course, he was winning races.

0:40:250:40:27

I mean, that must have caused a bit of resentment, to say the least.

0:40:270:40:30

It did, and he did have a few altercations

0:40:300:40:32

with opponents and so on.

0:40:320:40:34

However, the research that we've done

0:40:340:40:37

has shown that in the communities that he lived,

0:40:370:40:40

he was actually very well liked -

0:40:400:40:41

-a big crowd turned out for his funeral, for instance.

-Yes.

0:40:410:40:44

The other thing was he was the first black professional footballer

0:40:440:40:48

and when he played for Sheffield United at Sunderland

0:40:480:40:51

in February 1894,

0:40:510:40:53

he became the first black player in the Football League ever.

0:40:530:40:56

So what a tough man, in the face of all this prejudice.

0:40:560:40:59

He married a local lass,

0:40:590:41:00

so, yeah, he melted in to the local working class culture.

0:41:000:41:04

Where do you fit in to all this?

0:41:040:41:05

Well, I'm actually Arthur's great-granddaughter.

0:41:050:41:08

-Wow!

-Well, you must be immensely proud.

0:41:080:41:11

I am, I'm exceedingly proud.

0:41:110:41:15

When did you find out?

0:41:150:41:16

Just through my mum - we found some old photos

0:41:160:41:20

and had to trace him back, looking...

0:41:200:41:23

We have actually been to Ghana and met family members.

0:41:230:41:26

-They didn't know, in Ghana, of Arthur.

-Wow.

0:41:260:41:31

And of course - you know - what a sad end to his story.

0:41:310:41:33

He became a coal miner, I understand,

0:41:330:41:35

and probably earning very little.

0:41:350:41:37

Yeah - and died a pauper

0:41:370:41:40

and was buried in an unmarked grave in Edlington near Doncaster in 1930.

0:41:400:41:44

But now he's got a proper headstone,

0:41:440:41:46

he's starting to be obviously much more fully understood,

0:41:460:41:49

and this is his Bible, I understand.

0:41:490:41:51

Yeah, it's got "Shoal Hill College, Cannock, 1882" inside

0:41:510:41:55

and his name and...

0:41:550:41:57

-Yeah, had a quick look earlier, the Bible was published in 1882.

-OK.

0:41:570:42:01

-So he was handed this, presumably, brand-new.

-Yes.

0:42:010:42:05

Well, the Bible is an extremely difficult item to value -

0:42:050:42:08

I mean, it's of inestimable value, really.

0:42:080:42:11

But what I will say

0:42:110:42:12

is that the value I give will probably grow,

0:42:120:42:15

as the recognition of the man's achievements

0:42:150:42:18

and the knowledge of his life goes out to the world.

0:42:180:42:22

I would say, at the moment,

0:42:220:42:24

it's worth a trivial 300, maybe £500 at auction.

0:42:240:42:29

But you can't put a price on a Bible, or photographs,

0:42:290:42:32

these reproductions -

0:42:320:42:34

it's such a rich history, its value is immense

0:42:340:42:36

and, of course, today, with so many football teams

0:42:360:42:40

being rich with fabulous African players,

0:42:400:42:44

you know, it's just a sheer delight

0:42:440:42:46

to see this tradition of great football being carried on,

0:42:460:42:50

and Arthur was the first in there.

0:42:500:42:53

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

0:42:530:42:55

# 'S wonderful

0:42:550:42:59

# 'S marvellous... #

0:42:590:43:01

What's the interest they have for you?

0:43:010:43:03

Just the history behind them,

0:43:030:43:04

what they're made of and where they're from.

0:43:040:43:06

You are tomorrow's historian. That's fantastic.

0:43:060:43:09

It's not for the nursery. It's for the bathroom.

0:43:100:43:13

Some people did say, at the time, it was a bidet...

0:43:130:43:16

It's for washing your bottom, not your baby.

0:43:160:43:18

LAUGHTER

0:43:180:43:20

Part of my mum's collection,

0:43:200:43:21

but she's actually given me these three.

0:43:210:43:24

We're talking between 5,000 and 7,000.

0:43:240:43:26

SHE EXHALES

0:43:260:43:27

# 'S marvellous

0:43:270:43:31

# That you should care for me

0:43:310:43:38

Do you mind me asking what you had for breakfast this morning?

0:43:400:43:43

Er, toast and marmalade.

0:43:430:43:44

Not bad, but what this should be laid out with

0:43:440:43:47

is devilled kidneys, kippers, scrambled eggs, bacon,

0:43:470:43:50

all of the things that you'd expect,

0:43:500:43:52

because this would have come from quite a house.

0:43:520:43:55

Where did it come from?

0:43:550:43:56

Well, it comes from Stainborough Castle originally,

0:43:560:43:59

the story says,

0:43:590:44:00

and me dad bought it at auction in the 1950s.

0:44:000:44:03

-They had a house sale there.

-Yeah, and that's when he bought it.

0:44:030:44:07

And did he buy it because he fell in love with it, or he wanted it...?

0:44:070:44:10

No, he bought the contents of the room.

0:44:100:44:11

Which they would do, they would sell literally one room at a time

0:44:110:44:16

of this type of quality.

0:44:160:44:17

-And me dad bought it for ten and sixpence.

-Wow.

0:44:170:44:20

This is as near the top of quality furniture that you get.

0:44:200:44:25

I mean, it would date from the 1880s and it has a very Italianate form

0:44:250:44:29

and when you look at this front here with the inlay,

0:44:290:44:32

you would think Italy and tours and all of the things

0:44:320:44:36

of that, sort of, high period decoration

0:44:360:44:39

you'd expect of that age.

0:44:390:44:40

But it's actually English.

0:44:400:44:42

Simple ways of telling is if you open the drawer, inside...

0:44:420:44:47

This quarter beading here inside the drawer is very English -

0:44:470:44:51

I think it's only in England that this was produced.

0:44:510:44:54

And it's such nice quality -

0:44:540:44:56

I mean, walnut, you've got all the satin wood inlays here,

0:44:560:44:59

and ebony inlays

0:44:590:45:00

and when this was new...

0:45:000:45:02

We're so used to seeing furniture in this muted form,

0:45:020:45:05

but this would have been much redder,

0:45:050:45:06

you'd have had bright yellows and golds

0:45:060:45:09

and this metal work here is so lovely,

0:45:090:45:11

-it would have shone.

-Right.

0:45:110:45:13

We don't understand now - if we'd seen this when it was new,

0:45:130:45:16

it would have been so bling, it would have been like, "Whoa!"

0:45:160:45:19

But we're just used to it in this, sort of, lovely, muted-down form.

0:45:190:45:23

-What actually is it?

-A buffet. Yes, a serving buffet.

-I see.

0:45:230:45:27

It's part of a large suite -

0:45:270:45:28

you'd have had a dining table, chairs...

0:45:280:45:30

You'd have had someone come from Manchester

0:45:300:45:33

or one of those big centres and they would say,

0:45:330:45:35

"Right, you've got an Italianate room,

0:45:350:45:37

"we'll design you a buffet, a sideboard,

0:45:370:45:40

"large dining table, a set of chairs".

0:45:400:45:42

You'd have had the whole suite and that's what it would've been from.

0:45:420:45:45

-You haven't got the rest?

-No, we haven't, no.

0:45:450:45:47

What's such a shame is - I've had a good look over it,

0:45:470:45:49

can't see any maker's mark.

0:45:490:45:50

And it was considered, if your furniture...

0:45:500:45:53

If you were making furniture for a house like this or for a castle,

0:45:530:45:57

you should be able to go in

0:45:570:45:58

and say, "Yes, that's from Lamb of Manchester", or Holland,

0:45:580:46:01

or one of those great makers, or Gillows.

0:46:010:46:04

But, unfortunately, it isn't and I think it's a real shame.

0:46:040:46:07

If it were marked, that would be great.

0:46:070:46:10

I still think it's a lovely piece of furniture, and in the '50s,

0:46:100:46:12

these were just...not two a penny,

0:46:120:46:14

but no-one really took them for the quality that they were,

0:46:140:46:17

and everyone wanted to go more into the new styles and more modern.

0:46:170:46:21

It's coming back, it's still struggling a bit.

0:46:210:46:24

A single buffet on its own

0:46:240:46:26

is not the most desirable piece of furniture,

0:46:260:46:28

but I think, at auction...

0:46:280:46:30

£1,000?

0:46:300:46:31

Ah, right! Oh...

0:46:310:46:33

I always think, for the quality of these, the price is still down,

0:46:330:46:35

but your mission now is to obviously find the rest of the suite,

0:46:350:46:38

because if it was a suite, it would make a huge difference to its value.

0:46:380:46:42

-Good luck hunting.

-Yes.

0:46:420:46:43

THEY LAUGH

0:46:430:46:45

Well, we see collections of a lot of things

0:46:490:46:51

on the Antiques Roadshow

0:46:510:46:52

but I'm not sure I've ever seen

0:46:520:46:54

a collection of legs or boots before.

0:46:540:46:56

Are you a leg man, shall we say?

0:46:560:46:58

Well I have to admit, yes, I must be,

0:46:580:47:00

by what you see in front of you.

0:47:000:47:02

It really started from the very first one,

0:47:020:47:05

which was the nail file, which I gave my wife

0:47:050:47:08

too many years ago to remember, but more than 50 years ago.

0:47:080:47:11

And the number of times when she'd take it out of her handbag,

0:47:110:47:14

people would say, "That's unusual."

0:47:140:47:17

I sold a collection I had of silver sugar tongs

0:47:170:47:19

and with the money I got, I bought two more

0:47:190:47:22

and that really started my appetite in them.

0:47:220:47:25

And now when I walk round an antique fair,

0:47:250:47:27

it's a nice vehicle to take me round as to what I look at.

0:47:270:47:30

She looks at jewellery. I look at legs.

0:47:300:47:33

And you look at legs, right. You've got, obviously...

0:47:330:47:36

I know this is only part of the collection you have.

0:47:360:47:39

It's a fairly varied collection.

0:47:390:47:41

You've got some here -

0:47:410:47:42

this is a little boxwood one

0:47:420:47:45

dating from the early 19th century

0:47:450:47:47

and then you've got right through

0:47:470:47:49

to a promotional item

0:47:490:47:51

for Glamour Girl stockings

0:47:510:47:52

which would date from the 1950s, 1960s.

0:47:520:47:55

You've got some which are bone,

0:47:550:47:57

then we have some...

0:47:570:47:59

This is a little polished oak one,

0:47:590:48:01

then we have ivory,

0:48:010:48:03

and, you know, it's a really good cross-section of examples here.

0:48:030:48:06

Do you have a particular favourite at all?

0:48:060:48:09

Well, I suppose one of the favourite ones is this one,

0:48:090:48:12

-which I bought being told that it, in fact, was a stirrup cup.

-Right.

0:48:120:48:16

OK, well, we'll dispel that myth -

0:48:160:48:19

it's actually a vesta, a little match striker.

0:48:190:48:22

So you would put your matches in there,

0:48:220:48:24

then you'd be able to strike them from the underneath.

0:48:240:48:26

It is silver and it has import marks on the side of it there for 1903

0:48:260:48:31

so we know it was imported into Britain in 1903

0:48:310:48:34

so it was made probably just marginally before that,

0:48:340:48:37

somewhere on the Continent.

0:48:370:48:39

Actually, that's a very nice piece.

0:48:390:48:41

-It's quite heavy as well.

-It is, quite a weighty piece of silver.

0:48:410:48:45

You have quite a lot of pipe tampers here.

0:48:450:48:48

You would have your pipe tampers

0:48:480:48:50

to tamp the tobacco down in the pipe.

0:48:500:48:53

You have the pipe there, which dates probably from the 1950s

0:48:530:48:57

with the Bakelite leg and the bowl, actually, is wooden on it.

0:48:570:49:01

This is one I think that is most unusual

0:49:010:49:03

and many people don't know what it's for.

0:49:030:49:05

No, and I must admit, I've only ever seen three or four pairs of those.

0:49:050:49:11

They're a pair of ends for knitting needles

0:49:110:49:13

and there they go.

0:49:130:49:15

-A knitting needle in between the two.

-Absolutely, joined by the chain.

0:49:150:49:18

But, yeah, that's quite an interesting item, very unusual.

0:49:180:49:22

Most of these date from the 19th century,

0:49:220:49:25

some are slightly earlier, some are into the 20th century.

0:49:250:49:28

But, you know, it's a fantastic collection.

0:49:280:49:32

With regards to prices on them,

0:49:320:49:34

obviously the prices vary a lot.

0:49:340:49:36

For the little Glamour Girl promotional item,

0:49:360:49:39

perhaps £15 to £20,

0:49:390:49:41

the little bone tampers, £40 and £50 apiece.

0:49:410:49:44

The little boot actually, that's nice,

0:49:440:49:46

-that would be probably around £100 on that.

-Oh, right.

0:49:460:49:49

-How many do you have?

-Just over 50.

0:49:490:49:52

Obviously, some are worth more than others,

0:49:520:49:55

but I think just what we have on the table, you've probably got

0:49:550:49:57

about £1,000 or £1,500 worth.

0:49:570:50:00

Excellent, excellent.

0:50:000:50:03

-I'll keep looking at legs.

-Do!

0:50:030:50:05

HE CHUCKLES

0:50:050:50:06

So here we are, in one of the supposed 365 rooms

0:50:090:50:13

in this fantastic house, Wentworth Woodhouse,

0:50:130:50:17

with three pieces of that rare beast, Yorkshire porcelain.

0:50:170:50:21

It was made at the Rockingham factory

0:50:210:50:23

which is only four miles from where we're standing,

0:50:230:50:26

at Swinton, around about 1830-1835.

0:50:260:50:30

What's your connection with these pieces?

0:50:300:50:32

Well, the story goes

0:50:320:50:33

that my four-times great grandfather worked at the factory,

0:50:330:50:38

-he was the manager at the factory in about 1822.

-Right.

0:50:380:50:42

And then his sons followed as students

0:50:420:50:45

and then, eventually, they started their own factory.

0:50:450:50:49

They didn't make anything so fine as this.

0:50:490:50:51

-Well, this is incredibly fine, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:50:510:50:53

And you look at these three objects

0:50:530:50:55

and, personally, I find them quite mind-blowing.

0:50:550:50:58

-Enchanting objects, yes, yes.

-Enchanting objects, enchanting.

0:50:580:51:01

This little piece here - to modern eyes,

0:51:010:51:03

it looks rather like a little ashtray,

0:51:030:51:05

but I think at the time,

0:51:050:51:07

-they would have used it as a pin tray.

-Yes, yes.

0:51:070:51:10

And it is hand painted, which is quite incredible,

0:51:100:51:12

with these wonderful flowers.

0:51:120:51:14

I think the painting may have actually been done

0:51:140:51:16

by John Cresswell,

0:51:160:51:18

-who was one of the floral painters at the factory.

-Yes.

0:51:180:51:20

Very much in his style.

0:51:200:51:22

And this exhibits a really interesting thing -

0:51:220:51:24

-the Rockingham mark.

-Yes.

0:51:240:51:26

Which is based on the crest of the Fitzwilliam family,

0:51:260:51:29

-patron of the factory.

-Yes.

0:51:290:51:31

And the strange thing is behind us is that fabulous marble fireplace.

0:51:310:51:36

-With the same...

-With the same griffins.

0:51:360:51:38

A wonderful connection.

0:51:380:51:41

-This is an extraordinary thing, isn't it?

-Yes, yes.

0:51:410:51:44

That's really attractive.

0:51:440:51:45

Again, a bit of a Meissen connection here -

0:51:450:51:47

I think this was inspired by a Meissen rose box

0:51:470:51:50

made in the 18th century, but when we look at it carefully,

0:51:500:51:53

we realise it's made in two parts.

0:51:530:51:55

And the top of the rose, she comes out

0:51:550:51:57

so I guess you'd have put a little piece of pastille in there and burned it

0:51:570:52:01

and a wonderful odour would have come out

0:52:010:52:03

and obscured all the grimy smells of early Victorian life,

0:52:030:52:08

and again, that has the Rockingham mark.

0:52:080:52:12

Slightly larger in scale,

0:52:120:52:13

I guess this must be a perfume bottle.

0:52:130:52:15

-Yes, yes.

-It's got a detachable stopper

0:52:150:52:18

and it's covered with finely modelled -

0:52:180:52:20

modelled by hand, and painted by hand -

0:52:200:52:22

these encrusted flowers.

0:52:220:52:23

Again, a reference to Meissen.

0:52:230:52:25

I think it's absolutely beautiful.

0:52:250:52:27

It is, it's incredible ware

0:52:270:52:29

and the great thing about Rockingham,

0:52:290:52:31

above all other factories,

0:52:310:52:32

it has its own distinctive look, it has its...

0:52:320:52:35

It sort of speaks with its own Yorkshire accent,

0:52:350:52:37

it's different from all that stuff made farther south in Staffordshire,

0:52:370:52:41

it's got its own style.

0:52:410:52:42

-Yes.

-It really has.

0:52:420:52:44

Are these things that came down through the family

0:52:440:52:48

from your connection with the factory?

0:52:480:52:50

No, no, they've not - they're things that we bought

0:52:500:52:53

because we've got an interest in it

0:52:530:52:55

after finding out that the family had done lots of work there.

0:52:550:53:01

Well, I suppose we'd better look at some values.

0:53:010:53:03

And the little pin tray there by John Cresswell

0:53:030:53:07

is worth around about £1,000 -

0:53:070:53:09

-maybe £800 to £1,200.

-Gosh! Surprising.

0:53:090:53:13

Despite its larger size, this scent bottle -

0:53:130:53:16

it's sometimes the smaller things

0:53:160:53:18

that make more money,

0:53:180:53:19

but that's going to be...

0:53:190:53:20

-£600 or £700, something like that?

-Very nice too.

0:53:200:53:23

But the bric-a-brac intrigues me.

0:53:230:53:27

-Presumably, it was cheap.

-About £28, I think.

0:53:270:53:30

£28 for that rose box.

0:53:300:53:32

Well, I've only ever seen examples in books and museums,

0:53:320:53:36

I've never actually handled one before.

0:53:360:53:38

-Oh, good.

-That's how rare it is.

0:53:380:53:40

And your £28 is now certainly

0:53:400:53:45

-£1,500 or maybe £2,000, possibly more.

-Gosh!

0:53:450:53:50

THEY LAUGH

0:53:520:53:54

-It was worth coming.

-Good, good, good - so actually,

0:53:540:53:58

you've got about £3,000 here.

0:53:580:53:59

Yes! Gosh.

0:53:590:54:00

Now, the last time I saw you with this tiny, tiny thing,

0:54:040:54:07

you just hurled it into the bottom of your handbag,

0:54:070:54:09

-just like that, didn't you?

-Yes.

0:54:090:54:10

Now, who asked you to bring it, and why?

0:54:100:54:13

My mother-in-law - she was given

0:54:130:54:15

a big bag of paste jewellery and what-have-you

0:54:150:54:18

by an old lady that she used to do gardening work for,

0:54:180:54:20

they didn't think it was anything.

0:54:200:54:22

-And so you raked it out of the bottom of your bag.

-Yes.

0:54:220:54:25

And you showed it to me and it was rather startling, I must say,

0:54:250:54:27

because the thing about it, and it probably alerted her,

0:54:270:54:30

is that it absolutely shrieks of quality, doesn't it?

0:54:300:54:32

-Yes.

-It's got a little voice, a very powerful little voice,

0:54:320:54:35

tiny, tiny object.

0:54:350:54:37

It's a core of gold and perhaps silver underneath here, too,

0:54:370:54:40

hand engraved with a sort of sunburst,

0:54:400:54:43

so every time you move it, it moves like silk.

0:54:430:54:46

And then the artist has sat

0:54:460:54:48

and painted the first layer of enamel with these dendrites,

0:54:480:54:51

these funny, tree-like ornaments which are hand painted,

0:54:510:54:55

and then fired again,

0:54:550:54:58

and then covered with a flux of pure white enamel

0:54:580:55:02

-which protects the surface of the paint.

-Oh, I see.

0:55:020:55:05

And then a little division, if you like, of gold laurels.

0:55:050:55:10

And this is all fine and dandy and it's tiny.

0:55:100:55:13

But the one signal to what it might be,

0:55:130:55:16

-is that it's actually Easter egg-shaped.

-Yes.

0:55:160:55:20

And makes one give it a second look

0:55:200:55:22

and I'm very pleased to tell you that it's made by - without doubt -

0:55:220:55:25

the most famous goldsmith that ever lived.

0:55:250:55:28

-It's made by Peter Carl Faberge in Russia in 1900.

-Wow.

0:55:280:55:32

-And the momentum gathers enormously.

-Yeah!

0:55:320:55:35

Because with Faberge, Easter is the key word

0:55:350:55:39

and it was a celebration of the most important festival in Russia

0:55:390:55:43

which took precedence over Christmas.

0:55:430:55:45

It was Easter. On Easter morning, if you lived in the country,

0:55:450:55:48

you would give your mother or your sister

0:55:480:55:51

a painted chicken's egg,

0:55:510:55:53

and if you lived in the city, in Moscow, in St Petersburg,

0:55:530:55:55

you might give a porcelain egg or a painted wooden egg.

0:55:550:55:59

But if you lived in the strange, claustrophic world of the Romanovs,

0:55:590:56:02

then nothing less than an Imperial Easter egg from Carl Faberge

0:56:020:56:06

would do for the Tsarina.

0:56:060:56:07

And you'd go to Faberge

0:56:070:56:09

if you were anything less than the Tsar or Tsarina

0:56:090:56:11

and buy a little egg to give to your goddaughter

0:56:110:56:14

and then she would add it to a chain,

0:56:140:56:15

and there may be 100 of them, if she was really lucky -

0:56:150:56:18

not all from Faberge, some stone, some silver.

0:56:180:56:20

This comes from the factory of Henrik Wigstrom,

0:56:200:56:23

one of the chief workmasters of Faberge,

0:56:230:56:26

creator of the Coronation Coach egg,

0:56:260:56:28

-possibly the most famous of the Imperial Easter eggs.

-Hm.

0:56:280:56:31

We know that because this tiny object is signed,

0:56:310:56:34

an almost undetectable "HW" there.

0:56:340:56:38

Right - we couldn't...we couldn't see it.

0:56:380:56:40

We could see markings, but we couldn't see what they were.

0:56:400:56:43

Faberge was very interesting

0:56:430:56:44

in that he had these substrata of suppliers,

0:56:440:56:48

but they belonged to Faberge, it was made by the Faberge firm.

0:56:480:56:51

But he allowed them, in St Petersburg,

0:56:510:56:53

to sign their own work -

0:56:530:56:54

rather an unusual gesture at the time

0:56:540:56:56

and happily, it's still there.

0:56:560:56:58

More often than not, when these little Easter eggs come to us,

0:56:580:57:01

this loop here where they're signed has been clipped away

0:57:010:57:05

and so clipped away goes the signature.

0:57:050:57:07

But you have not only a pristine Easter egg,

0:57:070:57:09

but a signed Easter egg by the chief workmaster to Faberge.

0:57:090:57:13

-This is in mint condition and you can't ask for more.

-Right.

0:57:130:57:17

With everything that I've told you,

0:57:170:57:19

and all of this charm, comes value.

0:57:190:57:21

People collect them very avidly, they want them desperately,

0:57:210:57:24

it's a crystallisation of everything that Faberge means,

0:57:240:57:28

and so a tiny, tiny thing like that...

0:57:280:57:30

£10,000.

0:57:300:57:32

Right. OK.

0:57:330:57:34

And they fetch more.

0:57:340:57:35

Good God!

0:57:370:57:38

-This is a very, very rare object.

-Yes.

-Very, very exciting.

0:57:380:57:42

-Thank you so much - wonderful, thank you.

-Thank you.

0:57:420:57:45

Who could have predicted such a tiny object

0:57:450:57:47

would carry such a high value?

0:57:470:57:50

A classic ending from Faberge aficionado Geoffrey Munn.

0:57:500:57:53

From Wentworth Woodhouse and all the Antiques Roadshow team,

0:57:550:57:58

bye-bye.

0:57:580:57:59

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