0:00:47 > 0:00:50This week, the Antiques Roadshow makes a return visit
0:00:50 > 0:00:52to Walmer Castle near Deal in Kent.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54In the 38 years since the first Antiques Roadshow,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57we've visited more than 550 locations
0:00:57 > 0:00:59around the British Isles,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02so you might think we're running out of places to see.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05But then we keep finding new ones, like this Tudor fort.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11It takes quite a mixture to make a perfect Roadshow venue.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13First of all, it helps
0:01:13 > 0:01:15if the location has a rich and fascinating history.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Well, Walmer Castle was built in the reign of Henry VIII
0:01:18 > 0:01:21to defend our shores from possible Spanish invasion.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25It's now looked after by English Heritage
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and it's been home to such figures as the Duke of Wellington,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31William Pitt the Younger, Sir Winston Churchill
0:01:31 > 0:01:35and even the famous publisher WH Smith.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37It's quite a roll call and what do they all have in common?
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Each was a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44a post associated with Walmer Castle since 1736
0:01:44 > 0:01:46and it's a prestigious role,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49usually awarded to a figure who has distinguished himself
0:01:49 > 0:01:51on behalf of his country.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00A Roadshow venue probably ought to have plenty of art and antiques too
0:02:00 > 0:02:02and here, at Walmer Castle, there's certainly no shortage.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04This is the desk of William Pitt.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07He took the job as Lord Warden in 1792,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09while he was also serving as Prime Minister.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11He was heavily in debt and, rather handily,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13the job came with a salary of £3,000
0:02:13 > 0:02:17and it's believed that while he was at this very desk,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21he was working on plans to introduce income tax for the first time.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24So, this desk has a lot to answer for.
0:02:26 > 0:02:293,000 or more people can turn up to an Antiques Roadshow,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33so a venue needs to have space, plus we're usually outdoors,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36so stunning gardens are an added advantage.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43This is the Queen Mother's Garden
0:02:43 > 0:02:48and she was the first and only female Lord Warden until her death in 2002
0:02:48 > 0:02:50and she would come here every year.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53This garden was created in her honour in 1995,
0:02:53 > 0:02:58to mark her 95th birthday and it's as pretty now as it was then.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01It looks as though we have all the ingredients for a perfect day,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03so let's see what our visitors have brought along
0:03:03 > 0:03:05to today's Antiques Roadshow.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11What can I say? This vase is just magnificent. It's grand.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16It's a bold, wonderful statement of the Empire style.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19It's dripping with gold, it's got wonderful decoration.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Where did you get it from?
0:03:21 > 0:03:25It came as an extra piece with another bit of art deco work
0:03:25 > 0:03:28in an auction lot and I didn't really want this,
0:03:28 > 0:03:33but then I saw it on the telly on the background shot of a prop
0:03:33 > 0:03:36for one of Victor Meldrew's One Foot In The Grave episodes,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39- so I know it's at least one of a pair.- Wow!
0:03:39 > 0:03:42- I notice there's a mark on the bottom. Did you notice that?- No.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46Oof, let's... Ooh, what a big lump it is. Look at that.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49The mark is just lurking in the base there
0:03:49 > 0:03:53- and it's what we call an interlaced Ls mark.- Oh, right.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58And that's the mark of the Sevres factory in France.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03- Really? Ah.- Um... - That was quite a big factory.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Yes, it was a royal factory of France.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08It had royal patronage and it made...
0:04:08 > 0:04:11The very, very best pieces of French porcelain
0:04:11 > 0:04:13- come from the Sevres factory.- Right.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15So, you're going to tell me this isn't one of them.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20Do you think it could possibly be that your magnificent vase
0:04:20 > 0:04:23actually came from the Sevres factory
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and was made at the time of Napoleon?
0:04:26 > 0:04:28I think it was a different Napoleon.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31I think it was Napoleon III
0:04:31 > 0:04:34cos I think this is much later in the 19th century.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38When you look at it, the colour of the gold
0:04:38 > 0:04:42- and the style of the decoration tell me various things.- Mmm-hmm.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47Firstly, the figures here... Look at the image carefully.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51- It's printed.- Ah. - So, it's printed in outline
0:04:51 > 0:04:54- and you can just see the outline of this guy's hat here.- Ah.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59- That's slightly alarming.- Uh-huh. - The gilding is great.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03It's flashy, it's showy, it's exuberant.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06But it's also a liar, it's a fibber.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09- Ah.- It's a fake.- Is it?
0:05:09 > 0:05:14I'm sorry. It's telling us...
0:05:14 > 0:05:18It's giving us messages which we had better not believe.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23- The porcelain is too white.- Mmm-hmm. - The gilding is too bright.- Yes.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27The piece is almost too good to be true.
0:05:27 > 0:05:33- I think it might just be five or ten years old.- Really?
0:05:33 > 0:05:36THEY LAUGH
0:05:37 > 0:05:42- Fabulous!- I'm sorry. I'm so embarrassed.- Fabulous.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45The Roadshow should be giving people spectacular prices
0:05:45 > 0:05:50and I'm just telling you this is a fantastic piece of rich,
0:05:50 > 0:05:56kitsch, exuberant decoration and it was made by a faker in the Far East
0:05:56 > 0:06:00about ten years ago and he put a fake mark on it
0:06:00 > 0:06:02and we shouldn't love it any the less for that.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05So, I suppose we'd better go to the valuation.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- 20 quid?- Oh! - LAUGHTER
0:06:09 > 0:06:13- 15.- Why not?! - LAUGHTER
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Standing here, in this beautiful garden
0:06:17 > 0:06:21with the herbaceous border behind us, we're looking at a picture
0:06:21 > 0:06:25which I attach this woman to painting gardens
0:06:25 > 0:06:26and not actually portraits.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28And the artist is Helen Allingham.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33And it's an absolute stunner. So, how have you got this?
0:06:33 > 0:06:35The painting's my mother's.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37It came from her grandfather
0:06:37 > 0:06:42and when they lived in Altrincham in Cheshire,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46he had retired and he wanted to take up watercolours
0:06:46 > 0:06:50and he knew that Helen Allingham sometimes came up
0:06:50 > 0:06:52to that part of the country.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55And he was taught watercolour by her
0:06:55 > 0:06:59and during that process, he bought one of her paintings.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Obviously, he saw quite a few of them and this was the one
0:07:01 > 0:07:05he fell in love with and it's been with our family ever since.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07What a lucky man your great-grandfather was,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09to have lessons from Helen Allingham,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13cos I think that she is certainly the finest painter of gardens,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16watercolours, in the late 19th century.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19She was born in 1848, died in the 1920s.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22She was also married to a poet called William Allingham.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24She used to spend time on the Isle of Wight
0:07:24 > 0:07:28cos they knew Tennyson quite well and I know her very well
0:07:28 > 0:07:32cos she used to live in Surrey, not far from me, at Sandhills.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37We see a lot of garden scenes by her, not that many portraits.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39I have seen some, but this is exceptional.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42The thing about her work, it is so detailed,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45when you see the garden scenes and the cottage scenes,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48but you look at this portrait, when she gets to painting children,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51she can really depict children well.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54I always find that women painting children do it
0:07:54 > 0:07:57so much better than men, and here is a case
0:07:57 > 0:07:59and it is the best portrait of a child
0:07:59 > 0:08:01I've seen her paint, it really is.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05And it's still very, very colourful. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07It's great it's still in your family.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09So, we have to put a value on it
0:08:09 > 0:08:12- and it's not something you're ever going to sell, I'm sure.- No.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18- But that is worth £6,000 to £8,000. - That's... That's really good.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22That's fabulous.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24But it's worth very much more to the whole family, I think.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26I'm sure it is.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Here we have one of the most distinctive handwritings
0:08:32 > 0:08:34I think that anybody could ever know
0:08:34 > 0:08:39and, of course, "Victory, January 16th, 1805",
0:08:39 > 0:08:41so we all know that it's Nelson,
0:08:41 > 0:08:42this wonderful letter of Nelson.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45So, tell me about it. Where does it come from?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Well, my late husband was always looking for interesting letters
0:08:48 > 0:08:51from the Duke of Wellington and from Lord Nelson
0:08:51 > 0:08:54and he got it from a reputable dealer.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- Did he pay a lot of money for it? - Um, well...yes.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01- He paid £7,500.- £7,500?
0:09:01 > 0:09:06- So, what sort of person was Michael? - Um, he could be a little difficult.
0:09:06 > 0:09:12He was nothing if not passionate about whatever took his interest
0:09:12 > 0:09:16but, after he retired and he moved down to this area,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19he became passionate about all the people
0:09:19 > 0:09:23who were important nationally and locally here.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- Wellington...- With the Duke and with Lord Nelson
0:09:25 > 0:09:29cos he realised the importance of maritime history in this area.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33So, we have one room of the house which is the Wellington room
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and another room which is the Nelson room,
0:09:36 > 0:09:41in which he put all his love and passion for decorating the rooms
0:09:41 > 0:09:45in the style of and ornamenting with anything he could find.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47And it has this wonderful phrase in it -
0:09:47 > 0:09:49well, phrase - this paragraph here.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51"I ought to take myself off as soon as possible,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54"for this fleet will send them to hell.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57"Let who will command it and I'm not so arrogant
0:09:57 > 0:10:02"to suppose that its success depends on my presence."
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Fighting words. And then, of course, he went to Trafalgar.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09So, tell me about this little box. This is not a Nelson item?
0:10:09 > 0:10:14No, it isn't. I don't know in detail what its history is.
0:10:14 > 0:10:20It's beautifully made and since I lost my husband very suddenly,
0:10:20 > 0:10:25in 2008, it's where I keep our rings and his ashes.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27I think he would be well pleased.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Are you in communication with your husband?
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Did you ask his permission to bring him along?
0:10:32 > 0:10:36He would have approved, I know he would approve.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38He'd love to have been on television?
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Well, I'm not sure about that, no, I'm not sure abut that.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43There are so many fakes around with these letters,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45but you bought it from a good place,
0:10:45 > 0:10:47so one would have to assume that it was good.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52I think this letter, now, would be worth £15,000, at least.
0:10:52 > 0:10:58The box, probably worth no more than about £150, £200.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03But the contents, of course, how do we value that? Priceless?
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- It's a lovely story. Thank you so much for bringing it in.- Thank you.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13- Do you like pink?- I do, actually.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17It's been passed down in the family and I like to have it on display.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19- Where do you have it? - I have it on a shelf
0:11:19 > 0:11:21over the top of the television.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Oh, right, so you can move from the television, visually, up...
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Upwards to look at it, yes.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Well, upwards is sensible, because it's called a moon flask.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37- A moon flask?- Yeah, obviously because it's moon-shaped.- Yes.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41It's enamelled, hand-enamelled as, indeed,
0:11:41 > 0:11:46is this central plaque of a pheasant and other birds.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49- Gilt dragon handles.- Yes.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56That is the mark of the Emperor Xianfeng
0:11:56 > 0:12:02and he reigned from 1851 to '61.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Right, so only for ten years.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09- The problem with Chinese marks is you can't trust them.- Ah!
0:12:11 > 0:12:14They put on the mark of earlier emperors
0:12:14 > 0:12:18but, having said that, I think this probably is of that period.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- Of that period? - If we go round the other side...
0:12:23 > 0:12:30..we've got a panel, Canton-style, of warriors on horseback
0:12:30 > 0:12:32and soldiers with spears.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36One here is spearing a spotted deer.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39In fact, two of them are.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42And I love the horses' faces.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46They're great fun. Good quality.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49- Ah, this is your way of ensuring... - I don't lose it.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52..an odd piece of tail is not lost.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58So, if we take it down from the top of the television
0:12:58 > 0:13:02and put it into auction, what do we expect to get for it?
0:13:03 > 0:13:05I haven't got a foggiest.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Er, suppose I offered you
0:13:08 > 0:13:12the price of the licence fee for it the following year?
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- THEY LAUGH - I'll probably keep it!
0:13:16 > 0:13:20So, you'd keep it at that price, would you?
0:13:20 > 0:13:23- Oh, yes, definitely.- Right. I'd go to £600.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- Would you?- Mmm, would YOU?- No.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32I tell you what. I'll make you an offer you can't refuse.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34£1,000.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37- Not really.- OK.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42- At £1,000, it would probably make that.- Mmm-hmm.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46It's a style of vase which the Chinese are very keen on,
0:13:46 > 0:13:53- so I would have no qualms about quoting £700 to £1,000 on it.- Right.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- Thank you very much for bringing it in.- You're welcome.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58- Back on the television, really. - Yes, it is.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01THEY LAUGH
0:14:03 > 0:14:05- What have we got in this? - It's a bit of a curio.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It's something that I've had for some while.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10If you look at it, it's a gentleman drinking,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14- but if you watch the bottle, the sand...- He's drinking away.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Yeah, he drinks away, but then, when you turn it over...
0:14:20 > 0:14:23- ..it's rather a bit strange. - EXPERT LAUGHS
0:14:23 > 0:14:26- So, we've got the real cycle of life going on there.- Absolutely.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32- She's got her full outfit, hasn't she, and even the shoes?- Yes.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36It's actually a boy, it's not a girl, which is even weirder.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- Do we know this?- It's got bits, yeah.- Oh, good heavens!
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- THEY LAUGH - So I know it's a boy!
0:14:46 > 0:14:49A car mascot. Why do you have it?
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Well, I collect car mascots and I've got around 100.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- And they're all bulldogs? - Only bulldogs, French or English.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- How much did you pay for it? - £130 at auction.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03- Ooh, yeah, that's good, isn't it? - Well, I thought so at the time,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06but I'm hoping it's worth a lot more than that.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Shall we just say, after three,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10- we both say how much we think it's worth?- OK.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12One, two, three.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14- TOGETHER:- 500.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17It's gut instinct, isn't it?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24This is an unusual signet ring you've got. Where did it come from?
0:15:24 > 0:15:26It came from my father's belongings.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30When I asked him who Cuffley was, thinking it was a relation,
0:15:30 > 0:15:35he said, "No, that's where the wreckage of an airship went down,"
0:15:35 > 0:15:38and he was watching the airship alight from out the bedroom window.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Oh, your father saw it!
0:15:40 > 0:15:43My father saw it, saw the airship actually alight
0:15:43 > 0:15:49and Cuffley is the place where it actually ditched and was found.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53You're absolutely right. Now, this is actually a very famous event.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57The airship was known as SL 11 -
0:15:57 > 0:16:02- Schutte-Lanz, the company that made it and the number 11.- Uh-huh.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Now, this was the airship that was terrorising London
0:16:06 > 0:16:13in September, 1916, and it came on a bombing mission to bomb London.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16- Right.- People were watching from the streets
0:16:16 > 0:16:19and this tremendous battle between this giant airship,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22this huge monster of the air,
0:16:22 > 0:16:28and these little aircraft buzzing around it like wasps around a giant.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31And Captain Leefe Robinson from the Royal Flying Corps,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35who won a VC for this, a Victoria Cross for this,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39shot incendiary bullets into the airship and it exploded,
0:16:39 > 0:16:47caught alight and came down in Cuffley, which is in Hertfordshire.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49And here we have the inscription -
0:16:49 > 0:16:53"Cuffley, 3.9.16".
0:16:53 > 0:16:58That's the date. 3rd September, 1916.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- Now, what are the initials there? - DCD.- DCD?
0:17:01 > 0:17:04I don't know, I have no idea.
0:17:04 > 0:17:11This must have been an object made from a little bit of the airship
0:17:11 > 0:17:13and somebody who saw that airship come down
0:17:13 > 0:17:17grabbed a few bits of materials from it, grabbed some metal from it,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21and they made this ring out of it, fashioned this ring out of it.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24And I reckon DCD were his initials.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28- This is absolutely lovely. - I was going to throw it in the bin.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32I thought, "A bit of old metal. I don't want that."
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- This is quite a collectable object today.- Oh, right.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Anything to do with First World War airships are very, very collectible.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Would it surprise you if I told you that could be worth up to £500?
0:17:43 > 0:17:46What, a bit of old metal?!
0:17:46 > 0:17:49- SHE LAUGHS - Wow.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Here's a really exquisite little book.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Fits in the palm of my hand
0:17:56 > 0:17:59and it's got this lovely cover. But what's the book inside?
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Let's have a look.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04- I'm going to read the title, if you don't mind.- Yes, that's fine.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08"The World Turned Upside-Down Or The Comical Metamorphoses -
0:18:08 > 0:18:13"a work entirely calculated to excite laughter in grown persons
0:18:13 > 0:18:16"and promote morality in younger ones of both sexes."
0:18:16 > 0:18:19And to emphasize the idea of the world turned upside down,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23here we have a harlequin standing on its head and on this page,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26we've got some fashionable Londoners wondering around
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and then you turn it upside down
0:18:28 > 0:18:30and there are people on the far side of the world,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33in the Far Indies, over here. Tell me about it.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37- Is it yours? - Well, it belonged to my parents.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42They inherited it, we think, from our grandparents
0:18:42 > 0:18:46and they, in turn, inherited it from a relative
0:18:46 > 0:18:49who had worked in service to a wealthy family.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51And you're now the lucky owner.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- Well, with my sister and brother, yes.- Beautiful.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Let's just have a look a little bit further.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59It's clearly a children's book. Although it tells us
0:18:59 > 0:19:01it's calculated to excite laughter in grown persons,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I think it's really aimed at children.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- There's no date on it at all.- No.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10But the binding, coupled with the style of the printing here,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- I think it's London in the 1790s. - 1790s?
0:19:13 > 0:19:16There are little verses on the right-hand side
0:19:16 > 0:19:18and then an illustration on the left.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Here we've got some horses riding on top of their own riders,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24so horses turned jockeys.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29On another page - I love this one - a deer shooting at a gamekeeper.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31So, here's the deer with a rifle or a musket,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34shooting this poor chap behind the trees.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35This is a kind of humour
0:19:35 > 0:19:38which I think is a typically British kind of humour
0:19:38 > 0:19:40and it goes way, way back into history.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42What really first caught my eye about this,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46- it's not so much the subject itself, but it's the condition.- Yes.
0:19:46 > 0:19:47It's either never been near a child
0:19:47 > 0:19:50or it's been with a very careful child.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53In the scheme of 18th-century children's books,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55this is quite extraordinary.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59I've almost never seen better condition on this kind of book.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02I would bet that this probably survives
0:20:02 > 0:20:04- in two or three copies in the world.- My goodness.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06And you've got one of them.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09I think, at auction, that would certainly make
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- £1,500 to £2,000.- Would it?
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- Thank you.- I'm glad you're pleased.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18It's a real treat to see it. Thank you so much.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26This is the most lovely little singing bird box.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29It's not singing very loudly, I have to say.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34I'm going to put him away, cos I want to know why, particularly,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37- you brought it in today. - Well, it was about five years ago,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39I was watching the Antiques Roadshow with my mum,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41which is quite a family tradition in our house,
0:20:41 > 0:20:46and one of these boxes came on with a beautiful bird inside
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and I was saying how wonderful it was
0:20:48 > 0:20:50and how it was one of my favourite things
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and it was so intricate and detailed and then mum said,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56"Oh, I've actually got one of those somewhere."
0:20:56 > 0:20:59I'd never seen it before and she went off to one of her cupboards
0:20:59 > 0:21:02and pulled out this little box and brought it through
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and I loved it so much that she very kindly said
0:21:05 > 0:21:08I could be the custodian of it and look after it.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12But I know nothing about it, so I wanted to come, I came today
0:21:12 > 0:21:15just to find out some more about where it came from and what it is.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18It's a wonderful story. Let's just have a look here.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21There's a retailer's name in this lovely little red leather box,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24which says Desoutter of 4, Hanover Street.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Now, Desoutter was a watchmaker and a watch restorer in London
0:21:28 > 0:21:32and I know that he was working from about 1890
0:21:32 > 0:21:34through to about 1930-ish.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36So that gives us a little bit of a clue.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Now, I'm going to take the box out
0:21:38 > 0:21:42and the first thing I'm going to do, actually, is look at the underneath.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43What am I looking for?
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Wouldn't it be lovely to have a great label here saying,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49"I was made by..."? But I wasn't expecting to see that.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52I wanted to see where the keyhole was for winding.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Because if it was anywhere but there,
0:21:55 > 0:22:00it would probably be a mechanism which is a fusee wound,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03whereas this is a standard clockwork which indicates to me
0:22:03 > 0:22:05that it's not French, which would have been fusee,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08it's almost certainly German. And if it's German,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12it's going to almost certainly be by a man called Karl Griesbaum.
0:22:12 > 0:22:18He was working from about 1905 to about 1940, so there we go.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21We've got it almost pinpointed.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23We know when this company was operating,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25we know when that company was operating
0:22:25 > 0:22:29- and the two together, I'd put it at around 1920.- OK.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31I mean, it's interesting
0:22:31 > 0:22:34cos these are often described as musical snuffboxes
0:22:34 > 0:22:37and in the back here, there is a little compartment
0:22:37 > 0:22:38which has got the key in it.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Would you keep snuff in there? No, of course you wouldn't.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44So, I think that's an erroneous description.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46But it's a tortoiseshell box
0:22:46 > 0:22:49with a little hand-painted plaque on the top. It's just lovely.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53And I would put the value at between £3,000 and £5,000.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57So, let's see what it's made of, let it sing us out,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01although what it loses in its volume in singing terms,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04it is very flappy, so let's give it a go.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07BIRDS SINGS QUIETLY AND MECHANISM WHIRRS
0:23:13 > 0:23:15What we've got is a really good little collection
0:23:15 > 0:23:18of post-war design items. Are you a collector?
0:23:18 > 0:23:22- What's the story behind all of this? - Yes, I'm very much a collector.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26When I first bought my house in 1999, it was an empty house,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30so I needed to furnish it and so I started scouring boot fairs
0:23:30 > 0:23:33and markets to try and acquire a collection
0:23:33 > 0:23:36that's really trying to be eye-catching
0:23:36 > 0:23:39and kind of retro to the spirit of the 1960s.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42So, what we're looking at, represented on this table,
0:23:42 > 0:23:47is a brilliant post-war period of Italian design, essentially,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50a very playful period in which major designers -
0:23:50 > 0:23:53people like Vico Magistretti, who did some of these lamps here,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57and Joe Colombo - were experimenting with new materials,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00new ways of moulding, new visions really.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04These are, in some ways, a triumph of form over function.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07- Yes, very much so. - And yet, some of them don't work
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- very well at all, do they?- No.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11You've probably noticed this lamp here.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15It's warped because when the light is on too much,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17- it will warp the plastic. - So tell me who that lamp's by.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21- This is Joe Colombo.- He's a great designer, a really great designer,
0:24:21 > 0:24:22but what he didn't anticipate
0:24:22 > 0:24:25was that people would leave the light turned on and folded up.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28- That's right.- That was the problem with it, wasn't it?- Yeah.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30So, it's almost impossible to get one of those
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- that doesn't have that bubble on the back of it.- Yeah.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- So was that a boot fair purchase? - It wasn't.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38I got that on a secondary website,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42but the typewriter, for instance, that was a boot fair find.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45- That was a very local boot fair to here.- Right.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47And I paid a very small amount of money for it.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50That's the Valentine typewriter.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54This is an absolute design classic, Ettore Sottsass.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- 1969, I believe that was designed. - Yeah.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00And that fits into its case.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03It's all integral. The design - everything is very compact.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05It's a great, great looking thing.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Would you say that collecting this sort of material
0:25:07 > 0:25:10- has become a little bit obsessional for you?- Yes.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14- Are you overfilling your home with this?- Yes.- You are?- Absolutely.
0:25:14 > 0:25:15I've never sold a piece.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20I'm still a collector, 100%, and my wife hates me for it.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21Well, what I like about these,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24technically, they all kind of tend to do something,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28so we're able to vary the amount of light that's let out.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32- They're all quite tactile, aren't they, in many ways?- Yes.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34They all operate and close and open.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39- What kind of money did you pay for the typewriter?- This was £6.- £6?!
0:25:39 > 0:25:43- £6.- OK. They're not enormously expensive to buy, I have to say.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46- They did produce an awful lot of them.- Mass-produced.- Absolutely.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49So, you can buy a really nice one for about £100 or so,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52but it was still a bit of a bargain.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54What about this Magistretti lamp, for instance?
0:25:54 > 0:25:57That one was probably around £20.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00- It might be worth about £40, do you think?- £40?
0:26:00 > 0:26:02No, I think it's worth a bit more than that.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05- I think it's worth about £70 to £100.- Right, OK.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08I think it's a great piece of design. What about the Colombo lamp?
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Because of the damage, no-one wanted to buy it,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14so I think I paid about £12 for that one.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17I think that that, again, is worth around £70 to £100,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19- in that condition.- Yeah.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21But if we add up what you've got on the table,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25there's probably £400 to £600-worth here, collectively.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29But it's all about the style, it's all about the design
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and I can see, for you, that you really, really enjoy collecting.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Yeah, it's an absolute dedication. It's a pursuit
0:26:36 > 0:26:41and yeah, I never tire of traipsing around at six in the morning,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44because the reward is sometimes there, that you see.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47- Yeah, your wife might tire of that eventually.- Yes, yeah.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54You passed this ring in its box to me and said,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56"This is my mother's engagement ring,"
0:26:56 > 0:27:00but when I looked at you, there seemed to be more to it than that.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Yes, there was. It was given to my mother by a man
0:27:04 > 0:27:06that she was deeply in love with
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- and he jilted her at the altar. - JOANNA GASPS
0:27:09 > 0:27:14- She had her full wedding dress on and she was pregnant...- No!
0:27:14 > 0:27:16..which made it worse
0:27:16 > 0:27:20and it's something that is never spoken about in our house.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24I knew the man existed because of a photograph by my mother's bed.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28- She kept it with her always. - When was this?
0:27:28 > 0:27:32Must have been about 1944. '43, '44.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37- She worked in the NAAFI and he was an RAF pilot...- Gosh.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39- ..who was already married... - JOANNA GASPS
0:27:39 > 0:27:42- ..and did not tell her, obviously. - Oh, my...
0:27:42 > 0:27:45But they went together to buy this ring.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47They went together to buy it?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Yes, it's all noted in her letters
0:27:49 > 0:27:53and I have the receipt for it as well, at home, for the ring,
0:27:53 > 0:27:55so it's an extremely sad story.
0:27:55 > 0:28:01I mean, what this ring represents is huge.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04It's just... That's what jewellery...
0:28:04 > 0:28:08This is the most emotive jewel I think I've ever, ever had
0:28:08 > 0:28:12on the Antiques Roadshow, because of the emotional strain
0:28:12 > 0:28:17- and the love and the passion that's gone into this ring.- It is.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21It's just sad that it was the opals, which is a very bad sign.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Well, they are in a heart shape
0:28:23 > 0:28:27and you have got a ruby in the centre, which is for passion,
0:28:27 > 0:28:31and you've got the diamonds, the stalk of the clover,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33- for love forever.- Yes.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37- It's a beautiful story. - Maybe it's a beautiful story.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41He probably did really, really love your mum.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44You can't put a value on something like this.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46But if one is to sell it at auction,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49it would be around £300 to £500, something like that.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53- But, quite frankly...- It will stay in my family with the letters.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Thank you so much for sharing
0:28:55 > 0:28:58- that very sad story with us. - Thank you very much.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02Well, here's a very beautiful box
0:29:02 > 0:29:07- that promises so much. Shall we have a look inside?- Yeah.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09I expect they're miniatures and here they are.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12- They're very beautiful miniatures, actually. Look at that.- Ah.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15- Absolutely lovely.- Isn't that kind? - Are they relatives of yours?
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Well, they probably are but, I'm afraid, lost in time.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23But they've been in the family, presumably since they were done.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Yes, good. But if I told you the date
0:29:25 > 0:29:29and if I told you what I thought the regiment of him was -
0:29:29 > 0:29:31because he's obviously an army officer -
0:29:31 > 0:29:33would that help you find him in your family tree?
0:29:33 > 0:29:35That would be absolutely fantastic.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38We think - cos I showed it to the militaria chaps, you know -
0:29:38 > 0:29:42that he's a guards officer, possibly a Scottish guards officer,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45so that might help you some way towards that.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48- It immediately helps me.- Does it? - Yes.- You get closer in your mind...
0:29:48 > 0:29:52It immediately helps me because I suspect the name Douglas
0:29:52 > 0:29:55might suddenly come up, if it's a Scottish regiment.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Oh, right, well, there you go.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01You're off on your researches now to try and find out who they are,
0:30:01 > 0:30:04but the point is that they are extremely beautiful.
0:30:04 > 0:30:05They're very much in the manner
0:30:05 > 0:30:07of a famous miniaturist called Engleheart.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12George Engleheart was probably the most influential miniature painter
0:30:12 > 0:30:18of about 1800 and his style was copied by many pupils.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20After Richard Cosway, he was the best.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23In fact, he painted the king 25 times or something,
0:30:23 > 0:30:25so he was very fashionable as well.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29All the sort of good families of England and much of Europe
0:30:29 > 0:30:32flocked to his studio to have their miniatures done.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Her features are so beautifully observed
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and it is amazing in miniature how they could do that.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39- Isn't it extraordinary? - And, actually,
0:30:39 > 0:30:41if I very gently and gingerly remove her from the box,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43you can see a lock of her hair there,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46which is very typical of miniatures of this age.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48Then this one, it's got both his hair
0:30:48 > 0:30:52and his military braiding, which is fascinating.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54It would be nice to think he might have fought
0:30:54 > 0:30:57at the Battle of Waterloo, since we're here at Walmer.
0:30:57 > 0:30:58Wouldn't that be a lovely thought?
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Has your family got anything to do with Walmer?
0:31:01 > 0:31:04My four great-grandfathers, four times back,
0:31:04 > 0:31:08- were the apothecaries for the Duke of Wellington.- Oh.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10They were a family who'd been here,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13in this part of the world, since the 16th century.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Now, they're absolutely stunning.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17- You'll never sell them, they're family things.- Yes.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19- Have you ever had them valued?- No.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Well, I think, of that quality - I can't say they're by Engleheart,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24but they're certainly from his school
0:31:24 > 0:31:26and a very talented hand indeed,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- because they are so fine and so very period.- Ah, how kind.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33- They're really lovely. £2,000 or £3,000.- Nice to know.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36- Nice to pass on to the next generation.- Exactly.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40If jackets could talk,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43I think this one would have an amazing story to tell.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Who did it belong to?
0:31:46 > 0:31:51This jacket belonged to JFK, the President of the United States.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54- How do we know that? - There was a Swedish aristocrat,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57who had a daughter called Gunilla von Post,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01and he sent her to finishing school in France
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and she lived in the south of France and then in Paris, I believe,
0:32:04 > 0:32:11and she was JFK's lover before he got married to Jacqueline Bouvier.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16I believe the relationship ended in 1955, 1956.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19She then, obviously, kept it, never gave it back,
0:32:19 > 0:32:21so what was the history following then?
0:32:21 > 0:32:25Well, some of her belongings and some of her love letters from JFK
0:32:25 > 0:32:27were sold recently in America
0:32:27 > 0:32:31and some of his goods were left in the apartment
0:32:31 > 0:32:33and she had three children and a nephew.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35The nephew was given some of the items
0:32:35 > 0:32:39and his best friend is my father, and gave it to him.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43- A lot of information there. Let's take it one step at a time.- OK.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45- Cos I'm slightly confused.- OK.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49- So, this beautiful young girl, aged 21, 22...- Yes.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52- ..down in the south of France on holiday...- Yes.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57- ..happens to bump into JFK.- Yes. - They fall in love.- Yes.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59He then disappears back to the States.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06- Two or three weeks later, he marries Jacqueline.- Yes.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10- Without the provenance, you're not going to get the dollar signs.- No.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13And that seems a very strong link, although quite a long one,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16from JFK's back to MY back,
0:33:16 > 0:33:19- if I can take it home with me now. - THEY LAUGH
0:33:19 > 0:33:22The other thing is, when I did the research on it,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24I thought, "Well, let's look at some of the details."
0:33:24 > 0:33:28And if it wasn't the right size, I would have said, "Hang on a minute",
0:33:28 > 0:33:33- but it is a 44. And he was a 44. - He was a 44, yeah.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38Yeah, in America or anywhere worldwide, it is an iconic piece.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42- He was a cool dude, wasn't he? - He was.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Um, what's it worth?
0:33:45 > 0:33:48I think probably at auction, should you decide to sell,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51somewhere along of the line of between, maybe,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55- £200,000 and £300,000.- Blimey!
0:33:55 > 0:33:58- HE LAUGHS - Oh, God.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01That is a lot of money! That is...
0:34:01 > 0:34:04- The story is everything.- Yes.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08- Please write it down.- Yes. - Put it in the pocket.- Yes.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11- I feel confident the market will pay that price.- Fantastic.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Thank you very much. Glad I brought it. I'm never going to sell it!
0:34:14 > 0:34:16LAUGHTER
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- Yes, I am! - LAUGHTER
0:34:21 > 0:34:24I want you to imagine Paris in 1925.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27It was a city that was at a turning point -
0:34:27 > 0:34:31a turning point in design, in style, in fashion,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34all pivotal around the 1925 Paris Exhibition.
0:34:34 > 0:34:40It was the most wonderful event that transformed how people made,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43consumed and decorated their homes.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45And this, for me,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48is one of the purest sort of interpretations of that.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52This is classic French, classic 1925 to 1930.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55So, how does it end up here, at Walmer Castle?
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Well, it was bought by my grandparents,
0:34:58 > 0:35:00in and around the '30s, as I understand.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03They used to holiday in Paris and in Europe
0:35:03 > 0:35:06and they liked the good things in life and it came back
0:35:06 > 0:35:10and it hung in the hall of their house that they lived in
0:35:10 > 0:35:14until many years later and it used to frighten the life out of me
0:35:14 > 0:35:16as a little boy, coming down the stairs.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18It's now come down the line to me.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20It hangs on the wall in MY hall
0:35:20 > 0:35:23and frightens the life out of MY kids when it's on.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Oh, these things always get passed down the generations, don't they?
0:35:26 > 0:35:29- Exactly.- And you mentioned one thing which isn't instantly apparent.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33- But if I just flip that round, it's a light fitting.- Exactly.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36It's a wall-mounted light fitting
0:35:36 > 0:35:41and it's just the most fantastically glorious example of art deco.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46It's a Limoges porcelain mask, mounted in this wrought-iron frame.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50This just screams of one of their great metal workers, Edgar Brandt.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51I'm not saying it's BY him,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54but the influence and the inspiration is there.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59- Is it a one-off?- No. These were manufactured in all manner of masks.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01I've seen Egyptian faces,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04I've seen sort of Spanish dancers with hairpieces and combs.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09They're all stylised interpretations of the female face.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11But, of course, as it typical with deco,
0:36:11 > 0:36:15everything gets pared down to the absolute bare minimum.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18But the whole thing about it is, it's drama.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21And imagine this, when you were a child, held up to the light,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25I mean, it just must have been so effective.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27So, when your grandparents bought it,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29it would have been a considered purchase.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32This wasn't a kiss-me-quick hat from a Paris trip
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and that's the same today.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37I think, if you had to go and replace this in a smart shop,
0:36:37 > 0:36:38a smart art deco retailer,
0:36:38 > 0:36:42you're going to have to go in with £800 to £1,200.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Wow, that's a surprise. But it won't go.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47It's got to frighten the children a little bit more.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49And in years to come, hopefully,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52they will continue to frighten THEIR grandchildren with it as well.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Exactly, exactly.
0:36:55 > 0:37:01So, a very interesting collection of items you brought us today.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04I'm going to ask, did you pick these up on your travels
0:37:04 > 0:37:07- and bring them back, maybe in your hand luggage?- No!
0:37:07 > 0:37:10No, they're inherited from my parents.
0:37:10 > 0:37:16They were collected by my mother and father in the '40s and '50s.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21They collected quite a lot of Asian furniture which, unfortunately,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24my mother had bleached because she didn't like the black furniture.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28- Bleached? - Yeah, it's now blond furniture.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32- And these came along with it.- And what's the history of the family?
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Was there links between Asia and...?
0:37:35 > 0:37:37No, no, I come from a travelling fairground family.
0:37:37 > 0:37:42We've been travelling showmen for 200 years
0:37:42 > 0:37:46- and just before the war, settled in Dreamland in Margate.- Oh, wow.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Then that, of course, went away during the war
0:37:48 > 0:37:53and resettled in 1945, which is when this collection started.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57- And what do you know of them? - Nothing.- Nothing, OK.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01That's been an umbrella and walking stick stand for the last 50 years.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05I think that makes a perfect umbrella and walking stick stand.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08It's certainly pretty robust. It's not going to go anywhere.
0:38:08 > 0:38:15So, this one is Japanese and dates from the, sort of, Meiji period,
0:38:15 > 0:38:19around the latter part of the 19th century.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24It would have been made for export. There was a great appetite,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26here in Europe and elsewhere in the world,
0:38:26 > 0:38:30for all things Asian, in the latter part of the 19th century.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33Chinoiserie was flavour of the day.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36What I particularly like about this is this amazing raised decoration.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38So, this is cast bronze.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42I love this wonderful dragon that we see coming,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46and he's coiled all the way around the neck of the vase.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49And what I particularly like about this one is the colour.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53Very, very nice colour, and that's important with bronze.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55This is also Japanese.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59Similar period, so latter part of the 19th century.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01And, again, it would have been something
0:39:01 > 0:39:05that was made for export for the European market.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08And what I like about that one, again, is it has lovely colour.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12- It just has a wonderful colour to it.- Glad I didn't dust them then.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14I'm glad you didn't too.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18So, if we turn our attention to this Chinese figure -
0:39:18 > 0:39:21what we would call a root wood carving.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24What I really like here is the little carved foot
0:39:24 > 0:39:26coming out at the bottom.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28Again, this one is 19th century,
0:39:28 > 0:39:31- so you're seeing a bit of a pattern here.- Mmm.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34I think the quality of the carving is very good.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36He's made in a hardwood.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39I've had a good look and I think it's probably a wood called zitan.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43- Zitan.- Zitan, which, actually, if you try and pick him up...- Yeah.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45..he is incredibly heavy.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49And, if you turn this around, you can just see how the sculptor,
0:39:49 > 0:39:54the artist, has used that sort of natural form of the wood
0:39:54 > 0:39:58to create this wonderful sort of cloak that we see him wearing,
0:39:58 > 0:40:02and just this beautiful gnarled roots that are coming out.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04So, that's part of the original tree,
0:40:04 > 0:40:06- rather than a carving?- Absolutely.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09This was carved out of one piece. There are no additions,.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12The carving's been done beautifully.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14So, value.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18I think size does matter in this case,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21and I think that this one, if it came up for auction,
0:40:21 > 0:40:23would carry a pre-sale estimate
0:40:23 > 0:40:26of between £1,500 and £2,500.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32I think this one would fetch between £400 to £600.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35But this one, for me...
0:40:36 > 0:40:40..I think is the standout and I think that would fetch
0:40:40 > 0:40:43- between £2,000 to £3,000, if it came up for auction.- Really?
0:40:43 > 0:40:47- It's a lovely thing. They're lovely things.- Thank you.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Well, this is an extraordinarily exuberant object.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56It actually brings some joy into my heart.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59- Oh, that's brilliant news. - THEY LAUGH
0:40:59 > 0:41:02What I love about it, is I love these bright colours,
0:41:02 > 0:41:04I love the fact that the person who made this
0:41:04 > 0:41:08has pierced the porcelain to pick out these lovely flowers on the top.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11- Oh, yes. - It's absolutely gorgeous.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13It's a bit bashed, isn't it?
0:41:13 > 0:41:16- I notice the top's missing and there's a...- It's seen better days.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20It's seen better days. It's a bit bashed. What do you know about it?
0:41:20 > 0:41:24- The lady in the picture here owned it.- The photograph.- The photograph.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26And she is our great-grandmother
0:41:26 > 0:41:29and the item has been in our family ever since,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32so it's over 100 years old and that's really all we know about it.
0:41:32 > 0:41:33- That's all you know.- Yeah.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37Well, the photograph shows a very grand drawing room,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39which is full of wonderful, rich things -
0:41:39 > 0:41:42paintings and knick-knacks all over every surface,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45typically Victorian. And your ancestor is sitting there.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48She looks very pleased with herself, doesn't she?
0:41:48 > 0:41:51- She does, doesn't she?- "Look at me! I've got all these lovely things!"
0:41:51 > 0:41:53So, this tureen is actually pictured there,
0:41:53 > 0:41:57- in the centre of the mantelpiece, isn't it?- It is, yes.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01The very same one. But do you know what this is, as an object?
0:42:01 > 0:42:05I've got no idea at all. If you could tell me a bit of information,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08- I'd be really grateful, actually. - I can date it quite accurately,
0:42:08 > 0:42:10cos these were only made for a couple of years,
0:42:10 > 0:42:15- between 1770 and 1772.- Gosh!
0:42:15 > 0:42:19- So, it's a lot more than 100 years old.- Gosh, it is, isn't it? Wow!
0:42:19 > 0:42:22And it was made at the Worcester factory
0:42:22 > 0:42:24and the Worcester factory records list these
0:42:24 > 0:42:28- as tureens for cream and sugar. - Oh, right.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31So, imagine a table laid out with all this fabulous stuff,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35in the 18th century, and maybe you're having strawberries or fruit
0:42:35 > 0:42:39and the cream is in one of these, the sugar is in another.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Although the pot was made in Worcester, it was sent to London
0:42:43 > 0:42:46with absolutely no decoration on it at all.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49It was totally white and there was a workshop in London,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52run by a man called James Giles
0:42:52 > 0:42:57and he was the one who applied this decoration.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01- Wow.- Do you think that such a wrecked old pot
0:43:01 > 0:43:05- could have any value at all?- No.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07To be perfectly honest, no, I don't.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10- No, no, it's just been in the cupboard.- Well, I do.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13I think it's worth £1,500 to £2,000.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16No! £1,500 to £2,000?
0:43:16 > 0:43:20- Wow! You've made my day! - SHE LAUGHS
0:43:22 > 0:43:24Now, you've brought along a couple of bracelets here
0:43:24 > 0:43:27which, when I looked at them in the boxes to start off with,
0:43:27 > 0:43:31I thought to myself, "Well, they're quite straightforward.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34"There's nothing TOO spectacular about them."
0:43:34 > 0:43:40In the box, here in front of me, is a typical Victorian gold bangle,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44in the form of a snake with turquoise in the head.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48They're very common. We see quite a lot of these sort of things.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50The other one, in the original box,
0:43:50 > 0:43:53which is by a firm called Phillips of Cockspur Street,
0:43:53 > 0:43:55quite a well-known jewellers of the 19th century,
0:43:55 > 0:44:00- is a carved bracelet - not ivory, interestingly. They're bone.- Yeah.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05Chinese bone carvings. Five plaques, mounted up in gold.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09May I say, in the normal way of things, not super special.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12But then there's something about these
0:44:12 > 0:44:15that makes them EXTREMELY special.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Would you like to tell us what that might be?
0:44:17 > 0:44:22Well, they came from a collection of Charles Dickens memorabilia
0:44:22 > 0:44:25which my fa...my brother had.
0:44:25 > 0:44:31Well, he bought it 25 years ago from the family connection.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Now, can I say something which is absolutely crucial?
0:44:34 > 0:44:36Because you know this -
0:44:36 > 0:44:40the provenance has to be absolutely unwavering.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44Are you absolutely happy that the provenance
0:44:44 > 0:44:48- is absolutely going back to Dickens himself?- Yes, it seems so.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Definitely, from all the bits that he's got.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Because you've shown me a couple of bits of jewellery, true.
0:44:54 > 0:44:59- But also, you have a whole feast of memorabilia, don't you?- Yes.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03- You have a cheque that's signed by Dickens himself.- Yes.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05You have all sorts of memorabilia
0:45:05 > 0:45:09that he would have used in his working life.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13You have artefacts that make it quite an extraordinary hoard.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17Also, is it true to say that the snake bracelet itself
0:45:17 > 0:45:19was put on show in London in the 1970s,
0:45:19 > 0:45:23as part of an exhibition of Charles Dickens memorabilia?
0:45:23 > 0:45:26So, that's a direct connection going right the way...
0:45:26 > 0:45:28- Yes, that's for sure. - Because I don't need to tell you
0:45:28 > 0:45:33- that if anyone has a scintilla of doubt...- They'll, yes.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35- ..it affects it dramatically.- Yes.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37Now, I understand that these were given
0:45:37 > 0:45:40- to his wife, Catherine, weren't they?- Yes.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44So, Kate Dickens and Charles Dickens didn't have an altogether
0:45:44 > 0:45:47- joyful relationship in their married life, did they?- No.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50And it's true to say it wasn't a marriage made in heaven.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54- They had several children. - Yes...true.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57- LAUGHTER - So, what I'm going to do is this.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59I'm going to tell you what I think they're worth
0:45:59 > 0:46:01if they weren't Dickens and then I'm going to tell you
0:46:01 > 0:46:05what I think they could be worth,
0:46:05 > 0:46:07subject to what might happen next.
0:46:07 > 0:46:12That's worth, in my opinion, £300 or £400, with no provenance.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16This is worth maybe £600 to £800, with no provenance.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19With the Charles Dickens provenance, let us hope
0:46:19 > 0:46:22that that bracelet is worth £800 to £1,200.
0:46:22 > 0:46:27And let us hope that this snake bangle...
0:46:27 > 0:46:29£2,000 to £3,000.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34But that, I think, gives us a basis, a grounding,
0:46:34 > 0:46:38a starting point with what these might be worth.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45At this time of day, I'm rather sorry that this is empty.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47- LAUGHTER - Claret jugs always look
0:46:47 > 0:46:50so much better when they're full of a red liquid.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Oh, I'm sorry. I would have put something in if I'd known.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55- It would have spilt though. - Next show, eh?
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Usually, the glass on a claret jug in the least exciting thing,
0:46:58 > 0:47:00but this is a glorious piece of glass.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03It's a beautiful thing, a real treasure. Where did you find it?
0:47:03 > 0:47:06I can go back as far as childhood that it was in my parents' home,
0:47:06 > 0:47:10but it might have come from my grandmother
0:47:10 > 0:47:13who was seamstress to a reasonably wealthy family.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17The other thing she did as a seamstress was she helped to make,
0:47:17 > 0:47:21- it was either Queen Alexandra's or Queen Mary's coronation robe.- Ooh.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24I think, from the dates, it might have been Queen Mary,
0:47:24 > 0:47:26- but I'm not sure on that. - So she knew her seamstressing.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30- She knew her seamstressing. - And this was the product of that.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33- I'm not nearly as good as she was. - This is a beautiful thing.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37The glass is Thomas Webb & Sons who are a Stourbridge firm,
0:47:37 > 0:47:39who are masters of this kind of glasswork.
0:47:39 > 0:47:44- This is hallmarked for 1885, which was the height of their powers.- Yes.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47And they've done a beautiful job.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49The glass is so beautiful that somebody has gone off
0:47:49 > 0:47:53to see a fellow called Walter Thornhill in West London,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56who was famous among the great and the good,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59for very fashionable knick-knacks - gold and silver knick-knacks
0:47:59 > 0:48:02for the wealthy and the powerful of London.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04And he's gone to a huge amount of trouble
0:48:04 > 0:48:07and he's mounted this glass jug beautifully
0:48:07 > 0:48:10- with all this aesthetic silverware. - Mmm-hmm.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13- The hallmark on it is 1885.- Yes.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16So, it was a very fashionable object at the time.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Claret jugs, because of their function
0:48:19 > 0:48:23- and because of their great aesthetic beauty, are collected.- Mmm-hmm.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27It's hard to know exactly what it would make if it came up for sale,
0:48:27 > 0:48:29because I haven't seen one before.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32I'll be honest, I've never seen one before. It's a very lovely thing.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34It should make a minimum of about...
0:48:35 > 0:48:38- ..£10,000, £12,000.- Oh, my life!
0:48:40 > 0:48:42Well, I think it deserves to be filled up with something
0:48:42 > 0:48:46- quite expensive from the Bordeaux region, perhaps.- Are you offering?
0:48:46 > 0:48:48No, I'm hoping I'm going to be offered!
0:48:51 > 0:48:54In its rich gilded frame, this looks like an old master paining.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57But, of course, it excites me because it's made of pottery.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01- What do you know about it? - Well, I don't know a great deal.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05My mother bought it, I think, in Suffolk
0:49:05 > 0:49:09in the '50s maybe or early '60s.
0:49:09 > 0:49:14I inherited it when she died and it's now hanging over my bed.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16- So it's come to you that way.- Yes.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19But I feel sure there must be a story behind it.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23Yes, well, the image here is St Joseph with the infant Jesus.
0:49:23 > 0:49:24It's terribly difficult
0:49:24 > 0:49:28to paint on majolica. That's the Italian name for pottery.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31And the detail there is really quite incredible.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34This painter really knew what he was doing.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38So, it is exciting to notice at the side there, that it's signed.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42- Yes, yes.- And we've got the initials and signature.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46So, it seems to be Dr Grue P
0:49:46 > 0:49:50and then a date beneath that, 1735.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52- And do you think that's genuine? - Well, it all fits in
0:49:52 > 0:49:57because Dr Grue would be Francesco Antonio Grue
0:49:57 > 0:50:01who was a great painter working in Italy at that time,
0:50:01 > 0:50:05at Castelli, just north of Naples and Rome there.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07And famous for painting pottery plaques.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11The Grue family had the best workshop there.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16And Dr Grue, Francesco, was the senior painter.
0:50:16 > 0:50:191735 was when he was doing some of his best plaques.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Oh, good! Getting better!
0:50:21 > 0:50:23If I can just tip it from the back there
0:50:23 > 0:50:26and you look inside the frame there, we can just see,
0:50:26 > 0:50:30hidden there, is a little yellow band which it should have.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33- Oh, right.- It's tucked away but it's not cut down.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36It's all there under the frame.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39- So, it worried me that this was just the middle of something.- Yes.
0:50:39 > 0:50:46But instead, it's the whole plaque that he's painted there. So, 1735.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48In a way, that's late for Italian majolica.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50The great pieces are centuries older.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54But this is by a master and it's signed,
0:50:54 > 0:50:56so that all adds up quite a bit.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59- How exciting.- So, what shall we say?
0:50:59 > 0:51:03- £4,000?- No! No!
0:51:03 > 0:51:06- Oh, whoopee! - LAUGHTER
0:51:10 > 0:51:12So, tell me, how did you get this?
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Um, it belonged to an old lady
0:51:15 > 0:51:21who, unfortunately, died and it was left to her niece
0:51:21 > 0:51:25and when her niece was clearing out everything in the house,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29she said that she didn't want it, so she gave it to me.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31And you were in the house at the time?
0:51:31 > 0:51:34- You knew this old lady?- Yes, I'd known her for a number of years.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36And what did you think when the niece said,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39"I don't want this. You can have it"?
0:51:39 > 0:51:41I thought, "Wow, thank you very much."
0:51:41 > 0:51:43SHE LAUGHS
0:51:43 > 0:51:45I think I would go, "Wow," as well!
0:51:45 > 0:51:51What first sprang out at me was the design of it
0:51:51 > 0:51:54because the oval with the diamonds...
0:51:54 > 0:51:56They're circular-cut diamonds,
0:51:56 > 0:52:00but the rubies have been set like they're a shadow.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04It's making the whole oval like a 3-D effect.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08Do you know, to cut one of those rubies
0:52:08 > 0:52:12would take at least half a day to get it right,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15- to put it into that mount. - I didn't know that.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19It is so intricate and the skill...
0:52:19 > 0:52:23The lapidary has to sit next to the mounter
0:52:23 > 0:52:25because they have to work together, in tandem,
0:52:25 > 0:52:27to be able to put the piece together.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31It's French. It's about 1920.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33It's absolutely charming.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37And I would say, in the right auction,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40you'd be looking at around about...
0:52:41 > 0:52:45- ..£3,000.- My goodness.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48- You are very surprised.- Yeah, I am! I am very surprised!
0:52:48 > 0:52:50LAUGHTER
0:52:50 > 0:52:55Well, it's a stunning jewel and I'm sure you'll go home tonight
0:52:55 > 0:52:57and I think your wife should wear it tonight
0:52:57 > 0:53:00and you both have a glass of champagne to celebrate.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03- Thank you very much. - Thank you so much. Thank you.
0:53:05 > 0:53:10- Well, what a fantastic image. - Thank you.- What have we got here?
0:53:10 > 0:53:14It really sort of epitomises everything of the age of speed.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17Here we are. He's belting past...
0:53:17 > 0:53:20He's belting as fast as he can to get past the finish line.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24It really does convey the age of speed.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27We see the driver here has got a little racing helmet on,
0:53:27 > 0:53:29there he is, changing gear
0:53:29 > 0:53:34and he's just desperately trying to get past the finish line.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37- This sign is actually known as the winner sign.- Oh, right.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41And if you are a collector of automobilia and enamel signs,
0:53:41 > 0:53:44this is the creme de la creme of signs.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48This is the one that you want. Tell me, how did you come to have this?
0:53:48 > 0:53:51I went to a junk shop to buy some militaria,
0:53:51 > 0:53:53as I was interested in that.
0:53:53 > 0:53:58I couldn't buy nothing I wanted and as I turned round and walked out,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02I noticed this on the wall and I just said, "That's for me."
0:54:02 > 0:54:05And that's what I did. I bought it on the spot
0:54:05 > 0:54:07and I've loved it ever since.
0:54:07 > 0:54:12It's my epitome of what speed and those ages were.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16- And when was that?- I bought that just over 20 years ago.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18- Right, so you've had it a little while.- Yeah.
0:54:18 > 0:54:23Obviously, these enamel signs were made to advertise various products.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26They were put outside garages, petrol stations
0:54:26 > 0:54:29and car dealerships, as we know them today.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32Consequently, they're not in terribly good condition.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35As you can see, very often they have the screw holes in the corners,
0:54:35 > 0:54:37where they were attached to the wall
0:54:37 > 0:54:41and we see a lot of them and they're terribly badly rusted.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44This one, actually, is not too bad at all.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48Datewise, we're looking at probably the mid-1920s on it.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51So many people would love to have this -
0:54:51 > 0:54:54not only your enamel sign collectors,
0:54:54 > 0:54:57but also classic car enthusiasts.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59Do you have it on the wall at home?
0:54:59 > 0:55:04No, it's been in the garage for 20-odd years.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08I know it's there. I'd look at it when I used to go into the garage
0:55:08 > 0:55:10- and that's where it stayed.- Really?
0:55:10 > 0:55:13I'm afraid the wife really wouldn't appreciate it on the wall
0:55:13 > 0:55:17with some of the other bits and pieces I've got,
0:55:17 > 0:55:21- so in the garage it stayed.- How much did you pay for it at the time?
0:55:21 > 0:55:24- £10.- £10. So, £10 about 20 years ago.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28If you saw it now, what would you pay for it now?
0:55:28 > 0:55:31- Er... - LAUGHTER
0:55:31 > 0:55:34£5, if I really had my way.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37No, something in the region of maybe £200, £250?
0:55:37 > 0:55:39Anybody else, good guesses?
0:55:39 > 0:55:41What would you be prepared to pay for a sign like this?
0:55:41 > 0:55:46- £400.- £400. Any more takers on that?
0:55:46 > 0:55:50- £500.- £500. OK, we're going up. We're going in the right direction.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53I think, if this were to come up for sale,
0:55:53 > 0:55:56in a really good motoring or classic car auction,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59I think it would make £10,000 to £15,000.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02CROWD MEMBERS GASP
0:56:02 > 0:56:04LAUGHTER
0:56:07 > 0:56:09No! No!
0:56:09 > 0:56:14- Yeah.- That's been in the garage. It's been a sleeper.
0:56:14 > 0:56:15Darling, I love you!
0:56:15 > 0:56:18LAUGHTER
0:56:18 > 0:56:20Oh! Oh, strewth!
0:56:22 > 0:56:23Who'd have believed it?
0:56:23 > 0:56:26A motoring sign worth £10,000 to £15,000
0:56:26 > 0:56:29and he only paid a tenner and it's been in the garage!
0:56:29 > 0:56:32What a great moment.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34Do you remember, at the beginning of the programme,
0:56:34 > 0:56:36I told you about the Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports
0:56:36 > 0:56:38who live here at Walmer Castle?
0:56:38 > 0:56:40Well, I'm joined by the latest Lord Warden, Lord Boyce.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43- And I'd like to talk to you about your winkle.- My winkle?
0:56:43 > 0:56:45Well, that's very special and here it is.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48- I'm so glad it wasn't a euphemism. - It's not.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52And the winkle derives from the fact that about 115 years ago,
0:56:52 > 0:56:54in Hastings, which is one of the Cinque Ports,
0:56:54 > 0:56:58one of the original Cinque Ports, the local fishermen set up a club
0:56:58 > 0:57:02called the Winkle Club and the idea is that, if you're a club member
0:57:02 > 0:57:06and you have your winkle and you go to another club member and say,
0:57:06 > 0:57:09"Winkle up," and he can't provide his winkle or show his winkle,
0:57:09 > 0:57:12then he has to pay a fine of £1
0:57:12 > 0:57:15and if he can, then I pay a fine of £1.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19And this money goes to local charities, mainly children,
0:57:19 > 0:57:21and they raise a lot of money each year -
0:57:21 > 0:57:23in the thousands rather than hundreds.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26What can I add to that? From Walmer Castle and the Antiques Roadshow
0:57:26 > 0:57:29and the Lord Warden's winkle, bye-bye.