0:00:43 > 0:00:46Tonight, we're unwrapping our very own Christmas special.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49We've come back to Lyme Park in Cheshire,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52where recently we welcomed over 2,000 visitors
0:00:52 > 0:00:54who brought along their family treasures.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56And it's the perfect backdrop to our show.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00We've uncovered a magical Christmas story connected to a little girl
0:01:00 > 0:01:02who lived here many years ago.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Her name was Phyllis and she wrote a book reflecting on her life here
0:01:20 > 0:01:22when she was 11. And this is it,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Treasure On Earth, A Country House Christmas.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29And it's a perfect snapshot of an Edwardian Christmas in 1906.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33In it she reveals the traditions and characters and fun
0:01:33 > 0:01:36of the people who lived here in Lyme Park,
0:01:36 > 0:01:37both upstairs and downstairs.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Phyllis tells us about her parents, Lord and Lady Newton,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45throwing a lavish Christmas party in the Grand Hall for all
0:01:45 > 0:01:49their staff, capturing the happy scene in her drawings and paintings.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52In strict hierarchy the family would appear from the left
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and the estate workers from the right.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Meeting in the middle, they'd take their partners
0:01:56 > 0:01:59and spend the evening dancing and eating.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Phyllis describes how her mother would hand out
0:02:05 > 0:02:08gifts of joints of beef to all the staff.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12The butler would call out the names, the shepherd would place each
0:02:12 > 0:02:15joint of beef in a cloth and then Lady Newton would tie
0:02:15 > 0:02:19the corners of the cloth, while exchanging Christmas greetings.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26The account reveals other Christmas traditions.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29In Phyllis' words, the Christmas tree was decked with
0:02:29 > 0:02:33"rainbow-coloured iridescent glass balls hanging singly
0:02:33 > 0:02:36"and in garlands, shows of sparkling tinsel, bells and stars,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38"trumpets and violins."
0:02:40 > 0:02:43The greatest moment of excitement for Phyllis was of course,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46as for all children, when the presents were handed
0:02:46 > 0:02:47out from beneath the tree.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51The children from both upstairs and downstairs would process around
0:02:51 > 0:02:52the tree carrying Chinese lanterns.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56And Phyllis describes how Truelove, the butler,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59would follow behind with a bucket of water, just in case of fire.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Here in the glowing Christmas-bedecked drawing room
0:03:05 > 0:03:08of Lyme Park, I'll be talking shortly to our specialist Will Farmer
0:03:08 > 0:03:11about what would have been on Phyllis' Christmas list back then.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14But first, let's see what family heirlooms excited our experts
0:03:14 > 0:03:16when we visited here back in the summer.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21And first we're off to the races with expert Jon Baddeley,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24who uncovered an intriguing piece of history from the murky
0:03:24 > 0:03:26world of illegal betting.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29I have to say, this is one of the strangest things
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I've ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35You've brought in a rather tatty canvas bag with a top made
0:03:35 > 0:03:38out of Bakelite, so not precious metals or anything.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42And the only give-away to what it is, it says, "The Tic-Tac."
0:03:42 > 0:03:44And although I'm not much of a racing person, I'm sure that's
0:03:44 > 0:03:47to do with a racing term about how they communicated.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49So tell me, what is it?
0:03:49 > 0:03:56Well, my mum used to have to run down to the train station with
0:03:56 > 0:03:58this bag full of betting slips.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00And when was this?
0:04:00 > 0:04:05This would have been during the war, so about 1942, 1943.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08- At which point betting was illegal, wasn't it?- It was.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10So she is a bit concerned.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12So I won't give her name away.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14THEY LAUGH
0:04:14 > 0:04:15- She is worried.- OK.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18So I would have knocked on her door
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and pretend to have a cup of tea and say,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24"Can I have £5 on the 3.30 at Chester?"
0:04:24 > 0:04:25And you put it in the bag.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Well, the odds put on, you'd get your copy of that.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31- And it goes in.- And it goes in.
0:04:31 > 0:04:37- OK.- Right, so that's in the bag and there is the clock
0:04:37 > 0:04:40that's in there which currently tells the time.
0:04:40 > 0:04:46So when all bets have been taken, the clock gets put in the top
0:04:46 > 0:04:51here and then the top is put on,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54pushed up, it's now locked. That's stopped the clock.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57My mum had to run down to the station,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00give it to the station master or porter.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04It went on the train from Altrincham and at the other end,
0:05:04 > 0:05:09someone there took it to the illegal bookie's,
0:05:09 > 0:05:15who would get the bets out with the key and they would know
0:05:15 > 0:05:18at what time the bets were placed in, that they were placed
0:05:18 > 0:05:19before the race was won or run.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22So there was no opportunity to any skulduggery, so that
0:05:22 > 0:05:25actually somebody could put a bet in after the race had happened.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28That's right, they couldn't do it because the watch was stopped.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31- Absolutely ingenious. - Yeah, ingenious.- So...
0:05:31 > 0:05:32And nobody got caught.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34THEY LAUGH
0:05:34 > 0:05:36- Yet.- Not yet.- Oh, don't.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41- Well, bad news, it's... - Worth nothing.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- The bad news, it's not worth a great deal.- OK.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49The good news is that we've all learned about what this is
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and I think it's ingenious and I love it,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53so it really should go into
0:05:53 > 0:05:56I think the Horse Racing Museum at Newmarket
0:05:56 > 0:06:00would be delighted to have that, as I'm sure they haven't got one.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02So it's a museum piece beyond value.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Oh, she'll be delighted.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08- Good. Thank you very much. - Thank you very much.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10- We've learned a lot. - Thank you.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14So what's in this bright orange bag?
0:06:14 > 0:06:18So this is a picture that was in my granny's house in Liverpool.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20I've known it all my life.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23It's, as you can see, a little boy.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25So we've got a Christmassy scene with a boy,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27he's obviously gathering holly.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Maybe he's been out borrowing it and he's going to sell it
0:06:29 > 0:06:31and make a few pennies.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Rattling the change in his pocket here.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36I love the way he's got a little bit of holly in his hat there.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39- Yeah, that's really sweet, yeah. - Yes, very sweet.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41I think he's been sent out to collect this
0:06:41 > 0:06:42and he didn't really want to go.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45That's... Oh, do you think that's what it is?
0:06:45 > 0:06:47And so he's a bit cold and wants to get back in.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49- He's definitely not looking happy about it, is he?- Not at all.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51He's giving you a very beady eye.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53It's sort of a fairly bleak landscape there
0:06:53 > 0:06:55and rather unidentifiable, which is quite clever
0:06:55 > 0:06:58cos it could then be sold sort of more or less anywhere.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Yeah, yeah, and do you put holly in the back of it at Christmas?
0:07:01 > 0:07:02- We do, yes.- You do?
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- Yes, we do and we have it lit so that we can see.- Excellent.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08The number of pictures one finds with holly berries stuck in the
0:07:08 > 0:07:12stretchers behind, it's, you know with a sort of pimple at the front.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15This one's actually on canvas laid on to board.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20It's signed down here J Aitken, a Scottish artist.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21Oh, right, OK.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25And it's probably sort of 1870s, 1880s.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30And right now, in this bright sunlight, I think it's rather nice.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Yeah, well, we enjoy it, you know, I've always loved it
0:07:33 > 0:07:35and I hope that I'll always have it.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37So I think if you were to sell it,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39you'd get the best part of £1,000.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- Really?- Yeah.- OK, that's really nice to know. Thank you.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47So you've come here wearing an absolutely massive necklace.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50You look like Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52- Oh thank you. - Where did you get it from?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55It came from my late husband's cousin who was a collector
0:07:55 > 0:07:58of beads and jewellery, and she puts pieces together.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02She used to live in London, she lives in Norfolk now and she's
0:08:02 > 0:08:05quite elderly, but she just has the most amazing collection.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07I used to do quite a lot to look after her, she used
0:08:07 > 0:08:10to give me something and I've inherited all this wonderful amber.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12It's stunning, isn't it and of course
0:08:12 > 0:08:15the east coast of England is a great place to find amber.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17It has a relationship with the Baltic countries.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20And from time to time, if you're really lucky, you can
0:08:20 > 0:08:22find it on the beaches in Southwold and Sheringham.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26But also your links to Boudicca and the Iceni are not
0:08:26 > 0:08:30fanciful at all because amber was hugely interesting to mankind since
0:08:30 > 0:08:34antiquity and people perhaps didn't understand it in the same way but
0:08:34 > 0:08:38it was hugely decorative and they took it to their graves with them.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40And what do you really like about it?
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Um, I love the colours, I love all the different things,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46so the earrings, the flies in them, the fact it's a very natural
0:08:46 > 0:08:49sort of material and I love the fact this is very light.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53I don't wear it very often, it's not a daily ritual to put this on.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Oh, I think it is. I think it works really well.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58So amber, what is it? It's fossilised resin,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01isn't it, and it's hundreds of thousands of years old.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04This is sap that dripped down the sides of coniferous trees
0:09:04 > 0:09:08in the main, in an antediluvian forest that was hot and sticky,
0:09:08 > 0:09:14full of massive dragonflies and primeval beasts wandering around.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17And it is the purest form of fossil that we know about
0:09:17 > 0:09:21because when these flies fell into the sap, it overwhelmed them,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23it simply took over them
0:09:23 > 0:09:28and they're frozen into the substance of the amber perfectly.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32You can see, when one takes the microscope to them, you can see
0:09:32 > 0:09:36their compound eyes, their antenna, their wings and every aspect.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39They are the most perfect fossil that we can encounter.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43And so they're hugely influential in the world of palaeontology.
0:09:43 > 0:09:44But it's of great antiquity,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47hundreds of thousands of years old. So here are your earrings,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51aren't they, and there are insects imprisoned in there, aren't there?
0:09:51 > 0:09:55- Yes.- Magic. So you've got fossil bugs swinging from your ears.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57But anyway, we're going to talk a bit about value
0:09:57 > 0:10:01and value's actually rather a strange phenomenon in this regard.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Because the Chinese have taken a huge interest in amber.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07They love the amber that you're wearing round your neck,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11this opaque amber. And in my youth, this was really simply decorative.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13They were worth 80 to £100.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16What was 80 to £100 is now 500 or £600
0:10:16 > 0:10:20- and I think your necklace is worth £1,000.- Oh, wow.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23And maybe this lovely selection you've brought here
0:10:23 > 0:10:25is worth another £1,000.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29So somewhere in the region of 2,000 maybe even £3,000.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30- My goodness, wow.- A fortune.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Well, thank you.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35I'm a book man myself,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38so it's really odd to find myself at the Antiques Roadshow
0:10:38 > 0:10:39with a piece of furniture,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42particularly one that looks as bizarre as this.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45But the reason is that he has a Dickens connection
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and he's in the Pickwick Papers. Now what do you know about him?
0:10:48 > 0:10:54I inherited the book and the figure from my paternal grandmother
0:10:54 > 0:10:56- and she was a Johnson.- Mm-hmm.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02And she and her predecessors lived in Ayscoughfee Hall, in Spalding.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07- So that's where the book and the figure came from.- Mm-hm.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Well, let's see where this chap actually
0:11:09 > 0:11:11features in the Pickwick Papers.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14He's illustrated in part of the story here,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18one of the illustrations, and you can see him here kicking his leg up.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Essentially, in brief, the story is that a traveller goes
0:11:22 > 0:11:25to a country pub, drinks too much, wakes up in the night
0:11:25 > 0:11:27and thinks that a chair is talking to him.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30And here's the chair here and it's a very close match.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Do you know how the figure came to be in Ayscoughfee Hall?
0:11:34 > 0:11:40Yes. The library is panelled out with African mahogany
0:11:40 > 0:11:46and it was always understood in the family that the cabinet maker
0:11:46 > 0:11:50in the Grand House also possibly with having some
0:11:50 > 0:11:54leftover solid mahogany, made this figure.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Right. Well it's very interesting.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Obviously being a piece of furniture,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01I've showed it to one of my colleagues who deals with
0:12:01 > 0:12:04furniture and do you know, funnily enough, it's actually oak.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06- It's actually not mahogany. - Oh, right.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Which partly explains the weight, which you will have found
0:12:09 > 0:12:12when you were bringing it to the Roadshow and we think,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14you know, as you say, it dates from about 1840,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18which is exactly contemporaneous with the Pickwick Papers.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20And has it played a big part in your life?
0:12:20 > 0:12:25Well, he was always much-loved by my brother and I as children.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29He resided in my grandmother's hallway and we always tapped
0:12:29 > 0:12:33the top of his head every time before we went upstairs to bed.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Ah, yeah. Well, he definitely appeals to children
0:12:36 > 0:12:39but I think he would appeal to Dickens collectors as well.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43I think, if he were to come up at auction, he would probably be
0:12:43 > 0:12:48estimated at something like 3,000 to £5,000.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51And I think he'd attract a huge amount of attention.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52- Thank you for bringing him. - My pleasure.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58The most extraordinary thing is about this scrap album,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01is that we see hundreds on the Roadshow
0:13:01 > 0:13:04and they're never in really good condition.
0:13:04 > 0:13:10But I have seldom seen an album that is so beautiful as this one.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12So tell me about it. Where did it come from?
0:13:12 > 0:13:18Well, it was given to my Great Aunt Edith on her tenth birthday, so.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20So you've got a picture of her.
0:13:20 > 0:13:26Yes, that's her there and she must have compiled this over a few years.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30I don't know how it happened to come into my aunt's possession.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34- Was she a very meticulous person? - Yes.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Because this album has been maintained meticulously.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40It really is absolutely perfect.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43We've got a picture here to start off with, as you would,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47a Victorian lady, you'd start off with Queen Victoria of course
0:13:47 > 0:13:51and Balmoral, which looks very much as it does today.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54And you turn over the page and of course you've got
0:13:54 > 0:13:56the Prince and Princess of Wales.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Then you go on and these I have rarely seen,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02which is a collection of Shakespeare characters,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05all with the actors of the day mentioned.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Shylock and Portia.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Then over here Beatrice and Benedick,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14which is Henry Irving, Sir Henry Irving
0:14:14 > 0:14:17and the great Ellen Terry here as well.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21And it goes on for pages like this, all beautifully decorated.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26But the thing I think that sticks out for me are these ones here
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and it's a panorama of Derby Day.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33And it starts off on the road to the Derby,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38the start and this is literally everybody going along to the Derby.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40The pictures here are absolutely stunning with
0:14:40 > 0:14:43all their carriages and everybody getting excited.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46These would have been bought from a stationer's.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50They'd have been transferred and cut up by your aunt
0:14:50 > 0:14:53and gradually laid out here. And it goes on,
0:14:53 > 0:14:58here we are, the road to the Derby and the road to refreshments
0:14:58 > 0:15:03and the inn here and we go on to the course and there's the race,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06which is absolutely tremendous. Derby Day was a great day.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Everybody was having the most wonderful time.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12The Epsom Downs were covered with jugglers and conjurers
0:15:12 > 0:15:15and circus acts and all the rest of it.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18You said Epsom. Now, she lived in Epsom.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20- She lived in Epsom?- Yes.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- So this would have been absolutely perfect.- Yes.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28And this is the Derby Day, the end of it and it's complete chaos
0:15:28 > 0:15:30and people are all over the place.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33They're drunk, they're falling off, it's an absolute riot.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37So what do you do with it now? Do you show it to your children?
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Yes, I show it to my grandchildren.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42My aunt, who used to look after this,
0:15:42 > 0:15:44- used to bring it out on special occasions.- Yes.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48We used to sit round, my sister and I, and then my children when
0:15:48 > 0:15:52we went to visit her, she used to get it out and we had a look at it.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Well, they're always terribly difficult to value,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57but I think you've got somewhere between
0:15:57 > 0:16:00- 800 and £1,000 worth of scraps. - Goodness me.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03That's wonderful.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05- It is, isn't it?- Yes, yes. - I think so too.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06And we will value it greatly.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10- Well, you do anyway. Thank you for bringing it in.- Thank you.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25What a gorgeous scrapbook
0:16:25 > 0:16:28and we'll have more from our summer visit to Lyme Park in a moment.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31But first here at a Christmassy Lyme Park, I'm with Will Farmer.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Now, Will, let's talk about Christmas Day, the high point for any
0:16:34 > 0:16:38child and grown-up, actually. And we're surrounded by gifts here.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41What kind of presents would a child like Phyllis, say, in 1906,
0:16:41 > 0:16:42have received under the tree?
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Well, of course she would have been in that most fantastically
0:16:46 > 0:16:49privileged position, you know, the daughter of a great estate owner.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Her gifts would have been, you know, grand.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54They would have matched the environment that she lived in.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56It's not unreasonable that she would have come down on
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Christmas morning and under the tree, waiting for her, would have
0:16:59 > 0:17:02been a spectacular dolls' house. Something like this, which has been
0:17:02 > 0:17:06very kindly loaned to us from the Museum of Childhood at Sudbury Hall
0:17:06 > 0:17:10in Derbyshire. And a model like this would have quite possibly been built
0:17:10 > 0:17:13for Phyllis by one of the estate workers, the estate carpenter.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Gosh. I can just imagine how excited a child would be to get that.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19The play that a child would have enjoyed with something like that.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22And what about the bear? Would that have come Phyllis's way?
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Oh without a doubt. I mean, just look at this bear. He's fantastic.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I mean, it's the production of the great Steiff company.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31At the beginning of the 20th century, they were credited with
0:17:31 > 0:17:33launching the bear, creating the bear.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36And actually, by about 1907, it's down on record
0:17:36 > 0:17:40that it's believed they manufactured upwards of nearly a million bears.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45The catalogue of Steiff included some 1,300 different toys,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48felt animals, so somebody, maybe below stairs,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51could have quite happily accessed one of the little,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54sweet little bears or one of the sweet little felt toys.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56But a bear of this scale would have come to the
0:17:56 > 0:17:58daughter of a house like this.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00And what about the books because they're a perennial,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02aren't they, on Christmas Day?
0:18:02 > 0:18:03Well, these are actually mine.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06I have a really close affection for these books
0:18:06 > 0:18:10because these were originally my grandfather's, who was born in 1911.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12He then handed them to my mum and then
0:18:12 > 0:18:15when it was deemed I was sensible and, you know, careful enough
0:18:15 > 0:18:19to own them, they came to me when I was about nine, ten years old.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22But this is a series of books, you know, The Wizard Of Oz,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26a story that is so magical that went on to be one of those most
0:18:26 > 0:18:28famous films in history.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31But what we're looking at here is the original start of that
0:18:31 > 0:18:33and these are beautifully-produced books.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38You know, Frank Baum first published that original story in 1900,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41but on it went to create a whole series of tales,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44from all those characters that we know.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47By the late 19th, early 20th century,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50when the printing presses were absolutely at full speed,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54it meant that books were accessible to anyone and everyone.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- And what would these be worth today? - Well it's really interesting
0:18:57 > 0:19:02because of course this has become a huge, huge area of collecting.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06If you can find a signed first edition with Frank Baum's
0:19:06 > 0:19:12signature in it, the most recent one sold actually fetched 152,000.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17- Wow.- But these are sort of second editions, later editions.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20But even there, these books today are worth between,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23in the condition they're in, between 300, 400, £500 each.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25And what about the bear?
0:19:25 > 0:19:27That must be a stonking value, I would think.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29He's a good bear. He's a 1909 bear,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33he's got everything you would want from a Steiff bear of that date.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Great colour, great condition, great expression, lovely hump,
0:19:37 > 0:19:38the boot button eyes.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41You want to own him, you're probably going to have to spend
0:19:41 > 0:19:44the best part of 4,000, maybe even £5,000.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Wow. Goodness me. Thanks, Will.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49The carpenter we were talking about wouldn't have been
0:19:49 > 0:19:51making things just for Christmas Day for his children.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53Of course he would have been employed making
0:19:53 > 0:19:56and repairing things all around the estate, all year round.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And one such piece came along to the Roadshow here at Lyme Park
0:19:59 > 0:20:02when we visited in the summer, as Elaine Bingham found out.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08It's fascinating hearing stories of Christmas past here at Lyme.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12And I understand that the original owner of this table
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- was a relation of yours.- Correct.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17And he's mentioned in this book.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- He is.- There's an account of a Christmas here at Lyme.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23- There is.- Who was he?
0:20:23 > 0:20:28My great-great grandfather, Samuel Gregory,
0:20:28 > 0:20:33was in service on the Lyme Estate in the late 1800s.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35And you have a photograph of him.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Yes, that's him on the golf course at Lyme.
0:20:38 > 0:20:39And what was his role here?
0:20:39 > 0:20:42He was a plumber, plumber and glazier.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44This is a drop leaf table,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48really copying a mahogany table of the time,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50but made around 1800.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53And I suspect that the carpenter,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56your great-grandfather's friend on the estate,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00probably found this, I don't know, in an old shed or something,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02in slightly bad repair,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05because there are various changes that have been made to it.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08And if I lift this leaf here,
0:21:08 > 0:21:09the leaf has been re-tipped.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Do you see what fantastic quality timber this is
0:21:13 > 0:21:17and this is a very even-grained, rather dull bit of oak.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18So it's been re-tipped
0:21:18 > 0:21:23and then the whole of this leaf is a later replacement.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27And the other thing is that the legs have been cut down at some point.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31And with a bit of ingenuity and some castors that I suspect were left
0:21:31 > 0:21:35over from an old sofa, they've been put on to the bottom of the table.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40So could well have been made around 1800 here,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44by the estate carpenter of the time, but then 100 years later,
0:21:44 > 0:21:49has been sort of, had renewed life breathed into it.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51So this is part of Lyme's history
0:21:51 > 0:21:54- but it's also part of your family history.- Yes, it is.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56- And do you remember this table? - Totally.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I've eaten every meal off it and done all my homework at it.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02You know, this is our living room, everyday table,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05it has a place right at the heart of our family.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08We're downsizing and one thing and another,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12and I just always felt it should come home to Lyme.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16So in 2011 we came to Lyme Park and asked them, you know,
0:22:16 > 0:22:20would they be interested in the table coming home from whence
0:22:20 > 0:22:23it was made because we believe it is made from Lyme Park oak.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Well, let's look at the oak.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27It is oak and it's a gorgeous cut of oak too.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Look at these wonderful...
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Look at the medullary rays here, this iridescent figuring.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35This is a great cut of oak.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Look at the life and colour to it.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38Where is it used now?
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Well, that's the interesting thing.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Because it's lived here ever since 2011,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46the joy for me was when I found out that it is now in use
0:22:46 > 0:22:49on a daily basis in the administrator's office.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53So the National Trust people actually do their work on it.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56It's a table that's moved with the times.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01After that wonderful story, it's worth less than £100.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03- Yes, absolutely. - But the story for me is everything.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06- I know, yes, thank you.- Thank you so much for telling me all about it.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08You're welcome, thank you.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Well, your cup and saucer begs an awful lot of questions,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20for the simple reason that the handle isn't where
0:23:20 > 0:23:23it should be, it's actually in there.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Let's put it to one side. OK.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28And let's have a look at the saucer
0:23:28 > 0:23:31because, you know, it's in something of a state, all right.
0:23:31 > 0:23:38So what I need to know is, does this cup and saucer have a story to tell?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40It does indeed, yes.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44This was given to my fourth great-grandmother,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Lady Sarah Lennox,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49who was the daughter of the second Duke of Richmond.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54The Duchess of Brunswick gave it to her daughter, Queen Caroline,
0:23:54 > 0:24:00so George IV's wife, and it was given to her probably around 1820.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04We've had some name-dropping on this programme
0:24:04 > 0:24:07but that takes the biscuit, that really does.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10So, I mean, everybody behind you is wondering
0:24:10 > 0:24:14whether they should have curtsied to you when you appeared on set.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Well, I am actually Princess Diana's sixth cousin.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20- Are you really?- Yes.- Well...
0:24:20 > 0:24:24And is there anybody else in Bolton that has the same title?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27- That's what we need to know. - Not that I know of.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32- OK, so what we're looking at here is a bit of a relic, yes?- Yes.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34I love something that's...
0:24:34 > 0:24:37I mean, especially when you look at the script on that.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43I mean, that looks as though it was written in around about 1830, 1840.
0:24:43 > 0:24:50And it all tends to fit because, you know, when you get a story
0:24:50 > 0:24:55like that, you look at the piece and before you know the story
0:24:55 > 0:25:01you know that this probably dates from about 1820
0:25:01 > 0:25:03because it's a cabinet cup.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Let's just show it in a better light.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- If you could afford something like this, you had money, OK.- Right.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Would it have been part of a set?
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Yes, it would have been part of a set and it is for coffee.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19And if we turn it upside down, the story is collaborated
0:25:19 > 0:25:24by the fact that this has got a mark for the Furstenberg factory.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26- Right.- So we're in Germany,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29but it is a typical cabinet cup of that period.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33And have you been tempted to have it properly restored?
0:25:33 > 0:25:35I have thought about it, yes.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Well, I think you, you know, it is one of those things that
0:25:38 > 0:25:41would probably benefit from it as long as it's not over-restored.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44So it does, you know, on this programme,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47bring us to the question of, "What's it worth?"
0:25:47 > 0:25:52And I think really, I think by having it restored, then the chances
0:25:52 > 0:25:55are that it would be worth about 400 or £500.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59But it's got far more going for it than money.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Right, yeah, I totally agree.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05So, all I can say is, thank you so much, milady.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- Thank you. - Thank you very much.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17350 years ago, when this portrait was painted,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19clearly this was a young man worth knowing.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23He's got a military baton, he's got a breastplate.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25So how did you come about him?
0:26:25 > 0:26:28An antique dealer brought it to me to clean and I did that
0:26:28 > 0:26:31- and then I bought it from him. - To clean? What are you, a restorer?
0:26:31 > 0:26:34I am, I'm afraid, yes. So I bought it.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Would you like to tell us how much it cost?
0:26:36 > 0:26:41About 850. That was back in about 1978, perhaps.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46Let's get back to who this man might be, because he's got a baton,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49he's got a breastplate, he looks, I don't know, I'm being a bit
0:26:49 > 0:26:54sort of subjective here, he looks like a young aristo about town.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56I would say he's what, 15 or 16 years old?
0:26:56 > 0:27:00Painted in the 1670s, he looks a bit like the illegitimate
0:27:00 > 0:27:02son of Charles II possibly, the Duke of Monmouth.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05- Hint, hint, yes. - Although I don't think it is him.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08- Oh, right. - But he's got a very distinctive face
0:27:08 > 0:27:12and what is lovely for 17th century portraiture, which can be
0:27:12 > 0:27:16a bit hard on the eye, it's a very yielding, attractive face.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17It's very likeable, yeah.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20He's very likeable and then because he's got a baton and because he's
0:27:20 > 0:27:24got a breastplate, I bet you he's someone of considerable influence,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28probably from one of the great aristocratic families of the period.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31And so, how about the artist as well,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34so what did you think as you began to clean this picture?
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Well, the easy choice
0:27:36 > 0:27:40if you don't have access to a lot of information would be Lely.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Well Sir Peter Lely is the artist who comes to mind. Why?
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Because he's the court painter around Charles II,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50when this picture was painted.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52He carries on, he takes the baton as it
0:27:52 > 0:27:56were from Van Dyck as the leading court painter.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59But I don't know if it is by Lely
0:27:59 > 0:28:01because Lely has a slightly more distinctive
0:28:01 > 0:28:04way of handling his drapery, wouldn't you think, as a restorer?
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Could be that then he maybe just came along
0:28:06 > 0:28:08and tickled up the end of it or something.
0:28:08 > 0:28:09There were other people working on it.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11You're absolutely right.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Lely had people who helped him
0:28:13 > 0:28:16and we're beginning to map out the different styles.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18There was a woman who worked with him, Mary Beale,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21there was another artist called William Wissing.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22I don't know at this stage
0:28:22 > 0:28:27but I would suspect it is by one of the assistants in Lely's studio.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Well, the hands aren't terribly good.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33I think you're so right to pick up on that because I think the
0:28:33 > 0:28:37face is very beguiling, I think the drapery is quite well done.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40The hand, the right hand looks a bit like the fin of a fish, really.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44- Yes.- But let's not get too hung up on that because I think
0:28:44 > 0:28:47it's a really lovely baroque image
0:28:47 > 0:28:50and, you know, life is cruel in the art world.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52If you've got a good-looking sitter,
0:28:52 > 0:28:56they are an awful lot more easy to sell than their plain counterparts
0:28:56 > 0:29:01- and we've got here a rather radiantly attractive young man.- Yes.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Well, I was certainly glad to buy it, you know.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07Does this have a carved frame?
0:29:07 > 0:29:08It has a carved frame,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11the sort of thing that they would have made in the early 18th century.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15So what we're dealing with is an artist we don't know the name of
0:29:15 > 0:29:19but it's very closely, warmly in the orbit of the great Sir Peter Lely.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22If it has a good early carved frame,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25this is a supremely decorative baroque image,
0:29:25 > 0:29:30and as a result, I think that one can give it a very good valuation.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33- You ended up paying £850.- Yes.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36All those decades later, with a good carved frame,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40I would value it as a Studio Of Lely piece,
0:29:40 > 0:29:45around about actually the age of the sitter, 15 or £16,000.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Gasp, as they say. Right, good.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51- Thank you for that.- Pleasure.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59I know a Swedish glass designer, Goran Warff,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02who says that glass eats light.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07And I mean this is just sucking the light out of the sun
0:30:07 > 0:30:10and glowing in a way that is magical, isn't it?
0:30:10 > 0:30:12It is beautiful, yes, I think it is.
0:30:12 > 0:30:13How long have you known it?
0:30:13 > 0:30:16My parents bought it in Malta.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20They went on a holiday about 1970, I think.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23They went on a tour of this factory
0:30:23 > 0:30:25which was run by an Englishman called Michael Harris.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29They brought that back with them and got him to sign it on the bottom.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33It's a beautiful thing and Michael Harris is an important man
0:30:33 > 0:30:37in terms of glass-making because he took British glass-making from
0:30:37 > 0:30:43the traditional cut sherry glass into the studio glass movement.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46He was Britain's first studio glass-maker.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49So every single thing that he made, he regarded as a unique object.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52You didn't buy sets of six of Michael Harris's
0:30:52 > 0:30:58work at the Mdina glass works that he founded on Malta in 1968.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03But he was very unlucky, Michael, in that Dom Mintoff had just
0:31:03 > 0:31:08been elected the President of Malta and he had basically told
0:31:08 > 0:31:12the Brits to leave. And the Harrises left to come back to England.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17They were forced out, so he had this short three year period.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19Michael was very reluctant to sign.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23He didn't like it because he figured what we make is the union of us all.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25We are all behind this,
0:31:25 > 0:31:29so to put my name on it is wrong and presumptuous.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32However the only way Michael would sign stuff is if you were
0:31:32 > 0:31:38standing in Mdina at the time with money in your hand and you'll
0:31:38 > 0:31:41say, "I'll buy it if you'll sign it."
0:31:41 > 0:31:43And so you're absolutely right
0:31:43 > 0:31:50is that this has the signature, Michael Harris, Mdina Glass, Malta.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53- And that's rare.- Is it?
0:31:53 > 0:31:57So you've got £150 art object,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01but it's £150 art object with a signature
0:32:01 > 0:32:04which multiplies that value by a factor of ten,
0:32:04 > 0:32:08making it worth between 1,000 and 1,500 quid.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10Brilliant, it's brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Well done, Mother.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15THEY LAUGH
0:32:15 > 0:32:16I'll let her go when we get home.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19She's 95 and she's still going strong,
0:32:19 > 0:32:21so she'll be pleased to hear it.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26It's a lovely early pram.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28I mean, look at the style of that.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33I mean, it's almost like a real, proper baby carriage.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36You know, we can see where we get the name from now.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38What's your link to it?
0:32:38 > 0:32:44My mum bought this in 2004.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48She bought it from an antique shop and the story was that it was
0:32:48 > 0:32:53used in Buckingham Palace and it came from Queen Victoria's reign.
0:32:53 > 0:32:59We were just interested to know if there was any truth in that, really.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04Well, there is this lovely document here attached to the handle.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Yes, one of 22 apparently, ordered by Queen Victoria
0:33:08 > 0:33:12for use by visiting dignitaries with their children.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16And it was only really in the 19th century that
0:33:16 > 0:33:20the idea of a mode of transport for your children
0:33:20 > 0:33:22began to be widely used
0:33:22 > 0:33:26and it was in fact Queen Victoria that made the whole baby carriage,
0:33:26 > 0:33:30or perambulator, really fashionable and it became the thing to do.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35But this little piece of paper goes on to say that it was used
0:33:35 > 0:33:39only for use indoors,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42not for outside use.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46And so that you could wheel it up a corridor and then you could
0:33:46 > 0:33:49push it from the other end without having to turn it round.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52So what makes me think that that could be true?
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Well, there are two things to say.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57First of all, is the wheels.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59I can see that that would work.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03They're roughly the same size, whereas on an outdoor carriage,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06you tended to have them one big one and one small one.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10So the other thing I would say about it being used for indoors,
0:34:10 > 0:34:14is that these handles are actually very close
0:34:14 > 0:34:17- to the body of the carriage, aren't they?- Mm-hm.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20You know, you wouldn't need a high, extended handle
0:34:20 > 0:34:22if you were just wheeling them up and down the corridors.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27You know, the clues are stacking up in favour of the internal use.
0:34:27 > 0:34:32What I'd love to see is a really great coat of arms on the side
0:34:32 > 0:34:35and the document says that there was one but it was taken off.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Well, that's handy, isn't it?
0:34:38 > 0:34:42The perambulator itself is certainly of quality.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46You've only got to look at the way that it's constructed.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51The bad news is that I cannot confirm that story.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57- Now, when it comes to value, it's a 300 to £500 object.- Yes.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00If the story can be substantiated,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02I reckon it could get into four figures.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06Wow, wow. That's amazing.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09- Are these members of the family? - Yes.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Equally pleased. Good.
0:35:11 > 0:35:12THEY LAUGH
0:35:12 > 0:35:13Thanks very much.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30How wonderful if that pram really was used in Buckingham Palace.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33Let's hope the owner can find some clues as to its regal past.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36Will Farmer is back with me. And, Will, we've been talking
0:35:36 > 0:35:39about Christmas presents in these glorious Christmassy surroundings.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41We were talking about the Edwardian era,
0:35:41 > 0:35:43but let's bring it a bit more up-to-date.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45Now, this I remember from my childhood.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48Oh, so do I. Good Lord. And I think what we are surrounded by
0:35:48 > 0:35:51are things that I sort of call the dawn of merchandising.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54This is where it all starts to change for the manufacturers,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57the promoters and we've got things here linked to television.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00You pointed straight in at the Magic Roundabout.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Well, those of us watching and those of us here of a certain age,
0:36:03 > 0:36:05we'll remember this with great affection.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Oh, I do, I could sing the theme tune, but I'll spare you that,
0:36:08 > 0:36:09but, yes, absolutely.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12And what you've got there really is the absolute
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Rolls-Royce of their toys and their production.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18I mean, this was called the Playground Set and do you know,
0:36:18 > 0:36:22this was launched in 1969, it was £13 in 1969.
0:36:22 > 0:36:23To put that into context,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27- that's equivalent to about £200 in today's money.- Wow.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30You could actually buy everything on there as an individual,
0:36:30 > 0:36:32you know, and that's the idea.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34Get the children hooked in, start to spread the thought,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36get the parents spending more money.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38Yeah, been there, done that with my own children.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40What would this be worth now?
0:36:40 > 0:36:43- It was obviously so expensive at the time.- Well, absolutely.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45I mean, if you look at this as a complete full set,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49today one of those in unplayed, sort of mint, near mint
0:36:49 > 0:36:52and boxed condition, is going to be upwards of £500.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54And what about the rest of what we've got here?
0:36:54 > 0:36:56Well, we've got some great stuff.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Here, of course, you know, the die-cast toys,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02coming on the back of those really great programmes, your Thunderbirds,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05your Captain Scarlets, and these just hooked into kids' imaginations
0:37:05 > 0:37:09like you would never believe, because these were accessible.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11I mean, if you look at FAB1 there,
0:37:11 > 0:37:13it's one of those toys everyone remembers,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Lady Penelope's limousine with Parker up front.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21And as a child in 1967, if you went out with 15 shillings and 11 pence,
0:37:21 > 0:37:25so about 80p, there or thereabouts, you could take that home.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28And the interesting thing is today, you've got to think again,
0:37:28 > 0:37:30it's all about condition.
0:37:30 > 0:37:35An FAB1 is worth, in really good mint condition, 400 or £500 now.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Play-worn, maybe £100.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39But it was the die-cast market that rocketed,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42but these are the toys that kids hook on to.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44They took them out into the garden, played with them, went
0:37:44 > 0:37:47on adventures with their brothers, their sisters, their friends.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50But it's about that idea of dragging it all out
0:37:50 > 0:37:52to make sure your parents stick with that programme, stick
0:37:52 > 0:37:56with that television series and make sure that you just keep spending.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59Doctor Who, I spot back here. As popular now as it was then.
0:37:59 > 0:38:00Well, indeed.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03It is an absolute jewel in the crown of the BBC, isn't it?
0:38:03 > 0:38:07It's one of these programmes, it's the longest running sci-fi programme
0:38:07 > 0:38:10and it's something again that just captures everybody's imagination.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13The Daleks were first introduced in episode two,
0:38:13 > 0:38:15in a programme called Dead Planet
0:38:15 > 0:38:18and from that it just went crazy.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Now you've got to bear in mind that there's no one company that
0:38:21 > 0:38:24actually manufactured anything to do with Doctor Who.
0:38:24 > 0:38:25There were hundreds of companies,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28everyone all over was producing their own interpretations.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Probably the rarest thing we've got there on show is that
0:38:31 > 0:38:35Dodge The Daleks game, which was actually launched 1963, 1964.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37If anyone out there's got one of those,
0:38:37 > 0:38:40today you're looking at a board game worth 200 to £300.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Amazing, Thanks, Will. Brings back a few memories.
0:38:44 > 0:38:45Oh, totally.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49And shortly on the programme we'll reveal which object fetched
0:38:49 > 0:38:52the highest price when it was sold after appearing on the Roadshow.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56But first, back to our visit here this summer, when Marc Allum was
0:38:56 > 0:39:00shown a kitchen set which was given as a magical Christmas present.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05A while ago I filmed a full-size kitchen on the Antiques Roadshow and
0:39:05 > 0:39:08it was an English Rose kitchen from the 1950s, but what do we have here?
0:39:08 > 0:39:11We have what really is kind of the equivalent of it
0:39:11 > 0:39:14really in miniature, isn't it? So what's the story behind it?
0:39:14 > 0:39:18It was Christmas time... It was best Christmas box.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20We used to have something, you know,
0:39:20 > 0:39:23a pillow case filled up with small things,
0:39:23 > 0:39:25books and things like that
0:39:25 > 0:39:27and then we had the grand tie and that was it.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30- This was your big Christmas present, was it?- Yeah, yeah.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33And what sort of age would you have been, can you remember?
0:39:33 > 0:39:36- I'd say about five, five or six. - About five.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Now this would have been quite expensive,
0:39:38 > 0:39:40this collection in the 1950s.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42- You got this all at the same time, did you?- Yeah.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Well, there is a lot of play value in it and I particularly love
0:39:45 > 0:39:49the Amersham toys range here, really lovely, very much of its time.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52And do you know, what were your other over-riding
0:39:52 > 0:39:53feelings about Christmas?
0:39:53 > 0:39:56Were there any real stories that you remember that really
0:39:56 > 0:39:58encapsulate Christmas for you?
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Yes, what used to happen is the day before Christmas, my mum used
0:40:01 > 0:40:05to ask us what did we want for Christmas and she would say,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08"But before you go any further," she said, she'd take us to the fireplace
0:40:08 > 0:40:11and we had an open coal fire, but we didn't know there was a pipe
0:40:11 > 0:40:15that let the air through for the coals to light outside.
0:40:15 > 0:40:20And my dad had gone outside without us knowing and we'd be shouting up
0:40:20 > 0:40:23the chimney saying, "Father Christmas, are you there?"
0:40:23 > 0:40:26- And we'd hear this, "Ho-ho-ho." - Really?
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Yeah, yeah, just wondered. Thought, "Gosh, this is magic."
0:40:29 > 0:40:31And I used to sort of look at my sisters and think,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34"Wow, you know, he really is there."
0:40:34 > 0:40:36And we'd try and look up and try and see him.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41Then we'd shout up then. We had one toy that we were supposed to say
0:40:41 > 0:40:45and, you know, it could have been a teddy bear or it could have been
0:40:45 > 0:40:46a doll, but that one thing.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49Then Father Christmas would shout back and say,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52"Right, you've got to be very good then and go to bed tonight
0:40:52 > 0:40:54"and sleep, otherwise I won't come."
0:40:54 > 0:40:56So then that night we'd run upstairs,
0:40:56 > 0:41:00- cover up and wait till he comes. It was exciting.- That's brilliant.
0:41:00 > 0:41:01That's a lovely, lovely story.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03Well, this was obviously magic to you too.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05To be honest with you, in terms of putting a value on it,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08the Amersham toy range is a lovely thing.
0:41:08 > 0:41:09To a good retro collector,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12someone who's really interested in things of this style, it's a
0:41:12 > 0:41:15real gem and I think, you know, that's probably worth around
0:41:15 > 0:41:17about 150, £200 to a collector.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20And I think probably collectively there's about 300 or £400
0:41:20 > 0:41:23on the table here. I can see the fact that you still have it all
0:41:23 > 0:41:27and you've still kept it, it means a great deal to you, doesn't it?
0:41:27 > 0:41:29- Yeah, never part with it, yeah. - Lovely. Thank you ever so much.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32- OK, thank you. - And Merry Christmas.- Right.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38Wow, how wacky is this?
0:41:38 > 0:41:41I mean, it's extraordinary, it looks like a snake,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43I mean, you'd smoke yourself dizzy with that.
0:41:43 > 0:41:48Is it something that you smoke after dinner of an evening?
0:41:48 > 0:41:49Not recently, no.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53So is it something you inherited or something you bought?
0:41:53 > 0:41:58It belongs to my mum and she inherited it from my father's
0:41:58 > 0:42:00great aunt who was a governess.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04She travelled, in particular, across to America and also
0:42:04 > 0:42:09round this country, looking after the children of different families.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14That's all I know. It belonged to her and she left it to my dad.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16So you don't know where she picked it up, really?
0:42:16 > 0:42:20I know for a time that she lived in Staffordshire,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22but I don't really know very much else about that.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25She was quite a formidable woman, that's all I know.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Well, this style of thing hails from Staffordshire.
0:42:28 > 0:42:29I mean, it's Prattware
0:42:29 > 0:42:33and that was established in Staffordshire in the 1770s.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35But it was also a style that was adopted by other factories.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39- And I actually think this one's from Yorkshire.- Right.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41It's a fantastic thing.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Some people might call it a puzzle pipe, but it's just
0:42:44 > 0:42:47a novelty pipe because a puzzle pipe would have other holes,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50so it was funny, the smoke would come out of a hole somewhere else.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52I have tried to blow it actually
0:42:52 > 0:42:55and I think something's crawled in there and died.
0:42:55 > 0:42:56Quite possibly, yes.
0:42:56 > 0:43:01I can see some ageing there and I think that's heat.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03This style of thing is from about 1800.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08And a thing of this complexity remaining intact,
0:43:08 > 0:43:09I find extraordinary.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13I love these ochres and blue, typical.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15Do you want to know how much it's worth?
0:43:15 > 0:43:16I'm sure my mum would.
0:43:16 > 0:43:21Well, normal pipes of this type, straight ones are about
0:43:21 > 0:43:2420, 30, £40, sometimes they're signed.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29This novelty pipe, these proportions, this condition,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31those lovely colours, the ochre and blue,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34I'd say 300 to £500.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36Fantastic. Thank you very much.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47This Santa comes from Hong Kong in 1961.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51My husband and I were touring the Far East and working
0:43:51 > 0:43:56in Hong Kong at Christmas time, so this was a Christmas gift.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59It's good old Father Christmas. Where does he come from?
0:43:59 > 0:44:00It's my mum's.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05She bought him back in the early 1950s,
0:44:05 > 0:44:09- off Bird's Custards for, she thinks, two and six.- Right.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11And then he's travelled around the world with us
0:44:11 > 0:44:14cos we lived in the States for a while.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17So he's been out to California, then New York and then back to England.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19He's quite something, isn't he?
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Yes, he's lovely, he's lovely.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30TOY PLAYS JINGLE BELLS
0:44:30 > 0:44:32And as you travelled round the world in these hot
0:44:32 > 0:44:35places at Christmas time, did you have custard
0:44:35 > 0:44:38with your Christmas pudding on Christmas Day in this jug?
0:44:38 > 0:44:42Yes, well, white sauce. White sauce with brandy.
0:44:42 > 0:44:43SHE LAUGHS
0:44:43 > 0:44:45Yes, he's been used every Christmas.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48So it's a pottery jug,
0:44:48 > 0:44:50made in a factory in Staffordshire.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Have you heard of the St Claus factory?
0:44:52 > 0:44:55- No, there isn't one surely. - No, I'm only joking.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02So what's the tune?
0:45:02 > 0:45:07# Jingle bells, jingle bells... #
0:45:07 > 0:45:12- And then all over again. - I recognise it.- Jingle Bells.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15- Do you love it?- Yes. Oh, yes. We use him every Christmas now.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18Well, worth, I don't know, 20 or £30,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21- but to your family history, priceless.- Exactly, yes.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Very true.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27- And so he's kept in the attic now? - Yes, I'm afraid so.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Ah, but you're mother and daughter here, you could have him out.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33But never forgotten him, never forgotten him, though, have we?
0:45:33 > 0:45:35And do you think you might be tempted to get him out
0:45:35 > 0:45:37if you knew he was worth 200 to £300?
0:45:37 > 0:45:39THEY LAUGH
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Well, maybe.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42Maybe not.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45Santa, I'm putting you back in the box.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48These people don't love you very much at all.
0:45:48 > 0:45:49Santa, you deserve better.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58This brooch should come with a sign saying,
0:45:58 > 0:46:00"If you wear me, I'll make you chuckle,"
0:46:00 > 0:46:02because when I opened this brooch,
0:46:02 > 0:46:04it was the first thing I did, was chuckle.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08I think it's delightful. Tell me its journey.
0:46:09 > 0:46:14I believe it was bought in the Bahamas for my mother
0:46:14 > 0:46:18by my father and probably about the 1970s.
0:46:18 > 0:46:23So, I mean, this is quite a brave brooch to buy your wife,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25- do you think?- Perhaps, yes.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27- And it's very unusual.- Yes.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30And in fact, these are called novelty brooches,
0:46:30 > 0:46:32for that very fact.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34And you say it was bought in the '70s.
0:46:34 > 0:46:39Well, in the '60s, very much the period of the novelty brooch.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41I mean, you had all the big jewellery houses,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43you had Van Cleef, Kaczynski,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Cartier, David Webb,
0:46:46 > 0:46:50all these different houses were all making novelty brooches.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53I think because it was a fun period, you know, the '60s, people
0:46:53 > 0:47:00were having fun, and this to me is a beautiful example of that period.
0:47:00 > 0:47:01It's more sort of '60s,
0:47:01 > 0:47:05so it probably was just a little bit older than when he first bought it.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09I think it looks a European manufacture.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13I love the head, with the way that you've got all the feathers.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Yeah, I know, they're beautiful, aren't they?
0:47:15 > 0:47:19It is beautifully made, isn't it? And it is all real.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23You know, you've got this wonderful collar here with the little
0:47:23 > 0:47:28diamonds, you've got rubies and sapphires
0:47:28 > 0:47:30and you've got this lovely pearl.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34It does amuse me that it's only got one eye.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37I know. I noticed that as well.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39I think that's, I think
0:47:39 > 0:47:42the goldsmith's having a bit of a laugh here, isn't he?
0:47:42 > 0:47:47And, you know, I think it deserves being called, having a name.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50What shall we call him? You name him.
0:47:50 > 0:47:51He looks like Tweetie Pie.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54THEY LAUGH
0:47:54 > 0:47:55That's a good name.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57That's a good name. Do you wear it?
0:47:57 > 0:47:59No. I don't at all.
0:47:59 > 0:48:00But I think you should
0:48:00 > 0:48:04because it's going to make you chuckle, I think, when you wear it.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08- Yes, yes.- You know, at auction, I would say it's in the region
0:48:08 > 0:48:12of about £1,500 to £2,000.
0:48:12 > 0:48:13Is it? Excellent.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Well, thank you for bringing Tweetie Pie in.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Yes, thank you very much for seeing it, that's lovely. Thank you.
0:48:19 > 0:48:20Thank you very much.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25Well, we've had a lot of people in from the locality
0:48:25 > 0:48:28with their treasures for valuation, but this piece has
0:48:28 > 0:48:32come from much further away. And in a sense, it's coming
0:48:32 > 0:48:35home for the day because, Lord Newton,
0:48:35 > 0:48:38this is your ancestral home.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39That's right, yes.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43My family lived here for 550 years,
0:48:43 > 0:48:47till 1946, when my grandfather gave Lyme to the National Trust.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51So what are your personal memories of this piece?
0:48:51 > 0:48:53How has it survived in the family?
0:48:53 > 0:48:57Well, some of the contents were removed by my grandfather
0:48:57 > 0:49:01when he gave Lyme away and it passed to my father
0:49:01 > 0:49:04- and then has come down to me now. - OK.
0:49:04 > 0:49:09Well, when I saw it, obviously the first thing that attracted me
0:49:09 > 0:49:13was the use of minerals, hard-stones, in conjunction
0:49:13 > 0:49:19with silver, to form this delicious handle, because we've two minerals.
0:49:19 > 0:49:24We've banded agate and then we've got the use of carnelian, these
0:49:24 > 0:49:29two inverted balusters conjoined by a fluted knop,
0:49:29 > 0:49:31mounted with silver.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34But you know, this is a dagger.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37But it's terribly elegant, it's actually
0:49:37 > 0:49:42- so finely made that it couldn't really be used in anger.- Right.
0:49:44 > 0:49:48This very much a sort of a dress dagger.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51How old do you think it is?
0:49:51 > 0:49:54I mean, is there any family tradition?
0:49:54 > 0:49:58The family tradition is that it belonged to King Charles I, although
0:49:58 > 0:50:04we believe that it was about a century earlier that it was created.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06- OK.- But maybe that's wrong.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10Yeah, well, there's elements of truth.
0:50:10 > 0:50:15If I actually slide the sheath back, indeed there is the name,
0:50:15 > 0:50:20in Latin, Carolus, which is Charles, on the blade.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24But I have to ask myself, is it Charles I,
0:50:24 > 0:50:27because Charles was a very common name in the 16th century.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Of course, yes.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32It was indeed. I've conferred with colleagues as well.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35We think this is a 16th-century piece
0:50:35 > 0:50:37that would have been used by a noble.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Quite where, specifically, I'm not sure
0:50:43 > 0:50:46because its manufacture is almost certainly Italy, so it could
0:50:46 > 0:50:53have been made in Italy, found its way here and was something of a sort
0:50:53 > 0:50:57of presentation piece, something that would become a family treasure.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59But of course, we don't really know, do we?
0:50:59 > 0:51:02The true history's lost in the mists of time.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04- Indeed, absolutely.- Yeah.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09So we're looking at a piece that's a symbol really of a man's wealth,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12his elegance and his refinement.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16You think of the clothes they wore at court in the 16th century,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19- well, this would just go a bomb with that.- Yes.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23Let's have a look at the whole thing. There we go.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27The blade's just had its tip knocked off but shows lovely wear
0:51:27 > 0:51:30and tear, commensurate with its age.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33But it holds a little secret, doesn't it,
0:51:33 > 0:51:36the little bi-knife, just pull that out.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41And before the regular use of cutlery provided for you,
0:51:41 > 0:51:45you would carry your own little bi-knife.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47What a great thing to own, yeah.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49Yeah, I'm very fortunate, yes.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53Yeah, so the link to Charles I we're going to have to accept,
0:51:53 > 0:51:55a little bit tenuous, but, you know, look at it.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58It's a serious European work of art.
0:51:59 > 0:52:04The lapidary work is absolutely fabulous and in the sunshine,
0:52:04 > 0:52:09the colours of the natural mineral and the banding, is just gorgeous.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13So what about value? Have you got it well-insured?
0:52:13 > 0:52:17- Sounds a bit of a cliche question, but...- It is insured, yes.
0:52:17 > 0:52:18It is insured, right.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23Well, I think an auction estimate would have to be, considering
0:52:23 > 0:52:27its provenance, between £15,000 and £25,000.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29Really? Yes.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31It's very, very rare.
0:52:31 > 0:52:32Perhaps I need to insure it more.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38Thank you very much indeed.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41It's a very interesting account. Thank you.
0:52:41 > 0:52:46How wonderful that dagger came back to Lyme Park for our Roadshow.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49Now shortly we'll be unveiling our dates for a chance for you to
0:52:49 > 0:52:51meet our Roadshow experts next year.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55And be warned, coming to a roadshow may seriously affect your wealth.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58It certainly did for these owners who, after their moment in the
0:52:58 > 0:53:03Roadshow spotlight this year, went on to sell their treasured items.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07Take for example a visitor to our Bristol show at Ashton Court,
0:53:07 > 0:53:11who brought along a lovely Delftware posset pot which our specialist
0:53:11 > 0:53:15John Sandon valued at £4,500 in June this year.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17There's a funny story with this pot as well.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20In my family, I joke with them that when I die,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23I'd like to be cremated and my ashes put in this.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27But now, if this goes out and they hear the valuation, I'll
0:53:27 > 0:53:29probably get chucked in the garden and they'll probably cash it in.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32Instead, the owner had a more practical use for his pot
0:53:32 > 0:53:35and sold it for exactly John's valuation,
0:53:35 > 0:53:37investing the money in setting up his own business.
0:53:37 > 0:53:38Good luck to him.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44Bought on holiday in Cornwall for £1,000, 25 years ago,
0:53:44 > 0:53:48this Paul Feiler painting proved to be quite a souvenir.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51So that was a big purchase for a holiday purchase.
0:53:51 > 0:53:52Yeah, but we like paintings.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55There's a story behind it, in that my husband had to
0:53:55 > 0:53:58phone his office and find out if they'd had a good month or not.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00LAUGHTER
0:54:00 > 0:54:03So they'd had a good month and we decided to buy it.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07We were told by the owner she needed a new central heating system
0:54:07 > 0:54:09and it wasn't a pipe dream. She sold her picture
0:54:09 > 0:54:13and after the hammer fell at a whopping £25,000,
0:54:13 > 0:54:17she found she could afford a luxurious re-fit.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20This solid gold Martinique medal was
0:54:20 > 0:54:23awarded in 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27It made a return to the Roadshow 20 years after it was first seen
0:54:27 > 0:54:30and valued, for £8,000.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33The medal itself has increased in value quite dramatically
0:54:33 > 0:54:38and today, if this medal came up on its own,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41it would probably sell for £35,000.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46On hearing the new valuation, the owner decided to sell at auction.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50It reached an amazing £38,000.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55English Heritage were so taken with this old railway signage,
0:54:55 > 0:54:58which once adorned the now defunct local railway station,
0:54:58 > 0:55:00they agreed to pay Paul's valuation, £300,
0:55:00 > 0:55:04and it's returned home to Bolsover Castle.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08And finally, remember this novelty 19th century money-collecting gadget,
0:55:08 > 0:55:12which had spent years in a box at the owner's home in Edinburgh?
0:55:12 > 0:55:14It's called the coasting bank and obviously that's what it is.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16Now, see if we can demonstrate it.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19It would have had a piece of string in the back, which you've got.
0:55:19 > 0:55:20- Oh, you did it. - And there it went.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23Well, it went back to its roots in America
0:55:23 > 0:55:27and sold for a staggering quarter of a million dollars
0:55:27 > 0:55:31or around £170,000.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33Now, that's what I call a good investment.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Whoa.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38So the Roadshow could be your road to riches,
0:55:38 > 0:55:40so make sure you come and see us in 2016.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45Getting us under way is a visit to the impressive Tewkesbury Abbey,
0:55:45 > 0:55:47truly a jewel of Gloucestershire.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51Audley End in Essex will make a fantastic
0:55:51 > 0:55:53backdrop for our Roadshow team.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55It's among the finest gardens in Europe,
0:55:55 > 0:55:59join us amidst the blooms at Arley Hall and Gardens in Cheshire.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02Two moated manors welcome us next year.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06The exquisite Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09And the lavishly restored Ightham Mote in Kent
0:56:09 > 0:56:12will take centre stage for our June visit.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15This property at Caversham in Reading is home to
0:56:15 > 0:56:17BBC Monitoring and its written archives.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19We'll hope to see you there in June.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21Up to the Lake District next
0:56:21 > 0:56:25for a visit to Holker Hall and Gardens in Cumbria.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28To East Yorkshire, where Burton Constable near Hull
0:56:28 > 0:56:31will welcome experts and visitors alike.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34For fans of industrial buildings,
0:56:34 > 0:56:36join us at the New Lanark World Heritage Site,
0:56:36 > 0:56:40magnificently set on the banks of the Clyde in Scotland.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44A Welsh wonder, Pembroke Castle is an exciting
0:56:44 > 0:56:47and dramatic setting for our visit in September.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50One of our most idyllic locations next year,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54with its views over the River Fall is Trelissick, near Truro, in Cornwall.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58And finally, to the University of London
0:56:58 > 0:57:00and the Art Deco splendour of Senate House.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02It promises to be a special show.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06If you'd like to send us advance information about your treasure,
0:57:06 > 0:57:10ahead of your visit, drop us a note, with photographs, to our website.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13So hopefully we'll see you next year.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15Who knows, perhaps in our tea tent, as we roll
0:57:15 > 0:57:19out our roadshows for 2016 and all the details are on the website.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22I hope you've enjoyed our special Christmas celebration.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26I'd like to thank the team here at Lyme Park for welcoming us back.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28And as for you, enjoy the rest of your Christmas,
0:57:28 > 0:57:33have a happy New Year and hopefully see you in 2016. Bye-bye.