Wolmark Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic, the show that searches your home for antiques and collectibles

and sells them for you at auction. On a day like today,

it's an absolute joy to be in Hunton Park in Hertfordshire.

But, like a lot of these old stately homes,

the history is fascinating, albeit a bit chequered.

This stunning Queen Anne house is set in 22 acres

of beautiful parkland in the Hertfordshire countryside.

It was built in 1810 and named Hazelwood House.

Over the years, it's been home to an admiral,

a vicar and even an exiled Ethiopian emperor.

Its name was changed to Hunton Park

and it's now a luxury hotel and conference centre.

I can't guarantee that our next location will be just quite so grand

but we are hoping to find some really interesting collectibles

to take to auction to raise lots of money.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic,

a family with a passion for amateur dramatics.

-De-da!

-De-da!

-De-da!

Jonty and I start to bid before the auction has even begun.

Well, that's great, because I'll offer you 20 quid now

-and I'm out the door.

-D'you know what, I'll offer you 25!

And we say goodbye to some highly cherished collectibles.

Blow it a kiss, quickly.

Find out what happens when the final hammer falls.

I've now come just a few miles down the road to Abbots Langley

to meet a couple who've got a really big celebration on the way.

And they've called in the Cash In The Attic team

to help them raise money for a very special event.

This end of terrace house has been home to Denise and Martin Wallmark

for almost two decades. They have been married for over 16 years

and, between them, they have four grown-up children.

They're a very busy couple and both enthusiastic members

of the local amateur operatic society.

And they also love gardening, quizzes and crosswords.

-Well, Jonty, look at you.

-Gloria.

Tanned, handsome, very well turned out today, I may say.

-Thank you very much.

-I've actually been to Hunton Park today.

Fabulous house, great gardens and the kind of place

that I imagine you live in, really.

It's just like my home. Just exactly the same.

You're so modest! We are going to meet a very lovely couple

in this house and they've got a big celebration coming up.

So we're about to find out exactly what they need the money for.

-Excellent.

-Are you ready to do a bit of work?

-I am always ready for work.

-Let's get inside.

-Denise and Martin, good morning.

-Good morning to you.

Brainy ones, at the crossword? Keeps the old brain ticking over.

-It has to be done every morning.

-Now, I love your garden.

It's as neat as nine pence. I hardly see a leaf or a weed or anything.

Are you fussy about things like that?

-Mm-hm. Just a bit.

-Just a bit.

-What, the pair of you?

-Yes.

-Which one of you called Cash In The Attic?

-Me.

Why is that? Is it your love of antiques?

I've always liked them, always been interested in antiques.

I think they are lovely to look at. Also the intricacies, everything.

-It's always interesting.

-Do you share that, Martin?

I'm quite into antiques. That's why I married Denise.

-Oooh!

-I knew that was coming.

-I tell you, you set up the best line for him.

-I did.

-So why did you call Cash In The Attic?

-It's my daughter.

She's getting married and I just want to give her a bit of help.

So the big event is a wedding. In what way would the money be used?

I would quite like my money to go towards the dress.

How much money would you like to raise?

As much as we can get but it needs to be seven or eight, thereabouts.

-So we will settle on £700?

-Yes.

-Excellent. There's a strange man

rummaging around in your house already. He's called Jonty,

our expert for the day. Come and meet him and maybe start finding

-some items?

-OK.

-Let's go.

-Have you finished the crossword yet?

-No.

Glad to get rid of it, aren't you?

What a lovely plan, turning something old,

those antiques and collectibles, into something new, a wedding dress.

And it will be worn by their daughter on her most memorable day.

To help the Wallmarks today is Cash In The Attic expert,

Jonty Hearndon, who's a font of all knowledge when it comes to antiques.

-Jonty, come and meet Denise.

-Hi.

-Hi, nice to see you.

-What have you found, Jonty?

-A beautiful silver cream jug.

-Now, before we go any further, does it have any history?

-Not really.

I bought it in a market in London. I used to go there quite a lot.

-And is it real silver?

-Yes. It's absolutely solid silver.

-You know that?

-I know it's solid silver, yes.

-Yes.

The wonderful marks on the underside tells us that it's solid silver.

And we also have the maker's name.

Here, in very small lettering, it says "JA & GA" That stands for

Joseph and George Angell who were known for making

tea sets of this kind of quality in the Victorian period.

You can tell very clearly that this is high Victoriana.

Now, particularly, if you're looking at the C scrolls,

you see the shape here of the scroll and the inverted C?

That was from the rococo period which was the early 18th century.

But they revived this form of decoration.

Now, I'm dying to know what you paid for it.

I think about 15 to 20. It can't have been much more because

it's over 30 years now. And I don't pay a lot of money for anything.

That's great, because I'll offer you 20 quid now and I'm out the door.

D'you know what? I'll offer you 25!

-Definitely not.

-A bit of a bidding war going on here.

-Yes, keep going.

-How much do you think it will fetch?

At auction, we're looking at between £100 and £150.

-Whoa!

-That's, that's not bad.

Any pangs about letting it go?

I must say I will miss it in my cupboard but, no, it's got to go.

You have your lovely girl waiting for that very special dress.

-Absolutely.

-I think it's a terrific start, so I'll lead the way

and maybe we'll find something else equally valuable in the next room.

It is a terrific first find. If things keep turning up like this,

then we'll be doing really well today.

We're after £700 for the wedding dress, so £100 down,

600 to come up with.

Jonty has come up trumps, though with this ruby and garnet ring.

Denise's mother used to work at a jeweller's shop

and they both have a love of jewellery.

The price of rubies is determined by their colour.

The redder they are, the more they're worth.

And this is a good quality stone

surrounded by diamonds, so it could fetch up to £150.

Denise may love her jewellery but Martin also has a great passion

and a very serious hobby that you can't help notice

-when you look around the house.

-Jonty.

-Wow, what a lovely camera.

Mahogany with all those fantastic brass mounts.

-Are you a keen photographer?

-A keen amateur.

I had noticed the odd camera dotted around the house.

I once had a large collection but we haven't got room to store it.

-That's the largest of the collection.

-Isn't that wonderful?

We've got the maker's name, Thornton Pickard, here.

They were based in Manchester. The biggest of their type, there.

And they patented a shutter that was used by many other companies.

They were very successful.

They started in 1888 so, by definition, this is beyond that.

Cameras like this were used, really, around the turn of the century.

I think this is really good condition, a lovely looking camera.

So we are looking at £80 to £120 at auction.

-Sounds good to me. Lovely.

-Good. Let's find some more stuff.

What a beautiful camera! And it's another £80 for the fund.

This home is just chock-a-block with fascinating items

collected over the years from various sources and Jonty finds

this Sandringham patterned dinner service manufactured by James Kent.

The company was famous for its chintz and floral patterns.

Denise inherited this set from her mother but really doesn't like it

and she's happy to get rid of it.

Sadly, dinner services aren't that popular these days and Jonty

values it at just £40-£60. So we are progressing steadily towards

our £700 target. Denise has set her heart at getting her daughter

that beautiful wedding dress and it might be just within her reach.

What I have noticed about you guys as we've been doing the programme

is you just seem to have a really good relationship,

a wicked sense of humour with each other but you take it well.

-What did you like about each other at the beginning?

-I don't know.

You were quite good looking then!

LAUGHTER

So were you at that stage.

-He is terrible.

-In what sense?

-He just makes silly jokes all the time.

His grandson says that he's mad,

because he cannot stop making silly jokes.

-Grandchildren love all of that silliness, don't they?

-He loves it.

We've established that you're both very tidy people so how long

did it take you to learn that about each other when you met?

Fairly quickly otherwise we'd have fallen out very early days.

-Have you always been a bit like that?

-I have, really.

If you put it down and it's not where it should be, he'll move it.

I hear you also like amateur dramatics,

so were you both doing it at the time you met?

I've been doing it for about 40 years.

Martin has never trodden the boards.

We were doing Oklahoma at the time and he fancied being a cowboy.

-"Well, dang my breeches!"

-Yes, that! So when we did Annie Get Your Gun,

he came up on stage and has been there ever since.

-What did you make of it?

-I thought it was great.

Something to concentrate on, to let your hair down a bit.

It must be lovely to do something like amateur dramatics

-with the whole family involved.

-It's really good.

It's very cool and very relaxed sitting here in your lovely garden

but have you got enough energy to go and work some more?

-Yes, onwards we go.

-OK.

It's a good job that Denise and Martin both feel the same about

tidiness and how fantastic they share so many interests.

We're nearly halfway through the day but we do need to get a move on

if we're going to reach that £700 target.

Denise, are you there? I've got you something small and beautiful.

I thought you were going to say it was me!

-Is this for sale?

-Yes, I think so.

-It's really unusual, actually.

A little perfume box set in its own stand.

If you could hold it, I'll get some bottles out.

Lovely cut glass, there, and we've got solid silver tops.

They all seem to be in great condition.

If I unscrew the top like so...

Look at that! A perfect little glass stopper. Isn't that lovely?

A slight indentation on the top but I'm not worried about that.

If push comes to shove it could even be pushed back out again.

These are assayed in Birmingham and these are round the late 1920s.

That is actually 1929 which is quite late for perfume bottles,

because they were very prolific in the late 19th century,

early part of the 20th century but by this time,

perfume companies themselves were developing their own bottles.

Before that, people used to buy perfume and dispense it

into their own perfume bottles, so they could mix it themselves.

I suppose that's why we've got a series of three bottles all-in-one.

It is the sort of object a lot of dealers

will really want to get their hands on.

A competitive price has to be £50-£70.

Is that all right? Excellent.

I think you'll agree a pretty set and still in good condition.

£50 more for the famous wedding dress.

Martin is also working hard

and has nobly offered to give up his toy train set. A great sacrifice!

It was manufactured by Hornby, the leading name in model railways.

Frank Hornby started his company in 1901

and his first invention was the Meccano construction toy.

What a man to know exactly what appeals to children and grown men!

These trains sets are very collectible

and it could fetch £40-£60 at auction.

I'm not slacking, either. Jewellery is a big theme in this house

and Denise thinks this necklace also came from her mum's jewellery shop.

It's made from Continental silver, which means it carries no hallmark

and is less valuable than its sterling counterpart.

Even so, it could make £100 - £150.

Like any good married couple,

Martin and Denise have teamed up in the bedroom.

-Gloria! Jonty!

-Hey! What are you two doing in the bedroom, then?

-Not a lot.

-I have heard that story before!

What have you found?

-I found this little box.

-Oh, pretty little box!

How long have you had this one?

It's got to be over 30 years because that's when I was...

-She doesn't look old enough! Over 30 years!

-Oh, she is!

A mere teenager at the time, weren't you!

This is very, very pretty. Often with small objects,

the closer you look, the more detail springs out.

On the top, we have a very pretty scene which is Continental.

It is probably from the lowlands, Belgium or from Holland.

If we look on the inside, there we go! Hallmarks on the inside.

These are not British so, again,

confirmation that this is not a British pill box.

I often wondered about the mirror. Possibly a little patch box?

I understand where you're coming from but it's a pillbox

because if it would have been a compact, for instance,

then it would have been a lot larger.

This is known as engine turning and when I say that, if you have a look

on the outside, it almost changes colour and shape when you move it.

It's very, very beautiful.

The problem is its size.

If it had been larger, then a lot more value.

But it is still worth putting into the auction sale

and we are looking at £30 - £40.

Indeed, it's another useful contribution towards

the wedding dress fund.

Upstairs, Denise discovers the next piece of jewellery,

a gold and garnet ring. The garnet is one of the oldest gemstones

and dates back to the Bronze Age.

Its durability and classic look is still popular today,

so Jonty hopes it could sell for as much as £100 - £200.

Denise, it's marvellous you spent today with us because

-it is your mum's birthday today.

-It is.

-How old is she?

-She is 86.

-Wow!

-Don't tell anyone.

-No, not a soul.

-How close are you to her?

-We are very close.

We've always been a close family but my daughter is closer still because

she actually lived with her for three years as an adult

to save money to buy her own property.

-This is Marissa who's getting married?

-Yes.

That must make them exceptionally close.

Her nanny is the be-all and end-all. Far more important than Mummy!

-Obviously she's hoping that Nanny will be at the wedding.

-She will.

It's next year, isn't it?

My mother always said she's not going until she's seen it.

We're trying to raise the money towards her wedding dress.

How do you feel about your one and only daughter getting married?

I'm excited because it will be really nice to see her happy.

That's all I'm interested in, that she's happy.

-Where did she meet her husband-to-be?

-On the internet!

-Were you worried?

-I was a bit, but it's OK. They're good together.

-Will you go with Marissa to choose the wedding dress?

-Definitely.

I bet you'll be shedding a tear that day,

when you see her in the dress for the first time.

You seem to be a person, and Martin is the same,

-who really enjoys your family life.

-Oh, yes. We still get together.

We play games a lot. Board games and things like that.

I have to say her fiance has never really played games.

He's a bit fazed by all of our madness.

I hope you'll wish your mum a very happy birthday from us,

because we've taken you away from her on this very special day.

-But if we're going to get that dress...

-We've got to carry on.

Back to work, I'm afraid.

Fortunately, our antique hunter has been keeping up the hard work

and it looks like his efforts are being well rewarded.

-Martin, are you there?

-Yeah.

-Could you look at this piece of furniture with me?

-Indeed.

This is a folding writing table.

-Have you ever used it?

-No.

-No?

-No.

-How long have you had this one?

-About ten years.

Really? So definitely an object we can think of taking to the auction.

-Yeah.

-Folding pieces of furniture were designed specifically

so that they could be transported to other parts of the world,

because when this piece of furniture was made,

the British Empire was at its zenith and, as a consequence, people needed

furniture not only transported to other parts of the country,

but to other parts of the world.

What we need to do is examine the quality of the item.

The interior, as you'd expect,

is slightly better condition than the exterior.

This red coloured mahogany is the polish,

the colour it would have been once upon a time.

We have a leatherette top, here,

which I suspect is covering something up, because underneath

here you'd normally have either a piece of leather

or just a plain mahogany surface.

Let's have a look on the outside.

It's all faded somewhat.

So the value of this piece of furniture will be around

-the £100 mark. £80 to £120.

-OK. Sounds good to me.

Shall I tuck this under my arm, find some more stuff?

-Tuck it under your arm. There we go.

-I'll follow you.

-See what else we can find.

-What a compact little table.

And I can just picture a British diplomat

carrying that around the world, back in the 19th century.

Laptops may be today's style,

but they don't quite have the same elegance.

We're all set for one final push before we call it a day.

Denise finds two sterling silver baskets

made by William Hutton and Sons, a well-known silversmith

based in London and Sheffield back in the early 1900s.

They produced luxury tableware and cutlery

but were amalgamated into another firm in the '20s.

They're worth anything from £100 to £150.

We've unearthed some truly unusual items today

and it looks like we're not done yet.

-Look!

-Yeah?

Jonty!

-Just found this.

-Oh, look at that.

That's very pretty. So that's a bracelet,

but it looks like it's been converted from a fob chain.

-Excuse me interrupting, did I hear jewellery?

-Yes.

Let's have a look, Jonty.

-It's so gorgeous!

-Very pretty.

What were you saying it's been converted from?

Once upon a time this was a fob chain for the pocket watch.

The chain would have been longer.

In fact, almost double the length, once upon a time.

So it's been altered to a bracelet?

In order so it goes round...

Demonstrate.

Where did you get it? Was it a present from some suitor?

No. I can't really remember but I did wear it when I got married.

-First time.

-The first time!

Oh, excuse me! Time for this bracelet to be out the door.

It's got to go!

In the end, Martin, you got the gem anyway.

I'll have the bracelet.

I'll tell you what I have noticed about jewellery

in general at auctions.

It always seems to get a fair price.

Absolutely, and at the moment gold is doing pretty well in the market.

If you look at trends over the last five years, gold has done that,

whereas if you look at any other market in recent times

it's all done that.

So there's a reason why people are trading with this and gold

is still holding up pretty well on the market.

An item like this may

not necessarily be sold again as a bracelet.

You've got to go on the weight.

But it's weighty enough to rein in at, I suppose,

-£100 to £150 at auction.

-Pretty good.

-Good.

This is a very exciting moment for me because it comes

to the end total, or what could be the end total,

and I think you're going to like my price, because you were looking

for £700 towards this gorgeous girl of yours for her wedding dress,

for the big day.

Well, ta-da ta-da ta-da!

Come on, you can do that. You've done that on stage. Come on.

-Ta-da ta-da ta-da!

-Ta-da!

-Ta-da!

-£900, yes! How about that?

-Excellent.

-That's really good.

-Yes.

That's going to make a big difference towards a wedding dress.

I hope so.

We've gathered quite a haul today

and discovered some fascinating antiques. Just some of the things

we're taking to auction are...

The solid silver Victorian jug

made in the 1800s by silversmiths Joseph and George Angell.

Jonty thinks it could make £100 to £150.

Another Victorian item,

this time the beautifully preserved Thornton Pickard camera,

which would be a must for any camera collector, worth £80 to £120.

And one of the many pieces of jewellery going to auction,

this stunning gold and garnet ring, which could make as much as £200.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic,

we sample the excitement of a furious bidding frenzy...

Wow, that's good towards your target!

..Whilst other items fall on stony ground.

-So, not sold, and it was all going so well.

-It was.

How will our family cope? Find out when the final hammer falls.

It's been a few weeks since we spent the day with Denise and Martin,

and we've brought all of the items to Somerset,

to sell at Lawrences Auctioneers in Crewkerne. £700 is the target,

to put towards Denise's daughter's wedding dress,

and the auction room is filling up very nicely.

Let's hope we're in for a very successful day,

when their items go under the hammer.

-Hi, Jonty.

-Gloria, how are you?

-A very interesting auction room!

Perfect for selling Denise and Martin's items.

Exactly, and they had a great variety of things.

If I remember, a lot of jewellery. Why would I remember jewellery?

There's a surprise(!) One of the stars of the show for me

is this lovely pair of baskets. Superb quality. Great hallmarks.

The auction room likes them so much they've split

then up into two different lots.

-Are they solid silver?

-Yes, wonderful good-quality solid silver.

I'm hoping that these are going to do very well today.

Nothing against Denise, but I might have cleaned

solid silver fruit baskets before I brought them to the auction.

She's done the right thing by not cleaning them.

A lot of dealers are very wary of cleaned silver.

They much prefer silver that's in a dirty, burnished state,

simply because they know that they might well be private,

so fresh stock onto the market.

It is a busy auction and I know they've arrived

so shall we go and catch up with them?

I learn a new trade secret with every trip I make to auction,

and this crowd look as if they know exactly what they're after.

There's a huge variety of antiques in today's sale and with so many

potential bidders in the room, I'm really excited about the day ahead.

I hope Denise and Martin share my optimism.

Denise and Martin, good morning. Lovely to see you again.

-Are you well?

-Yes, thank you.

-Are you excited about today,

because you haven't been to an auction before, have you?

-That's right.

-How are you feeling?

-Excited but also a bit nervous

because I'm worried about what's going to happen.

I'm interested to see what happens.

This is the most wonderful camera to look at.

Remind me how this is officially described?

-This is a plate camera.

-Right.

-And you're a very enthusiastic photographer?

-Keen, yes.

So have you got any pangs about selling this?

Slightly, but not too many, no.

It's about time it went and maybe we'll upgrade it sometime.

-He'd like to get a better one really, I think.

-Saving up, is he?

Are there any items that you're sad to see go today?

Possibly my little train set.

I know the auctioneer is in position with his gavel all ready for action,

-so shall we get in our position? We'll follow Jonty.

-This way.

There's a true buzz of anticipation in the saleroom

as the eager regulars await the start of the auction.

I hope that there's plenty of interest in our items today.

We take our positions at the back of the room,

just in time for our first lot.

They say the best things come in small packages.

Let's hope the bidders agree.

You referred to it as a patch box?

I thought it was, because it's got a little mirror in it.

-But Jonty says it's a pillbox.

-I thought it was lovely,

really charming, tiny, but that's the reason I thought £30, £40.

I'm bid £25 for it. At 25.

30, I see. 35, 40, madam?

40, 45 here. 50.

-That's good.

-55, 60, yes? Five, 70?

Five, 80? Lady's bid of 80.

I need a bucket of nerve pins!

Selling at 80.

-That is really good.

-Very good, yes.

A tiny thing, I remember thinking, "Yeah, that's going to sell."

But I didn't realise for that much.

How about that?

Selling for double its top estimate is how we like to start a sale,

and it's a good sign for the day ahead considering

Denise and Martin's attachment to some of their items.

There's a big confession coming up here, because Denise just whispered,

"I wish I'd never agreed to sell this."

Well, it's not that I wish I hadn't, but I always said I wouldn't.

-And here you are, selling it.

-Here I am, selling it.

144A, the silver jug.

Denise, kiss it goodbye.

Blow it a kiss, quickly.

100 somewhere?

I have £60 to start, at 60. At £60.

70, thank you. 70 on my left. 80.

90. 100. And ten.

-It's going.

-100 is the reserve.

-At 120 against you. At 120.

130, a new bidder. 140, 150.

140, the bid's with me, against you all. I sell at 140.

-It's gone.

-It's gone. Good money, though.

But we're doing so well.

-Good money.

-It's extraordinary.

Well observed, Jonty. Selling for just under its top estimate

is another great result, and it feels like we're on a bit of a roll.

Next up, more silver but this time in the form of a necklace.

Will there be some jewellery buyers in the room, I wonder?

We've sold all the British silver incredibly well.

This is Continental, so it'll be interesting to see whether

there's the same enthusiasm for this as for the other items.

I have ten to start, at £10.

£12, I see, thank you. 15, 18, 20.

22, 25, 28, 30, 32, 35, 38, 40.

-It's going up a bit.

-45.

It needs to get up to 50.

48. 48, new bidder.

-50.

-Come on.

-52.

Against you, then, at £50.

At £50 against you.

Disappointing. Disappointing.

Oh, dear. A shame after such a strong start.

£50 is just half of Jonty's estimate,

and our optimism for the day ahead takes a bit of a knock.

Maybe our next item will get us back on track.

It's Martin's vintage camera. I rather like it,

but will the bidders?

How do you think this is going to fare?

It's going to be very interesting. In recent times, cameras like this

have to be in really good condition before they make their price.

So, the truth is, don't tell anyone else, I'm not quite sure.

£30 for it?

30 I see, thank you.

35 here, 40, 45, 50, five, 60.

On my left at 60. At £60. Anybody else? I'm selling...

New bidder, 65, 70, five, 80...

-It's still going.

-..Five.

75's on my left. Are you quite sure?

That's good, isn't it?

Gentleman's bid.

I think that's pretty good, don't you?

-Are you happy?

-Yes.

It might be £5 below Jonty's estimate but it's near enough.

And he did admit that it was a guesstimate and, I'd say,

a pretty good one at that.

Next up, it's an auction room favourite, perfume bottles.

This set of three are quite unusual and worth every penny

of their £50 estimate. Are you partial to these, Martin?

These I quite like but I'm happy to see them go.

OK. So, Jonty, how do you think they'll fare?

I put £50 to £70 on them.

There's always dealers for these sorts of things so, again...

-Do you like them?

-Yes. Good quality, wonderful. They should sell.

Let's see how they do.

£50 for them?

Sample showing there, thank you.

£50, somebody?

Anywhere?

£40, then. £40, I see, thank you.

At 40, 45, 50, 5, 60?

Against you at £55.

60, new bidder, thank you.

65, 70, 75, 80?

£80. On my far right at 80.

Any other bids? I sell at £80 for them.

-£80!

-I thought we were stuck at 40 for a moment there.

I'm so glad the quality of the perfume bottles

wasn't lost on the bidders of Crewkerne.

At £10 above the top estimate, it's another terrific result.

Next up is an item that Jonty has really high hopes for.

The two silver bowls. And there's been a lot of interest in them.

Denise, before you arrived this morning,

Jonty was talking about the quality of the silver baskets.

Did these belong to your mother?

The bigger one was mine, the other one was my mother's,

-but she let me have it.

-Do you have any regrets about selling them?

No, no. As long as they make a reasonable price.

Why? Do you not like them any more?

They are a bit old-fashioned now. I want to make my house more modern

and probably do away with the cabinet that they all stand in.

And who's been cleaning them?

-Martin.

-Me.

-I don't clean them.

-Which means you don't have to clean any more.

-Exactly.

-Are you happy about that?

-Delighted.

Jonty, you love the quality of these, don't you?

They are extremely good quality. Fantastic, wonderful hallmarks.

I put £100 to £150 on them as a pair but don't be surprised if they

make an awful lot more than that.

They're up as two individual numbers?

They are now being sold as two separate lots.

£100 for it? 100 I see, thank you.

At £100. 10 here, 120,

-130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180...

-Wow!

190, 200? Against you, then.

The bid is here at 190. 200 anywhere else?

-Oh, my goodness!

-200, and 10, 220?

Selling at £210.

Wow! That's good towards your target, isn't it?

£210 and that's just for one of the silver bowls.

And the second one is up next.

A silver basket, lot 108B.

£80 for it?

£80 I see, thank you. On my left, £80, and 90, 100,

and 10, 120, 130, 140, 150...

-Still going.

-Wow!

150. You're in, sir, at 150, seated.

Correct?

£150, thank you. 150, I have.

160, 170. Against you now.

160. New bidder, 170, 180, 190?

At £180, then. Selling at £180.

Yes! Martin, I've got to kiss you for that one. Fantastic.

No more cleaning and all that money.

Fantastic! Well done.

You can kiss him too, if you like.

That is truly astonishing. The two silver bowls have sold

for almost four times their lowest estimate. Quite remarkable.

Now, this is turning out to be quite an auction and I can't wait to let

Martin and Denise know how much they have raised at the half-time stage.

Now, you have to agree we've had a few hot flush moments here.

I've had a bucket of nerve pills already.

But we are looking for £700 for your daughter's wedding dress,

which is a really lovely thing to be raising money for.

You're going to love this auction room because you already have £815.

-Wow!

-£815!

-That's halfway.

-Good, good.

-We can go home now, then.

Isn't that amazing? She's going to get a very expensive dress.

An exciting first half to the sale. With our target already achieved,

I wonder how we'll get on with the remainder of our lots.

The auction bidders are doing us proud, helped by the fact

that it's crammed with a vast array of quality antiques.

Jonty, of course, is truly in his element amongst such treasures

and can't resist exploring.

Before photography was invented, the only way that you could have

your picture taken was to sit for a portrait painter

just like this. It was either done in a very large, grand frame,

or in a smaller form in a miniature.

Society in the 18th and 19th century was greatly divided

between the haves and have-nots and the only people that

could afford to have their picture done was the very wealthy.

This was probably done around the turn of the 18th and 19th century

and you can really tell that by his dress, what he's wearing.

And again, this hairstyle is very typical of the period.

Essentially, we are looking at a young Regency gent.

The frame is all correct and I love this little acorn drop that appears

just underneath the eye where you can hook it against the wall.

So, in the catalogue, it's £80 to £120.

It's worth every single penny of at least £100. I think it's lovely.

Our Jonty is clearly a fan of the miniature portrait and it seems he's

not the only one who appreciates its charm when it sells for £120.

Top estimate.

If you're thinking of buying or selling items at auction,

remember that commission and other charges may apply.

Always check the details with your local auction house.

After a well-earned break, we retake our positions at

the back of the auction room in time for the second half of the sale.

Our only piece of jewellery so far

failed to get the room excited earlier on, so let's hope we

don't suffer the same fate with our next lot.

It's the first of Denise's two rings.

The ruby and diamond one is up first and we're looking for at least £80.

£40 for it?

40?

-That's not good.

-30. I have here a bid of 30.

35 I see, 40, 45, 50, 5, 60...

-It's going up a bit now.

-65?

Against you, then, at 60. Anyone else? It's against you at £60.

With me, against you at £60.

So, not sold.

-And it was all going so well.

-It was.

Uh-oh. Not the way we'd like to have started

the second second half of the sale.

It appears the lack of jewellery buyers in the room continues,

so not good news for our next lot, the gold and garnet ring.

If the ruby and diamond one didn't sell very well,

-how do you think this garnet ring will sell?

-Possibly not so good.

But big rings are more fashionable now, so maybe?

£30 for that?

20, anybody?

20 below me, thank you. 25 here, 30?

5, 40, five, 50. Latest bid below me at £50. 55 anywhere?

Any other bits? I'm selling near me at 50.

-Thank you.

-Well, what do you think?

-Disappointing because I was hoping for more but it has sold.

-Yes.

It is another disappointing result,

selling for just half of its estimate.

After doing so well in the first half,

our luck seems to have taken a turn for the worse

and there's more jewellery up next.

Here we come to a gold bracelet.

From my limited knowledge, gold has been selling really well,

how do you think this will do?

It should make its weight at the very least.

That's the reason why I've put at least £100 on it,

I'm hoping that we'll get that this time.

50, I hear, 60, 70, 80,

90, 100, and 10, 120, 130.

No? Quite sure, madam? Gentleman's bid on my right, then, at £120.

That's better.

We've sold a bit of jewellery.

At the right price.

That's more like it!

And, as it was worn by Denise at her first wedding, I'm sure Martin

won't be too disappointed to see it go.

Next under the hammer is the Sandringham pattern dinner service.

I'm constantly amazed at how little these tend to get at auction,

so I'll be interested to see how it fares today.

How much, being realistic, is this likely to fetch?

I put £40 on it as a bottom end estimate just to try

-and attract the sale.

-It doesn't seem a lot.

-Well, it's not.

I mean, this is not a lot of money.

If I went to that well-known store, I couldn't buy this for £40.

You couldn't buy one item for £40.

I could not, no. That seems like a right old bargain to me.

When my mother bought this new set, I bought her one piece.

Now, we're talking 25 to 30 years ago, for £12. One piece.

£30 for it?

£20 to start it, then?

Lot 204A, the dinner set.

I don't believe it. The auctioneer doesn't even get a bid of 20 quid.

So, in spite of it being such a bargain, it goes unsold.

It seems there's no market for large dinner services these days.

And it was the one thing that Denise wanted to get shot of.

So it's going back in the cupboard.

Now the folding writing table which Martin hasn't used for a decade.

Let's hope that the bidders are more interested in furniture.

It's in need of some restoration but Jonty's confident

it will achieve its £80 estimate.

Time to see if he's right.

£40 for it?

-20 to start it...

-Oh, I don't like that.

20, I see, thank you.

25, 30, 5, 40, five,

50, 5, 60, five,

70, 5? At £70, then.

Far left at 70. New bidder, 75.

There's someone else come in.

80, 85, 90, 95, 100...

-That's better.

-Wow!

..120.

Against you, behind. 110 on my left.

You're out, behind at 120.

Selling on my left, then, at £110.

That's fantastic.

-Martin, well done.

-That's good.

-Isn't that good?

You could say a big result for the little folding table.

Jonty was right to be confident with his valuation

and it sells for just £10 below its top estimate.

We've had some real highs and a few lows at today's auction,

but our last lot of the day will,

I think, really tug at Martin's heartstrings. It's his childhood

train set and he's generously selling it to help

the wedding dress fund. What a gent! Do you remember

-how old you were when you got it?

-Probably seven or eight.

So it's at least 20 years ago.

At least 20 years, yeah.

LAUGHTER

So, Jonty, are you a train man?

I never really had a train set, I have to say.

-Ah, deprived.

-Poor boy.

I think I always wanted one, but I never possessed one.

-But they're very collectible.

-You lucky person.

You should be bidding for this, then!

£30 for it? 30 I see, thank you.

At 30, seated bid. 35 now in the centre, 40, 45,

50, 55, 60, five, 70, five,

80, five...

-Eases the pain.

-..Against you in the middle.

-Seated bid of £80. New bidder, 85, 90, 95, 100...

-Wow!

And 10, 120, 130, 140, 150.

Quite sure?

Seated bid now, then. In the centre. I sell at £140.

Can you believe that? £140.

-Fantastic.

-For your little train.

That's really good.

Are you a happy boy?

Yes, I am. It eases the pain now.

What a resounding success for Martin's childhood train set.

It's been quite a day here in Somerset

with some truly remarkable results.

We'd already exceeded our £700 target at the halfway stage,

so I'm looking forward to breaking the good news to Denise and Martin

on how well they've done over all.

You wanted £700 for your lovely daughter's dress.

I said before, it's a lovely reason to raise money,

to get rid of a lot of stuff out of your cupboard and your drawers.

I'm glad to say that, having wanted £700,

you have got £1,235!

-Wow! Congratulations.

-Isn't that brilliant?

-Yes, I'm pleased with that.

-Thank you very much.

Nearly £1,300. How do you think your daughter will react?

She will be pleased, very pleased. I doubt that she'll spend it all.

And you're going to be out there with her choosing the dress?

-Absolutely.

-If you're providing the money, why not?

We wish your daughter the very, very best of luck and much happiness

and thank you both very much indeed. We really enjoyed your company.

-Thank you.

-Enjoy the wedding.

I hope we will.

Denise and her daughter, Marissa, have come to a wedding dress shop

in St Albans to select the dress of her dreams.

-But will she find the one she wants?

-Do you want to come through?

I'm happy that I could help Marissa with her dress,

because I know it means a lot to her. And that's the nicest bit

to do for her because it's really girly and we've been able

to do it together, so I'm really happy about that.

I feel quite nervous but I'm looking forward to my wedding day,

I can't wait for it to come.

I think that's just a bit too big at the bottom.

That's really not right for you. Let's have another go.

I think I like this one.

And the wedding dress Marissa chose in the end...

Don't be silly, we can't show you. It's understandable

that Marissa wants to keep it a secret until her big day.

I don't think he would be very fair to let the groom

see his bride before the day, so we're keeping that under wraps.

I think my dress is absolutely lovely and I can't believe

I found the one that I want.

And, of course, we wish them every happiness for the future.

If you've got antiques or collectibles of your own

and you'd like to sell them through

Cash In The Attic for something special,

just get in touch with our website.

Who knows? Maybe I'll be saying "welcome" to you on the programme.

Until then, from all of us on the team,

thanks for your company and bye-bye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]