Eyles Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the show that helps raise money for a special project

or a treat, by rummaging round for antiques and collectables and then we take them all to auction.

But it's not very often you find an employee who decides that it's time for a spring clean,

so it'll be interesting to see what his boss thinks in today's Cash In The Attic.

'Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic,

'I get an education in restaurant management.'

-What is a comestible?

-Anything that's edible.

Do you have comestibles on your menu?

I hope so, otherwise everyone would go very hungry!

'John tries to get a free meal.'

If they make between 20 and 30, I will buy you lunch here,

if not, you've got to shout me lunch.

'And there are some surprises come auction day.'

-Didn't think they'd sell at all.

-You didn't?

-No.

-Ye of little faith.

'So will our good fortune last? Find out when the hammer finally falls.'

I'm in the Surrey countryside, to meet Jane and her pub manager Colin.

And they've got a very practical plan to bring in the customers.

'Jane Ayles has been the owner of the King's Arms for five years.

'Having studied hotel catering at university,

'Jane became marketing manager for a national chain of hotels

'and it was there where she met her husband Peter.

'The couple were married in 1996, and today they run four pubs.

'No easy task, so thank heavens, I say, for Colin who,

'for the past nine months has been the general manager of this one.

'With plans to stand out from the competition, they've called in the Cash In The Attic team to help.

'Our expert John Cameron can't wait to begin exploring,

'so whilst he makes a start, I meet the team.'

Jane and Colin,

this is what I like to see - a bit of activity in the pub.

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you.

A first for me. I don't think I've ever done a Cash In The Attic in a pub.

-Which of you called us in?

-I did.

Ah, a big fan, are you?

I'm quite a fan of it and I've been watching it and I thought,

"We have a lot of interesting bits and pieces here that we wanted to clear out."

What do you plan to do around the pub with the money?

We've been thinking about this and one of the comments that we have

is that customers say we're hard to find because our sign isn't good,

so we want to put the money towards a new sign.

-So what do they call you - the first on the left?

-First on the left, exactly!

I think you need a sign, to be honest.

How much do you think you'll raise?

We're looking to raise £500 for the sign.

Did you think it was a good idea, Colin, as you're the general manager here?

Yeah, it was quite incredible.

When I came in, it just reminded me of a grandma's front room, in terms of collecting, collecting,

run out of space to put things and you just couldn't see the beauty of the pub.

I think I'll practise pulling my pint later on, but we've got to find John Cameron, our expert.

I don't know whether it's a good idea bringing him to a pub or not,

-but we'll find out. Shall we start?

-Yes.

'Well, I'm certainly looking forward to searching this wonderful 16th-century coaching inn.

'As ever, John has wasted no time in getting his hands dirty hunting for valuables

'and it looks like something has already caught his eye.'

You see, Jane, I told you that our expert John

would be rooting in your cupboards!

Well, I've got to sing for my supper today, I understand.

You work behind the bar, so that's OK.

Well, I have found something we can take to auction.

It's not going to make a fortune, but it will clear you a space, Jane.

It's this sideboard.

-This is oak, is it?

-It is oak. It's oak and oak veneer.

Robert Adam is accredited with actually forming the sideboard.

After decorating a room, he had pedestals either side of a serving table.

You'd keep things in the pedestals, cutlery and boxes,

nice urns, and eventually he merged them together.

And then you'd get the humble sideboard.

Decorative-wise, well, it borrows from a lot of different periods.

It is 1920s, the kind of Arts and Crafts era, but look,

in this raised back, you've got an anthemion motif, which is also echoed

in the doors, along with that bead and reel little piece at the bottom of the frieze there.

Those pieces come from classical periods.

In the Renaissance, they were re-used and throughout decorative art history.

The barley twist legs and those drop handles,

they come from Flemish and English furniture

in the latter 17th century, so quite an eclectic piece.

-You didn't know all of that, Jane, did you?

-I didn't know any of it.

I've got a sideboard at home. I'll look at it differently now!

The thing is, this looks terrific in situ, because the building is old

and it looks good, but I'm just wondering how it'll fare at auction?

Not great sums. I would put this into auction today

at about £40-£60, something like that.

Are you happy to get rid of it?

Yes, I think we are. We've got a lot of things

that could go in that space that will do the job that it's doing.

I'm a bit worried about you being in a pub, John,

but I'll let you loose and we'd better go and have a look at some other items.

-My reputation precedes me.

-It does, I'm afraid.

'We split up to begin a thorough search of this charming old pub.

'Colin's made a start upstairs

'and finds a collection of old horse brasses.

'You know, I didn't think it would be too long

'before we found some today.

'Brasses like these were the decoration worn on the harnesses of working horses.

'This collection would likely have been produced in the West Midlands,

'back in the 19th century.

'John values the set at £30-£40.

'Downstairs,

'this blue and white plate

'is one of several similar examples in the pub

'that Jane amasses into a rather impressive collection.

'It's Delftware, a tin-glazed pottery,

'which originated in the Netherlands in the 17th century.

'John thinks this accumulation

'could fetch £50-£80 at auction.

'At this stage though,

'I want to find out a bit more about our landlady.'

So are you quite glad that you're getting rid of whatever it is today?

Well, we've owned this one for five years and we inherited everything that was in it

from the previous owner and people are looking for something a little bit cleaner and fresher these days.

When Colin joined us back in July, we thought, "Right, OK, let's have a bit of a clear-out."

People are very attached to the items and it's a dilemma -

"Will I sell that brooch that belonged to my mum?"

-But I take it that there's no emotion really attached to your things today?

-Not from us.

Maybe from some of the elderly customers, but not from us.

You've got the customers to deal with!

Now, I got a glimpse of your two lovely dogs and I gather one is really quite famous.

Yes, that's Benson, my golden retriever.

He has his own blog on the Surrey Life website.

What does Benson "paw" about on his computer?

Oh, all the things that are important to dogs -

where your next meal's coming from, where your next walk's going to be,

anything that a dog thinks is important in life.

-Now, we'd better find John and have a look at some more of your items to raise the £500.

-OK.

-I think we'll go this way this time.

-All right.

'I don't know. A dog with a blog? Whatever next?

'Now, whilst Jane and I have been chatting, John's been hard at work,

'and in one of the pub's many nooks and crannies, he's found an intricately-carved oak bookshelf.

'It's one of a pair and they've been in the pub for as long as any of the regulars can remember.

'John thinks they should fetch £60-£100 at auction.

'Then out in the garage, Colin digs out a collection of brass

'and copper, which used to be displayed in the pub.

'Although mostly modern,

'John still hopes they will make £70-£100 at auction.

'And Colin is not stopping there.'

John.

-What have you got there, Colin?

-I keep meaning to throw these away.

Throw them away? You mean you've got more than one of them?

Incredibly, there is.

-There is a pair.

-You mean you don't like these?

-It's auction or kindling.

-I think that might be a bit drastic.

We'll come back to that in a second.

Well, they're in a kind of Baroque style.

When you think about things like this, they tell us a bit about our social history.

When would book ends have first been invented?

When you think about the development of the printing press at the end of the 16th century

and then growing in this country in the 17th century,

that's when we first start to see libraries of any consequence.

Before that, books were written or illuminated by hand

and were only found in churches, monasteries and things like that.

So have we got ourselves a pair of first period Baroque book-ends?

Methinks not, coming back to your comment about throwing them on the fire.

I wouldn't if I were you, because they're 20th century,

and although there's marble in them, they're made of gilt resin,

so they wouldn't smell nice if you threw them on the fire

and you might upset the customers.

But I think we can still sell them.

Somebody might like them. What do you think they're worth?

I reckon a fiver if you're lucky, but I'll say £20-£30, cos I'm a mug.

You'd do well to get £20 or £30, but I'll tell you what,

if they make between £20 and £30, I will buy you lunch here.

-If not, you've got to shout me lunch.

-Deal!

'So who will be buying lunch for whom?

'I don't think either of the chaps were enamoured by the book ends,

'but John thinks £10-£15 is a more

'realistic estimate.

'Now, who will be right?'

15, 20 anywhere now?

Still below estimate at £15.

'Only time will tell.

'Back in the pub, John has found an old typewriter.

'It was made by the British manufacturer Imperial,

'who mass-produced them at their Leicester factory up until 1974.

'John values it at £15-£25.

'Down in the bar, Jane decides it is time to part with the pub's collection of pewter mugs.

'Pewter was introduced to Britain by the Romans in the second century,

'but these are somewhat more recent, dating from the 19th century.

'John thinks that, sold together as one lot, they could fetch £40-£60.

'Now, I'll drink to that!'

'You know, it's fascinating discovering all these items

'that have somehow, over the centuries, ended up in and around this quaint old inn.'

Hey, I have been to the Aladdin's cave known as a garage.

And I've found some really interesting things, I think.

There's a lot out there, isn't there?

Yeah. No smoking area.

And this one here... Partridge's Gold Medal pies.

Look at that. Puddings, pies and savouries.

-"Purveyors of fine comestibles".

-What is a comestible?

-Anything that's edible.

-Do you have comestibles on your menu?

I would hope so, otherwise everyone would go very hungry!

I like this one, actually. Do you know much about it?

I think this one's been in the garage since we cleared it out.

I'm not sure where the "no smoking area" one came from.

It's a bit of fun - a reproduction.

-If we look at the back, there's not a great deal of age to this at all.

-Rough.

Rough, but machine sawn.

We can see the evidence of the machine mark.

I've seen these turning up quite a lot at auctions with

pawnbroking and advertising all sorts of old things,

cigarettes and things like that,

because there is a very active and buoyant market for genuine period advertising.

Some of the things make thousands of pounds, some enamel signs.

What's somebody going to pay?

Not a huge sum, but I certainly think, as an estimate, £30-£50.

Well, that's not bad, is it?

It's two more things out of your over-cluttered garage.

We are going to look for another item.

'Well, Jane's more than happy to see the back of the old pub signs,

'so let's hope they raise good money for the new one.

'Colin's upstairs searching a bedroom and comes across this Victorian railway lamp.

'It's fair to say that it's seen better days, but nevertheless,

'John still thinks that any railway enthusiast at auction might still

'be tempted to pay £20-£40 for it.

'In another bedroom,

'John finds a cupboard that's filled with dozens of old paintings.

'Yet again, they were left behind by the pub's previous owners.

'It's a very impressive collection,

'featuring the works of numerous artists.

'No well-known names, though, so John very cautiously

'values them at £100-£140 and it will be interesting to see

'what the bidders make of them, come auction day.'

Colin, I wanted to ask you about the pub's harmonium.

Is this something we could possibly consider for auction?

This is probably my favourite piece in the pub.

It's something my customers and I have become quite attached to.

-They often come in and have a little tinkle.

-Does it work?

-Yeah.

-So it's still in working order?

It's in great working order. There's a couple of keys that don't work.

Probably a problem with the reeds, but getting these repaired is not cheap.

The harmonium works by pumping air across three reeds.

It was invented in Paris around about 1852, something like that, by a chap called Alexandre Debain

and it wasn't long before the popularity spread.

This particular one here was made in America by the very established

and much respected firm of Masons and Hamlin.

Now, Mason was the musician,

but Hamlin was a very clever mechanic and a great inventor.

Between them, they formed the company around about 1854, something like that,

in Boston, Massachusetts, the home of piano production.

Now, it wasn't long before their reputation spread and I think it culminated, as we can see,

which they displayed on all their instruments,

these gold medals that they were awarded.

This one here was for the Philadelphia Exhibition in 1876.

These were big international affairs, pretty much like the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.

However, sadly, with the advent of things like gramophones and radios, people didn't need

to entertain themselves with pianos and harmoniums any more, so things tended to die out.

Sadly, this is one of them, except in your pub, obviously.

Ah, I see you've found our harmonium.

We have, and I'm hoping that you're going to let us send this to auction.

-It's very sweet looking, isn't it?

-It's beautiful. It's really fun.

A lot of customers comment on it as they come in

and I don't really know whether I want to get rid of it or not.

What do you think it might fetch at auction, John?

Well, not huge sums of money, actually, Gloria.

I have sold these and some come with quite spectacular cabinets

and fake pipes, to make them look more like church organs.

Sometimes, I've seen them fail to get a bid.

However, it's in working order, it's a nice cute size, not too imposing.

Even though it's working, I'm going to say £60-£80.

Would you let it go for 60 quid?

I suppose the danger is, when it's going to auction, you're never quite sure.

I think we'd need to put a reserve on it.

-What do you think would be a fair reserve?

-Um, maybe £60?

-So, certainly no less than 60?

-No less than 60.

Now, you wanted £500 for this fabulous new sign,

so that you will not be the first pub on the left any more.

You'll actually have the name up in lights. Taking into account the reserve, you should get £525.

That's brilliant! Absolutely fantastic.

-Excellent.

-That would buy you a sign, Colin.

It would buy a sign.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much for coming.

'And what a mixture of items we have for auction.

'There's the impressive collection

'of blue and white, iron-glazed Delftware.

'It's been in the pub for decades,

'but could find a new home for £50-£80.

'The large haul of paintings

'that had been hidden away in a cupboard for years.

'Could there be some rarities amongst them?

'We'll find out if they smash their £100-£140 estimate.

'And the delightful harmonium.

'It's the only item that holds any sentiment

'and at just £60-£80, there's already talk of a reserve.

'Question is, can Jane bear to part with it?'

'Still to come on Cash In The Attic,

'we face an uphill battle

'as a number of items fail to make it to auction.'

You don't reckon Colin's got attached to any of them?

I don't know. I should have checked his bedroom!

'But there's still cause to celebrate with some unexpected results.'

£85. Wonderful. That did brilliantly.

'So will the pub be getting its much needed new sign?

'Be there when the gavel falls.'

Now, that's what I would call a really interesting rummage.

Clearly, they have a lot of pub stuff that they want to get rid of.

We've brought it all to the John Nicholson Auctions in Surrey.

They're hoping to raise about £500 for that brand-new sign,

which will bring in, fingers crossed, a lot of new business.

Unfortunately, I can't be there for all the fun of the auction,

but our expert John Cameron is and, of course, he'll guide Jane through

all the proceedings and, hopefully, they'll raise the money.

'This popular saleroom is on the outskirts of Hazelmere

'and it holds a Saturday antique auction once a month.

'With almost 900 lots on offer in today's sale, a large crowd is anticipated.

'But will the harmonium, be amongst the lots

'or did it prove to be just too sentimental to part with?'

-Hi, Jane.

-Hello, John, how are you?

I'm good. You won't do 60 words a minute on that.

I never learnt how to type. I didn't ever want to be a secretary.

So, anyway, no Colin?

No, Saturday is our busiest day, of course.

You know he and I had a wager, don't you?

I said if those book ends made £20 I'd buy him lunch.

If they didn't, he was going to get me lunch.

I think he's stayed away so he can get out of that bet.

If you win, you know where to go!

So what about the harmonium? What did you decide?

We just thought it was too much for the pub to bring,

so we've left it where it is.

Hopefully, even with a few lots that haven't turned up,

-we should get somewhere near our target, so come on.

-OK, great.

'Sadly, though, the harmonium isn't the only item from the pub to stay behind.

'Jane has decided that the carved oak bookshelves are also too much

'part of the pub to bring to auction,

'so that means we're two items

'and a potential £120 down from the offset.

'We'll need the rest of our items to perform really well

'if we're to have a chance of reaching that £500 target.'

We've got the Imperial typewriter here today.

An English company started by an American-Spanish chap called Moya.

They went on to become a market leader and produced

hundreds and hundreds of millions of these items, hence why they

-don't make huge sums at auction. Great decoration in pubs.

-Yeah.

But we're looking for £15-£25 for our typewriter.

-What do you reckon? Hopeful?

-Um, I hope it will get that sort of money.

It's a nice decorative item, so it should do.

-Bids here can start at 10, 15, 20, five.

-We're up to our top estimate.

For the typewriter. At 30, five, anywhere?

Selling on commission at £30.

-£30. Happy?

-Fantastic, yes.

-That was good!

'I should say so.

'It's our first sale of the day and is £5 over John's top estimate.

'Will we have similar success with the railway lamp?

'We're looking for £20-£40.'

Start here at £10, 15, 20, anywhere now?

-At £15, 20?

-20, we're on 20.

Five? 30, five, 40, five.

At 45, front row.

-£45.

-50. And five? 60?

-60?

-Yes? 60 bid, and five, 70, five, 80 and five.

90, anywhere now? Selling at 85.

-£85!

-Wonderful. Well, that did brilliantly.

'What am amazing result!

'That's over twice John's top estimate.

'Two lots in and we've already raised £115

'towards the £500 for the new pub sign.'

'It's the turn of the two Baroque style book ends next.

'John valued them at just £10-£15.

'Now, Colin thought £20-£30 was more likely.

'So, who will be the closest?'

Next up is my favourite lot of the auction.

Colin and I had a joke about these.

Now, Jane, what do you think of them?

I'll be very surprised if they sell.

At £10 for the little book ends. 15. At 15.

20 anywhere now?

Still below estimate, at £15.

20 anywhere? 20 anywhere now? I'm going to sell, at the back at £15.

-£15.

-Well, they sold.

-So I get my free lunch.

-You do, indeed.

I promise I won't have a starter(!)

'So, the bidders shared our expert's opinion on the book ends,

'but at least they sold and it's another £15 in the pot.

'Now, there were no surprises

'when we discovered our next lot in the pub.

'It's the rather substantial collection of horse brasses.'

There's a whole boxful, on the leathers.

-At 25, 30 anywhere now?

-One more, one more.

30 anywhere?

At 25...

-You don't have to look at them any more, Jane.

-No. Or polish them.

'£25 is just shy of their lower estimate and it's another very welcome addition to the fund.

'Let's hope the furniture buyers are out in force because, next up,

'it's the famous mahogany sideboard.'

And I'm bid here 20, five, 30, £35 bid.

-At £35.

-£35, that's good.

£35, 40 anywhere? I'm going to sell on commission, at 35.

-35.

-£35, just under our lower estimate and, as I said, they used to do quite well.

'I think somebody's got a real bargain there.

'With two items in a row falling short of John's estimate,

'I'm worried that our £500 target may have been a tad ambitious.

'With half our lots sold, we've made just £190,

'so we need our fortunes to change, and fast.

'Now, if like Jane, you have a special reason to raise some cash

'and you're thinking of heading to auction, remember that commission

'and other charges may apply, so always check the details with your local auction house first.

'Our next lot is a collection

'of old pub signs, which I think is rather appropriate,

'considering we're raising money for a new one.'

We're looking for 30-50. What do you reckon?

I think they'll go. I'm sure they will.

People will like them in their kitchen.

And I'm bid here £20, five, 30, five anywhere?

35, madam. 40 now anywhere, for the two pub signs?

At £35, 40 anywhere? It's had its time.

Selling at £35. 247, thank you.

We were over our bottom estimate.

-I'm happy with that. Are you?

-Yes.

I'm just happy that I haven't got to take anything back so far.

'And it looks like we may have what John likes to call

'"breweryana" collectors in the room,

'which is good news, as we have more

'pub collectibles coming up shortly.

'Now, it's an auction favourite,

'the impressive collection of blue and white Delftware

'that Jane amassed from seemingly every corner of the pub.

'We're looking for £50-£80.'

There is still a market and some people just love blue and white, so again something from the pub?

It was, again, all over the beams. Just more stuff to dust.

I can start here at 30, 40, 50, 60 anywhere now?

At £50, 60 your bid, 70 with me.

80. I'm out now at £80.

90 anywhere now? At £80 for all the blue and white.

They're certainly proving popular.

90 anywhere? It's had its time. The gentleman's bid, selling at £80.

Wow! £80. That's fantastic.

-You haven't got any more, have you?

-No!

'What a shame that is, Jane, but never mind,

'£80 is a great result.

'Let's hope we keep the momentum going

'with the sale of our next lot. It's a collection of pewter mugs.'

If you were decorating a thatched cottage,

you could do it today in one fell swoop.

Or they could've just come along and I would've sold it direct to them.

At 20, 30, 40, 50 anywhere now, for the pewter?

At £40, 50 anywhere?

Selling then at the maiden bid of £40, on commission.

-Well, £40, bang on our bottom estimate.

-I'm really pleased.

-Happy with that?

-Yes, I didn't think they'd sell at all.

-You didn't?

-No.

-Ye of little faith.

-Total no faith.

'It seems the bidders just can't get enough

'of our items and it's more pub goodies next.'

Are you not sorry to see any of this go, Jane?

I think the day of the brass-strewn pub has gone.

A really big lot there. A lot of interest, as well.

I can start at 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140.

-At £140...

-£140.

150 anywhere now?

At £140 on commission. 150 anywhere?

With me. I'm going to sell at £140.

-Brilliant.

-What do you think of that?

-Well done.

Well, you know, I'm not one to blow my own trumpet.

'We've had a great run in the second half of the auction,

'but time for a lot that is somewhat of an unknown entity.

'It's the hoard of framed pictures

'that have been amassed in the pub over the last decades.

'Could there be some hidden gems in there?

'The bidders have been scrutinising them very closely.'

Aubrey, the auctioneer, tells me

-there's a lot less than 100 there now, so do you think any got left behind?

-Possibly.

It was difficult to find them all when we packed the van up to bring it here.

You don't reckon Colin's got attached to any?

Maybe I should go and check in his bedroom!

Well, do that when you get home. There's less than 100 here now.

I put £100-£140 on it, based on the fact that, well, if you get £1 each for them,

it's got to be something, so hopefully the missing prints won't put much of a dent in our estimate.

They all came from the pub.

Good solid sellers. And I'm bid here 50, 60, 70...

The auctioneer's doing a good job for us.

80 anywhere now? 80.

-90, 100...

-£100.

110?

One more? 110, madam. 120.

At £120. 130. At £130, then.

Against the other bidder, at 130.

Selling at £130...

Fantastic. £130.

Well, if Colin's got them, he can keep them!

'Overall, I think you'll agree,

'it was a very eventful auction,

'and I'm only too disappointed that I wasn't there to share the excitement with Jane and John.

'But at the end of the day, just how much has Jane managed to raise towards the new pub sign?'

-You were looking for 500. You didn't get the £500...

-Oh, no.

-..but what we did make was 600...

-No!

..and £15.

Really? Oh, fantastic. I'm really pleased.

-And I get my lunch.

-You do. You do get your lunch.

We'll lay you up a special table near where, um, the harmonium is.

'And now Jane's headed to Croydon, to meet specialist pub sign designer, Mark Butler.'

-Hello. Jane, is it?

-I'm Jane, yes.

How are you?

'Having looked at a selection of Mark's previous efforts,

'has Jane got any ideas for an eye-catching sign of her own?'

I'm definitely looking for some help, because I'm not a designer.

I've taken a photograph of a shield that was in the pub

and I've got that with me on my camera, so hopefully they can tell me what they can do with it.

Gold coach line around the crest,

maybe round the board, to define it a little bit.

I found that really interesting. It's given us some good ideas as to

what we can put on the sign now to make sure the pub will be seen.