Andrews Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic.

This is the show that searches your home for antiques and collectibles,

which we then sell at auction.

Well, today, I'm going to be meeting a couple who are hoping that

what's inside their house will benefit the outside of it.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic,

is today's rummage going to be haunted by spirits?

She occasionally flashes lights and turns televisions on and off,

turns taps on and off.

We try and uncover the history behind this brass plaque.

This is a very, very unusual item. Do you know anything much about it?

-I've never actually handled one before.

-Oh. Well, there you go.

And, at auction, an old relic gets a surprising amount of interest.

-Ooh, we're in at 60 quid! That's great!

-Excellent.

That's an overestimate already.

Find out more when the hammer falls.

Well, today, we're going to be meeting a husband and wife team

who are hoping to give their livelihood and home a facelift.

This beautiful house, built in 1860, is both the home

and the workplace of Roslin and George Andrews.

Married for seven years,

the couple run this five-bedroom guesthouse, complete with two cottages

that they rent out to travellers and holiday-makers.

The job takes up the lion's share of their time,

although they both say they love what they do.

Look out, George!

Over the years, George and Roslin

have collected all sorts of things to fill their home,

investing a lot of time and money in second-hand shops,

whilst trying to get the bed and breakfast up and running, and decorated.

But, now, they'd like to sell off some of these items,

so I think it's time for me and our expert, Paul Hayes, to check in.

-Morning!

-Good morning. How are you?

-Hello, nice to meet you.

-Lovely to meet you.

-I'm Roslin.

-Nice to see you. I'm George.

-Hi.

-I'm Paul. Nice to meet you both.

-Hi, Paul. Lovely to meet you.

There's a welcome here, isn't there?

Now, it looks like an enormous place.

How many rooms have you got here?

There's five bedrooms.

There's about five other rooms down here.

-There's a flat upstairs. So, a big house.

-Sounds fantastic.

Would you mind awfully if I make a start and have a little rummage about?

-Not at all.

-Any ghosts to worry about, anything upstairs?

-Er, yeah.

-Oh, well!

OK. Now, I didn't hear anything about any ghosts,

so tell me a little bit about this, then.

-Well, we have Emily.

-Emily?

-Emily, yes.

-Who's Emily?

-That's the maid.

-She's a maid.

-Many years ago.

She worked here in the 1890s.

Well, you can tell me a bit more about the house's history in a bit.

Now, what do you want to raise the money for?

-We want to paint the outside of the house.

-Which is a big job.

So, anything would be nice to go towards that.

I almost dread to think how much it's going to cost

to have the whole place repainted.

-£1,000 would go well towards it. It'd do one side!

-It would.

It would help tremendously, yes.

So, obviously you run this as a guesthouse.

What's the maximum number of guests you could have here at any one time?

-We do up to 16.

-Up to 16?

-Mm-hm.

-That's including our holiday cottages, of course.

-Right.

-Right, OK. So, that must keep you very busy.

-Very.

-Just a little.

All right. Well, with a bit of luck, then, you can give us a guided tour,

so we can make sure we rummage every room.

-Is that all right?

-It certainly is.

-Right, let's go and make £1,000, then. Come on.

-That's great.

Come on, let's go.

Looking at the outside of this house,

I can see that's one big paint job. I hope Paul's on the case.

He's certainly got plenty of rooms in which to keep him occupied.

-Paul, what have you found, apart from a gorgeous warm fire?

-I know!

Well, we've kept the home fires burning there.

I've found some brassware. Often you find brass around the fireplace

and so on but this is a very, very unusual item.

Do you know anything much about it?

It's Chas Burrell & Sons Limited Manufacturers, Thetford, England,

then a number. Do you know what this is?

Yes, it's a plate off a traction engine,

the original plate.

And I've had a look.

4062 is the number and that is an engine

that is currently running in Ireland, I understand.

Wow!

So they're not interested in this, are they?

-Well, we have told them that we have it.

-Right.

But they haven't particularly shown any interest,

which is quite a surprise because to do a whole engine

and then not to have the original plate seems...

-Right.

-Yeah, yeah.

Well, these are very, very desirable items.

Nameplates, really, are the market leaders.

If you get things like steam locomotives...

I know the Nigel Gresley's here, isn't it?

If you had that nameplate,

you'd be talking thousands and thousands of pounds,

serious locomotives like that. That's the top of the tree.

At the bottom, are simple agricultural vehicles,

things that worked in dairies and that sort of thing,

but they all had these sort of brass plaques on them.

-But the traction engine has a huge collectors' market.

-That's right, yeah.

-I've never actually handled one before.

-Oh! Well, there you go.

Well, Charles Burrell were very famous traction steam engine manufacturers

throughout the 19th century.

They made everything from small agricultural engines

to huge traction engines, so they're very, very desirable.

So where did you find this?

We found it before the cottages were done. The stables were down there.

They were full of rubbish

and it was just in the rubbish down in the stables.

So, have you any idea how much that might be worth?

On the little bit of research we did,

we were told it was between 300 and £400.

Well, the thing is, Paul, we're going to a general auction,

not a specialist railwayana sale,

so what do you suggest with this, price-wise?

I'd love to get a reserve that both you and George are happy with.

-So, say we said maybe 250?

-That's fine, yeah.

-All right.

Then we'll do our homework and try to get as many people interested as possible.

That's a jolly good start. I like the sound of that.

Let's see if we can find the rest of the engine or something.

Full steam ahead, isn't it?!

George and Roslin's guesthouse is full of decorations in the rooms and hallways.

Amongst the many adornments are these 20th-century blue and white meat platters.

They're made by Myott and George bought them in a second-hand shop.

But this home is well kitted out with serving plates,

so George is happy to let them go to auction

for the 20 to £40 that Paul estimates they'll make.

-Oh, there you are. You've found it, have you?

-I have found it, yeah.

-I've found a genuine antique.

-Yes, indeed.

-What a cracker that is!

Has this been part of the house or where's this come from?

No, I picked that up at some sort of sale in a second-hand shop,

something like that.

A few years ago, it must have been about 12 years ago,

when I was trying to find bits and pieces for this dining room.

Well, this dates maybe 1750, 1800s.

It's a Georgian wine table and the idea was it was used occasionally.

These used to have a tilt top and you would tilt it up,

put it against the wall and then when you wanted to use it,

you'd bring it into the room.

This would fit perfectly with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

-Fantastic! English oak, lovely.

-Wonderful.

Was it always in this sort of condition? Have you had it restored?

-No, no, no. That's exactly how I bought it.

-Right.

What I like about it is the patina.

Can you see the way you get little faded areas where it's been used?

And you've got these wonderful worn areas where people's feet have been.

-The problem we've got is that one of the pad feet has been damaged slightly. Can you see?

-Yeah.

So I see, yeah.

That can be restored but, of course, you have to allow for that.

-Look at the quality of that. It's fantastic.

-Mm, yeah, it's good.

And there's no big splits or anything in it which is good,

So, how do you feel about letting this one go?

Erm, I don't mind one little bit

because whatever revenue these things bring,

then it will help maintain the house and make it a bit better.

-Would it have been expensive when you bought it?

-No, I don't think so.

Maybe a tenner or something like that.

Right. You're looking at a lot of profit in that, then.

That's a fantastic thing.

OK, right.

Well, that's a good antique item, very popular at auction,

needs a bit of restoration but if I said around £50 for that,

how does that sound?

-Yeah, that sounds fine.

-All right.

And do you know what's great about it?

Whether you live in huge place like this or a bedsit, it can go anywhere.

-It can fit anything, can't it?

-Of course, yeah.

All right. Well, let's take this one to auction.

Let's put it near the door. All right, come on. This way.

As our search continues, I've been having a hunt around

the sitting room and I found this rather fetching silver pocket watch.

Apparently, it belonged to George's father-in-law

who served as a captain in the medical corps of the army.

The piece isn't particularly valuable as pocket watches go,

but Paul thinks it will bring in 20 to £40.

I think I'll leave Paul to carry on the good work

and have a chat with our hosts.

So, how long have you two been together?

Ooh, about 12 years, thereabouts.

Give or take a year or so.

So, George, tell me about how you first met, then.

A friend of ours organised a foursome for dinner one night,

so off I went and my partner happened to be Roslin.

And so we got together once or twice after that,

-had a bit of a courting session, didn't we?

-Mm.

And, eventually, she persuaded me to marry her.

You've obviously worked really hard together, though, haven't you?

And you've obviously built up this business.

What do you think has been the key that's made your business so successful?

A sense of humour.

Oh, yes. Yeah.

And we always meet nice people.

Well, nearly always.

Mm-hm. 99.9%.

I would rephrase that.

99% of the people who come, we've got to know over the years,

and they're sort of like friends coming, you know.

-It's really nice.

-Right.

Well, you must tell me, I'm sure you've had some guests

you'd rather not return, haven't you?

We don't have that many. I think that the worst one was that couple...

Who came for the...

-Who came with the baby.

-Oh, yeah.

-Do you remember?

They just turned up ad hoc and we gave them this room and I said,

"Do you want a cot for the baby?"

And they went, "No, no. It sleeps in our bed."

"Right, OK. Is there anything else you want for the baby?"

Cos I love babies. And we hussed and fussed, didn't we?

He came down and asked us if there was anywhere he could get a pizza.

I said, "Only Whitby. You have to go into Whitby."

So off he went to Whitby and he came back with a pizza.

And then the next day, I don't know for whatever reason,

I looked out and I thought, "There's not many cars out there."

I went in and started joking with George and the other guests that,

"Ha-ha! They've done a bunk."

It got to about nine o'clock and we went,

"We better go and give them a knock."

We went up and all they'd left was the pizza box.

And they had this tiny baby. They'd done a bunk.

That's got to be the worst but, I mean, you've just got to laugh.

If you let stuff like that... That's only happened once.

Most people are good, though. Most people are fine.

Most people respect the fact that it's our home

and they've become part of our family.

I can understand a lot of guests end up feeling like family

but you don't want to be in that situation with Paul, I'm sure.

-So shall we see if he's done any work?

-Let's see what he's found.

While we've been chatting, Paul's been having a look around

the sitting room and has discovered this wooden desk.

It was given to George by his father-in-law.

Although he's fond of it, George does want to get

the outside of his lovely house looking pristine again.

So, with Paul's estimate of 30 to £50, he's happy to let it go.

Service!

-Do you know? I've always wanted to do that!

-Did you say, "Service"?

Yeah, isn't that what it's for, this bell?

-No!

-Is it not? I'm sorry.

-Nice try, Paul.

-You only do it once.

Sorry, I won't do it again after that.

I thought you'd come running in and here you are.

-What have you got for us?

-A lovely carriage clock.

-These are lovely items, aren't they?

-Mm.

Was this presented to somebody for 50 years' service or something?

No, no. George bought it about 35 years ago.

He just has a fascination for clocks.

That's just one of many.

Well, these are one of my favourite items so I do sympathise.

There's something beautiful about these.

The proportions, the gilded bronze, the accuracy of the clock,

and they just look really attractive.

Of course, the original idea, these were actually carriage clocks.

They were designed to be in the travelling carriages.

They came in wonderful leather cases.

I don't know if you've seen them. Very old ones.

The best ones used to have a repeating button on the top

That would tell you, to the nearest hour, the time.

Driving around in the dark, you'd press the button

-and it would ring the hour. Fantastic.

-Oh, right.

And what about George? Do you think he'll be quite happy for it to go?

Yeah, it's no sentimental value. It's just a clock he's bought.

A couple of things to look for when you're valuing these sort of things.

The first thing is the dial.

The dial is enamelled copper and that can crack and split,

so you want to make sure there's no cracks in the dial.

This one's in nice condition.

The second thing is the glass,

cos this bevelled glass is very expensive to replace.

And this is all bevel all the way around so, nice condition, as well.

And the third, and probably most important,

is the platform escapement on the top here.

That spring has to be moving and working.

If that's broken, it's very expensive to repair, all right?

But that's a good quality 20th century carriage clock.

So what sort of estimate would you put on this?

-You could be approaching the 150 mark.

-Oh, really?

I mean, if I said 100 to 150 to give it a chance, how does that sound?

Yeah, that's fine.

Well, that's jolly good.

I think we should find some jobs for Paul to do when he's finished ringing his bells at us.

-Yes.

-Come on, let's go.

-Just ring the bell and I'll come running.

There we go. Sorry about that.

That's a good figure to go towards the painting and decorating bill.

Let's hope this carriage clock tempts the bidders

when it goes to auction.

50, 55, 60?

65, 70?

75, 80?

We'll find out soon enough.

As we continue our rummage, there's no sign of that ghost.

With so many rooms, we could do with another pair of hands.

Come on, Paul, no time for that!

Luckily, Roslin's on the case

and offers up this lovely full set tiger's eye necklace and earrings.

They belonged to her mother and Roslin says she can still remember

her mum wearing them when she was very young.

It's still got its box and, since Roslin's got three sons and no daughter,

she reckons it's time to sell it.

Paul gives it an estimate of £20 to 40.

You know what, George? I love this bike. Isn't that fantastic?

Are you mid-restoration? Are you doing it up?

Er, no, no! It's too big a job for me, I'm afraid.

I can imagine it's a heck of a job, but people love to do these things.

like classic cars, bringing them back to life.

So is this something that's been in the family for a while or...?

It was here when I bought the house,

in exactly the same condition as you see it now.

But it's classed, really, as a type of butcher's bike.

I mean, that tends to be the common term for them,

when you put whatever you were carrying in the front,

-which is why it would have the smaller wheel.

-Yes, indeed.

Then you have a single gear, no gears at all, actually,

on this, and just pedal away.

It dates probably 1920s, 1930s, I should think.

It's OK. It's just one of these things that you look at every time.

It's there but you don't notice it, if you know what I mean.

That's it. Has anyone ever commented on it?

Nobody wanted it for a shop or anything like that?

Yeah, one of the cyclists who came last year,

he was very much interested.

-He had a cycle shop, actually.

-Oh, right, OK.

But I didn't want to let it go at that time,

but we'll let it go this time if anyone's interested.

It all helps, I suppose, doesn't it?

It's amazing how things add up.

If you put two or three things together,

all of a sudden you can be in hundreds of pounds.

-That's right.

-It does make a difference.

But if you're not using it,

-I can see someone spending hours restoring that.

-Oh, good Lord, yes!

That, to me, is a perfect advertisement.

I can see that outside a coffee shop, something like that.

It would look fantastic.

Value-wise, if we try and be as reasonable as we can, I mean,

if I said at least the £50 mark and if people fancy it,

does that sound all right to you?

Yeah, as long as it does somebody a bit of good, that's the main thing.

That's it. I can see it as an advertising display for somebody,

even hung up on a wall or in a garage.

-In a classic car garage, it would look fantastic.

-Absolutely, yeah.

Right, we'll get on our bike and get that one to auction.

We will, indeed, yes. Are you going to sit on the front?

Er, no, I've got this old war wound.

I'll tell you all about it, George. It's not a pretty sight, I tell you.

Yeah, right, Paul(!) Sounds like another one of your excuses to me.

As we push on with our search for things to take to auction,

George finds this map of West Yorkshire tucked to one side.

He was in the pub trade for 32 years prior to running a guesthouse

and this map comes from one of the many pubs he ran.

But it's time to sell it and Paul reckons it should make 10 to £20.

Now, this is something else.

This is a whole 'nother house,

even though it's attached to your property.

Was it like this when you got it?

No. It was just an empty shell, really, so we were very fortunate,

in as much as there was an old Methodist church being demolished,

and we were lucky enough to buy all the wood,

the staircase, which is here,

and people think it's an old mediaeval room,

until they start looking at various details of course.

Then they're still happy to come along and use the room.

It's very handy.

So, I know, Roslin,

that you've done a bit of research about the main house, haven't you?

What have you found out?

Well, the original house was built in 1860 by the village squire

and it was built as a gentleman's residence, whatever that meant.

But, obviously, the family lived at the front of the house

and the maids, et cetera, lived at the back of the house.

I do have the original bills for the installation of electricity

and water, cos obviously the maids used to have to go

to the well or the watering hole to bring the water into the house.

It did actually cost nine shillings to put

all the electric into the house.

Nine shillings!

And, of course, you think one of the maids may never have left.

No. No.

Emily Hoggard, her name is,

and she's very, very friendly and our main guest now.

She was maid here in the 1890s. She's now our special guest, isn't she?

Yep, yep.

So, when did you first become aware of her presence?

Well, actually, about five years ago, we had a lady to stay.

We didn't know she was a medium at all.

We were very, very busy and, in the morning,

I was walking through the breakfast room

and she called across to me that did we know we had a ghost?

I was sort of busy, said, "No, I don't."

And she says, "Oh, yes. You've got a Victorian maid."

And we actually went to the 1901 Census

and we actually found all the people.

It was fact. She had been a maid here in the 1890s,

and lived in the village.

So, from then on, for a year or probably a little bit more,

we nicknamed her Lazy Nelly because she didn't change beds.

And have you heard much from her since?

Erm, she occasionally flashes lights and turns televisions on and off,

turns taps on and off.

-And, as I say, my son actually won't sleep in room five, will he?

-No!

Cos every time he sleeps in there,

the telly goes on and off all the time.

But, yeah, there's people that have got up the next morning

knowing nothing about it, talking of people walking down the corridor

and things like that in the night,

when we know they're the only people in the house and there isn't anybody walking down the corridor.

-Well, as long as she's friendly.

-Oh, she's very friendly.

-Always in the airing cupboard as well.

-Is she?

-You've just got to train her better, haven't you?

-I know.

She just has to take the sheets out and put them on the bed.

Well, I think we'll avoid the airing cupboard during our rummage,

just in case Emily doesn't want to be disturbed.

All this talk of ghosts doesn't seem to be scaring Paul, though,

who's currently rummaging around Emily's old digs.

-Hiya, Paul!

-Hiya! Now, then.

-Well, what have we found?

-I found a lovely dressing table here.

-I know. It's nice, isn't it?

Was this something you bought or inherited with the house?

It's been here from the beginning, as long as we've known.

-Originally, it would have been part of a suite.

-Oh, yes?

You've got a dressing table, then you'd have a chest of drawers,

you'd have your bed heads and you'd have your wardrobes, all matching.

But it's typically Edwardian.

It was made around about 1900. How old is the house itself?

-Built in 1860.

-1860?

-Yeah.

-Right.

I thought it might have been here since it was new, you see,

-so it's obviously a little bit later than that.

-Oh, right.

But these are fantastic quality.

They're solid mahogany, they're antique-looking.

Do you like the look of this, yourself?

I do. But, as I say, because it is individual and nothing matching,

I'd rather like to take it out and buy matching furniture for this room.

It's almost art nouveau, isn't it? Very fancy, how it goes on the back.

But what I love about them is the quality.

You've got a lovely bevelled mirror

which is quite expensive to manufacture.

Then you've got the Sheraton style,

which is a guy called Thomas Sheraton.

He was an 18th-century cabinetmaker.

-He developed a method of making this stringing, can you see?

-Oh, yes.

He would cut out a very small piece of the mahogany

and re-inset it with a satinwood or a lighter wood

and that gives it like a border around it.

That's repeated on the drawers all the way down here,

and all the way down the legs.

That's a real nice sign of quality.

-This would polish up lovely, I think.

-Uh-huh.

As an odd dressing table, it's 100 years old,

if I said around 100 mark. I mean, for an estimate for auction,

if we said 60 to 100, how does that sound?

-That'd be fine.

-Does that sound all right to you, sort of 60 to 100?

Well, that's definitely a good thing for the auction,

-so let's keep looking, eh? See what else we can find.

-OK.

-Is this the famous room five?

-This is room five, yeah. Watch for Emily.

Sounds spooky! As we continue creeping around the house,

avoiding spirits in favour of items to take to auction,

Paul finds a copy of this 1903 print by the artist John Beer.

Entitled The Last Fence,

it's the scene of the King's horse at the Grand National.

George bought it in a second-hand shop.

Unfortunately, it's not an original, which would have been worth thousands,

but Paul estimates it at 20 to £40,

so we shouldn't look this gift horse in the mouth.

-Ah, now, then. Look at that. What a fantastic painting!

-Uh-huh.

So, where's that come from, then?

It was actually gifted to George from his father-in-law.

He loved it for years, admired it for years,

and his father-in-law actually gave him it as a gift.

Right. Well, whoever owned that originally had great taste.

I love these sort of scenes.

Lots of artists worked in this medium,

sort of continental buildings.

Topographical, I think, is the correct term.

You've got a great scene here with the harbour

and you've got a French boat in the foreground.

Then right in the background, you've got these wonderful Gothic castles.

It's fantastic. It tells a story. A little capsule of time, isn't it?

-Do you know the artist at all?

-Er, it's Rezia.

-Rezia. Rezia, right, OK. Italian artist.

-Uh-huh.

These pictures tend to turn up quite a lot.

There were lots of artists working around the continent

in the 19th century and they were capturing scenes,

and people were travelling around a lot more than they used to.

People doing the grand tour and visiting these wonderful cities

and locations, and they would buy pictures like this.

So is it sentimental, do you think, to George?

We both love the painting, but it's...

Apart from it's wasted here, it's quite a responsibility,

because I daren't clean it.

Because obviously if you clean...

I understand if you clean pictures or paintings, then you damage them.

-Leave them alone, yeah.

-And there's a lot of light that comes through

the window and, again, I'm concerned about light damage with it.

It'd be a shame for such a beautiful picture to be damaged.

OK, you're right, yeah.

The light will eventually bleach the colours. That's what happens.

Do you know where it is, by any chance?

No, I'm not sure. Probably...

I understand it's a Flemish town.

Yeah, yeah.

Er, Lorne? George?

-Now then, hiya!

-Hi.

-Are you all right?

I've found one of the nicest paintings we've seen in a long time.

-Isn't that wonderful?

-It's a cracker, isn't it?

-Really is, yeah.

I've admired it for many, many, many years but it's got to go.

It's got to go.

Ah, right. So what sort of value would you put on it?

I'd like to push the boat out here.

I mean, if I said around the £1,000 mark, how does that sound?

-I'd be quite happy with that.

-OK.

I'll have your cheque right now.

But if we put a reserve, say, of 800?

-That would be great.

-Is that all right?

-Yeah, fine.

-But I expect you'd like to know how much you're going to make, hopefully.

-Mm.

-Well, the value of everything that's going comes to £1,430.

-Oh, right.

-Oh, wonderful!

-Quite happy with that.

-Two coats of paint!

-Yes, absolutely!

Well, we've had a great day here at George and Roslin's home

and spook-free, too.

Amongst our great finds here today is that carriage clock.

This elegant timepiece has been given an estimate of 100 to £150

and would certainly look good on any mantelpiece.

There's also that rusty bike.

It may not look like a dream mode of transport,

but it's got rustic written all over it and, at 50 to £80,

might make a wonderful restoration project.

And let's not forget that painting.

It's beautiful scenery certainly got Paul excited but,

with an £800 reserve, will our bidders be as enamoured with it?

Still to come on Cash In The Attic,

which of our lots has the bidders champing at the bit?

Any advance on 12? 15, 18 and 20.

In the room at £20. At 20?

And which of our items isn't all that it seems?

We can't sell it as the genuine item and, of course,

it's catalogued as that so we have to now withdraw it.

Be there when the final hammer falls.

Well, what a wonderful house and a fascinating history.

I'm just hoping that Emily the ghost hasn't followed us here

to Thompsons Auctioneers in Harrogate,

where we're hoping to raise the money that Roslin and George

want to get their bed and breakfast spick and span.

George and Roslin are already here,

but we're down two items on our itinerary.

They've decided that the large oak desk is

too valuable for storing the company paperwork

and Roslin wanted to hold onto her necklace for its sentimental value.

Never mind. The couple have decided to bring along other items instead.

This collection of poems on steam engines will

go nicely with that brass plaque.

-Good morning.

-Good morning, how are you?

-Hello, nice to see you again.

-How are you?

-I'm very well.

-So, what are you holding here?

-It's a plaque.

It's got little poems about each different engine.

And, of course, you've got one of the engine plates here,

all of which were found at the house when you moved in.

-Yes, indeed.

-How do you think it might do today?

I had a word with the auctioneer this morning.

He's really excited about this plaque.

It's a wonderful item, if it's an original.

What he suspects, or what might have happened, it's a recast.

It's been cast from the original.

But he says if it is right, it is worth the £250,

so we're going to put that reserve on it, OK?

Well, let's hope we can get past the reserve point for you.

If you want to put that down here, then the people that are here

can have a good look at it and we'll go and get in position.

-OK.

-Jolly good.

As we take our places, the first lot up for auction is

that old map of Yorkshire, from one of John's pubs.

Has it got anything to do with Riding? Why is it called that?

-Yorkshire used to have three Ridings.

-Oh, yes.

-North, East and West.

That's right, yeah.

Then they changed the areas and added another one.

-They added South Yorkshire as well.

-Right, OK.

That's all very confusing but, basically, it's Yorkshire,

-as opposed to

-Lancashire.

-Exactly, yes.

-I did my history at school.

-You did.

Anyway, we won't go there. We want 10 to £20 for this.

Yes, it's a nice little map.

It doesn't incorporate Whitby, though, does it?

No, West Riding's more Leeds area.

Here we go. This is it.

I'll start the bidding here with me at £12. 15 anywhere?

The bid is with me at 12. Do I see 15?

At £12. Cheap map at 12.

Any advance on £12? Are we all done?

Any advance on £12?

-BANGS GAVEL

-Nope.

Oh, no! That's a shame. West Riding, North Riding, South, East, whatever,

-It didn't sell, unfortunately.

-The knowledge did nothing.

-No!

No.

Unfortunately, our first lot didn't even get us on the map,

but it's early days yet.

George and Roslin have bought all sorts of furniture to

fill up that big house of theirs over the years.

But if they're to raise the £1,000 for the house painting job,

some of it's got to be turned into cash,

starting with the Georgian wine table.

-I like these bits of furniture.

-Yes, very old. Older than we thought.

Yeah, I'm surprised, actually, that you didn't keep hold of it

cos you've got such a big house to fill.

-But we've got lots of tables.

-Such a lot of clutter, though.

-This is the idea.

-Well, yes. Fair enough. 50 to £80, Paul?

Yeah, this is a genuine antique item.

It's over 200 years old, it's oak, it's country furniture.

It doesn't take a lot of space.

I can imagine somebody sat there with a glass of wine occasionally.

It's a great thing.

Has a little bit of damage to one foot, if I remember rightly,

but we're looking around the £50 mark.

Who will start the bidding here with me at £20? 22 anywhere?

22, 25, 28?

-28, he's going to let it go, I think.

-Any advance on £28?

Are we all done? At £28, selling at 28. 30, 32, 35, 38.

40, 42, 45?

No? 42 on my right. At £40, are you sure?

Are we all done? At £42, selling at 42...

BANGS GAVEL

-There you go!

-Oh, yeah!

-£42! Pleased with that?

-That was definitely going in the skip!

-Was it?

-Oh, was it?

Well, at least that amount equates to

a couple of decent-sized tins of paint.

Let's see if that silver pocket watch that belonged

to George's father-in-law can keep the sales ticking over.

Now, where was this from?

It came from my old house and it belonged to my late father-in-law.

It's just been laying in the drawer at home.

All right. Well, it's only 20 to £40.

That seems a bit of a sad estimate.

Yeah, well, pocket watches are a thing of the past but you have got that wonderful military connection.

You've got the black dial for night vision, that sort of thing.

Then you've got the crow's feet of the army, or military, MOD issue.

-Yes.

-So it's got everything going for it, really, actually.

-So, yes, just at 20 to £40, I put this in, for a bit of history, really.

-Mm-hm.

There we go. And I can start the bidding here at £35. 38 anywhere?

The bid is with me at 35, 38, 40, 42. We'll have to go 45 and 48.

48, we're in. Excellent.

48? Any advance on £48? Are we all done? I'm selling then.

48, 50, new bidder. 52? No?

50 with you, sir. In the middle at £50.

Are we all done? I'm selling now at £50...

BANGS GAVEL

-Excellent! £50.

-That was all right, wasn't it?

-Good one.

-That's a bit more respectable, I think, than £20,

-Yeah.

It goes to show when you have those numbers on the back,

people can trace back that watch and find out where it was and so on.

Great.

I'm glad we discovered that military pocket watch in the table drawer.

It's clocked up an impressive amount towards our total.

Let's hope our next lot, our John Beer print,

doesn't fall at the first hurdle.

So, where was this from?

I've had it for many, many years. Many years.

It used to hang up in my old pub

but since I bought the main house 12 years ago,

it's been in a drawer somewhere.

Roslin didn't like it much

and that was another one destined for somewhere else unmentionable.

OK. So how much was she about to dump in the skip, then?

Well, I put this in at 20 to £40.

It is from West Riding, as we've already established.

It's the king's course, as well.

But the Grand National is probably Britain's best-known horserace.

It's got a lot going for it, really. The Last Fence, it's called.

There we go.

There we go. Start the bidding here with me at £12. 15 anywhere?

The bid is with me at 12. Any horse racing fans in? At £12.

At 12, any advance on 12?

15, 18 and 20. In the room at £20.

Any advance on £20? Are we all done?

I'm selling, then, at 20. 22, new bidder, thank you.

25? 28?

28, 30? No? 28 with you, sir.

At £28, are you sure? At £28, I'm all done. Selling at 28...

BANGS GAVEL

-28, there you go.

-£28, that's not bad. That's good.

-Another paintbrush.

Better than in the skip, that's for sure!

Well, that was quite a race to the finish line there,

with the last bidder coming out of nowhere.

I have to say, the next lot's one of my favourites.

It's the little delivery bike.

-Oh, yeah.

-I understand why you don't want to use it as such any more,

but it is a really nice thing.

You could replace the advert for

the bed and breakfast to promote another business, couldn't you?

I think outside a butcher's shop. It's like a butcher's bike.

-Yeah, it's lovely, really lovely.

-A big basket on the front.

Yeah, it'd be fantastic, wouldn't it? Right, 50 to £80.

Yeah, this is very much a nostalgic item.

They're like classic cars,

people love to bring them back to life, as authentic as possible.

But you're right, it would like fantastic outside any sort of shop

where you want that antique look, or a classic car garage.

That's a great thing, that is. Alls you need now is Arkwright.

Is it Arkwright or Granville? That's it, you need Granville.

I can start the bidding here with me at £60.

-Ooh, we're in at £60! That's great.

-Excellent.

It seems cheap at 60. 65 has it. At 65, 70 anywhere?

At £65, at 65, are we all done?

It's cheap at 65.

Selling at 65...

-Ooh, there we are.

-£65.

-It would be really nice to see where that ends up, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

I'm sure they'll be open all hours.

Drive along the street and George says, "Is this my bike?"

-You wanted £1,000, didn't you?

-Mm.

Well, we've got a bit of a break before the next lots and,

so far, we've banked £185.

-Oh, wow!

-A bit to go yet, though.

Well, we have got a bit to go but let's bear in mind,

all of this stuff would have gone in the skip.

-Yes.

-So we're doing quite well, aren't we, really?

We're doing very good, yeah.

Well, we can argue about what else might go in the skip in a bit.

Come on, this way.

Come on.

Now, if you'd like to try your hand at selling at auction,

remember you'll have to pay fees, such as commission,

so it's best to check what these are in advance.

Are you going my way, Lorne? There's room for two.

Don't tell me you came all the way from Morecambe,

with your cycle clips holding up your trousers?

Er, no, just from the car park out the back, actually.

I thought I'd show you ours is not the only bike in the auction today.

-There's this one as well.

-This deserves to go on the dump.

It doesn't, actually. It's retro. People are buying these things now.

It's not retro, it's rusty!

No, it's the sort of thing that reminds you of the 1970s, 1960s,

very nostalgic. Everything to do with antiques now is nostalgic.

This is Raleigh, it's one of the best names. It's even got a horn!

But it's not a Chopper, is it?

It's not a Chopper, no.

The market leader has to be the Raleigh Chopper.

Somebody asked me 2,000 quid for one recently,

-which was a 1977 Silver Jubilee version.

-Oh, yes?

-Crackers.

This isn't a Chopper but just as nice and just as memorable for somebody.

What do you think it might make?

This'll be in at 10 or 20 quid, an absolute bargain for somebody.

If I had a garage or shed, I'd put things like this away

and look for it for the future generations.

-OK. I'll quote you on that in 20 years' time.

-Yeah, do.

-I've got a bit of saddle sore now.

-Saddle sore, yeah.

Walking like John Wayne!

Well, I can reveal that when this retro bike went under the hammer,

someone cycled away with it, for £20.

As we resume the auction, our next item to go under the hammer is

another piece of furniture, from one of George and Roslin's guest rooms.

Which room was this in?

-Room five.

-Room five.

Now, somebody else lived in room five, as far as I remember.

-That's right, yeah.

-Have you upset Emily?

Oh, I'm not so sure but I don't think she'll mind, really.

We'll get her a new one.

You know, you did get a strange chill down the old back, now that I think of it.

-That's just cos you didn't have your thermals on, love.

-Exactly, yeah.

I can start the bidding, straight in with me, at £35. 38 anywhere?

38, 40, 42?

42?

At 42, still have to go 45 and 48.

45 with me on commission. At 45, 48 takes it.

-In the room now at £48.

-That's what we wanted. Come on.

£48? At 48, all done? Selling at 48...

BANGS GAVEL

Well, I have to say, in Emily's day, that was probably a lot of money.

-It is.

-More than she earned in that house.

When you get back, she'll probably be demanding a pay rise!

Although I hope she doesn't, as that sale didn't make Paul's estimate.

We really need these blue and white

meat plates to serve up a decent amount.

Now, these are by Myott which I have a lot of time for.

They make some good stuff.

Yeah, these are quite modern.

I mean, Myott's a very late factory, but they are a set of six.

I put them in at £30, about a fiver each.

Always a good theme, the hunting theme.

Start the bidding here again at £12. 15 anywhere?

The bid is with me at 12. 15, 18 and 20. In the room at £20.

Cheap at 20.

Any advance on £20? Are we all done with the lady now?

I'm selling them at £20...

Blue and white pottery is always a popular seller at auction.

I'm sure these plates will look very stylish in the right dining setting.

Next to go under the hammer is that lovely-looking carriage clock

that belonged to George.

He loves this clock, as does Paul.

I love carriage clocks. They're the most beautifully made items,

the most underrated items, I think.

I remember buying this carriage clock.

It must have been about 35 years ago.

It's just been stuck on one of the mantelpieces or wherever,

and I think I paid over £100 for it.

-Even in them days.

-Yeah, yeah, of course.

-That's right, it would be.

-So I put this in at £100 reserve, all right?

-Mm, yeah.

Right. So it's got to get 100. OK.

Nice clock, start the bidding here at £45. 50 anywhere?

The bid is with me at 45. Do I see 50? 50, 55, 60.

65, 70. 75, 80?

No? 75 with me on commission.

At £75, at 75. Any advance on 75? Any advance on 75?

BANGS GAVEL

-No, that's not sold.

-OK, not sold, so it's going back home.

-That's fine.

-All right, that's fair enough.

-Well done, putting reserve on there.

-Yeah.

Well, I hope there's still room on your mantelpiece, Roslin.

Now, our next lot should have been the steam traction plaque,

but, Paul, there's been a bit of a development.

There certainly has. Fair play to the auction room.

They've really done their homework on this traction engine plaque.

They contacted lots of different people and, this very morning,

they've had a telephone call from Ireland from the gentleman

who actually owns the original traction engine for this.

And he says he actually has the nameplate on the engine.

So what they suspect is there's actually been a recast so,

because of that, we can't really sell it as the genuine item,

so it's not worth the 250 we have put on it.

And, of course, it's catalogued as that so we have to now withdraw it.

It can be sold again, but it has to be described as a recast.

Now, if it's not being sold here today, what will you do with it?

Well, it can go and stand in one of our cottages.

-It can go back on the mantelpiece.

-I mean, it can be resold.

It just needs to be re-lotted as being a casting,

and not the original, that's all.

Well, it's been there a long time so it may as well come home.

I fear this mantelpiece of theirs will be buckling

under the weight of the items they're bringing back home.

Our final item of the day is this lovely painting.

It has a reserve of £800 so if it sells,

George and Roslin's £1,000 target will be reached,

but what if it doesn't?

Now, we had a good look at that, Paul.

What is the latest in terms of the valuation?

This is dead right. It's a fantastic painting.

Normally, funnily enough, this artist, in particular,

worked in pairs.

They would do two views, sometimes of the same building,

but just from different perspectives.

So, often, pairs of this painting actually come up.

Single, I agree totally with George.

We're looking at between 800 and £1,000 pounds.

The auctioneers agreed with that as well.

And we have a reserve of 800 on it.

Start the bidding at £420.

420, we're in.

The bid is with me at 420. Do I see 450?

At £420, at 420.

Any advance on 420? Are we all done?

At 420, 450. 480, 500?

No? 480 with me.

At £480.

At 480, are we all done?

At £480...

-There you go, so it's unsold.

-No, not sold.

But, I mean, I really don't think you want to sell it for £480,

-do you?

-No way.

-No, no, no.

No, it's worth 800. You can't force people to buy things, can you?

No, of course not.

So let's just recap, then.

We've sold mainly stuff that was destined for the skip anyway.

We've sold the ghost dressing table which may have repercussions.

We haven't sold the traction engine plaque

and we haven't sold the painting.

And you wanted £1,000. No prizes for guessing.

-It's not looking good, is it?

-Well, we haven't made £1,000.

We have actually banked...£253.

-Ohhh!

-Oh, dear. That's a good pot of paint, that is.

-Well, it's a very good pot of paint.

-It's only one coat, though.

Well, George and Roslin didn't quite make enough at auction

to fund the whole paint job, but they didn't let that deter them.

It's, it's in progress. It's a big house.

The cottages have actually been painted

and we're about to start on the house.

So, just how far does £253 go towards a paint job of this size?

It's paid for many tins of paint

and we've had fun along the way doing it,

so, yeah, it's been worthwhile.

Worthwhile.

A good experience.

Well, not quite as much money as they were hoping for,

but Roslin and George still managed to spruce up the bed and breakfast.

If you'd like to sell your antiques and collectibles at auction,

why not apply to come on Cash In The Attic?

You'll find more details about the show at our website.

I'll see you again next time.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd