Alnwick Castle 26 Flog It!

The Percy family have owned their home for over 700 years.

But this isn't just any old house.

They've welcomed us into the grounds of Alnwick Castle in Northumberland.

It doesn't get much grander than this. Welcome to Flog It!

'It wasn't until the 18th century that Alnwick Castle

'was transformed from a derelict building

'into a grand and comfortable home worthy of showing off to society.

'I'll be going inside later on in the programme

'to see what priceless treasures are on show in the state rooms.

'But there's also plenty of people and activity

'outside the castle walls.'

Somebody here in this marvellous queue

has got something that is worth a small fortune

and they don't know it yet, but it's our job to find it.

They've all turned up here today to ask our experts

that all-important question which everybody wants to know, which is...

ALL: What's it worth?

-And what are you going to do when you've found out?

-ALL: Flog it!

'The auction comes later in the show.

'Our experts have to find the things they want to value first.

'And heading up the team today are the dashing David Fletcher...'

Right. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

'..and the one and only Anita Manning.'

Let's see what we can catch.

'You can't get a better setting than this.

'And coming up on the show, we've got a whole host of fantastic items

'and some really lovely owners.

'And for all you Flog It! fans at home,

'can you guess which item makes ten times its estimate?

'Is it a shipyard visitors book?'

I must say, I think it's the best thing I've ever seen on Flog It!

'A collection of woven pictures?'

They were woven with such accuracy.

-'Or could it be a brass carriage clock?'

-Late 19th century.

-I should think about 1890.

-As old as that?

-Yep.

'Well, you'll just have to wait and see.'

Everybody's safely seated inside now,

and as you can see, it is lights, camera, action.

It's about time we pushed a few buttons and recorded some antiques.

It looks like Anita Manning is our first expert

to the Flog It! blue tablecloth.

Let's take a closer look at what she's spotted.

'And Anita's with Anne,

'who is on a flying visit from her adopted home of Australia.'

Thank you for bringing these crazy characters along.

They are crazy!

Give me the background. Where did you get them?

Well, my friend bought them, I'm guessing 30 years ago.

And when she died in May, she left me these

with some little small ornaments which I'll take back,

but they're too big and heavy to take to Australia

and I would hate them to get broken after she had them so long.

-They're better going to a collector.

-Yes.

Um, they're wonderful Murano glass.

Now, do you know anything about them?

I didn't even know they were Murano glass, to be truthful.

THEY LAUGH

Murano is an island off Venice.

And Venice was a famous centre

for glass-making since medieval times.

But in the process of glass-making,

you have great heat and great fire.

And Venice, at that time, the buildings were made of wood,

so they wanted to take the glass-making away from Venice,

onto one of the islands.

And this is where these came from.

These are from the 1950s, or the '60s.

But if you consider the workmanship or the craftsmanship

that's involved in making all these intricate frills.

And the Italians were master glass-blowers and glass-makers.

And they've carried these traditions into today,

although these ones are from the 1950s.

Now, there is no marking on them.

-What they would have had at one time was a paper label.

-Yes.

But, obviously, no more.

So, er, value on them, £50-80.

Uh-huh.

-Would you be happy to sell them at that price?

-Yeah.

-Well, I just don't want to take them to Australia.

-You can't.

-It would cost more than that for you to send them across.

-It would.

-We'll put a reserve price, just in case.

-Yes.

-A reserve price around £40.

-Mm-hm.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes, I think so.

-Can you come to the auction?

-No. I'll be back in Australia.

I'll be cheering them along on the day.

You should be trying to sell them.

THEY LAUGH

'Anita's not got her auctioneer's hat on today.

'Out in the courtyard, a bit of pottery has caught my eye.'

-Karen, I'm a big fan of Slipware.

-Right.

This, to me, is proper country pottery and folk art.

It's something you could still use today,

but it is incredibly decorative.

So, how did you come by these two pieces?

I bought them at the market at Hexham on a Sunday morning.

-How long ago?

-I would say about ten years ago.

OK. And how much did you pay for them?

It's a while. I can't remember.

-I probably would've paid £20 or £30.

-For the two of them?

-Something like that, yeah.

-Gosh! No! Really?

-Yes.

-The pie dish could be worth that alone.

-Could it? Right.

-That is a nice pie dish, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

This would have been made around

the northern part of Staffordshire, in the potteries.

Slipware like this dates back to the 17th century.

Thomas Toft, people like that, you know.

Very, very collectable pieces.

Also, you can get pieces that are dated in Slip, as well.

And they are so desirable. Oh, they really are.

This looks like a marriage piece.

Two hearts joining, saying, "I love you. Here's the key to my heart."

Yes. That's what I thought.

Isn't that nice? I love this. You know what the Slip is, don't you?

It's a coloured liquid clay which is trailed on afterwards.

I'm pretty sure this is a one-off.

It's just such a shame that it's not dated, it really is.

-Because that would tell a whole story of social history.

-Yes.

I like this pinchwork around the top.

That tells you it's a proper pie dish.

It reminds me of me mam.

Me mam used to make plate pies for me dad

and she used to crimp the pastry around the edge of the plate.

And that reminded us a lot of that.

And when you pull it out of the oven, it's all crumbly on the edge.

-They are the best bits, aren't they?

-Yes.

Very, very nice.

I'd say they're sort of circa 1880, late Victorian.

-Right.

-So that kind of rules the purest collectors out.

But there's still plenty of people at entry level

and folk art collectors and country pottery collectors

-that will just die for these.

-Right.

Well, I think we'll put them in as one lot

because they belong together. They shouldn't be separated.

How about if I said, let's put them into auction

with a price guide of £300-500?

-That would be brilliant.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

'David is with Trevor and a piece of local maritime history.'

This is more than just a visitors book. What can you tell me about it?

I believe it's from the Swan Hunter's

Wigham and Richardson shipyard on the Tyne.

And it lists all the ships that were built

during the period of that shipyard's life, I believe.

At each launch, all the visitors, dignitaries,

captains, admirals,

both local and national,

signed the book at the launching of the ship.

It's amazing.

These superbly illuminated pages.

Each one with a flag or a spray of flags.

HMS AS Natal.

Presumably Her Majesty's South African ship, Natal.

And there's a South African flag

and some signatures beneath that,

one of whom is the High Commissioner of South Africa.

And then it's interesting to note that in the early days,

we really just had signatures.

And we go back to 1911, is the first entry.

Um, it tells a tale of the splendour, really,

that was British industry

in the middle years of the 20th century.

And I must say,

I think it's the best thing I've ever seen on Flog It!

I'm very grateful to you for bringing it in.

The social significance of this, I think, is enormous.

How did you come by it?

Well, I believe it was found in a skip

down in the area where the shipyards were

at a clearing-out of the shipyards.

It was given to me a few years later by the person who found it.

And I've had it for at least 15, 16, 17 years.

I can't remember how long now.

It's just staggering that things like this

have somehow slipped through the net.

-Um, I mean, you're obviously happy to sell it.

-Yes.

It's lying on a bookcase, it has done for a lot of years.

And I think now's the time

perhaps somebody should have it who will appreciate it more than I will.

-Someone must get their teeth into it.

-There's a lot of research.

I'm sure the auctioneers will help us with that.

It's practically impossible to value something like this.

As I say, there's homework yet to be done,

but I would be inclined to come up with an estimate

in the region of £300-500.

Um, and suggest a reserve of £300.

But I must say, I hope it makes quite a bit more than that.

And I'm confident that it will.

-Um, is that OK by you?

-That's fine, yeah.

Anita is with Dick and his trains are certainly not just for boys.

When I was a wee girl, my dad bought me train sets for Christmas. Not dolls. I'm always pleased

to see this type of thing. Tell me, where did you get these?

They were my dad's. And he, I think, bought some of them

in the 1940s. Probably when he came out of the RAF. And he was a railway engineer on steam trains.

-So I think this is where the interest came.

-Oh, right.

-Did he play with these?

-Yes, he did.

-And when you were a wee boy?

-Yes!

I was never allowed to touch them!

-Did your dad get dressed up in his uniform?

-No, no.

No, no!

-It wasn't as bad as that?

-No, it wisnae as bad as that.

This one here is possibly the earliest one.

This is a German locomotive made by Bing.

From about the mid-1920s, I would say.

-This one here is our dear old Hornby.

-Yes, clockwork.

Probably the most popular company for making trains or locomotives ever.

And this one here is Bassett-Lowke, which were a Northampton company

and, of course, Northampton's a very famous place for railways, railway memorabilia.

Now do you have the other pieces of this?

-We have various tracks and goods stock to go with them all.

-Right, OK.

-Now these are steam-driven.

-Yes.

-When you were a wee laddie, were you allowed to do any of that?

-No, no.

-No?

-Actually, one time they had it going in the living room.

I think this one caught fire and my dad threw it in the sink and it set the curtains on fire...!

He wasn't really allowed to run them in the house after that.

-Your mum said, "Enough's enough."

-They're very difficult to regulate.

You had to put a load of coaches on to slow them down on corners.

-I used to like when they fell off.

-You must have been a wee devil!

-Aye.

-All right. I notice on the Hornby one

that they're all zero gauge and this has been a replacement.

-Yes, my dad made the replacement.

-That probably didn't affect the performance.

-No.

-But...

-The price.

-It will affect the price a wee bit.

I think probably putting them in, maybe 150-250, would you be happy to put them in at that?

-Yes, aye.

-We'll put them in with a reserve of maybe round about 130 on them.

But what I would like you to do if you have the other pieces and carriages

-is to bring them to the auctioneer. The auctioneer may amend the valuation on it.

-Right.

I'd rather somebody got the enjoyment out of using them. That's where they should be.

-Played with again. That's the important thing.

-Aye.

Let's hope whoever buys them doesn't set fire to their mum's curtains!

'And moving on, I'm with Irene and the most bizarre inkwell I have ever seen.'

-It's been kicking around my loft for 30 years.

-Has it? What was it doing up there?

-I have no idea. It's my husband's.

-Oh, right. OK.

-I think he got it from his father.

-Strange thing.

-You like it or you don't.

-Yeah, I know.

-I don't really like it.

-No! Neither do I.

-I'm a horse lover

-and it's something that I would never do.

-No.

-Never.

-It looks better on the horse.

-It looks much better on the horse. The horse was called Duckling.

-We know that as it's engraved "Duckling, 1908".

-Yeah.

-This is silver. Did you know that?

-I saw the...

-The hallmarks.

-It was black this morning!

-You polished this?

-My husband did.

-Bless him!

-It was black.

-"It might make more money! Give it a quick polish!"

It doesn't really matter if you don't polish silver.

I like my silver unpolished. Maker's name - M&C. The silversmith Macey and Chisholm.

They were working from 1834 to around about 1957.

-Somewhere around there.

-Right.

-So it was a good span, over 100 years.

-That thistle, what does that tell you?

-Scotland?

-Exactly.

So the assay office was in Edinburgh.

-If this horse had had a racing pedigree, then it might be worth quite a bit of money.

-Yeah.

But I think it was just a trusty steed, a family pet.

This kind of thing was fashionable back in 1908.

-At auction, I imagine this would fetch £60-£80.

-Right.

-Are you happy with that?

-Fine.

-Let's stick it in with that valuation. Do you want a reserve?

-No.

-Shall we say no reserve?

-Yeah.

-Just get rid.

-OK.

-I've never been to an auction before.

-Well, you'll enjoy yourself!

You'll enjoy yourself.

'Here's what's going under the hammer.

'Anita and Anne both loved the Murano glass figures

'and they do have their collectors.

'I absolutely loved Karen's Slipware plate and pie dish.

'And she only paid £20 or £30 for the pair.

'Trevor's important shipyard visitors book

'was saved from being lost forever.

'But will it stay in the local area?

'Dick's selling his collection of trains along with more track that he's added to the lot.

'Irene's horse's hoof inkwell is a curious item,

'but it does have a silver lid.'

This is where we're putting our valuations to the test -

the Boldon Auction Galleries,

on the north-east coast, just outside Sunderland.

The room is filling up full of bidders

hopefully wanting to buy our lot.

Will anything fly away? Fingers crossed. I hope so.

'The standard seller's commission here is 17.5% plus VAT.

'And our auctioneer is Giles Hodges.'

Going under the hammer now, Italian Murano glass from the 1950s.

It's stunning. Hopefully, we'll get the top end.

It was brought in by Anne,

-who has gone back to Australia.

-She's gone back.

-But she stayed at your house while we were filming in Alnwick.

-Yes.

-Right. OK. Do you like this piece of glass?

-Yes.

We should get that top end, because glass is the flavour of the month.

Well, it's retro, it's vintage,

it's the type of thing that the young kids are buying at the moment.

We could do £80, hopefully, on a good day, maybe a bit more.

-We could.

-Let's find out what the bidders think. Here we go.

We've got a pair of Murano Italian glass carnival figures

with the amber and black white piping.

And I'm bid £20 to start them. At £20. Straight in on commission.

Good. There's someone else here in the room.

£30, £35,

£40, £45,

£50, £55.

£60. Gentleman's bid in the middle.

-Come on, squeeze a bit more.

-At £60. Have I missed anybody?

At £60. £65. Lady downstairs. £70 now.

No, he's out. At £65, lady to the left.

At £65 for the last time.

Top end of the estimate. A bit over. Well done. Well done.

-Anne will be pleased.

-You've got to phone her.

-She's going to ring me later.

-You've got it sussed out!

-She's going to ring you.

-To see how it's gone on.

'Well, I'm sure that long-distance phone call will be a happy one.

'My turn to be the expert now.'

Good luck. It's the moment you've been waiting for.

-Yes.

-The Slipware is going under the hammer.

We've got two lovely items with a value of £300-£500.

What have you been up to since I last saw you?

-Nothing as exciting as seeing you the other week.

-Oh, bless!

-Nothing as exciting as this!

-I've been looking forward to today.

I might ruin the moment now with my valuation, if it doesn't sell.

You're happy if it doesn't sell, aren't you?

I'll be happy. I'm happy just to be here, really.

Lot number 30.

We've got the 19th-century Slipware

and earthenware oval platter

and the matching dish.

And I'm bid £100 to start it.

At £100. £110, anybody now?

At £100. £110.

£120, £130, £140, £150.

At £150. £160 now.

This is going to struggle.

All done at £150?

Not sold.

-That's all right.

-I'm pleased in a way we put a reserve on it.

Each item should have been worth £150.

And that's what we were hoping for, £300 for the two.

I'll just have to hang onto them.

-I like them, so I'll take them home.

-Are you sure?

-Still been a good experience?

-Lovely, yes.

-Not annoyed with me?

-No.

-Who's this?

-Joan, my friend. The reason I came.

-The reason you came? Why?

-She wanted to come.

-Ah, I see!

-And I didn't have anything!

-You haven't got anything in your house?

-It wasn't worth anything.

OK, well, hopefully it's the little bit of silver that gets this away.

I'm not sure about the name Duckling, but somebody loved it and this was the fashion.

-Let's see what the bidders think. Happy?

-Absolutely.

-Here we go.

A silver-mounted hoof inkwell. Edinburgh, 1908.

Engraved "Duckling". And I have a £50 bid for it. At 50.

5, anybody? 55. 60.

65. 70.

75. 80. At £80. It's on commission.

At £80, are we all done?

At £80. It's the commission bidder. There's nobody on the net.

At £80, are we all done? At 80.

-Yes! £80. That's not bad, is it?

-It's all right.

-I was a bit worried.

-Kind of what I said in a way.

-Yeah, it was. 60-80.

-It was nice and quick!

-Yeah. In and out.

-Lovely. Yeah.

Top end of the estimate for lovely Irene. Now it's time for Dick to say goodbye to his trains,

which used to belong to his dad.

-Did he let you play with them?

-Not often! Not at all, in fact!

-"You can't play with them, but I can!"

-They're a wee bit dangerous at times!

-And you brought some other bits and pieces.

-Rails and carriages.

-It's a nice package.

-A nice group.

-Well, we could have a big surprise.

-Let's hope so.

-You never know.

This is what happens in an auction. Cheeky "come-and-buy-me"s.

-Good luck, Dick.

-Right.

-Here we go.

A large collection of Bingham, 0-gauge, Hornby, locomotives,

track, rolling stock.

Plenty of interest again. I'm bid 100 to start it. 100.

120. 140. 160.

At 160. 180 now?

At 160. 180. Back of the hall.

At £180. 200 now? At £180. Are you all done?

At £180 and we're away.

-Sold. 180. It's gone.

-Right. Good, good.

I don't need to take it back!

Trevor, why are you selling this?

I've had it in my possession for some time now and I've enjoyed it

and I just think it's time it should move on to somebody else

who enjoys maritime history or social history of the area.

It is maritime heritage at its very best.

It's an important thing, Paul, isn't it? It speaks of a bygone age.

Sadly, you go to the docks these days,

and the shipbuilding yards in Newcastle,

and nothing much is happening.

Let's find out what the bidders think, shall we? It's going under the hammer.

Lot 110. One of my favourite lots.

The leather-bound visitors' book from the Swan Hunter

and Wigham and Richardsons of Wallsend shipyards.

I have one commission bid. I start at £300.

-It's sold.

-Ten, anybody now? At 300. 310.

To my right in the room at 310.

320, anybody?

At £310. 20, yes or no?

At £310. Are we all done?

-At the lower end, unfortunately. It's gone.

-It's fine.

I had hoped it would make more.

Hopefully, it has gone to a museum, where it can be put on display so people can appreciate it.

Thank you so much for bringing that in. That's a lovely bit of heritage.

Thank you very much.

'And I am delighted to say

'Trevor's shipyard book was bought by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums

'to join their maritime history archives.

'What a great result for all concerned!'

All the antiques we're selling here today

we found in the grounds of Alnwick Castle.

While I was up here filming,

I had the opportunity to go inside the castle

to discover what antiques were on display there

and see the changing tastes of the dukes and duchesses of Northumberland.

Take a look at this.

I'm here to explore how the generations of one family

have filled this magnificent architectural delight

with the most exquisite fine art and antiques.

'The Percy family's connection with the castle began in 1309,

'when the first Lord Percy of Alnwick bought it.

'Wars and reversals of fortune over the years led to the castle falling into disrepair,

'so let's start our story with its reinvention

'in 1750 with the arrival of the first Duke and Duchess of Northumberland.'

Elizabeth Seymour, a Percy by blood, inherited the castle

and set about transforming this sorry-looking building

into a home worthy of entertaining society.

Along with her husband,

Sir Hugh Smithson,

they slowly rose up the aristocratic ladder,

receiving the title of Duke and Duchess

and enjoying those social privileges you might expect,

like the Grand Tour, entertaining royalty.

The Duchess had great delight in collecting fine art and antiques

and, of course, novelties, including one of her purchases,

those stone figures up there on the top of the tower.

They are quite amusing, aren't they?

The couple clearly enjoyed living in the castle

and furnishing it was one of the Duchess's main passions.

She had an incredible eye and she sourced many items

from renowned dealers and auction rooms all over the country.

To give you a good example of her exquisite taste and sense of humour,

take a look at these ivories.

They're tavern scenes and hunting scenes, people having fun.

Enjoying themselves.

I like this one in particular.

There's a chap relieving himself in the corner of the tavern.

'Everywhere you look, there are magnificent pieces,

'with some items coming from inheritances and stately residences.

'Each generation like to make their mark

'and it wasn't just through auctions and antique dealers that this couple acquired fine things.'

It's believed that in 1756, the first Duke entered a porcelain lottery,

something like a high-class raffle, and won this incredible collection of Meissen I'm surrounded by, here.

Now, if that's true, back in the 18th century,

then that is an incredible thing.

There are over 100 pieces of Meissen here,

all dating from 1746 to 1751.

What's incredible is there aren't that many other known pieces

in the world outside of this collection.

Back in the 18th century, this hard-paste porcelain

was known as white gold because it was so expensive

and it was only really given, sets like this, to people that moved in diplomatic circles.

The Duke was rubbing shoulders with the right people,

because a service of this size would have normally been reserved for ruling monarchy.

'The first Duke clearly had an appreciation for talent.

'He was a patron of Canaletto, owning eight paintings in total,

'including one of Alnwick Castle and one of

'their past London residences, Northumberland House.

'The third Duke also had an eye for quality,

'and bought two grand Cucci cabinets from a dealer

'which were originally made for Louis XIV of France,

'for the Palace of Versailles.'

Moving on to the fourth Duke, Algernon.

By the time he came to live in the castle,

he had mature and confident views on how he wanted to use his inheritance.

He set about remodelling the complete interior of the castle

and was extremely passionate about the Italianate style.

So he set about ripping out all of the earlier 18th century

Robert Adam restoration from the first Duke and Duchess's time.

As well as adding towers, enlarging the size of the castle,

Algernon the Good, as he became known,

was responsible for the beautiful and intricate carving throughout the state rooms.

He brought over skilled craftsmen from Italy

and they taught the local carpenters and joiners how to carve this beautiful Italianate style,

and it became known as the Alnwick School of Carving,

and it kept skilled labour employed for a good 11 years.

There is a lot of it. We are surrounded by it.

'There's so much more to mention, but sadly, not enough time today.'

This place was in a sorry state back in the 18th century

when the first Duke and Duchess took it on,

but over the years, with each generation,

they've put love and passion and splendour back into this magnificent building.

The exquisite taste of the Percy family is evident

in every corner of this magnificent building,

and for those of us who love antiques, it's a joy to see.

'There's more valuations to get under way

'and Anita's in the outer bailey of the castle, getting the full story on her next lot.'

I'm Anita. What are your names?

I'm Eric from Berwick.

-And I'm Jimmy, also from Berwick.

-It's a pleasure to meet you, Anita.

It's a pleasure to meet you, too.

You guys are Borderers.

I believe the men from the Borders are wild men.

-Do you think so?

-He's a wild man.

-LAUGHTER

You've brought us through a lovely wee lot here.

These little woven pictures.

Can you tell me, where did you get them?

In amongst the rubbish in a house we were working on.

-Were these being thrown out?

-Yes.

What attracted you to them?

It's the colours.

I think they're brilliant.

I mean, I've had them for about 30-odd years now.

They've just been hidden away in a cupboard.

Jimmy, do you like them?

I like them. If we weren't coming here, I would have bought them.

Would you have made him a good offer?

I would have made him an excellent offer, but he thinks you're going to do better here.

Let's hope I do.

We've got 10 or 11 here.

11.

They're what are called Stevengraphs.

They're little woven pictures.

-They're not hand-done, they're made by a machine.

-Ah, right.

And they were made by Thomas Stevens.

He was an inventor who invented this process of woven pictures.

He lived in Coventry and this was a centre of this type of thing.

These things were made late 19th, early 20th century.

If we look at the subjects here, we have quite a wide variety.

I find these two on the little easels especially interesting.

Here we have Lady Godiva.

Lady Godiva is associated with Coventry,

so we have a tale of that town.

And we have dear old Dick Turpin

in his last ride on his bonny Black Bess.

They're all coloured and everything about them is nice and fresh.

Eric, from Berwick, do you have a favourite?

-I quite like the one with the rescue.

-The lifeboat. That's a lovely one.

Jimmy, what about you? Is Lady Godiva your favourite?

Yes, indeed, Lady Godiva.

You look like a bit of a ladies' man.

There is another one there, Anita, with the fire brigade.

You see the flames coming from the building.

That's right.

The thing about these was that they were woven with such accuracy.

Now, you've got 11 of them here.

They are in good condition.

They generally are framed and if they were framed,

that would make a wee bit of a difference.

We sell them as one lot.

If we put a conservative estimate of £10-15.

So that will be... Say we put £120-180.

Would you be satisfied with that?

I mean, we would hope that they would go further,

but we have to take into consideration that they're unframed.

-120 to 180.

-Yeah.

-What do you think, Jimmy?

I suggested, before we sat here, we should be looking at £10 plus each.

Yep. He's not bad.

-He's quite good.

-Are you looking for a job?

LAUGHTER

So, say we put a reserve price of £110,

which means you are getting at least a tenner apiece.

It's inviting the bidding,

a wee bit of auction psychology, guys.

-I'll be there to hold your hand.

-Good!

And to cheer them on.

Right. Thank you.

'The Northumberland sunshine is proving elusive on valuation day,

'so we've headed inside to escape the rain,

'where David and Lance are talking timepieces.'

A late 19th century French carriage clock.

They were used by people who were going on journeys in a carriage,

and the reason why a clock like this was able to carry on

working as you trotted along in your carriage

was because the escapement is moved...in this design,

to the top of the clock,

and the designer was able to do away with the pendulum itself.

Made in France in the late 19th century, I should think about 1890.

As old as that?

It might possibly be a little bit later, about 1900.

The face is enamelled and the secondary dial beneath

is a dial which you would set at the time you wished to wake up.

You would move the hand and by winding it at the back,

the mechanism would strike a little beater on this bell.

There's the beater and there's the bell, which would wake you up.

I mean, is it something you like, or something you particularly treasure?

Well, my father died, so it was passed on to me.

Did he collect clocks himself?

He liked carriage clocks, but he only had two,

and this one was still on the mantelpiece and didn't work and the other one did.

OK, right. So he collected them, but it wasn't a big collection.

He just had a thing about carriage clocks.

-A punctual man, your dad?

-Very.

He was ready half an hour before he was due for anything.

-And are you punctual yourself?

-I'm afraid not!

-OK, right!

We need to discuss what I think it might be worth.

In the auction market, we can expect this to make between 120 and 150.

-As much as that?

-Yeah. It's quite a saleable thing.

If you're happy with that, I think we should put it to auction with a reserve of £120 on it.

-Seems good.

-And hope that it makes 160.

-You are happy with that?

-Yes, very happy.

I'll see you at the sale. Make sure you're on time.

-OK, promise!

-I'll look forward to that.

Susan, Gill, welcome to Flog It!

It's lovely to have you along and thank you so much for bringing this lovely vase.

Tell me, who does it belong to and tell me where you got it?

Originally, it belonged to my nana

and it always used to stand at the top of the stairs on the windowsill.

I don't know where it came from,

it has just been in the family for years.

You've got it now. You don't look very enthusiastic about it.

It's not a piece that I can say I've really been keen on.

It's just been there. What about you? What do you think about it?

I've never been struck on it.

I used to look at it at the top of the stairs and think, "Hmm."

-"It's that old vase."

-Yeah. It was just a bit odd.

When I look at it now, it is quite nice, you know,

but it's not something that I would...

I couldn't place it anywhere.

It's not your own taste.

Probably sell it on and let someone who does like it have the pleasure of it.

Well, this vase was made in Hungary.

It's called Zsolnay Pecs and it was made in the factory of Nikos Zsolnay.

That factory started in about the 1850s, on to 1920s and 1930s.

Now, their wares were always a wee bit exotic

and they'd look to the Middle East for inspiration, often Persia,

and often in the decoration in their vases,

you had wonderful pierced work.

They were masters of making these pierced vases.

It was an art at that time.

This one doesn't have any piercings in it,

but the decoration makes us think that it has.

Very pretty. It has that exotic shape, almost Persian.

Value on it?

No idea!

-What do you want me to say?

-Something nice!

-Something nice.

Something nice.

These were not rare. They weren't rare.

If it was coming into auction, I would say £40 to £60.

Would you be happy to sell it at that?

Yes, I wouldn't mind selling it at that.

It wasn't your favourite thing, anyway.

We could put it in with a reserve price of £40, if you wish?

-Are you happy with that?

-That's fine.

-Let's hope we get a wee surprise.

-Thank you.

'The rain hasn't dampened any spirits.

'David is with Marie and Michelle,

'who are in Alnwick shopping for Michelle's 40th birthday.'

-Where have you come from?

-Newcastle.

-OK.

That's interesting because

one of these jewellery boxes is marked Newcastle.

It has the name of a jeweller.

The Northern Goldsmiths, they called themselves.

Two lovely brooches.

Really pretty. Each in their own different way.

-Are they family pieces?

-No.

My son saw a rocking chair in a skip

and he decided he was going to get this.

While he was in there, he saw the two boxes and brought them home,

and it wasn't until he came home, we had a look,

and the brooches were in there.

What happened to the rocking chair?

-He left it in the skip?

-No! Sold it!

LAUGHTER

He had a jolly good little foray into that skip, didn't he?

That was a very profitable half hour or so.

Anyway, the first of these, let's talk about the top one first.

It is gold. I will just check that.

My eyesight isn't very good.

It's actually marked 15 carat.

And it's set with turquoise stones and seed pearls.

It's in the form of a floral spray.

Very popular at the time this brooch was made, in about 1900.

So that's a really pretty, very saleable little item, really.

I must say, it is nice to see it in its original box,

and it does add a bit to the value.

Probably made in Birmingham.

The second brooch dates from about the same period

and it's a little sweetheart brooch.

It would have been a Valentine's Day present, I suppose,

from a suitor to his girlfriend, or possibly a wife.

As I say, it's also Edwardian,

early 20th century.

-And you've no desire to keep them?

-No.

How long have you had them?

-For about seven years now.

-Right.

They are very commercial. By commercial, I mean saleable.

I reckon they are worth between £60 and £80 each.

I'd be inclined to put an estimate of 100 to 150 on them.

And a reserve of £100, if you're happy with that?

-That's fine.

-Have a great 40th, won't you?

-I will.

-Life begins at 40. And make sure you behave yourself.

Not sure about that!

-And make sure your mum behaves herself, too.

-No way!

'What a smoothie you are, David!

'Those brooches were the third treasure today rescued from a skip.

'Sadly, it's goodbye to Alnwick Castle and time for a reminder

'of the final four items chosen to go off to auction.

'Lance's French carriage clock is older than it looks,

'as David thinks it's from the late 19th century.

'Susan's Hungarian vase isn't valued very highly,

'but hopefully, it will find a new home with the auction crowd.

'Marie and Michelle were charmed by David,

'but will their two gold brooches charm the bidders?

'And finally, Eric's collection of 11 woven silk pictures

'gave Anita a giggle,

'but they are an interesting lot.

'What's going to happen when they all go under the hammer?

'In Boldon, South Tyneside, we have high hopes the packed saleroom

'will mean good results for our owners,

'and auctioneer Giles' gavel has already been put to good use.

'Lance and his carriage clock are waiting in the wings.'

Why are you selling the clock?

Just one of those knick-knacks that should go to a better home.

-And it's not working at all, is it?

-Apparently not.

The buyer will soon get it working, that's not a problem.

It's one of these timelessly elegant pieces.

A good carriage clock looks good in any environment.

It will look great on anyone's mantelpiece.

Let's find out what the bidders think. Good luck, Lance.

Carriage clock. Reserve price of 100 starting.

100. 120. 140. 160.

180.

190. 200. 210.

Bid is with Caroline at £210.

All done? 210.

The hammer's gone down. Quick competition.

-It got there quickly.

-It certainly did.

-I'm happy with 210. Are you?

-Very happy, yes.

-Good.

It's a good thing.

-Paul talks about quality and that had quality.

-It did.

-I'm really pleased.

-Good.

-Good.

Going under the hammer, we've got a Hungarian Zsolnay vase that belongs to Susan,

who is right next to me. Hello.

-Is this your first auction?

-Yes, it is. I've never been to one before.

-Have you registered? Have you picked up a bidding card?

-No.

I thought I'd go and have a look.

You've got to do that, if you want to buy something.

You're not allowed to just go like that.

Good luck.

Hopefully, this is going to be a good day and we should sell this.

£40 to £60. I think we will.

We've got the Zsolnay Hungarian vase.

Middle Eastern in design.

And starting at £40 straight in on commission.

That's good. Straight in, it's sold.

Right at the back at 45. 50.

£50 your bid.

Can you see Giles is looking

really hard to find bidders,

because the room is so packed?

65, 70.

At 75.

-This is very good.

-On the internet, 75.

80. Fresh place. 95.

100.

110. 120.

At 120. It's in the room.

130. 140. Still in the room at 140.

150. It is on the net at £150. Are you all done, ladies and gents?

For the last time, at 150.

And it's gone! What a great result!

Still amazed she's still at the top of the stairs!

'More than three times the bottom estimate! Well done, Sue.

'Marie and Michelle are next for the nervous wait.'

Two boxed brooches going under the hammer, belonging to Marie and Michelle.

Lovely to see you. I know these were found in a skip by your son.

Two really pretty little items.

The market is there for things like this.

-Did you wear these?

-Once. One of them.

-The heart one.

-Did you like them?

-I didn't.

I've looked at it on the internet and I'm beginning to like it!

If they don't sell, we know where it's going.

Good luck. They're going under the hammer right now.

The Victorian 15-carat gold heart-shaped seed pearl brooch

and another set with turquoise and seed pearls.

I'm bid 80 to start it.

90. 100.

At £100. 110.

120.

125, 130.

135. The bid is upstairs at £135.

140, now. At £135.

And we're away at 135.

Yes! The hammer's gone down. £135.

-That's really good.

-That's OK, isn't it? For a skip find?

-Excellent.

-Anything's a bonus.

'Our Flog It! finds are doing so well today.

'Will our final owner, Eric,

'be as lucky as everyone else with his pictures?'

I've been waiting for this one right now.

We've got those 11 silk Stevengraphs from Coventry.

They belong to Eric and his next-door neighbour, Jimmy, who's your mate as well.

You're going to get all the money, aren't you, Eric?

Jimmy will be all right. Jimmy's going to be all right.

I think we could be in for a lot of money, you know that?

-Do you know something we don't?

-Not really.

Had a chat with the auctioneer?

I had a chat with the auctioneer.

He was quite excited about these because the content is so right.

There's a lot of sporting things.

I love the rowers, particularly the rowers.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

Good luck, guys.

The pure silk work by Thomas Stevens.

A variety of them, the sporting ones.

I've got two commission bids, and 400 starts me. At 400.

-That's good!

-450, 500, 550.

600, 650, 700.

750, 800, 850,

900, 950, 1,000,

1,050, 1,100.

1,150. 1,200,

1,250.

In the room at 1,250.

1,300, now.

At 1,250. 1,300, anybody?

At £1,250 for the first time.

£1,250 for the second time.

The final time at 1,250.

-Absolutely delighted.

-Those rare ones made the difference.

Those rare ones made the difference.

Quality always sells. That's the main thing.

That had it in abundance. It really did.

Thank you so much for bringing that in today.

You've really made our day.

And what a wonderful way to end today's show.

-I hope you've enjoyed it.

-It's lovely!

Join us again for many more surprises to come,

but for now, from the Boldon Auction Galleries,

it's goodbye from all of us.

Two very happy men!