Winchester Flog It!

We all have collectables gathering dust in the attic and one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Let's put that old maxim to the test, shall we?

Welcome to Flog It!

We're in Winchester where the legend of St Swithin's originates.

The story is he was buried in Winchester Cathedral,

but against his dying wishes, his remains were removed.

As a sign of his displeasure, it rained for a solid 40 days.

The legend goes that if it rains on the saint's day, which is the 15th of July,

it's going to proceed to rain for another 39 days.

Hundreds of people have turned up today, all laden with bags and boxes,

outside the Guildhall here in Winchester,

all hoping to go through to the auction and make a small fortune.

'St Swithin may be doing his worst here today, but it hasn't dampened the spirits of our crowd.

'Whatever the weather, there'll be no stopping our experts - Christina Trevanion and James Lewis.'

-That could be interesting.

-'Which one will create the biggest storm in the saleroom? All will be revealed.'

-We have a commission bid here.

-This is worth every single penny, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-We should have three telephones.

-He's not messing about, is he?

-All done, last time?

What a fabulous atmosphere in the room, everybody in high spirits,

hoping to go through to the auction and go home with a small fortune.

With all these bags and boxes to dive into, we're literally spoilt for choice.

Christina is first to the tables. Let's take a closer look at what she's spotted.

Shirley, on my table here, I've never had a Ferrari, an Alfa Romeo,

the creme de la creme of all the car makes, and you've brought them in.

-That's fantastic.

-Yes.

-Thank you very much. Where have they all come from?

-They're my husband's.

-Does he know you've brought them here?

-Yes.

-Phew!

His brother was in the air force and he used to buy 'em when he came home. He was a bit older than him.

-They're all presents to... What's your husband's name?

-Ken.

-To Ken, OK.

As you probably know, we've got a collection of Dinky toys,

the great name in die-cast vehicles.

It was one of the first factories to produce die-cast, collectors' vehicles.

The majority, apart from these two, are Dinky.

Now, Dinky was set up in 1934 and proved very, very popular.

And these are classic, 1930s, racing vehicles, if not slightly earlier.

But these particular ones are actually post-war, so we're looking at about post-1945, 1950,

for the Dinky vehicles especially.

This set of racing cars is wonderful. Which is Ken's favourite?

-This one. This is the Maserati.

-The Maserati?

Yeah, he used to fly 'em down the school, I think, when he took 'em to school.

-Have races.

-So he's played with them which is what they were bought for. Fantastic.

We've got two Corgi ones here which look very, very similar.

The reason that they look so similar is because Corgi saw how successful Dinky was

and Corgi established its factory in South Wales in direct competition with Dinky.

They chose the name Corgi because it's the national Welsh dog.

So a wonderful collection, but there are a couple of things that worry me here.

The first is that we've got some replacement tyres here.

We've also got one that hasn't got a tyre at all. We've got a bit of a missing tyre there.

And in places, some have been retouched and repainted, so that is all going to affect the value.

I think we're probably looking somewhere for the group in the region of £60 to £100 at auction.

-Right.

-So how do we feel about that?

-Yeah, that's OK.

-All right.

So if we put an estimate of £60 to £100

and we'll put a firm reserve of £60, so they won't go for any less than £60 if they sell...

-Yeah.

-Are you going to get the money or Ken?

-Ken's going to get the money.

-Good.

-He'll put it towards his classic Norton he's restoring.

-Is that right?

-Yes.

-Brilliant. We'll sell these in aid of Ken's restoration fund.

Hopefully, he can get that motorbike back on the road and it doesn't end up a three-wheeler like this one.

We'll be back a little later to find out if Shirley's toy collection

manages to ratchet up a good price at auction.

But first, it looks like Trisha wants to test my valuation skills

with her beautifully preserved periscope.

-Thank you, Trisha.

-It's a great pleasure.

-You're the proud owner of this.

-I am.

Not for much longer if you sell it. This will fly out of the doors. It's a bit of treen.

Treen like I've never seen before.

It's beautifully cased in a shagreen case,

"shagreen" meaning "shark skin".

Looking at this, it's definitely an item of quality,

so I want you to tell me a little bit about what you know about it and where it's come from.

Well, it comes from my... I'm assuming it belonged to my father.

He was a doctor and during the war, he was in the navy,

so whether it was anything to do with his work, I've no idea.

What did his father do? Do you know?

His father was... He worked for a shipping line in Liverpool.

I've got to say this is a lot earlier. I'm hoping one of those picked it up as it intrigued them.

-This is definitely early 1800s, at the very latest, 1815, 1820.

-Gosh!

We're talking Napoleonic War, 1815, Battle of Waterloo.

Let me get it out and show you. It's a beautiful piece of turned rosewood.

It's a periscope, but rather than for looking upwards, it's for looking around a corner.

A field surgeon could use this.

If you had an open flesh wound and you looked down inside,

you could see if anything was tucked sideways.

-I don't know.

-I don't know.

-I'm just coming to conclusions, but I do know this is real quality.

And if I look this way at the camera there,

I can see you.

And if you look at the camera there, can you see your little sister?

-Yeah.

-Isn't that clever?

-Yeah.

-Have you seen that?

-I can't see anything through it.

-You're probably looking at the wrong end.

-Probably!

-Don't look through that end. That's the eyepiece.

-Can you see us now?

-Yes, I can, I can!

-It's the first time I've seen anything through it.

-Really?

-Yes.

-Isn't that clever?

-Really clever.

Value-wise, well... Phew! What do you think it's worth?

I really don't know, but I suppose, now that you've told me it's old...

-£100?

-Easily £100, something of that quality, yeah.

-I'm hoping 200 to 300.

-Really?

-Hmm.

-Wow!

-But to get that sort of money, we've got to pitch it sensibly.

-Let's call it 100 to 200 and see what happens.

-That's fine.

-If it's what I think it is, you'll be in for a big surprise. Happy, Trish?

-Thanks, Paul.

-Yes, that's lovely.

-Thank you for bringing in quality like that.

'I'm so pleased Trisha brought her periscope to my attention. I just love unusual objects like that.

'Let's head to the other side of the room where James seems to be making a big fuss

'over the item that Jackie and Paul have brought along.'

-Thanks so much for bringing what has to be the biggest piece of Moorcroft I have seen in years.

-Lovely.

-Is it a family piece?

-Yes.

-It was my mum's and she died, what, about 26 years ago?

-26 years ago.

26 years ago. Obviously, it was left to us then.

I think it must be between 50 and 60 years minimum.

Yeah. Let's turn it over because that will tell you lots of information.

We've got "W Moorcroft, potter to HM the Queen".

OK. And it's "WM". It's the WM script mark, "made in England" mark,

so it is about that sort of date.

-Late '40s, '50s.

-I see.

It's a wonderful shape, that globular shape.

-It's beautiful.

-Anemone pattern. The colours are super.

We see a lot of Moorcroft, so I won't go on about the history

because we've heard it... What's that I've tipped out? A rubber band?

-Probably.

-What do you keep in there?

When my daughter comes round, she puts her poodle's coat in there.

-A poodle's coat?

-And the dog lead.

-And three balls that it plays with.

-Oh, no.

-What if the poodle wants its balls?

-It bounces up and down, hoping to get high enough.

-I hope it can't.

-No, definitely not.

-Dear me!

You need to find another big vase.

-That's right.

-Because this is a wonderful piece of art pottery.

This pattern started in 1938.

From 1939 to 1945, during the war,

there was a restriction on the use of colours

because the last thing you wanted was somebody in a ceramics studio

-using your cobalt oxide to make a blue glaze when it could be going to the war effort.

-That's right.

After the war when the restrictions were lifted on the use of colour,

you get a lot of rather strange combinations of colour,

-so it's a classic of its time.

-Yes.

-So you obviously watch Flog It.

-Yes, all the time.

You know your values. What do you think it's worth?

We're hopeful that it might be worth around 1,000.

-OK...

-But obviously, we'd like to know from you as well.

-I think that's a lot.

-You do?

I'd like to put an estimate of 400 to 600

-which is a lot less than you were hoping.

-Hmm.

But...

We could put 5 to 8.

-What do you think?

-I think £1,000 for it is too high.

-Right.

-I don't think... Goodness me, would I love to be proved wrong!

-Yes.

-I'd be jumping up and down.

-I would love you to be proved wrong.

-We're selling it really because it's our golden wedding coming up.

-OK.

We want to do a rather large party.

I don't know. Could we sort of do something like 7 to 8?

It's your vase, it's your thing and you have to be happy with it. Why don't we put 7 to 9?

-That would be lovely.

-7 to 9.

-That would be fine.

I think we're really pushing it,

but let's put an estimate of 700 to 900,

a reserve of 7, and if it doesn't make that, you'll have to tone your party down a bit.

-That's fine.

-That sounds lovely.

-Is that all right?

-Yes.

I'm hoping that a bidder will rescue Jackie and Paul's Moorcroft from the jaws of their daughter's poodle

when it goes into auction,

but before we head to the saleroom, here's a quick reminder of what we're taking with us and why.

I love this collection of Corgi and Dinky toys. I hope they race away from my expectations.

I must stop playing with them now!

I'll put this optical instrument into auction as I've not come across this before.

Fingers crossed, it's going to fly away.

I know Moorcroft is an old Flog It favourite, but this one is a really good size.

And it's also going to a really good cause. I hope it sells.

The sun is shining. Hopefully, everybody is in a good mood

because it's auction day when we put our valuations to the test.

Our owners will be inside thinking, "Will it sell, won't it sell, have our experts got it right?"

We'll put it to the test at Andrew Smith & Son in Itchen Stoke just outside Winchester.

Let's go inside and catch up with our owners.

This is what I like to see - an auction room packed with bidders.

The sale is about to start and hopefully, we'll have one or two surprises.

This is where it gets exciting.

£95 in the room and selling...

'Every auction house charges a seller's commission

'and at this one, the rate is 15%.

'Auctioneers Nick Jarrett and Andrew Smith are sharing the rostrum today

'which is just as well because I think it's going to be a fast and furious sale.

'So let's get cracking as it looks like our first lot is just about to go under the hammer.'

-No boys in sight here, Christina and Shirley.

-Yeah, girl power.

-You girls like your cars.

-Absolutely.

-Maseratis, Mercedes?

-I'll have one of each, please!

-You can - one of these little toy ones!

-At a fraction of the price!

Any chap would buy you a toy one.

The boys would like the Sunbeam possibly and the Alfa Romeo.

-Nice little collection. Why is hubby selling them?

-He's had them for 50 years. They've been in a cupboard.

-And he's into classic motorbikes.

-So the money will go towards some bike repairs.

-Yeah, a Norton Dominator he's restoring at the moment.

-Is he?

-Yeah.

What do you get out of it? You're standing here for him.

We'll have a nice holiday. He's paying for that.

Good luck. You could say this lot is top gear. Here we go.

This is the Dinky toys.

Good collection here.

We have a good collection of commission bids -

-one, two, three, four.

-Oh!

-Wow!

-There's a bit of interest.

I'm going to start the bidding at £250. Is there 260 in the room?

Look at my husband's face!

At £250, commission bid. Is there 260?

At £250 then...

260 we have. Commission bids are out now. At 260 to the net.

280. Make it 300?

300 we have. And 20?

At £300 then. Any more? At £300...

At £300 and selling. £300.

For the very last time...

There he is over there. He's got a big grin on his face!

-Brilliant.

-They certainly did race out, didn't they?

-Yeah, fantastic.

-Gosh!

-Well done.

-That'll do.

-In this case, condition didn't matter.

-Obviously not.

Nice early figures. The big names were there. Brilliant.

'Top gear indeed! Shirley's collection revved up a great price, tripling Christina's estimate.

'Let's hope the same holds true for James's valuation skills

'as Jackie and Paul's Moorcroft is up next.'

Hello. Thank you for bringing such good quality on to the show.

-Why are you selling this, Paul?

-We have four daughters and you can't split it four ways.

The money will go to a nice party for the whole family, which would split it between the whole family.

-That's one way of dividing it.

-That's what we'd like to do.

-James, let's hope we get the top end of your estimate.

-I hope so.

It's a great vase. It's such a wonderful size and shape.

The colour is good, so it's got everything in its favour.

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

This is the large Moorcroft vase showing there.

We have a commission bid. I'll start at £550.

That's a bit low.

Commission bid at 550. Is there 570?

570.

600. And 20.

650. 670.

Commission bid's out. 670 in the room. Is there 700?

700.

-There's somebody in the room.

-Yeah.

770? £750 straight down the middle. Is there 770?

At £750 then and selling...

-We're selling.

-At £750 for the last time...

-It's gone.

-Great.

-That was good, wasn't it?

-Lovely.

Well done. That is a relief, isn't it? It was close.

-There was a lot riding on that.

-Nothing like a bit of tension in the saleroom.

-I was always confident.

'It was a slow climb, but £750 is a decent result for Jackie and Paul.

'My turn to be tested now as I'm joined by Shirley for the sale of her stunning rosewood periscope.'

It's all going really well so far. Things are looking up which brings us nicely to my next lot.

-Yes, it's that periscope belonging to Trisha. Hello.

-Hello.

-I absolutely love this.

We're looking for around £100 to £200. Wonderful optical instrument. Quality, quality, quality.

-Sad to see it go now, thinking about it?

-No, not really

because I didn't know it existed until I brought it to you,

so it's not something that I remember being in the family.

Let's hope it's a day you remember today then. It's going under the hammer.

The pocket periscope,

a bit unusual.

I'm starting you at 110.

120 can I say? 120, 130, 140...

-They like this, Trisha.

-Oh, wow!

..180. 190, was it? 190. 200?

At 190, gentleman's bid now. 200 on the net. 220. 240.

260. 280.

300. And 20.

350.

380.

400. And 20?

At £400 in the room.

Anybody else in at £400, all done?

Last chance... 420.

-Fresh bidder.

-Oh, wow!

At £450.

Anybody else in? At £450, are you done?

-That's what I like to see.

-Really?

-£450.

-Oh, wow!

-Oh, wow!

-That's a good result.

-I'm ever so happy with that.

-Well done.

-Up periscope, that's what I say!

'A great outcome for Shirley. We certainly seem to be on a roll today,

'so stay tuned to see how our next batch of items performs in the saleroom later on in the show,

'but first, join me as I head over to a magnificent stately home

'for the ultimate art and history indulgence.'

I often imagine one day I'm going to be lord of the manor and own a great big stately pile like this.

Look at that. Isn't it magnificent? It's what dreams are made of.

But sadly, this dream comes to a crushing end when you realise the price tag involved,

but for one Hampshire woman, her dream became a reality and it didn't cost her a penny.

I'm here to find out exactly how she pulled it off.

'Kerry Bignell is the house steward for the National Trust property, Mottisfont Abbey,

'a former medieval priory nestling in the heart of rural Hampshire.

'Dating all the way back to 1201, this place is simply bursting with history.

'Eight years ago, after turning her back on London and her career in TV,

'she successfully applied for the post of conservation assistant

'and was handed the keys to this place where she has since worked her way up to house steward.'

Kerry, I've got to say, I really do love your work space. Look at that.

What a fantastic backdrop! What's the best thing about living in such a house?

Not just the building, but the grounds, the wildlife. We're surrounded by ducks.

You're always using your imagination because you're thinking what was happening then.

-Walking through the previous owners' footsteps?

-Yes.

Trying to imagine how they felt about the place as well.

You do hear odd things at night.

-I bet you do.

-And I don't think it's the heating.

I've heard a lady's voice a number of times at the front door of the apartment,

saying, "Hello, hello," and other people have heard it as well.

-But there's no ill feeling with it.

-No.

-It's got a wonderful, happy feeling, this place.

It's very serene, very tranquil.

So how has your job evolved over the years?

It was a very laid-back position when I first came here.

It's now really quite challenging because there are so many changes going on here and very, very quickly.

You're having to keep up and keep interest and have new stuff going on all the time,

so I'm very much involved in the development of the house.

What type of experience do you hope the public get from coming here?

-Very, very enjoyable.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I hope they can become passionate about the place like I have.

I'm going to go off and explore for myself and take it all in because there's just so much history here.

-Please do.

-Thank you for having a chat with me.

-You're welcome.

Mottisfont was originally an Augustine priory,

but during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, the place was completely demolished.

Little of the Tudor building that replaced the abbey remains today,

but evidence of the past can still be found if you look carefully.

Here, in the Cellarium, for example, you can see remnants of the former abbey

and the lower two storeys of this staircase date back to the Tudor period.

This epic room which runs along the south front of the house is the Long Gallery, installed in the 1740s

by Mottisfont's third wave of occupants, the Barker-Mills family.

They set about remodelling the house into the form that we see today, on the outside at least.

But it's Mottisfont's last private owner, Maud Russell,

who made the biggest impression on the inside of this magnificent house.

She had a wonderful eye, wonderful taste as well.

In 1934, Maud, along with her husband Gilbert, took up residence at Mottisfont.

Maud was a real patron of the arts and enjoyed using this place as the backdrop to her lavish parties,

inviting some of the biggest creatives of the day,

people like photographer Cecil Beaton, artist Rex Whistler

and other members of the Bright Young Things set.

Maud quickly embarked on a major transformation,

adding a wing to the west front before injecting a real sense of glamour to the interiors

with elegant, neo-classical style decorations.

Oh, gosh, just look at this!

That's spectacular. If one room in this house really captures Maud's creative flair, it's this one.

This was formerly the grand entrance hall, but Maud had much loftier plans.

She commissioned artist Rex Whistler to completely transform this space

into this wonderful, vaulted drawing room that you see today.

This technique is known as trompe l'oeil, "trick of the eye", and it's all illusionistic paintwork.

It's incredibly clever.

It's bending perspective and vanishing points to create depth where there is no depth.

Here's an example. The curtains are real, but the swags and the pelmets are all faux.

These Corinthian columns are not right either. It's very clever.

Up there is a little message that Rex has left. He was painting this room on the 3rd of September, 1939,

the day that England declared war on Germany.

But the project was by no means plain-sailing.

There was a lot of creative tension between Maud and Whistler.

Here on this magnificent panel, look at the detail here.

At the bottom, you've got some gauntlets which were tied together.

They're Whistler's gloves.

It's said that the ropes around them show the constraint that he felt across the whole of this project.

He must have spent months painting this and it must have cost Maud an absolute fortune,

but being an artist, he had a sense of irony, a sense of humour,

because he's left a paint pot on the top of that Corinthian column.

Look up there on that capital, there's a pot and a brush.

All I want to do is get a large pair of stepladders, climb up there and grab that,

but you can't because it's not real.

There's no disputing the awesome impact their joint venture has had on this place.

They've transformed this room, a blank canvas, into an astonishing work of art.

You can see how Maud really stamped her personality on this place

and as you wander around, you can still feel her presence here today.

She was a real one-off and her offbeat behaviour certainly set local tongues wagging.

She was even said to have kept a live crocodile in the nursery.

Whether rumour or real, one thing's for sure, she certainly made a lasting impression.

Mottisfont has the most wonderful air of romantic timelessness about it

and unlike many National Trust properties, it's not overly grand.

It's just the kind of house you could see yourself living in. I just wish I did.

From a home with a hidden past to the secret history buried inside the item

that Neil brought in to show Christina as we head back to the Guildhall for some more valuations.

It looks fairly plain from the outside.

It is, yes, and rather scruffy.

Yes, it does look rather scruffy,

but it's enclosing a rather wonderful hidden treasure.

Before we open it up, tell me how you got it.

Well, when I was at school, I needed a desk for my homework

-and my parents put a bid in on one in a local auction.

-Right.

Then were rather surprised to find that this was part of the same lot.

-It was "buy one, get one free".

-We didn't set out to buy it, no.

We've got some information on the back. If we turn it around, we've got the maker's mark "W&J Milne".

They were based in Edinburgh. And if we open it up,

we've got this wonderful, fitted leather interior.

We've got the writing slope here, then the plot thickens

because we've got this wonderful tooling on the leather

which says, "Lady Anne Saville from J Cumming Macdona MP,"

and it's dated 1897.

Yes, the date on there is actually her wedding date.

And she married a German prince,

-Prince Ludwig of Lowenstein-Wertheim.

-Oh, my goodness!

He went off and got himself shot in a war...

-Oh!

-A war in the Philippines.

-Oh, dear, poor chap!

She then went on to become a pioneer aviator

and finally died in 1927

on an attempt to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic.

-Goodness!

-So, a rather sad story.

-A sad story, but absolutely fascinating.

-Yes, that's right.

So this rather scruffy little box has led a rather exciting life.

-Well, it has.

-It makes you wonder what sort of wonderful letters that she wrote on here.

-That's right.

It was the laptop case of its day. You have a wonderful fitted interior where you put everything you need.

And we've got all these instruments and tools here,

everything you could want for writing and storing all your correspondence.

-The only thing that worries me is that from the outside...

-It's not impressive.

-It's not, sadly.

But this wonderful inscription will hopefully help.

I would really hope that at auction, it would estimate somewhere in the region of £80 to £120.

-Yes.

-I think we might have to be slightly more conservative with the reserve.

If we put a firm reserve of maybe £60 on it and I hope that it flies away to a nice new home

-and we find it someone who will use it and love it.

-We hope so.

-Hope so.

Let's hope that writing slope continues to make history when it comes up for sale in a while.

Another historical conundrum now

as James tries to assess the provenance of Margaret's beautiful elephant brooch.

Margaret, I'm expecting you to tell me tales of Maharajahs and Indian palaces

and wonderful family history sitting out on the terrace, drinking gin and tonic.

-Well, you're in for a disappointment.

-Oh.

It was a gift from my son-in-law because I like quirky things.

I thought I'd like to find out if there is a history to it of some kind and a value.

So is this something that you wear, something that you wear out to the local shops?

No, I wore it once.

-Why only once?

-The weight of it ripped the top that I had it on.

-Did it?

-Yeah.

I just can't imagine the way that that's been crafted,

-every little crease of the trunk, it's wonderful.

-It really is.

For me, it cries out India.

-Mm-hm.

-For various reasons.

One, a very high carat of gold and not marked.

It's that lovely, very rich gold colour

and set with these really amazing baroque pearls.

They're all lumpy and misshapen.

And the eyes are made from tiny, old cut diamonds.

-What a wonderful piece! Look at the character of that trunk stuck on to the end of the pearl.

-Beautiful.

So if we turn him over, the pendant has actually got...

It's engraved and chased

and it has an elephant under what looks to be a palm tree there,

which is again wonderful imagery.

You could almost imagine this being an imperial gift.

-Where did your son-in-law find it? Was he in India?

-No.

-Is he Indian?

-No. I think he realises what a gem he's got in my daughter, so he gave me a gem

-in place of her.

-Lovely.

I can imagine that this was something that was brought back by somebody of real money and standing.

A late 19th century, Edwardian lady has gone over to India,

possibly an official gift.

We haven't got the provenance. Now, that really does affect it.

-It's not marked "in gold", so it has to be said "tests as" or "gold-coloured metal".

-Yeah.

But a wonderful object.

I think...

-..£300 to £500.

-Mm-hm.

-How do you feel about that?

-I'd like it to get a bit more.

Wouldn't we all? We always would.

-But that sounds OK.

-Would you like to put a reserve on it?

-Yes.

How much would you be happy to let it go for?

-Four?

-Four?

If you put the reserve at four and want 400, you'll have to put a 400 to 600 estimate and a 400 reserve.

-Yeah, that would be OK.

-Let's do that.

-The weight of the gold might take it up to that sort of level, so I'm sure it'll do well.

-Thank you.

Margaret's brooch is a real quality item, such intricate workmanship.

Time for tea now as Christina wets her whistle with Peggy's Shelley tea service.

Peggy, you've brought this wonderful tea service in to us today.

-You have got some more to it.

-Yes.

But we couldn't fit it all on this table.

-But you've got a tea set for six people?

-Six.

-You've got six cups, six saucers...

-Six trios, yes.

-Super.

When we say "trio", we mean the cup, the saucer and the plate as well.

So tell me where you got it and how it's come to be in your possession.

It was my mother's. She left it to me and she was left it by a very good friend.

What we know about it is on its bottom, really.

-We can tell exactly the pattern and the date by looking at the bottom.

-OK.

We know that it's Shelley. It's got a registered number there.

-This painted number here refers to the pattern.

-Right.

The pattern is what we call the Blue Iris pattern.

I knew it was Blue something, right.

And it's a really nice example of a Shelley tea service.

-It's a very popular pattern at the moment.

-Is it?

-In the auction room, yeah.

-This pattern was introduced in 1928. I would say it's contemporary with 1928.

-Right.

If we look at the shape of it which is referred to as the Queen Anne shape,

it's quite faceted, quite angular, so very much in keeping with the Art Deco movement coming in at the time.

Overall, it is in very good condition, but we do have a few issues, don't we?

-Yes, I didn't realise all of them. I realised the sugar bowl.

-Yes.

We've got a crack in the sugar bowl which is also stained,

-so that will affect the value slightly.

-All right.

We've also got a crack in one of these cups over here, quite an extensive hairline crack there.

Having said that, Shelley is still very collectable

and it really is one of the only tea services that sells particularly well at auction

because there is a very active Shelley collectors' community.

-Good.

-Which all adds to a good estimate, hopefully.

I think if we were to offer it at auction,

we would be looking somewhere in the region of maybe £250 to £300.

-Right.

-Something like that.

-Especially because you've got the teapot and the hot water jug.

-Yes.

Which is quite hard to come by. Often they were used and as such, they were damaged.

Bearing in mind the condition,

-we need to set the reserve at 250 with some slight discretion, should we need it.

-That's fine.

-It should sell really well.

-Brilliant.

I took it to somebody a couple of years ago and he valued it at 40.

-Oh, my goodness!

-Yes.

-I'll have it now!

-We can do a lot better than that.

-Slightly up on that.

-We can do A LOT better than that.

-OK, fingers crossed.

-Fingers crossed we'll find a Shelley collector that's as keen on it as we are.

-OK.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Peggy's service is definitely my cup of tea - a good name and a considerable collection.

Well, that's it. Our experts have now made their final choices.

It's time to say a rather sad farewell to the magnificent Guildhall here in Winchester

as we head over to the auction room with our latest finds.

Here's our experts to give you a quick recap of what we're taking along. You could say it's all...

in the balance.

Shelley is very delicate, but this tea service is going to go to a good collector's home.

I love India and I love elephants.

If only this little brooch could talk, what a history it would have!

This writing box is a plain Jane, but turns into a crimson beauty when you open her up.

I hope she does well at auction. I've got high hopes.

'We're back in Itchen Stoke for our second round of auctions and I'm keeping my fingers crossed

'that we match the success of our earlier lots.

'And it's Neil's writing slope first to go under the gavel.'

It's a Victorian one, but you open it up and what an inscription,

dated 1897, a pioneer aviator.

Why are you selling this?

You can't keep everything and it would be nice for someone to have fun researching the story like I have.

It's a fascinating story. There's enough material for a soap opera.

Yes, there'll be collectors out there interested. Let's see what they think about it.

This is the writing, stationery box.

We have a commission bid here. I shall start the bidding at £85.

-Oh, brilliant!

-It's sold anyway.

£90. The commission bidder's out.

95. 100.

And 10. 120. 130.

-140. 150...

-This is worth every single penny, isn't it?

-Yeah.

..180. 190. 200.

And 20.

240?

At £220.

At £220. Is there any more?

At £220. Are you all done?

At £220 then for the very last time...

I'm ever so pleased. The hammer's gone down on 220.

You deserve every penny of that and so did that little box.

That's testament to your research as well. It was brilliant.

Yes, I'm really glad that it's gone to someone.

'A hidden treasure indeed! That writing slope managed to double Christina's estimate.

'Let's see if her luck continues as Peggy's Shelley tea service is up next.'

Don't put the kettle on. We're about to put the Shelley tea service under the hammer.

-There's a lot of it, 22 pieces in total. Peggy...

-Yes?

-We've seen these fly away on the show before.

-That'd be nice.

-We're looking at a valuation of £250 to £300. Maybe we could get more.

-I really hope so.

-Why are you selling this?

-It's so delicate.

-I daren't use it.

-Is it on display?

-It was where we used to live.

-Are you a big fan of Shelley tea services?

-I love this pattern.

-It's very displayable.

-The decorators will like this one.

-You put it on a dresser, you've got the look.

-Yeah.

-That's where it was.

Let's find out what this lot think because really it is down to them.

-Yeah.

-We can speculate, we can pontificate, but it doesn't matter.

Let's see if we can get that top end. Here we go. It's gone quiet!

The Shelley Blue Iris pattern tea service.

We have a commission bid here and we'll start the bidding at £250.

-Straight in.

-Brilliant.

-At £250.

I'm selling. Is there 270? 270. 300. And 20?

At £300 and selling. Is there 20?

At £300 then. Any more?

At £300. Are you done?

At £300 then, commission bid.

If you're all done at £300, very last time...?

The buyer wasn't here. A commission bid left on the book. It's gone.

-Thank you very much.

-You're more than welcome.

-Well done, you.

-Yeah.

'That commission bid managed to hit the top end of Christina's estimate. A fantastic result, Peggy!

'Let's see if Margaret's elephant brooch strikes gold. It's the last of our line-up to be auctioned.'

The auctioneer absolutely adores this. He agrees with your valuation.

-He's grinning like a Cheshire cat. There's lots of interest.

-I'm hoping it's going to do really well.

Of all the things I saw, this is my favourite. It's wonderful.

-You're going to treat the grandchildren?

-I am, yes.

-And I want to make a donation to my church.

-OK.

They've seen me through some rough times in the last 12 months, so they deserve something.

Let's hope we don't get a rough ride now. It's all down to the bidders.

Let's see what it's worth. Here we go.

The Indian elephant head brooch.

Three telephones and a commission bid. I'll start the bidding at £400.

Commission bid. Is there 20 in the room? At £400. Is there 20?

420. 450. 470. 500.

And 20. 550. 570. 600. And 20.

650. 670.

700. And 20. 750.

770. 800. And 20. 850. 870.

900. And 20.

950. 970.

1,000. And 50.

1,100. And 50.

1,200. And 50.

1,300. And 50. 1,400. 1,500.

1,600. 1,700...

-He's not messing about, is he?

-..1,900.

2,000. 2,200. The commission bid's out. 2,200 in the room.

Oh, you'd better hold my hand!

£2,200, Margaret!

2,400 at the back. 2,600. 2,800.

3,000? 2,800 to the telephone at the back. Is there 3,000?

At £2,800. Is there any more?

At £2,800...

£2,800...

All done, last time...?

-Yes!

-Yes! Well done!

-Two thousand, eight hundred pounds!

-Well done.

-Oh, well done.

-I wish I'd bought some champagne now!

-Quality, quality, quality.

-Thank you so much.

Thank you for bringing it in.

-You're not here by yourself?

-No.

-Who's here with you?

-My daughter.

-Hello. A tear in her eye as well.

Aw! What a fabulous day for both of you! It's not over yet. You can still enjoy yourself.

I hope you enjoyed that roller-coaster ride. We certainly had a surprise today.

What a wonderful way to end the show! From Itchen Stoke, until the next time, goodbye.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011

Email [email protected]