Cheshire Flog It!

Today we've pitched up at one of Britain's finest historic estates,

complete with neoclassical mansion and Tudor hall.

Inside it's a treasure trove of fine art and antiques, definitely

the jewel in the crown of Cheshire's rich heritage,

both inside and outside.

Of course, we are at Tatton Park. Welcome to "Flog It!".

The Egerton family lived here at Tatton for over 300 years,

and often entertained guests in style,

in the mansion house and gardens.

But I bet they weren't expecting this many to show up.

Inside the mansion house there's a whole host of fine art

and antiques, from paintings by the Italian master

Canaletto, to special pieces of furniture commissioned

by the local firm Gillows.

But it is outside today that we will be valuing all the treasures

hidden in these bags and boxes, and this lot have all turned up to

ask our experts that all-important question, which is...

ALL: What's it worth?!

Stay tuned and you'll find out.

Well, the weather is holding off for us to have an antiques party

alfresco in the stunning garden.

And talking of things bright and beautiful,

our experts today include the formidable Mark Stacey.

What have you got here? A silver plate or silver?

Silver plate, I think.

ANITA LAUGHS

And the lady of the house, Anita Manning.

-It is empty.

-I'm afraid so. It is only little, as well.

SHE LAUGHS

-Get away!

-I thought we were sharing things today.

Away and look for a piece of Lalique!

THEY LAUGH

And lending a helpful hand, David Fletcher is on the lookout too.

It could be anything.

Coming up, we find out if David has bitten off more than

he can chew with these bacchanalian feast plaques.

And Mark will be waxing lyrical about this fabulous French doll.

Tatton Park houses treasures from all around the world, lovingly

preserved by four generations of the Egerton family, the last of whom,

Maurice, decided that the paintings, artefacts and glorious buildings and

gardens should be given to us to enjoy,

and so he gave Tatton Park to the National Trust, who have leased it

to Cheshire East Council. More about the philanthropic last baron later,

but first let's see what family heirlooms are being offered up to "Flog It!"

-Who is W Stocker?

-That's my grandpa.

He was a book dealer, was he?

-Yes, he was, he had five bookshops in London...

-Wow.

..that closed during the war.

-There's a fascinating envelope there.

-SHE LAUGHS

Because it says a "Longfellow first edition." I can't believe...

It absolutely isn't, it's got photographs in there.

-They've always been in there and just put in a drawer.

-Can you get them out?

-Yes, sure.

-It is always nice to

see what's going to be revealed here.

I've put my...

-OK. So they are of famous people...

-Yes, they are.

-..I believe.

OK. Sometimes there's two. That's it.

That's great, isn't it?

You've really got the great and the good of the late 19th century.

You've got people like

Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens,

John Ruskin, the painters Millet

and Landseer.

These were all great times of change.

You know, The Origin Of Species created such a stir.

Dickens and his Dickensian novels that we all know today.

And the painters, Landseer, were changing the mood of paintings.

I think what these are are photographs of paintings,

-maybe in the Royal Society.

-That's interesting.

So they haven't gathered all these people together to sit there and pose.

These are copies that you could have, to have at home,

if you were interested in learning and educating yourself.

But I want to learn a little bit more about your grandfather because he sounds a fascinating man.

Oh, he was. He had five bookshops.

He spoke six languages fluently.

He tended to hoard things like this,

-just out of interest, really.

-And they've been hidden away.

-You obviously... You haven't framed them and put them out yourself.

-No.

-And it's such a shame. I want, really...

-To go to somebody who appreciates them?

Yes, someone who appreciates them and will love them,

because it is such a shame to put them in a drawer.

I think you're right, actually.

We should put them in with the auctioneers sort of £80-£120.

-Yeah, that's great.

-And we'll put a reserve of £80.

-Yeah.

-I mean, it is not a huge amount of money. Even if we got £100 for it.

Have you earmarked the funds for anything in particular?

Well, we are actually trying to buy a new house at the moment.

We've managed to raise quite a bit of cash already,

but it is the last little bit I am scraping the barrel for.

Well, £100 would be a very little bit, wouldn't it? Might get a brick.

It's not far off that we need, to be honest.

-In that case, every little helps.

-Absolutely, every penny counts.

Well, I jolly well hope we get a good price for them.

-And we hope you get the key to that new house.

-Yes, me too. Thank you.

-Phil...

-Hello.

-..welcome to "Flog It!".

Now, this little brooch caught my eye in the queue this morning,

and it was sparkling in the sunlight. Tell me where you got it.

Well, it was my wife who inherited it from her late auntie.

And we've had it for, perhaps, 12 months now.

But it is just stuck on the dressing table upstairs and we thought,

"Let's get it valued and see what it is worth."

Did your wife like it?

Yes, she liked it, but it is not something she would wear.

Let's look at it, let's think of the date first of all.

Now, this little brooch dates from 1880, 1890,

-so we are over 100 years old...

-Right.

-..in that.

It is a little spray of flowers and leaves.

Now...

-the stones are diamonds. Did you know that?

-No.

Did your wife know that?

I think so. Well, we didn't know really what it was.

We have a good cluster of diamonds here.

They are rose cut diamonds, that's an older style of cut.

These diamonds have been set in silver,

with a gold backing.

And that was quite a common thing for that time.

Often things could have been made as a present, and it would have been

something that was commissioned, maybe by a husband for his wife.

-Oh, I see.

-Or his girlfriend, or both.

ANITA LAUGHS Yeah. Yes, whichever.

Collectors will be interested in this little brooch

because it perfectly expresses the period that it was made.

-Has anyone looked at this and given you a value before?

-Yes, they have.

They valued it between £500 and £600.

-Between five and six.

-Yeah.

Obviously, it is valued at what somebody is going to give you,

-isn't it?

-Yeah.

-You know, basically.

There is a difference between insurance valuation

and resale valuation.

If that was going to auction,

I would like to estimate it a little more conservatively than that.

I would like to put it in, probably at...

-300 to 500.

-OK.

-In that region.

-Yeah.

-And having a firm reserve of £300.

-OK.

-I'm sure that little brooch will

be as fancied by the buyers as it

was by me. And that it will reach a good price. Are you happy with that?

-Yes, I'm happy with that.

-Thank you very much for bringing it in.

-Thank you very much...

-I just love it to bits.

-Good. Thank you. Thanks a lot.

Sparkling in the sun, just like you, Anita.

And this mansion house is also full of gems.

I've been told there is a magnificent

collection of Gillows furniture here, possibly the biggest

and the best in the country. And as you know, I love my furniture,

so I have left our experts hard at work to show you just one room,

the drawing-room, with this suite of Gillows furniture.

This suite of furniture was made for the house in 1820, and its style is rococo revival.

As you can see, it is totally over the top, frivolous, rich in carving

and gilding, and it is upholstered with silks from Macclesfield.

So everything is local, which is really nice.

And incidentally, this style of furnishings in the 1820s, where

things were brought into the middle of the room, was all the rage.

Prince Regent had this at Carlton House,

so you can see you had to keep up with the Joneses, didn't you?

Now, back to the busy gardens outside,

where David has also found some elaborate craftsmanship.

Well, Andrew, this fine house here has seen some wonderful parties

in its time, I'm sure, but we've got one heck of a party

going on on these two plaques that you and I are holding.

It's a representation of what is known as a bacchanalian feast,

you know, Bacchus, the god of drink.

Um... And these children, and they are just children,

"putti" to give them their neoclassical name,

are enjoying themselves.

They're drinking,

which of course they shouldn't be doing at their age.

They're getting animals and poultry

ready for the table.

There is some putti over here at this end, actually getting on with

the business of rolling a barrel into place.

These characters here are carrying grapes over towards the press,

presumably where they are going to be made into wine.

And they are having a great time.

Now, what can you tell me about them?

Well, they were my wife's first husband's, he was an antiques dealer.

-Oh!

-He died.

And then, obviously, when I met her and married her, we've...

-they've just been in the attic ever since.

-OK.

They are signed.

Gruhe.

G-R-U-H-E.

That one is actually dated as well. What is the date?

-93.

-93.

Yes, he was a German sculptor who lived in the 19th century and just

into the 20th century, so this was produced near the end of his life.

And I'm guessing here,

but I think these must be furniture mounts. You know, you can

imagine a grand sideboard, perhaps, with these set in the back.

They are made of metal, of course.

Some sort of base metal which has been silvered.

It is a sort of silver plating.

And you don't want them hanging on your wall?

We've got a modern house now and they don't really go with

anything we've got there, so we just thought we'd fetch them along.

I would suggest the pair probably has a value in the region of

-£60-£100.

-Right, yeah.

I guess there is an argument for putting a covering reserve on.

What is your view?

I think, really, if somebody likes them, we are

-just willing to let them go.

-OK.

Let's do that, we'll put an estimate of £60-£100 on them.

-Sounds good.

-No reserve.

-They're not going to make you a fortune.

-No, just nice to know a bit more about them.

-Good.

Thank you very much.

OK, well, we are going on that basis, and I'll see you at the sale.

-Yeah.

-Thanks, Andrew.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks very much.

Now, before we call it a wrap and head off to the auction room for our

first visit, let's have a quick look back at what else is coming with us.

Claire's photos of Victorian society have been

stuck in a drawer for years.

Will they help her finally get the key to the new home?

And staying in the Victorian era,

will this delightful diamond brooch shine as bright at the auction?

And finally, these elaborate feast plaques may not be to

everybody's taste, but will they go down well in the saleroom?

We're leaving the grandeur of Tatton and heading across the county

border to Partridge & Bray,

Liverpool's newest auction house.

Well, as you can see,

the auction room is jam-packed full of bidders.

What an atmosphere.

But will they be as impressed with our Tatton Park treasures

as our experts were? There's only one way to find out.

Here's our first lot.

And it's Claire's grandfather's photos of the famous Victorians,

which are going under the hammer with Adam Partridge,

ably assisted by his young son.

We're talking about the collection of imported photographs,

80 to 120 put on by Mark. It is a very important collection.

-It is quite interesting.

-Is your photograph amongst it?

-No, it's not, is yours?

-Yes, I slipped a "Flog It!" card in there.

-Signed or unsigned?

-Signed.

-Oh...

Well, I'll not say anything there.

-And hopefully we can send you home smiling. Fingers crossed.

-I hope so.

This is a tricky one, I wouldn't like to put a value on this.

I'm not worried, I just think it's good fun, really.

-Let's see what this lot in this packed auction room think.

-Yes.

Very interesting lot. Five Hughes & Edmonds sepia photographs.

They are depicting renowned figures of the Victorian

and Edwardian period. I think they are quite rare, these.

I'm bid £80. I would take five. 95.

-110. 120.

-120.

-Oh.

-I'll take 140.

-At 130.

-Oh, that's surprised us.

£130. All done and selling...

-That's fab.

-Brilliant. That's fantastic.

Straight in and straightforward. Blink and you'll miss that one.

I had every confidence.

'What a great start.

'But how confident will the buyers be about Phil's diamond brooch?'

-Have you been looking forward to this?

-Yes.

Because you didn't expect anything was going to happen...

No, I didn't expect it to be anything like this.

And you didn't think that we were going to retain it that...

-No, I just expected just to come in, get the valuation...

-And go home with it?

-Yes.

-But how are we supposed to sell it if you go home with it?

Exactly, but I didn't realise all this went on, you see.

No, a lot goes on behind the scenes.

-And where did this come from, remind us again?

-It was my wife's auntie.

-She had left it in her will.

-OK.

-So, well, hopefully...

And your wife didn't want to wear it.

No, it's not really her cup of tea.

-It will go to a collector.

-Yes.

-Who will put it in a lovely little

bijouterie cabinet along with other items from that age

-and enjoy looking at it.

-Yes, good, good. So we shall see.

And there's plenty of collectors here. Let's put it to the test.

It's going under the hammer now.

553 is a Victorian gold and silver

diamond set floral brooch.

300, the diamond brooch. Three. Two, then.

200. 200 bid. At 200.

At 200, I have. At £200, at 200.

Ten. 220. 230. 240.

250. 260, sir. At 250.

At 250. Any advance on 250? 60.

-270.

-Yes!

-Cor, we are getting...

290. At 290 now. At 290.

Any more at 290?

At 290. Any more at 290?

-We are only one bid away.

-Yeah.

I'm afraid it's got a fixed reserve.

-So we can't sell it.

-Oh!

-£10 away.

Never mind.

-That's how close it is in an auction.

-That's fine.

We nearly got there. You know it is worth that, you know it is worth that.

Oh, what a shame, we were so...

Although the brooch narrowly missed its reserve, every cloud has a silver lining.

Phil decided to keep it in the family

and give it to his 90-year-old auntie, who had always loved it.

Next up is Andrew with those decadent wall plaques.

If any of you have got a keen eye,

you might be able to spot a lot of things that are going on with

our next lot, two bacchanalian feast plaques, which have been on your wall?

-No.

-No, not at all, you didn't like them?

Not really, they didn't fit in with our property,

-so they've just been sat on the cupboard gathering dust.

-OK. OK.

And we have a value of £60-£100 on these.

It is an odd thing. You either love them or you hate them on this kind of thing.

-They are just good fun.

-They're great fun.

Talk about underage drinking today. Some of these kids

are even younger than I was when I started drinking.

But as you say, Andrew, it is the displaying of them,

that's the difficult thing, isn't it? Because there is nothing else you can do but put them up there.

Look, fingers crossed.

We are going to find a new home for them, that's what it's all about.

Right now it's going under the hammer. Let's see what the bidders think.

And the next lot is a pair of cast gilt-metal rectangular

plaques with bacchanalian scenes there. What do we say for them?

Bid me £50, the pair. Start me at £50. Should be all in £50.

Where's your bid at £50?

-Who wants to start me off at £30?

-It's quiet.

-£30 a pair, surely.

£30.

£30. Thank you, sir. At £30. I'll take £5. They're here to sell.

It's £30 only. At £30 the back of the room. £30. £35. Thank you. £40.

£45. £50.

£55.

£50 it is at the moment. £50. I'll take £5. At £50, then.

Are you all done at £50 only? The pair of plaques at £50.

Any advance on £50?

And the hammer's gone down. It's gone down at £50.

-Just under the £60 mark, but we had no reserve.

-That's fine.

We tried our hardest. That is auctions for you. Happy with that?

-We don't have to clean them again.

-No, not at all.

Somebody else can appreciate them.

You don't have to put them back in the cupboard either.

As we've just seen, people here are selling items that have

been in their family for many generations.

But what if you were to inherit a complete estate

and then just give it away?

I've been taking a closer look at the possessions of

the last Baron of Tatton, who inherited one of the most opulent

estates in the country, filled it full of the most magnificent

treasures and then gave it all to us.

For nearly 300 years, generation after generation

of the Egerton family has lived here, at Tatton Park in Cheshire.

Each in turn putting their own stamp on the estate,

creating the beauty and the splendour that we see today.

But for me, it was Maurice, the last Baron Egerton,

who's left a particularly striking imprint on this estate.

He was a devoted natural historian, he travelled the world

documenting and collecting rare and exotic artefacts and animals.

All of which now have pride of place in this magnificent house.

The result is that during his 38-year tenure,

Tatton was transformed into a museum of Maurice's passions.

It's a feast for the eyes and I can't wait to explore the rest.

It's not hard to see how Maurice, or Lordy, as he was affectionately

known, became so keen on collecting objects of beauty and fascination.

Growing up at nearby Rostherne Manor,

which is in the next village just down the road,

Maurice would've visited this house as a youngster regularly

and marvelled at all the great oil paintings on the wall,

the precious books and the exquisite pieces of furniture his father,

uncle and his grandfather collected and cared for.

And as a young man, being surrounded by so much exquisite fine art,

it would've been such an education.

He himself was treated with kid gloves growing up.

He wasn't born to be Baron.

But his two elder brothers sadly died very young and from then on,

he was groomed to take over the Tatton title

and ownership of the estate.

And at the age of 21, he accompanied his father to Rhodesia,

modern-day Zimbabwe, on a hunting trip.

Here, they were caught up in the Matabele people's uprising

against the occupation of the British South Africa Company.

Although traumatic, the experience gave him an insight

into the changing continent that he was to grow ever-passionate about.

Between 1896 and 1958,

Maurice made around 40 trips abroad overseas to far-flung places -

Alaska, Namibia, and the mountainous regions of central Asia.

And there, he met up with the local people

and brought back personal objects they'd used and made.

Tatton park's curator, Caroline Schofield, has been

piecing together the inspiration behind Maurice's collection.

Was it these trips to Africa that kick-started his passion

-for collecting?

-I think so.

He had a trip to Africa in the late 19th century, to Rhodesia,

and from then, started to travel quite widely

and spent a lot of time in Africa.

You can see from the collection here that he was a really

-passionate collector.

-Do you think he was an accidental archivist?

I think he would've made a fantastic museum curator

because he kept very careful records of everything he did.

And these diaries detail the various trips he's done.

And there are a number of these, so really, he's recording

lots of detail about his various travels around the world.

And the objects themselves give you an insight into his character

because he was really interested

in what people used to work and what they made and what they dressed in.

You can see that by the things he's brought back.

-They're not exactly precious, but in their own right...

-Yeah.

The materials themselves are not valuable,

but the craftsmanship and the rarity of the objects is where

the value lies and the fact that they were collected by Maurice Egerton.

Caroline's very kindly let me

take a closer look at some of the more intriguing items on display.

There's a lovely little group of arrows there with

an incredibly dangerous sharp tip to it.

They're coated in poison, so we can't touch those,

but, interestingly enough, there's a little squashed-up bird's nest

which the tribesmen used to contain the poison.

So they dipped their arrowheads into that.

This is nice, this shows the personal touch

because there's a photograph of a girl wearing this metal skirt.

So he's obviously met her, so it means an awful lot.

He got this in 1932 and he's paid five shillings for it.

So while generations before him had focused on making the buildings

and grounds magnificent at Tatton,

for Maurice it was all about what treasures

to fill the house and gardens with.

In 1930, with a collection of artefacts too large to house

in the main building here, Maurice had an extension built.

And it is this room I'm walking in now. It is a vast space.

It's known as Tenants' Hall.

And here, he housed his collection of animal skins

and trophy wall mounts.

Despite how tastes have changed,

taxidermy was a popular form of interior decor.

And Maurice had a master collection to rival any natural history museum.

And some of the pieces are just extraordinary.

I have to show you these elephant feet.

I have seen these used before as plant pots,

stick and umbrella stands, or even a litter bin in a gentleman's library.

I wonder what Maurice used them for.

Collecting wasn't his only passion.

Maurice was also a thrill-seeker and saw Tatton as the perfect venue

to road-test the latest in motoring and flying machines.

-I take it Maurice was a pioneering aviator in his day.

-Yes, he was.

He was a friend of the Wright brothers

and he went to see them fly various aviation exhibitions in France

and then he bought his own airplane, a Wright Flyer,

one of the six first made by Short Brothers.

So he was quite a pioneer, really.

And he was also streets ahead with his motorcars.

And this is his Benz Comfortable Motor Car. It wasn't his first car.

The first car he had was a Darracq, which he had around about 1900.

The car is registered M1.

Maurice had the first vehicle registration in Cheshire and

he transferred the registration from his Darracq to this one around 1924.

-So...

-He was fond of that numberplate.

It's been very useful for us because we were able to

auction off the registration a couple of years ago.

-What did that make?

-It made around £350,000.

And the funds form the basis of the Tatton Park Trust.

It's been a really brilliant thing for us to be able to tap into,

to do work here, good work here.

But despite travelling the world and forging friendships everywhere,

Maurice remained the ultimate bachelor.

He never married and reached the ripe old age of 84

with no heir to the Tatton estate.

He increasingly spent his final years in Africa

and he had this African hut built here, on the estate at Tatton,

to remind him of a place he really called home.

Always a forward-thinker of his time,

he was committed to finding ways for the Kenyan farmland to thrive.

And he used these glasshouses at Tatton to develop bean

and pea species which would grow well in an arid environment.

All his hard work really paid off.

He may have had blue blood, but he definitely had green fingers.

He cultivated the most incredible collection.

Upon his death, he requested that his heart be buried in Africa

and his estate left as a legacy to the nation.

Tatton Park and its incredible contents were gifted to the

National Trust so future generations could appreciate it and enjoy it.

Welcome back to our "Flog It!" valuation day, where we're

enjoying the stunning views and fair weather here in Cheshire.

Before we catch up with our experts to look for more antiques,

I have a little surprise for you.

The Egerton family have lived here throughout their life,

entertaining their guests with all sorts of wonderful treasures.

So today, we're going to transport you back in time to the late

Georgian period, courtesy of Lauren Scott and her golden harp.

Take it away, Lauren!

APPLAUSE

HARP RECITAL

Derek, we're in a fantastic setting

and you've brought this absolutely charming box in.

Before we look at it,

I want to know what our little crowd think of it.

-Do you like it?

-Yes.

-What is it for, do you know?

-Some kind of jewellery?

-No. It's actually a glove box.

It's a very elegant ladies' glove box.

You can imagine a lady coming back from a ball,

or a night out at the theatre

and she takes her long gloves off with her button hook

and she folds them, or her maid folds them

and puts them away in a lovely, charming box, like this.

-Where did you get it from?

-I bought it from a charity shop.

-Never!

I did, yeah. It was absolutely black, covered.

-You couldn't see the brass at all.

-You couldn't see the decoration?

I could see there was something there,

some metal because you could just feel it, but it was black all over.

-And you've cleaned it off.

-Yeah.

-And what did you pay for this?

-£25.

-Gosh! Doesn't sound like a lot of money, does it?

-No.

-Do you know what we call this type of decoration?

-It's Boulle.

Boulle work, yes.

And this is after a French person called Andre Charles Boulle,

who invented this process somewhere in the late 17th century.

Now, this is not to say your box is late 17th century.

Unfortunately, it's not. It's late 19th century.

But the principles are the same. This is ebonised wood.

And then this brasswork is cut out and set into the tortoiseshell,

which is below. And somebody's had their initials put on there.

So it might've been a gift, something like that.

But pretty much, it's OK.

There's just a tiny bit of tortoiseshell there,

-which isn't too much to repair.

-No.

It's time for it to go, I presume.

-It is, yeah. I keep a thing for a few months, then it's bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-On to the next thing.

-Oh, you've got no sentiment about you.

None whatsoever.

I think if we're being really sensible about it,

we should think of an estimate of £80-£120.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yeah.

Now, what do you feel about a reserve?

I'd just like to let it find its own level. It's going to go, so...

It's going to go.

-What if we put a sort of £50 discretion reserve on it?

-Yeah.

Just so the auctioneer knows we don't want to give it away for £20.

So at least then, if you sell it for £45, after commission,

-you've still made a reasonable profit.

-Yeah.

-Would you be happy with that?

-I would be happy, yes.

-Fantastic.

Well, let's hope every glove box collector turns out for the sale!

-OK. Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Stella, welcome to "Flog It!"

-Nice to meet you.

Why have you brought me in this little array of buttons?

They've been sitting in my workbox for quite some considerable time.

And every time I tidy it out, I put them out and then they go away.

When I knew "Flog It!" was coming, I thought they might be of interest to the programme.

They certainly are of interest. How did you come by them?

They were given to me by an old lady, a friend of Mother's,

who was a neighbour, and she saw me born and grow up.

-Have you never been tempted to put them on...?

-Never.

They've always remained in the envelope that the lady gave them.

Always stayed the same place.

-They are really quite special.

-Good.

They're what I call Ruskin buttons.

And this was from the studio of John Taylor.

Set up in about the 1890s.

Taylor was fascinated by the high glaze of Chinese

and Oriental porcelain.

He made decorative items like vases, pots,

but he also made functional items,

like door pulls and tiles for fireplaces and so on.

And all of them had this wonderful, wonderful high glaze.

And I love, in particular, this lovely...

-it's almost like a duck-blue.

-It is, yes.

And we have these pale-green ones, a couple of coffee ones

and these lovely mottled ones. Which are you favourites?

-I think the mottled ones.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Did you know they were Ruskin buttons?

-No.

Well, I knew there was an association with Ruskin,

but I didn't know quite how old they were or anything about them.

The studio existed between the 1890s and 1935.

And sadly, when they closed down in 1935,

-all records of the processes were destroyed.

-That's sad.

And nobody has ever been able to reproduce that wonderful high glaze.

-No.

-If we were going to put them into auction,

we're probably best not to put them in with a high estimate.

I would suggest an estimate of £60-£80.

-Now, would you be happy with that?

-I would.

-Happy with that.

Would you like to put a reserve price on them?

-I think £60.

-Put £60, yes.

Because I think somebody may...they may be of interest to a collector.

-I think so, too.

-Yes.

£60-£80, reserve of £60.

I'm sure they'll do well. And thank you for bringing them in.

-It's been a pleasure to look at them.

-Thank you very much indeed.

I've enjoyed it.

The buttons may have been easy on the eye for Anita,

but up next, it's all eyes on Mark.

-Janet, hello.

-Hello, Mark.

-Sunny Tatton Park.

-Yes.

These kind of dolls really scare me.

The wax ones even more than the bisque-headed ones.

Have you had it a long time?

I was six when she was given to me.

-So, um...

-A little while ago.

A little while ago, yes,

but she was given to me by the old lady who lived next door.

It was an antique almost then, actually.

-I think we're going back to France with this one.

-Yes.

And the late 19th century. So it's over 100 years old. Well over.

And she is quite remarkable.

Considering it's wax and wax is quite a sort of soft material,

it's been obviously well looked after. You haven't played with it.

When the lady gave her to my mother to give to me,

my twin brother looked at her and immediately scratched the face

because it was something we'd never seen before.

My mother was aware of this.

She then came and took the doll from us

-and we never saw it again for 20 years.

-Gosh!

She's very well-made. The quality is very, very good.

Lovely little blue glass eyes.

-And the costume is rather grand, isn't it?

-Oh, gosh, yes.

It's wonderful, with this frockcoat and her lovely little shoes.

And even a little handkerchief and gloves.

And if you look carefully, she's got matching earrings and necklace.

And I love this little chatelaine here with her pocket watch on.

It's wonderful quality.

Why have you decided to get rid of her now?

I don't really look at her any more.

Perhaps if she goes to a collector, she'll have some friends.

That's a very good point.

-And even though they frighten me, they don't frighten everybody.

-No.

And there's quite a lot of collectors out there who like these

sort of dolls and I think she should do quite well at auction.

We should put something like £150-£250 on her.

Something like that.

And, you know, I have a sneaky feeling there'll be

two or three people who really go for her.

But we'll protect it with £150 reserve

because even though it's time for her to leave you,

-I don't think it's time to leave you at a bargain basement price.

-No.

So if we put £150 on her to tell people we're serious. Fixed reserve.

I think she'll find a new home quite readily.

Yes, that sounds OK to me.

Thank you very much, Janet.

There you are, our experts have now made their final

choices of items to take off to auction for the very last time,

so, sadly, it's time to say goodbye to our wonderful

palatial surroundings.

Everybody has thoroughly enjoyed themselves here.

And the weather has been marvellous, too.

But right now, it's time to up the tempo.

Let's put those valuations to the test.

And here's a quick recap of what's going under the hammer.

Derek found this wonderful Boulle glove box in a charity shop.

He's hoping it will fund his next antique investment.

Stella's Ruskin buttons have been tucked away in her sewing box,

but could they be worth a pretty penny?

And finally, this French wax doll

which sent a shiver down Mark's spine.

Will she create a similar ripple at auction?

We've hot-footed it back to the auction house,

where auctioneer Adam Partridge and his right-hand man, Nick Bray,

are discussing the interest they've had in that delightful wax doll.

Well, this appeals to me mainly

because it's such a rare survivor in such good condition.

Wax dolls, you generally see them in pretty poor condition.

-What do you think about it?

-I just love everything about it.

All the original features, the jewellery,

the wax arms, the wax limbs, it's just perfect.

The beautiful little gloves, its dress.

Here she is, as original as you can find in her period clothing,

with the glass eyes.

So I can see there being an awful lot of interest on this doll.

-One of my clients is coming over from Germany to bid on her.

-Really?

So I don't think she'll want to go home empty-handed.

The doll collectors and the doll buyers that come to see this

will fall in love with it when they handle it and touch it

and see how perfect she is.

-What you're saying is it has to be seen to be appreciated.

-I think so.

And she'll sell better seen in the flesh, or in the wax,

-as to on the clinical photograph online.

-Yeah.

So there's going to be loads of interest on her.

-Is she going to make plenty of money?

-Yeah.

Double estimate and more. I think she's going to go to a good home.

-You hope she does, don't you?

-I would like her to, yeah.

Double estimate and lots of international interest.

That's what I like to hear.

We'll have to wait to find out if their predictions come true

because first up, it's Stella's collection of Ruskin buttons.

This next lot has to be one of my favourite lots in the entire sale.

It's not worth a great deal of money, but I think these

little things are so precious and they belong to Stella.

And not for much longer. We're talking about the Ruskin buttons.

-Love your name - Stella. "Radiating star", isn't it?

-It is, yes.

These buttons are beautiful!

I love that turquoise glaze, the enamel.

I love those buttons.

I would have them on my clothes in my wardrobe,

-but unfortunately, I can't buy them.

-You're not allowed to buy them.

-Did you ever think about sewing them on your clothes?

-No, no.

They've sat in my workbox for a long time, so I decided when I saw

"Flog It!" coming to Tatton Park, I would put them in and sell them.

-Precious little things.

-Yes, they are. I hope they go to a collector.

Yes, so do I. And I hope we get a little bit more than £60-£80.

So do I!

-Hopefully. You never know, do you?

-No, you don't.

So let's see what they fetch. It's going under the hammer right now.

Next lot is a set of Ruskin buttons. Nine buttons.

They're worth a tenner each. £90.

About £60, then. £60? £60.

I've got £40 bid.

At £45. At £45, then. £45.

-Oh, come on!

-At £45.

I don't think they're going to sell.

At £45, £50. £55. At £55. At £55.

Any advance on £55?

That comes from a firm reserve, I'm afraid.

-We could've sold those if we had to.

-It doesn't matter.

-Don't sell them at the lower end.

-No, I'm not going to.

At least you protected it with a reserve.

I think they're worth at least that.

£20 a piece. They are nice.

You'll take them home and you never know,

-you may use them for something.

-Well, you never know.

No. Treasure them. There's always another sale in a few years' time.

-I'll put them back in the workbox.

-Yeah.

-I loved them, Paul loved them, and you loved them.

-It doesn't matter.

It's been worth it. Thank you very much.

-That's auctions for you.

-It is.

-It's all about who's here on the day.

Luck of the draw.

Well, let's see if that Boulle glove box

bought for just £25 in a charity shop fares better.

Next up, we've got that wonderful glove box

inlaid with metal Boulle work.

Unfortunately, we don't have its owner, Derek. He can't be with us.

But we do have Derek's daughter. Hello. Where's Dad today, then?

-He's had to go to work, I'm afraid.

-He couldn't get the day off?

-No.

Hopefully, you can go home with some good news and say,

"Dad, it's tripled its estimate." That'd be nice, wouldn't it?

-It would be nice.

-Have you been to an auction before?

One time with my dad, but...

-Did you buy, or sell?

-He was buying.

-Did he get lucky?

-Yeah.

I think he just bought a box of odd bits,

but some of the stuff was worth quite a lot more than what he paid.

Well, let's hope he gets lucky today, Mark.

-I hope so. It's a full room.

-Let's put it to the test.

Here we go, it's going under the hammer right now.

The next lot, a lovely little late 19th-century Boulle work

glove box with initials EB to the lid.

Let's hope we've got two EBs here today for the Boulle-work glove box.

I'm bid £50, £60, £70, £80, take five.

At five, £90, £95...

-Ooh!

-This is good.

..£100, £100, £120, £130, £140, £150, £160.

In the room at £160. I'll take £170.

At £160. Any advance now on £160?

Are you done at £160? We sell, then, at £160.

Well done. Marvellous!

Yes! Not bad for £25.

I think he'll be happy with that.

I might get some pocket money.

THEY LAUGH

Now for the moment we've been waiting for.

She's divided opinion, attracted international interest

and our auctioneers are hoping

she'll more than double her estimate.

It is, of course, the French wax doll.

Janet, your wax doll has been causing

-quite a stir at the preview day.

-Has she?

Yesterday, all the browsers were picking it up and looking at it.

Personally, I find them scary. I don't like dolls.

-And I know Mark doesn't like dolls.

-I really don't. It's not my scene.

-This is quality, a good wax doll.

-Yes.

-And you've had this since you were six years old.

-Yes.

-Don't add any more on.

-No.

But at least it's been in the box,

-it's been kept safe for about 20-odd years, is it?

-Yes.

But she was on display at home for a long time.

-And she's been kept in good hands.

-Yes.

And that's why she's held her value.

They're made of wax, so they're very easy to get damaged and broken.

And it's got that lovely sort of original clothes.

-Which all helps, doesn't it?

-Which all helps.

And I'm sure there's going to be quite a lot of collectors.

We could be in for a surprise!

Don't go away, don't disappear to the kitchen to make a cup of tea

because this is going under the hammer right now.

-Anything can happen in an auction, cant it?

-Oh, gosh, yes.

Let's find out. This is it.

It's a very nice 19th-century wax doll.

Three phone lines on this 19th-century wax doll.

-They're on the phone lines.

-Start me in the room at £200.

-Straight in there.

-Let's get on. We all know it's going to make more.

£150. Start me at £150. On this phone at £150.

£160, £170, £180, £190.

£200, £220, £220. £240 with one of you now?

At £220, £240, £260.

-£260, Janet, that's got above the top end already.

-Yes.

-£280, £300.

Online, £320 next.

£320. Do you want £340, either of you?

-£340. £360?

-Janet, this is exciting!

£400 with Nick. At £400. £20, £440.

£460, £480.

-£500.

-£500!

-£520.

£560.

This was a come-and-buy-me, wasn't it, from our resident doll expert?

-Yes!

-£600. £620, £640?

£620 on this phone.

Are you all done on this wax doll at £620? It's selling at £620.

Oh, it's yours!

Yes! The hammer's gone down. How about that? £620.

Don't forget, there is commission to pay, it's 20% including VAT here.

-Nevertheless, that's a lot of money.

-Yes.

-How exciting was that?

-Absolutely...

-How exciting was that?

-Good job that was wrapped up and put in a box for 26 years.

-Yes.

-Wow!

-Amazing!

-Any idea what you're going to put the money towards?

The money's going to go to the Wood Street Mission,

which was founded in Manchester in 1869

to help families that need help.

Good cause. Any every penny helps.

Well, what a day. What a day we've had!

I told you there was going to be a lovely surprise at the end.

Stay tuned for many more to come in the future.

But for now, from all of us, it's goodbye.