Lincolnshire Flog It!

Today, we are in North Lincolnshire,

and that is the magnificent Humber Bridge.

That's such a spectacle.

It separates Yorkshire from Lincolnshire. It's the sixth-largest

single-suspension bridge of its type in the world.

Later on in the programme, I'll be sailing on that historic river.

But, right now, off to the valuation day,

and let's hope people from both sides of the Humber join us.

Welcome to Flog It!

There's been a house on the Normanby Estate since the 16th century.

After captaining one of the 200 ships mobilised by the English Navy

against the Spanish Armada,

in 1588,

Edmund Sheffield chose Lincolnshire

as the place to build himself

a country manor house.

But it's the gardens of Normanby Hall

that are all ship-shape and welcome our crowds here today.

All laden with antiques and collectables, hoping to make a fortune at auction.

Of course, there was one question they would like to ask our experts.

Which is...?

ALL: What's it worth?!

Our cameras and the Flog It! crew are setting up for a garden party

in the pretty grounds of this country house estate.

All we need now are the experts.

And keeping our new arrivals in line

is Michael Baggott.

Bag inspection. Who's next?

And Yorkshire lass Caroline Hawley has sailed across the border

to dig out some exotic treasures.

How have you come across these? There aren't many tribes living around these parts!

I've got a little Bichon.

-Bichon Frise?

-Bichon Frise.

-Oh, I like!

-You'd eat him for lunch.

-Yeah. Oh!

Just look at that - what a fabulous... Oh! Sorry!

THEY LAUGH

Nearly knocked your eye out!

HE LAUGHS

And just look at that. What a fabulous queue we have here today.

It looks like all of Lincolnshire has turned up.

Are you all happy?

ALL: Yes!

Let's get inside and get on with it!

With people taking their seats, it's time to get started.

Let's hope for something that blows us out of the water today.

But which of these items will fetch more than £1,000 for its owner at auction, later on?

Will it be this pair of Georgian target pistols?

This collection of pocket watches?

Or these candlesticks, with sharkskin handles,

in pristine condition?

Our experts will be using every single part

of this gorgeous location today -

from the beautiful gardens to the Regency splendour of the manor house.

But first, we're going around to a quiet part of the gardens

where Michael Baggott is very excited

about what's in that box.

-John, this is a really lovely box that you brought in...

-Thank you.

..because I'm familiar with these boxes

-and I know what should be inside them.

-Yes.

So, with a measure of trepidation,

I shall open it.

-I'll keep the fingers crossed on that hand.

-Right.

Oh, fantastic. Fantastic!

We've got a beautiful pair

of early pistols.

How did you come by these?

I bought them at an antiques fair

at Duxford Aerodrome,

approximately 15-17 years ago.

These are little works of art.

-They are target pistols...

-Right.

..rather than duelling pistols. The question is,

-who would have commissioned them? Who would have owned them?

-Right.

Really, every young gentleman of wealth

would have at least one pair of pistols.

I think,

specifically with this target grip on the sights,

-they might have been for a gentleman that competed in a shooting competition.

-OK.

Duels were fought.

Very seldom occasions, actually life was lost.

It got to a point where,

at the beginning of the 19th century,

duelling was almost outlawed.

I think Queen Victoria frowned on it...

very heavily.

We have this beautiful handle, which is walnut.

And the maker's name "Kavanagh".

And we've got "Dublin", there.

I think the firm of Kavanagh in Dublin

were established at the end of the 18th century, in the 1790s.

These pistols wouldn't be this early.

I would have placed them, probably, at 1820s to 1830s.

The other one... Identical twin time, isn't it?

Got all the same features.

Dare I ask, at this antiques fair,

how much did you pay for them?

You dare ask.

I paid about 3,500 for them.

Really, at the time,

that was not a bad buy, and you didn't overpay at all.

-So you can relax.

-That's a comforting thought. HE LAUGHS

I think we'd be sensible, even though the market

for target and duelling pistols

has risen since you bought them,

let's be sensible and say £3,000 to £5,000, if you're happy with that?

I'd be very happy with that.

Let's put a fixed reserve of £3,000.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised to see them touch the top end

-of that in there, John.

-That would be excellent.

You'd like a little bit of return, wouldn't you?

I'd like to do something with the money.

I have three grandchildren,

and I always promised my grandchildren

they'd each have a car of their own.

I collect Austin Sevens.

I've got two Austin Sevens

and I'd like to put it towards getting a third,

so each of my grandchildren have an Austin Seven.

That's a wonderful ambition. Thank you very much for bringing these in.

-It's a pleasure, and thank YOU, sir.

-It's a pleasure, John.

That's a high estimate. Will it pay off?

Or will the guns miss their mark in the saleroom?

The back gardens are very busy with people clutching their antiques, ready to be valued,

and Caroline has found something that's come along

for a picnic.

Anne, what a lovely bear!

The sort of bear that would have graced a nursery

in a beautiful house like this.

Tell me a little bit about him.

Have you had him a long time?

50 years, that I know of.

-50 years?!

-Yeah.

-He looks very happy sitting on your knee.

-Yes.

-I'm sure he's done that before.

-Yes. He used to growl, and he squeaks now.

He "used to" growl and he squeaks now?!

He's resigned to living in the loft, in a black bag.

No!

You can't keep him... Why is he in a black bin bag?!

I have three grandchildren, two under five,

and he'd either end up headless or legless,

cos they'd grab each end and pull.

He's eyeless now.

-Well, he's got one eye.

-That was before the grandchildren.

-Is he called Nelson?

-No, he's called Billy.

Billy Bear!

He's a beauty, Anne.

-He is.

-Can I have a cuddle?

Well, it's not cuddly.

No, it's not cuddly!

-He's solid.

-He's solid -

because he's stuffed with straw.

Right.

And he's all original.

-A lot of these bears have had replacement pads.

-Yeah?

He's not - he's completely original.

There's no maker's button or label in him at all.

I would say he dates from about 1920-1930.

-So, way before your childhood.

-Yeah.

And he's really in remarkably good condition.

I love him. Do you?

-No, it's got a nice face...

-He has!

..but he was never a bear you could cuddle,

because, for one - when you're little,

-there's too much bear.

-Yeah...?

And it is just so solid.

It's actually solid.

That's probably one reason why he's in such good condition.

Could well be.

Have you any idea as to the sort of value, if we can talk about value in front of him?

Shall we close his ears? Sorry, Billy!

SHE LAUGHS No, I haven't.

We thought we'd come for a day out...

And bring Billy Bear?

I can imagine a lot of people liking him.

And I think,

at auction, I would put

an estimate

on him of £50 to £80?

Yeah, that's fine.

And if we put a reserve of...

bottom end, just a bit less - about £40? Are you happy with that?

Definitely.

What would you do with the money, if I can ask you?

Buy my grandchildren a teddy bear each!

-A cuddly teddy bear? A sort teddy bear?

-A soft teddy bear!

Can we just hear his squeak and see what he says? Hang on...

HE SQUEAKS

Oh! Yes, he squeaks!

THEY LAUGH

-He's a squeaker, not a growler any more.

-Not a growl.

-He's lovely. Thank you very much, Anne, for bring him in.

-You're welcome.

-Thank you, Billy Bear, for coming.

-BEAR VOICE:

-That's all right. Bye-bye!

We're not sure where Billy Bear came from,

but there are certain maker's marks to look out for, if you're looking to invest in something cuddly.

Steiff in Germany, and Ideal Novelty And Toy Co in America

have both been credited as inventing the first teddy bears

at the turn of the 20th century.

British bears in good condition also do well, though.

This bear sold on Flog It! in 2011

for £1,400.

And, of course,

a cute face will also attract the bidders.

Back in the queue, I found something that could be the answer

to all my questions.

Kate, I've come across these before.

They were popular in the early 1900s - parlour games.

Does it still work?

Erm...hopefully.

Shall we test it out?

Let's try it. What shall we have as a question?

-Yellow. "Who was the inventor of the gramophone?"

-Let's try it.

There. And it found Edison.

-Isn't that clever?

-Yes, it's very good.

I wonder how that works.

-By magic.

-It IS magic, isn't it?

-SHE LAUGHS

With our crowd still enjoying the gardens,

our experts have moved inside the house.

And it's Michael who has the candlesticks in the drawing room.

Thank you very much for bringing these wonderful candlesticks in, Iversen.

I must ask, before we go any further,

cos I've never come across the name before,

"Iversen" - where does that come from?

My father was a trawler skipper in Grimsby.

He volunteered for the Navy, before the war.

He was on minesweeping on the corvettes,

and his friend was a Danish man.

He got killed, so he named me after him.

So it's a Danish name, Iversen?

Roughly, yeah.

Were these your father's at all?

No, me uncle's.

-Your uncle's?

-Yes.

-Did he serve in the military?

-In the First World War.

Right.

But he collected items. Guns, all sorts.

-So he had an interest...?

-An interest in military, yes.

If you've served in the military, these will have an appeal.

-Mm.

-What we have, quite obviously, are a pair of candlesticks.

-That's right.

-You don't have to be a rocket scientist for this.

But what's very interesting is, we've got original,

Victorian, I think, cavalry officers' swords.

-Yeah.

-And we can see these are original sword handles

because we've even got down to the shagreen fitments here,

which is a shark or a ray-skin...

which, when it's treated like this and wrought over,

gives you a very rough surface.

So, if you're in the heat of battle,

and - a bit grotesque -

but if you have blood or sweat on your hands,

and you find it difficult,

that will allow you to hold it.

That's actually why it's shaped like this,

and you have these little silver twists of wire,

-cos, again, that's a bit f extra grip.

-Yes.

You wouldn't expect to see that

-on just something that's purely decorative.

-No.

We have, on the top of the fitting, here,

-a registration number.

-Yes.

This, number 2-7-8-7-8-8,

-is around the turn of the century.

-Mm.

They're very good-looking things.

I used to use them in 1970,

-when the coalminers put in for a pay rise.

-Right.

They all went on strike, didn't they?

-Right, so...

-So I used to get some candles and carry them about.

So they came in handy in 1970.

I suppose, from a practical point of view,

you couldn't wish for better, could you?

THEY LAUGH

Value? I think these are very good-looking...

and I think we could...

say £150 to £250 for them...

Yeah.

..and put a fixed reserve of 150.

They might even go on from that, cos they're very quirky.

-You're quite happy to see them go?

-Yes.

-Hopefully, they'll find another home at the auction.

-Yeah.

-Thank you very much for bringing them along.

-Nice speaking to you.

-Bye.

-Thank you.

Well, we are now halfway through our day.

Our experts have made their first choices of items

to take off to auction.

I've already got my favourites. You've probably got yours.

In case you've forgotten, here's a quick recap

on what we're taking with us to the auction room in Lincolnshire.

They were an expensive purchase,

so John hopes his pistols "hit the target" in the auction room

and make him a hefty profit.

Anne doesn't think it's cuddly,

but will someone fall in love with this teddy bear?

And will Iversen's candlesticks set the saleroom on fire? Let's find out.

We've journeyed south to Lincoln,

a city with an impressive history.

Its historic canal was dug by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago

to connect Lincoln with the mighty River Trent.

It's thought to be the oldest English canal still in use.

Sellers pay 15% commission here, so it's always worth doing your sums

and checking for any extra charges.

Conducting our auction is Colin Young,

and it's the pistols up first.

-The collectors know what they're looking for.

-Yup.

If somebody wanted to start to collect duelling pistols, or pistols,

or early rifles,

what are the legislations?

Do you need an arms licence?

Certainly, for something that's muzzle-loading, such as this,

and of period, then, you don't.

You can collect these with pleasure,

enjoyment, and also have that little bit of knowledge

that there's not really an issue with the licensing.

If they were actually reproductions made today,

but still of that same manufacture,

then you would actually need a licence.

Because they're not decommissioned?

No. The decommissioning doesn't really matter.

OK. They're just made?

They are made and they are fireable,

and they are a weapon.

If you're thinking of investing in vintage firearms,

please do your homework

because you can get caught out.

If you're unsure about it, just get it into the auction rooms,

because we would always go to the Firearms Department for advice

before ever offering anything for sale.

They're quality and everything's right about it?

We've sent out all the reports and as much information as we can

to good collectors.

-It's all going to be down to them now.

-Great.

The room's filling up. Colin's on the rostrum,

and the auction's online.

So we have people from all over the world ready to bid on our items.

Fingers crossed for the pistols.

-Hello, John. Good to see you again.

-Thank you.

And Michael, our expert. I know they caught your eye.

It's a niche market.

They're the people that know what to look for,

and these guns are right, aren't they?

There's not one bit wrong with them.

-Excellent.

-We're selling quality here.

I appreciate that.

Question is, will we get that three to five?

Will we get the top end? We'll find out now - they're going under the hammer

Let's hand over to Colin Young.

An original case. What shall we say for this lot? Who will start me?

£3,000?

Is that a bid, madam? 3,000? No? Just waving to your friend.

Not a good thing to do at auction, I'm afraid.

OK, 3,000.

Who will start me at 2,500?

It's a bit low.

2,000 bid.

At 2,200 now?

At 2,000 bid.

We are too far off now.

2,200 bid. 2,400, do I see now?

2,600 bid, now?

At 2,400 - at 2,600, surely.

At 2,400. There was plenty of asking for details of them.

It's heartbreaking.

Cos they're well worth it, they really are.

£2,400. I'm afraid at that price,

I do have to withdrawn them.

Really, they should have made the top end of that,

so, in a way, it's good

they didn't scrape away at 3,000.

I'm happy they didn't sell at that.

-That's why you protect it with a reserve.

-Absolutely.

Michael was so right to put that reserve on.

Good luck, anyway. Whatever happens, good luck with the cars.

-Thank you.

-And good luck with whatever you want to do with the pistols.

Thank you both very much.

That was a surprise,

but luckily, since the auction,

John has had interest from a dealer who couldn't make it on the sale day,

so he's still hopeful for a good result.

Surely the teddy bear is a safe bet.

Will someone in the auction room fall in love with him?

Anne, it's good to see you again. Who's this?

-This is Leah, my granddaughter.

-Hello! School holidays, now!

That's right, so we thought we'd bring her along.

-What do you think of the auction?

-Scary.

It is a bit intimidating, isn't it?

-Has the bear got a name?

-Billy.

-Oh, Billy the bear!

-It's lovely.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

Who will start me at 30?

£30, anybody? 20 to go, then, surely.

£20 bid.

We're in at 20.

We got £20.

I've got 32.

35. 38, I've got.

£40 bid.

£40 bid. 42, now?

At £40 bid.

Are we all done and finished?

Going then at £40...

Well done, Colin.

Colin worked some magic there.

Everybody loves a bear, don't they?

They do. I knew it'd go, even without its growler on.

Billy Bear has found a new home,

and that's our first sale of the day.

Onwards, and upwards, from now on.

Next up, the candlesticks.

Their shagreen handles are shark or stingray skin.

Because some species of these creatures appear on endangered species lists,

rules dictate you can't buy or sell any items made with shagreen after 1947.

These ones are fine, because they're made more than 100 years ago.

These would suit someone into militaria who throws dinner parties.

Absolutely.

A talking point.

Let's find out if the bidders here will buy these,

and use them. They're going under the hammer now.

£100, anybody?

110, 120... 120. 130. Let's get on.

130, 140.

150, 160.

-We've sold them.

-Yes.

160, 170.

160, 170...

There must be someone

with a tethered horse outside -

cavalry officer(!)

200 bid. 220, do I see?

No. Are we all done, then? On my left, then, selling.

All done at £200.

£200. Yes!

That's good. I'm very happy with that.

-They'll be worth every penny.

-Yes.

Nice meeting you two.

Thank you very much, Ivan.

-Bye-bye.

-It's a pleasure.

That's two sales out of three. Not bad.

But it just goes to prove

you cannot predict an auction.

That's half the fun.

There you are - our first three lots put to the test.

Before I return to the Sheffield family estate

to look for more antiques to put under the hammer,

I'm off to the River Humber to explore a boat

that shares their name.

The Sheffield Keel is a majestic sailing barge

that wouldn't exist without the dedicated passion

of a group of enthusiasts.

Rivers are the lifeblood of civilisation,

but they have seen many changes over the years,

and this, the great River Humber, is no exception.

Before that bridge was built,

and the advent of rail and road,

the only way to get goods across the water

was by boat.

The River Humber contains

one of the busiest ports in Europe.

But it was once teeming with vessels of a different kind.

These boats were Humber Sloops and Keels.

The beautiful square-sailed vessels

were the waterways' work boats for 500 years.

The Industrial Revolution

gave these boats a natural home.

With their sails removed,

they could also navigate the region's canals,

taking their goods inland.

I've taken a walk up the river, where this Humber Keel is docked.

It's a beautiful, historic vessel, and I'm keen to explore it,

and find out more about the life of a Keelman.

Stepping on board one of these magnificent vessels

gives you a real sense of the history of the river here.

She's called Comrade,

and she's over 100 years old,

and is one of the last remaining Humber Keels.

I must say,

she is in superb condition.

Hopefully, later on today, when the winds drop,

we can get the square-rig sails up, so you can really appreciate

the golden age of sail.

That is what it was all about.

That's how the goods got transported.

Let's take a look around.

She was owned by Fred Schofield,

a Keelman's son.

Fred made his first journey on one of these boats

at just six weeks old,

and started work as his dad's shipmate at just 13 years old.

His family carried barley to Wakefield

and coal back to Hull,

so if there was black bits in the bread back then,

you could blame the Keel.

Gosh, you can see why these boats were such good cargo vessels,

because, right now, I've walked into the hull of the boat.

This whole section is called the hold,

and this is where the cargo was kept.

This vessel can hold 110 tons of cargo

of various things.

Whatever they could get their hands on to sell, they would.

When times were hard,

they even scooped up grains of sand from the riverbed,

and sold that, as well.

You can get 40,000 bricks in this hold.

Bearing in mind, it was a husband-and-wife team,

with a couple of kids, maybe,

loading these bricks by hand.

Must have taken hours.

Old Fred certainly earned

every penny he was paid.

For the Keelman, the boat was their home,

and their livelihood.

But Fred's generation of Keelmen

had to give way to opportunities for faster, cheaper transport

on road and rail.

Sail trading began to decline,

and many Humber Keels ended up as scrap.

But a group of men with a passion to preserve the history of the Humber Sloops and Keels

have brought two of these very special boats back to life.

Dave Parker is going to tell me a little bit more.

I'm quite jealous of you...

and members of the Society,

because you get to tinker with this boat all day long.

All weekend.

And take her out?

When the weather's right.

How important was it to rescue and restore this vessel?

Well, Comrade was one of the last Humber Keels ever

on the river.

We were fortunate that Fred Schofield,

the owner of the vessel,

was coming to retirement.

He knew that the Society had just been formed

for the restoration of Humber Keels.

Where were her routes? Where did she deliver to?

Mainly, she would take bulk cargo

from the deep-sea vessels in Hull...

Right.

..take those cargos into the West Riding

and then she would bring coal back.

Of course, if the wind was in the wrong direction, and you couldn't put her under sail,

it would be horse-drawn?

At the beginning of every canal,

there was a gang of guys

with these horses,

who would be there waiting for you.

If there was no horse available,

it would have to be manpower -

what they call hauling.

The owner, and probably his wife,

or his son,

would put on a leather sash -

they called it a seal -

attached to a rope

and they would walk down the towpath.

Once you got the vessel moving,

it was easy.

It was just getting it moving.

Why are you so personally passionate about these boats?

It just gets into your blood, and it's a passion...not just me,

but the rest of the guys at the Society,

just love to see these ships on the river.

Sadly, although the sun is shining, the winds are against us

on the Humber.

If we take this boat out today, we might never get back in.

Instead, I'll help the guys raise this beautiful sail.

-Who's doing the mainsail?

-I will!

-Shall I?

-Yep.

OK!

There, look at that.

It's like looking at a piece of sculpture.

Beautiful.

What we'll do now is just chop the topsail,

and then lift it up.

It'll break the sail twine,

and then it'll all go straight up.

Fingers crossed!

HE LAUGHS

-OK?

-OK, sir.

Wow!

That's all there is to it.

That's rewarding, isn't it?

Can you imagine, if we'd had the engine on,

for half an hour or so, going out there...

you'd take that off...

The silence!

You can hear the silence.

If only we could get this

out in the estuary under sail,

but hey-ho...

That was worth seeing, and it's thanks to the Society,

their dedication and their enthusiasm,

that's keeping the heritage

of these Keel vessels well and truly alive.

Back inland, the valuations are in full swing.

Normanby Hall is enjoyed by over 150,000 people each year,

and was home to Samantha Cameron, wife of the Prime Minister,

in her early childhood.

It's a real local treasure,

and Michael has got his hands on some treasure of his own!

Jan, Joe...thank you. What can I say?

These are lovely things.

-They smack of being family pieces. Is that right?

-Yes.

Where did they come from in the family?

My granddad,

but whether they're old enough to have been someone else's before that, I've no idea.

-I think maybe so, unless your grandfather was Methuselah(!)

-SHE LAUGHS

I think that's probably the case.

He was an undertaker,

when he was a young man.

I can imagine him wearing it on his waistcoat

as he's walking in front of the...

Yes, of course, you had to be turned out immaculately.

-It would have been de rigueur to have a watch and chain.

-Yeah.

What d'you think's the most interesting one?

That's lovely.

That's lovely, and that one?

That's a scruffy, old one I thought I might throw away!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Hang on a minute.

You were going to do what with it?

SHE LAUGHS

It just looks old metal and cracked face.

I thought it was a load of rubbish, to be honest.

-Was it going in the bin?

-Yeah!

When's your bin collected?

What day is it?

I'll be there next time. I'll take it out for you!

-This is actually the oldest thing on the table.

-What date's that?

It's a pair-cased silver watch.

Pair-cased, cos it's got a pair, P-AIR, of cases.

The outer case for protection...

Oh, and that's lovely.

When you would have a watch serviced,

by a jeweller,

they would do a little bit of advertising

and they would sometimes put in a watch paper.

There are several in there, I think.

"J Farrer, Watch and Clock Maker, Doncaster."

We will have the date

when it was done.

1840.

Oh, really?

So we know it's at least as old as 1840

but, if we open this case up...

-Have you ever had it open?

-No.

-There you go.

-Oh, wow!

That's beautiful.

Daft, really.

They're miniature masterpieces,

-and you'd never see it unless you opened it to look at the movement.

-No!

-It defeats me, cos look at the outer case.

-Yeah!

-Plain as a pipe staff.

-Precisely!

Then we have this gold one.

This is 18-carat gold.

We have the date letter there for 1829.

So it's still a George IV watch.

There are certain things about this movement

-that I can readily see are unusual.

-Right.

The way this is driven -

we have this subsidiary little wheel here, and this bracing.

It's not a typical movement.

Which, to my mind,

is a little bit special.

Then, lastly,

we've got a bit of gold!

-Yeah!

-Nine-carat gold...

..Albert watch chain.

This is, sadly, down to its gold weight, these days.

-But the good thing is, gold has shot up.

-Yes.

There's a reasonable sum of money on the table.

That was for the bin, so that's worth nothing(!)

That's got a plain movement,

so that's not as nice as that one - that could go in the bin, as well,

-apart from its gold(!)

-SHE LAUGHS

What d'you think the values are?

Oh, no idea.

Have a wild stab in the dark.

-Oh...

-150.

150, the lot?

No, maybe...

a little bit more.

SHE LAUGHS

-My wallet is coming out.

-150 for that one.

-There are condition issues with that,

but it's lovely.

Let's put £100 to £200 on it, with a fixed reserve of £100.

-Ww!

-Which is better than the bin.

Watch chain -

that's going to be about £300 to £500...

Ooh!

-It will probably make the thick end of the 500 on that.

-Wow!

-Put a reserve of 300 on that.

-Oh, crumbs!

Watch...

glass-less, boring, plain-movement watch.

Let's put...

£500 to £800 on it.

We'll put a fixed reserve of £500,

and we'll see where it goes.

-Never!

-Crumbs!

-Happy?

-Definitely.

-Happy you came?

Oh, yeah!

I'm happy you came! I'm delighted!

It's fantastic - it's made my day, really. Wonderful things.

And that proves you should never throw things away.

Or at least, bring them to a Flog It! valuation day first.

In the garden, Caroline is also saving something

from the rubbish tip and it is a Flog It! favourite.

John, I am shocked to hear what you were just about to do

with this magnificent piece of Cornish studio pottery.

-Tell me.

-Well, it was destined for the bin.

-No!

Yes, that is where it was going

until someone said to me it was worth a little bit of money.

Well it is, John, how did you come by it for a start?

At a car boot sale at Emswell.

I was just looking around for something to stand some flowers in.

And what did you pay for it at the time?

About £10-£15, I can't exactly remember. It was no more than £15.

That is a very, very good buy.

-Do you know anything about Troika pottery?

-Not really.

It was a company set up in the late '60s, in St Ives in Cornwall,

and it is still in existence today, the factory,

although it is making less pieces than it did ten years ago.

-I can imagine.

-You really don't like this, do you?

You really do not like it. So really you are keen to sell it.

Well, it is a wheel vase.

It is a 15 inch one which is good.

It is much bigger than the run of the mill

which are considerably smaller than this.

It is covered in very stylised symbolic features.

If you look at it, there are parts of anatomy.

Various places on the front

you can see the shape of almost a face and a body.

And they are very often in muted colours.

As this is the sort of browns, greens, blues and greys.

This is in very good condition.

If we turn it around,

this is beautifully marked

on the bottom, as you can see, Troika,

Cornwall, and the monogram here,

very clearly written AB, which stands for Alison Brigden.

-That is the maker?

-Yes, the designer of this piece.

You might be surprised to know that it does have a pretty good value.

Is it still going to the bin or not?

Not now.

Well, I would suggest that this, because of its size,

I would suggest it has a value of between £200-£300.

Oh, right.

Are you happy with that?

And if we put a reserve of 200,

perhaps a discretionary reserve, are you OK with that?

-Yes, absolutely.

-So we shall go ahead and sell it for you.

Yes, that's absolutely fine.

With the crowd still clutching their antiques ready to be valued in the gardens,

I am going back inside to explore the works of art,

that tell us more about the Sheffield family

who lived in this beautiful house.

Now, this is a portrait of a young King Charles I

painted by the Royal Court artist Daniel Mytens in 1626,

at the start of Charles's reign when he was a young and popular king,

years before he was defeated in the Civil War and eventually beheaded.

After ten years of Parliamentary rule under Oliver Cromwell,

Charles I's son, Charles II, came to the throne in 1660,

after having spent ten years himself in exile.

Once King, he enjoyed life and he had several mistresses.

It is believed the Sheffield family are descendants of Charles II

and his most famous mistress, Nell Gwyn.

From a star of the restoration period to a star of our very own,

Michael Baggott is joined by Linda in the back gardens.

-May I open this up?

-Yes, certainly.

We have got, that is marvellous, a drawing set. Look at that.

Beautiful ivory rule,

wonderful scales on it,

and we have the maker on it, E Halse & Son of London.

It is very contentious now to sell ivory that was made after 1947.

It is illegal, so we need proof that this is earlier than that.

This is very much the case. We have got the maker's name

that can date it and so this is 100-150 years

prior to that legislation so it is perfectly legal for us to sell.

This little ebony parallel rule, I don't think is original to this set.

What we would hope to see there is a protractor.

So that is not there, but we have most of the other little fittings.

If you're not a nautical seaman or an architectural drawer,

-are you a collector of scientific instruments?

-Not really.

I am a collector of older things and about 25 years ago,

an old gentleman gave me this, who knew that I was collecting things

to go in a cottage which I had purchased,

which was built in about 1845.

It is actually not...1845 in date.

That is a bit of a blow, isn't it?

It is a bit earlier, so that is all right! But they can be dated

from the middle of the 18th century up to about 1820, 1830.

Really, yes?

I think this one, from the style of the instruments,

probably falls in about 1790 to about 1800.

Oh, gosh, that is interesting.

It is a lovely set.

It is incomplete and there is slight damage to the box.

In these instances we can't really value it as a complete set.

We have to look at the individual items and assess a value that way.

I think we would put this at £100-£150.

And we'll put a fixed reserve of £100 on it.

If it does well, what do you plan to spend the money on?

Well, I am quite a keen walker

so I think I will put that towards some walking in the Lake District.

That is marvellous.

-I am set to go trekking to Everest base camp in October.

-Good grief!

So I need to get some practice in.

So we will be sending you up and round the mountain, when she comes.

Thank you very, indeed, Linda.

And let's hope we can get Linda enough money to take to the hills.

Right now it is time to say goodbye to Normandy Hall,

our magnificent host location as we head off to auction for the very

last time and here is a quick recap of what is going under the hammer.

There is a high estimate on Jan and Joe's pocket watches and chain.

Only time will tell if the saleroom agrees.

Will the Troika that was heading for the bin make John a tidy profit?

And will the scientific instruments help get Linda to Everest base camp?

Let's find out!

Well, the auction room in Lincoln is still bustling,

which is always a good sign,

and my favourite item is up first, the scientific instruments.

I have been looking forward to seeing you, Linda.

When I saw you back at the valuation day and I saw that little

set of draughtsman's instruments you had, I really wanted to do that

valuation and I was really annoyed that Michael grabbed it first.

Quality, quality. My mum was a draughtsman.

Yes, she worked as a technical illustrator

and that was the kind of thing she absolutely loved and collected.

She spent her life working with instruments.

-I feel a terrible heel now you have said that, Paul.

-Yes, bully!

Was I pushing you out of the way as I was grabbing the set off you?

No, you just found it.

And I remember going, "Ooh, ooh, ooh," like that. It is divine.

We should get this away. We keep saying on the show,

quality always sells, we'll put it to the test right now,

it is going under the hammer here in Lincoln. Good luck.

Start me at £100. 100, 100? 80 to go then. 80? 50 if you like.

50 if you like, anybody. £50 bid. At 50, bid five. 55. 65, 70.

A bid from France. At 75 bid.

At 75, at 80...

That's interesting, wasn't it, a bid from France on the internet.

Surely you are going to come back.

At 75 bid, at 80 now do I see? At 80 now.

85, 90, 95, 100.

100 surely, sir? At 95 bid. At 95 bid.

-He's hoping for some more.

-98 if it'll help you. At 95 bid.

98 now, do I see?

At 95 bid, are we all done? So near, yet so far.

At 95 bid, are we all done? 95, last call, then. 98 bid, do I see?

98, and £100 bid. At 100, 110 now, do I see? At 100.

-I would have been amazed if it hadn't sold.

-At £100, any more bids?

The hammer's gone down. Did it!

Just, though, wasn't it?

Excellent, really pleased about that.

-A bit of money towards the trip.

-Thank you, Michael.

-It is a pleasure.

A great result for Linda, that was a quality item.

Let's hope someone likes John's Troika vase

a little bit more than he does.

A wonderful wheel vase.

And I know you do not like Troika, you do not like this vase.

A lot of people out there don't like it. I love it. I come from Troika.

I've been flagging it up for years and years and years.

And I have had the pleasure of meeting Benny Sirota,

one of the original three designers who formed Troika.

A very privileged young man. I like this kind of thing, I really do.

It sums up the texture of Cornwall.

-Let's hope it does well for you, John!

-Yeah, hopefully.

-It is a good size.

-It is.

-Let's put it to the test.

Here we go, it is going under the hammer now.

Good luck, everyone, this is it.

Always very popular when it comes under the hammer.

Who is going to start at 300? £300.

2 to go then, surely, 200, do you have for me now? 200 straight in.

£200 bid. 220, 240, 260,

280, 280, 300, 320, 340.

At 320, 340 anywhere else? Surely 40? At 320 the bid is nearby.

At 320 bid, at 40 for my last call. No? At £320 then.

-340, is that a bid?

-Gosh.

-No. I thought I'd better ask.

-Selling then at £320.

-Sold at £320. Well done!

Just over the top end of the estimate. How about that?

-What are you going to do with that?

-Put it towards a holiday.

Put it towards a holiday, treat yourself.

-When are we going?

-Oh, John!

-There we go!

LAUGHTER

£320, that is not bad for a £15 investment,

and it just proves how subjective art is.

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

And speaking of treasure, it is the gold and silver watches and chain, up next.

We have got the gold watch. We have the gold chain

and the silver watch.

Played around with the 18 carat gold watch after we saw it,

because initially I thought I had dated it incorrectly,

but I found that I had actually been right in the first place.

But what we have done is just put the reserve down a little bit

to £400 which I know you have spoken to the auctioneer about

-and you are happy with.

-Yes.

-But I still think it'll make what it's going to make on the day.

-Have you got children?

-Yes.

-They don't want to inherit this?

-It has been in the family a long time.

-Yes, it is fine.

-We think he inherited it.

-Once it's gone, it's gone.

-Yeah, well.

The daughter's like her mother.

She said, when we die, everything is going in the skip,

so be there, Michael, when the skip comes!

I am going to leave you my number.

I do skip hire, or at least I will on this occasion.

Look, whatever happens, good luck to both of you.

Here we go, here is the first lot going under the hammer.

We are looking at £500-£800 for the gold watch.

Who is going to start me at 500?

Start me at 4 to go then, surely.

£400. 300 if we have to. 300 anybody?

300 bid, thank you.

-He's going cautiously.

-320 now, surely, 320,

340, I've got. 340, 360, 380.

-Oh, the penny has dropped.

-Here we go.

At 400 bid, 420 surely, 420 if you like, sir?

No, at 400, my bid is at the door. At £400 we are on the market.

At 400, is anybody else going to join in?

-Last call, done and finished them, selling at £400.

-Sold.

-That is brilliant.

-Well, it is £400, sold on the reserve.

OK, we are looking at 3 to 5 for the gold chain.

Who is going to start me at 300 for this? £300 bid. 320, surely?

At £300 bid, 320 anywhere else now? At 320, I make it. 320, 340.

-Straight in there.

-380, 400, and 20 now. 420?

They will have all worked it out with a calculator, the price today.

-480, 500. At 500.

-I didn't expect it to go for so much though.

520, 540, 560, 570.

580. No? At 570 bid.

At 570, on the market and selling at £570.

-Bang, the hammer's gone down.

-Lovely!

-That is brilliant.

-Brilliant.

Just the silver watch to go now.

Here we are, good luck, this is our last lot.

The Verge pocket watch, this time, start me at 100, 80?

At £80 bid, at 85, at 85 bid, at 90, do I see now? At 90, £90 bid.

Five then surely? Going, all done and finished at 95.

Surely a fraction more, 100, £100 bid. At 100 and 110 now.

There's always a watch collector in a sale.

Always someone who likes to tinker with the movement.

Are you going to come again now?

At £100, it is your last chance, it is going to sell.

Time is up.

Yes, the hammer's gone down, £100!

You've done really well, haven't you? I think that's £1070 in total.

-Are you saving up?

-Yes, indeed. We are going on a cruise, hopefully.

And then we are making a donation as well to Blind Veterans UK.

Our son lost his sight some time ago and because he was an ex-service man,

they have done an awful lot to help him live independently.

-It is brilliant.

-Good, a very good cause.

Well, all the better then, all the better.

A brilliant result for Jan and Joe and that's it for today's show.

And as our experts have found out,

it is not easy putting a value on an antique.

That's why these places are such good fun, so join us next time.

But for now, from Lincoln, it is goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd