Wiltshire 21 Flog It!

I'm on the roof of one of the most extraordinary buildings in the country.

Below me, kings and queens have been wined and dined,

from Queen Elizabeth I, during the Tudor period,

right up to our present queen, Queen Elizabeth II.

But today, for one day only,

this magnificent house becomes our backdrop for a valuation day.

So I am going to hoist the flag for our visitors.

Where are we?

Well, I can tell you where we are -

today we are at Longleat House in Wiltshire!

-ALL:

-Hooray!

Welcome to Flog It!

It was back in 1947 that Henry Thynne,

the sixth Marquess of Bath,

faced with increasing pressure of taxation,

decided to open Longleat to the public on a fee-paying basis.

This unprecedented idea was a gamble.

The car-owning population was still small,

petrol was rationed,

and the country was suffering from austerity.

But the house opened in 1949

and counted more than 100,000 visitors in its first year,

each paying half a crown to tread where kings once stayed.

Today it's the people of Wiltshire and the surrounding counties

who are going to be treated like royalty.

Isn't that right?

-ALL:

-Yes!

Of course, it is.

And over there, doing what they do best,

are our experts ready to wait hand and foot on our visitors,

because this great big crowd of wonderful people

want to know the answer to the all-important question, which is...

-ALL:

-What's it worth?

And on this gloriously hot day, ready to greet our visitors

and hoping to coax out the crown jewels, is Michael Baggott.

Oh.

What do you do to keep your biscuits, if you've got no lid?

And the lady of the house today is the ever-charming Claire Rawle.

That's just the job! Parasol.

I tell you what... Could I borrow? Do you think?

I think, with a frilly edge, Claire, it's far more you than me.

Oh, I don't know, Michael.

So it's time to make our way from the magnificent south front

round to the beautiful topiary gardens,

where the valuations will be taking place.

And we've got a rather special show for you today.

When Nick brings in this mysterious item, Claire's intrigued.

Approximately 1904,

my grandfather came across this teapot in the Himalayas

wrapped in paper in the snow.

So he actually just found it, wrapped up in the snow?

-Apparently so.

-Wow, OK.

And this teapot leads to a momentous discovery!

30,000 for this alone?

We could be rocking and rolling.

Will we break our Flog It! record for the highest value item

ever sold at auction?

35. £40,000.

You'll just have to wait and see!

Later on in the programme,

I'll be exploring inside Longleat House

to discover some of its fascinating history.

But right now, here in the formal garden,

the valuations are already under way.

Let's catch up with our expert Michael Baggott,

and take a closer look at what he's found.

Sue, thank you so much for coming along today

-because you've made my day.

-Really?

-You have.

-You've brought this little chap here.

-Very small.

This golden little chap.

Where did it come from?

It came from my father-in-law,

who literally dug it up on the edge of Salisbury Plain,

about 40, 45 years ago.

He was ploughing, and it literally turned up.

So he wasn't out with a metal detector?

-They hadn't been invented, had they, then?

-Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

-Well, no.

How do you find something as small and delicate as that?

Because he was called Hawk-eye!

Do you know what it is, actually?

Well, not really. I just know that it's a very early coin.

Or an earlier coin.

You've got a beautiful half guinea in gold.

Oh, a half guinea?

On the front we've got the royal coat of arms, quartered,

and we've got the motto and, of course, the date 1774.

On the obverse side we've got King George III.

Well, we could see that.

Coins come down to rarity.

The rarity of how many were minted at a particular time,

and small variations.

The main thing is condition.

The only defect we've got, at the very bottom there -

that slight knock to the edge.

It's probably where the ploughshare

shifted it out of the soil.

In all other respects, the condition is absolutely wonderful.

And we grade coins in different finenesses,

and this is very fine to extremely fine.

I mean, obviously, the past couple of years

everybody has been talking about the price of gold going up and bullion.

-This is beyond bullion.

-Yeah.

I think, for a normal example you'd be thinking £180-£200.

But I think this is so fine in terms of condition,

let's put £250-£300 on it.

We've got to do that,

because we've got to protect your interests, as well.

-So we'll put a reserve of £250 on it.

-Yep.

But, obviously, it was discovered years ago

and it's been in the family... Why sell it now?

Because it's stuck in a drawer, nobody sees it.

If a collector had it, they might at least put it on show.

I hate to break it to you, Sue,

but most coin collectors have cabinets.

-Well...

-Which have thin drawers.

-Well, OK.

-It's going from a deep drawer into the thin drawer.

-Well...

as long as somebody would appreciate it, then that's fine.

Thank you so much for bringing it in, you made my day.

You're welcome.

Gosh, wouldn't it be great to dig up

something like that in your own back garden!

Over on Claire's table,

is another lucky discovery twinkling in the sunshine.

-Well, hello, Ian. Nice to meet you.

-Hello.

Now, I'm not, I have to admit, the greatest fan of glass.

But I do like cranberry glass - this rich red colour.

Tell me a bit about its history.

I bought it about three years ago from a charity shop.

And I bought it because, one, it was quite cheap - about £2 -

and, secondly, the metal collar I felt

meant that two art forms had been used in it.

Yeah, because it's quite tricky, isn't it, really?

applying metal to a glass body.

This piece of cranberry glass,

would probably have been made in Bohemia

at the turn of the 19th, 20th century.

Being red, it has gold added to it.

That's how you get the red colour in glass,

which always makes it more expensive.

And then, curiously,

you've got this wavy thing...

Although it looks like pewter, it's actually silver.

Fantastic.

It's hallmarked. It's got a modern Sheffield hallmark.

I think it's from about 1989.

So, I guess somebody else looked at the vase and thought

that's a pretty little vase, however, we'll embellish it

with some silver

and don't seem to have damaged the vase, at all.

Glass isn't selling hugely well at auction at the moment,

but it's so pretty, it is cranberry,

and, obviously, you've the silver addition on the neck.

So, I think you'll see a bit of a profit on your hands.

Oh, good.

It would be difficult not to, really, wouldn't it?

So, my feeling is...

£40, £50 - that sort of region.

I don't how that grabs you.

-That grabs me well.

-Excellent.

-Reserve of £35.

-That's fine.

-Excellent.

We'll see what happens at auction.

It really is a scorcher today.

The sunhats and parasols are out in force,

and there's a real family atmosphere.

Oh, nearly!

Oh, look!

-I've won.

-PAUL LAUGHS

Chris, Sally, thank you for bringing me boxes.

They're full of promise.

Now, I'll take a wild stab in the dark -

it's either fish servers or fruit knives.

Fruit knives.

Let's have a look.

Should be two tiers...

Absolutely perfect.

So, we've got a set of silver and -

although it's not very PC - ivory-handled fruit knives.

Often these sets are electroplate and ivory.

-You've got ivory and solid silver.

-Yeah.

Which is a bit odd, really.

Because if you put solid silver next to fruit acid,

-it doesn't like it at all.

-Oh.

-It reacts quite badly.

If we look at just a couple of pieces.

We've got the full set of hallmarks.

Everyone will know that the lion passant is sterling silver.

-Yep.

-Date letter in the centre, which is for 1859.

And the last mark is Queen Victoria's head.

And the monarch's head as a punch is the duty mark.

Oh, right.

At this time, there was a duty payable on all wrought silver,

and that's simply the receipt mark

to say that it has been paid.

-Oh, right, OK.

-Lovely set.

Problem.

Better if they were fish servers.

Because people still use those today.

Fruit servers is hardly ever used.

Put it this way, when was the last time you went to a dinner party

and had a knife and fork to eat your fruit?

-Erm...never.

-Yes.

That everyone's experience.

Any idea of the value?

Absolutely not.

Well, I think we'll be sensible and say £150-£250 for set.

-All right.

-But a fixed reserve of 150.

But I think, on the day, we can just hope for a couple of very refined Wiltshire folk.

I'm sure there's some out there!

There's a real holiday atmosphere here today,

as our experts bring all kinds of treasures out into the sunshine.

Hi, Dave.

Good to see you here today with your early form of cinema, in a way.

It is a little magic lantern.

So what was the history behind this one, then?

It was always brought out when I had a birthday party.

-My father used to have a cinema show with these on a sheet.

-Yeah.

And I expect all the local kids hated it,

-because he did it every time until I was about ten.

-Yeah.

And that was all my memories of it. And then they were put away.

We've shown the children once, and they weren't interested

-because they're not fast enough.

-Yeah.

I'm guessing it didn't start life with this electric cable

coming out of it, cos it should have had a candle originally.

-Yeah, but my father actually converted it.

-Oh, did he?

-Yes.

Oh, right, OK.

So it made life a lot easier than having to light a burner

and everything in it.

They are known as magic lanterns, and this really is a nursery

form of lantern, because of course, they come in all different sizes.

When this was actually made, at the turn of the 19th,

20th century, or when they came in, which was the late 19th century,

there was no general form of cinema

and photography was still in its infancy and very expensive.

They are glass slides,

they are lithographically printed rather than hand-painted.

Very, very colourful.

And literally, we'd have the burner in here

and then the slide goes through there, in front of a big lens.

And the light shines through the back.

-I think he had a converter to put the small ones in.

-Oh, right.

-He had a piece of wood that he put the bits inside.

-Right.

-You had, like, a holder.

-Yeah.

And then, of course, the images were projected out onto the wall.

These are known as story slides.

I quite like the one here, where there is a lady.

And she is obviously listening at a door. And she is listening away.

And then all of a sudden, someone opens the door

and slams it into her face.

-I can imagine...

-We all laughed.

-Yeah, exactly.

The lanterns themselves don't have great value.

It tends to be in the slides. It is still not going to be huge value.

They are very collectible,

but really a collection of the number of slides you've got

is going to be in the sort of £100 to £150 bracket.

-Is that all right?

-Yep.

I would suggest putting a reserve,

but just tipping it under the lower estimate, say at about £90?

What are you going to spend the money on, then?

-We've lived in the same house for 43 years.

-Oh, wow.

And it has now come to the stage where it has got

-to be done up again.

-OK.

-I need money for home improvements.

-OK.

I look forward to the auction. Fingers crossed it will do well

and we can do lots of painting in your house.

Thank you very much.

Set in a valley with the winding river at its base,

Bradford-on-Avon got its name from the broad ford across the Avon,

and this crossing point is still at the heart of the town today.

Replacing the earlier ford,

this stone bridge was built in the 13th and 14th century

by the Normans.

On the south side over there, you can see the two pointed arches

with the wonderful ribbing going through the tunnel.

Wonderful, Gothic architectural features.

The original bridge, this bridge, actually did not have parapets,

so many people crossing over the water ended up falling in it.

Luckily, it was widened in the 18th century

and, today, it still remains busy,

as it's the town's only road bridge across the Avon,

a task it has been performing for more than 700 years.

Now, if you're wondering what that little stone building is

on the bridge just there, well, here's the key for it.

So let's go and investigate.

Originally a chapel intended to give travellers an opportunity

to pray for a safe journey, it later became a prison,

where local drunks and troublemakers were left overnight to cool off.

Well, you wouldn't want to be slung in here, would you?

Look, there's the original cast-iron bedstead that the prisoners

would have been shackled to - you can see where the rings are -

with just enough slack to come over here,

to do the business.

And I would not want to be downstream of that.

Looking down on the river, are an abundance of mellow stone buildings,

giving the impression of a pretty, sleepy Wiltshire town.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

The Bradford-on-Avon you see today was shaped by industry,

a manufacturing town from the 16th century onwards.

Bradford-on-Avon developed as a centre for the wool industry,

which kept it busy for hundreds of years.

Most of the buildings on this hillside

are rows of 17th- and 18th-century terraced houses,

once home to spinners and weavers.

Everyone worked from home. It was a cottage industry.

And the majority of dwellings, like this, were always built

on the side of a hill to allow maximum sunlight

to come flooding in.

Now, if you look closely, on the top floor,

you can see the windows are wider up there.

That's where the looms were situated.

The more sunlight, the more hours you got in.

Now, in the 1700s,

you could earn quite a decent wage as a handloom weaver,

but nothing nearly as much as the merchants who sold the cloth.

They were known as clothiers and they were the middlemen

between the weavers they employed and the tailors they sold to.

Daniel Defoe, who visited Bradford-on-Avon

in the early part of the 18th century, commented,

"It was no extraordinary thing

"to have clothiers worth £10,0000 to £40,000 a man."

Now, that's the equivalent of around £1 million to £5 million today.

And the evidence of their wealth can be seen all over Bradford-on-Avon.

That house was once owned by a clothier.

And it was the clothiers who were best placed to take advantage

of the changes the turning of the 19th century brought.

Thanks to such inventions as the spinning jenny,

the Industrial Revolution brought mechanisation to textile manufacturing.

Wool weaving moved into purpose-built mills,

which used water to power the looms.

The clothiers became factory owners,

but the power looms replaced the work of many handloom weavers,

and the large gains in productivity with cost-cutting machinery

meant those who had opted for factory employment

were on breadline wages.

Looking at that super view,

walking past this pretty row of houses,

which were built for the cloth workers,

it is hard to comprehend that, during the mid-19th century,

this area was one of the worst industrial slums in Wiltshire.

Many of these houses were split into two,

with one two-roomed house entered from the front here

and the other two-roomed house above,

entered from the street behind,

with often around ten people living in each of them.

It was terribly overcrowded.

There was no mains water.

Water was gathered from a well below and carried up this steep hill.

And of course, drainage was an open cesspit, which often overflowed.

It's hard to imagine, with this place being so beautiful today.

The truth of the matter was that, by the early 19th century,

cloth manufacturing in Bradford was in decline.

The larger industrial centres in Yorkshire

were producing cheaper, more affordable cloth.

And, eventually, the wool trade died away in the South

and the mills closed down.

In the 1800s, the outlook was bleak.

But salvation came from an unexpected quarter.

In 1848, Stephen Moulton, a good friend of Charles Goodyear,

set up a rubber factory right here, and Bradford-on-Avon

became the birthplace of the rubber industry in this country.

Large mills were taken over

and the rubber plant became the main employer in the area for decades,

manufacturing everything from tyres to wiper blades.

Millions and millions of rubber washers were made.

And this, in turn, led to another revolution

here in Bradford-on-Avon - a transport revolution,

which was started in the 1960s, and it's still going strong today.

Dr Alex Moulton, the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer,

joined the family company after the Second World War

and went on to design the rubber suspension system

for the new Mini car.

And judging from this footage...

TYRE SCREECHING

..I think he did a pretty good job!

He then took those same principles in rubber suspension

and applied them to bicycles.

In 1962, the first Moulton bicycle was born,

smashing the myth that small wheels meant slow wheels.

This new take on the classic bicycle became an icon of the swinging '60s,

seen as a minibike to go with miniskirts and Mini cars.

The bicycle building factory was started in Bradford-on-Avon,

and they are still being made here today.

And they've kindly lent me one of their bicycles

so I can make the most of the Kennet and Avon cycle route,

which goes right through Bradford-on-Avon.

And having walked and peddled my way around the town,

it's clear to see that not only is the history of Bradford-on-Avon

preserved in its beautiful architecture,

but also, I'm glad to say, its manufacturing legacy

looks to have a safe future too.

I've already got my favourite, you've probably got yours,

but right now it's down to the bidders.

Let them decide exactly what it's worth.

And here's a quick recap of all the items

we're taking to auction with us.

Sue's father-in-law, was hawk-eyed to spot this coin

as he was ploughing that field.

And, in turn, Michael was very pleased

to spot it in the Flog It! queue.

This sweet cranberry glass, with its silver collar,

should find a home at auction...

..but will the silver fruit cutlery?

It's attractive, but rather out-of-date in today's world.

Fingers crossed!

There's David's magic lantern -

will this enchanting but outdated form of entertainment

find a new home?

Only 20 miles from Longleat is the historic market town of Devizes.

Originally a medieval town, Devizes prospered in Georgian times

when many of its finest buildings were erected.

And on its outskirts is our auction house,

Henry Aldridge and Son, a family-run business,

now operated by a father-and-son team - Alan and Andrew.

Well, this is the moment I've been waiting for - it's auction time!

Don't go away, anything could happen.

This is where it gets exciting.

In a moment, the sale's just about to start,

but remember if you are selling or buying in a saleroom,

there's commission to pay.

Here, it's 18% - that includes all the other costs, and the VAT.

Let's get on with the sale.

Alan's already in full swing up on the rostrum,

and our first item to go under the hammer is the fruit cutlery set.

-25, 30...

-Will it sell?

They're ready to go, as a presentation set.

They are quality, but it's something that nobody really wants to own.

Long gone are those days of the formal dining room,

where they belong.

-Fish knives, very popular.

-Very popular.

£1,000 a set now.

The fruit knives have always been the ugly sister of those sets.

Good luck! That's all I can say, good luck.

They're going under the hammer at right now.

12 place setting, Martin Hall. Nice bit of silver in these.

We can't weigh it, but there is a nice bit of silver.

Couple of hundred pound.

Couple of hundred?

150? One, start me.

One I've got.

One I got, one I got, 110.

At 110.

At 100, is there 10?

120.

130?

Got 120. Is there 30?

At £120, not quite enough.

Is there 130 anywhere? Quick!

-Not enough.

-No.

I mean, I do remember, ten years ago,

getting £300, £400 a set at auction.

So we took that into account, but I think just the wrong day.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Yeah, tough thing to sell. I thought they would struggle.

-But I had my fingers crossed for you.

-So did I!

What a shame for Sally and Chris,

but maybe on another day they might do a bit better.

Going under the hammer now, we've got some cranberry glass.

A little bit of Bohemia.

-In fact, Ian, you paid £2 for this, didn't you?

-Yes.

We're going to turn that into, hopefully, £30 to £40.

Why are you selling it now?

Because I've had it,

I don't collect glass, I just found it so attractive.

-And you bought it cos was a bargain, really.

-Yes, as well.

-Let's face it, it was, wasn't it?

-It's nice. It's very pretty.

With a rather unusual silver collar around it.

-So...

-Good for you for spotting that,

because it's a little bit of detail that will help get this one away.

-Yeah.

-And it's not too big.

Some of them can be just too pretentious and showy.

But this one is quite nice. So let's find out what the bidders think.

It's going under the hammer right now.

Cranberry glass vase.

Nice bit of silver.

At £20, I've got.

25. 30, then?

30. £30.

32? 32.

34? 34.

36. At £34, am I done?

Done. Hammer's gone down. You were spot on, really.

Yeah, that was good.

A confident valuation.

-Happy with that?

-Yes.

On a £2 investment, I think it's brilliant.

I wish we could all do that every day of the week.

Five. 30. 35. At £30.

Right now, we're all off to the cinema

with David's early projector and the slides.

Absolutely love this.

David, I kind of envy you in a way

because my dad never had one of these.

It's the narration that I would think would be totally entertaining.

-Wouldn't it?

-I think we as children got a little bit fed up with them.

-Of course.

-Because we had them at every birthday party.

Out they come, and at Christmas time.

-I agree with the valuation. Good luck.

-Hopefully.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

It's going under the hammer right now.

Tin-plate magic lantern

with lots of slides,

approximately 60 of them in total.

Somewhere around about £110?

100, get me away.

£60, then. 60, I got.

70 anywhere? At £60.

On the maiden bid. 70 anywhere?

At £60. 60.

Is there 70? I want a little bit more. It's not quite enough.

Is there 70...?

Ladies and gentlemen, that's not quite enough.

-Didn't sell.

-What a shame.

-That's mine...

I nearly lowered the reserve.

Reserves are a good thing.

It is not worth giving it away for nothing,

-cos you'll never buy it back.

-We won't. Go in the loft again.

Well, I was thinking of entertaining the grandchildren.

That's what you should be doing.

Although David's grandkids may not thank me for that,

let's hope we have better luck with our next lot.

Going under the hammer right now,

possibly with one of the oldest things in the entire sale.

The George III half guinea, belonging to Sue.

I absolutely love the story. I think it's lovely.

-Obviously, valued for over melt.

-I did that deliberately.

-Good.

Because everybody's got their scrap hat on at the moment

when it comes to gold and this is such a lovely coin

and it is in very fine condition.

I think it is. I think it's superb.

One of the best I've seen, apart from the little edge.

-And I could live with that.

-I could. It's not on the face.

We'll find out what the bidders think.

It's going under the hammer right now.

This is the gold George III half guinea.

1774.

I can come straight in at 160 on it.

At 160. I've got 170.

180. 190.

200. 210.

220. 230.

240. 250.

At 250, is there 60?

At £250...

All done?

£250.

-Gosh.

-Brilliant.

The nice thing is we put it in over scrap.

It's a coin collector's piece

and someone's appreciated that here today.

-Yes, it certainly won't go to melt. Stunning.

-We'd no idea what it was.

And that's the beauty of Flog It! -

you get to find out all about your items,

and enjoy spending the proceeds from the auction too.

And coming up, don't miss out on the spectacular events

that unfold at auction

when we come back later on in the show.

Yes, please.

55.

£60,000.

This is a dream, really.

And that's all to come!

But first it's time to head back to our valuation day venue.

All going and done.

Longleat House is widely regarded as one of the best examples

of Elizabethan architecture in the country.

So, before I joined up with our experts to look for more antiques,

I decided to take a closer look to find out

why the house is so exceptional

and to discover some of its hidden secrets.

To understand how extraordinary a building like Longleat is,

you really need to travel back in time, back to when it was built.

It was in 1541 that Sir John Thynne,

Steward to the Duke of Somerset,

purchased the former priory at Longleat.

During Medieval times, and indeed the Tudor period,

the landed gentry and nobility lived in castles

and fortified manor houses built around a courtyard.

The focus was definitely inwards, the priority was defence.

England was such a feudal society

and the remit was fortified architecture.

But all that was about to change.

In 1558, Elizabeth I came to the throne.

The new queen's religious and economic policies brought

both relative peace and prosperity to the country.

Queen Elizabeth I travelled around her kingdom a great deal.

It was vital to show her presence,

and ambitious members of her court were eager to accommodate her,

and this sparked off a building frenzy known as "prodigy houses" -

huge great mansions designed to enhance your reputation.

It was a symbol of power and family permanence.

Longleat was the first house in the country

to be built opening outwards, the outside house.

It was saying, "Look at me, I'm here to show off and impress."

And as architecture goes, that's a supreme statement of confidence.

But Longleat is also exceptional

because Sir John was at the forefront of a design revolution

known as the Italian Renaissance.

Sir John created one of the first classical Renaissance palaces

in England, a dominant feature of which are the windows.

Back in the 1500s, glass was hugely expensive.

In fact, if you moved house, you took your windows with you.

And an architectural delight like this,

with more windows than walls, was a statement of extreme wealth.

'And in the Great Hall you can still see many original 16th century

'features, including the elaborate wooden screen

'under the minstrels' gallery.

'And the bold hammer beam roof.

'And to find out more about Sir John Thynne,

'the driving force behind this Elizabethan wonder,

'I've arranged to meet up with Dr Kate Harris,

'curator of Longleat's historic collections,

'in the temperature-controlled archives.'

Kate, can you tell me a little bit about Sir John the builder?

I suppose the most remarkable thing about him is the height

to which he rose, the good luck

of going to service with Protector Somerset.

And Somerset, of course,

was the most important patron of architecture

at that period and had four or five really major projects on the go.

Wow, so he's bringing all these elements here to Longleat.

That's what the locals hated, that he brought a building style,

a classical Renaissance building style, to his own house.

They regarded it as a style that is befitting of a prince, no less,

and completely not suitable for an upstart from Shropshire.

-And are these the floor plans for Longleat?

-These are plans of 1800.

You can see just how complicated an interior was at this stage.

-I can.

-And the roofscape would have been that much more complicated

as well because you've got a whole range of buildings

within the court that you can look down on.

Gosh, it's a maze when you look down on it!

In the early 20th century they were still

worrying their heads about how to sweep the chimneys.

They had to have a diagram...

so that they could be sure which flue connected to which hearth.

They were cleaning the right one!

-So they're all numbered...

-OK.

-..with a key.

-This dates from about 1912, 1915.

-Oh, I see.

So number 71 there would be the Red Library, so you look there

and you think, "Right, I've got my roof plan, that's the one."

It would be a good day to go up and look at the roof for yourself.

I will do, I will do.

'And what better way to get there

'than up the original 16th century stairs?

'Stairs that Elizabeth I might have used.'

Well, no wonder the chimney sweeps were confused! Just look at that!

Without a roof plan,

you wouldn't know what room you were standing above.

'This extraordinary late 16th century roofscape is

'punctuated by a forest of chimneys and banqueting houses.

'The Elizabethans liked to use roofs for recreation,

'and banqueting houses provided a small,

'secluded space containing a fireplace and chairs for relaxing.'

Now put to other uses,

this one actually now contains the bell tower.

But originally this was where you came after dinner,

maybe to take some spices, have a glass of wine, have an intimate

conversation, and, of course, take in these stunning views.

But unfortunately, a little later on,

these banqueting houses gained a rather dubious reputation as

a place of maybe too much privacy, if you know what I mean, wink-wink.

'And privacy was something of an issue.

'Downstairs, the layout of the main reception rooms

'is pretty much the same as it was in the Elizabethan period.

'One opulent room leads directly into another,

'so the most important and richly decorated spaces had to be used

'as a thoroughfare by all family, guests

'and household servants alike.

'This was also true of the most significant room in the house,

'the long gallery.

'An architectural feature that made its appearance

'in grand houses of the Elizabethan era,

'the long gallery soon became the centre of family life.'

Used for entertaining and taking exercise on cold and wet days,

the long gallery was also used for displaying art, and quite

fittingly, the art on display here today brings us full circle.

These beautiful, fragile tapestries are as old as the house.

Dating back to the 16th century, in their day, items like these

were priced more highly and valued more highly than paintings.

And today they are one of the most priceless

and precious artefacts in this magnificent house.

Elizabethan houses like this one were built to enhance

and carry your family's reputation forward for future generations,

and considering all, I think

that upstart John Thynne did a rather splendid job, don't you?

'Back in the formal gardens,

'the good people of Wiltshire are still arriving.

'Let's head over to Michael now,

'whose table is weighed down by a set of three family Bibles.'

If we have a look inside...

that's always promising. We've got a lovely period bookplate.

And that would be for the original owner.

And that's because when they were made,

they were expensive books and you needed a mark of ownership.

So, is that your family crest?

-Have they been in your family for generations?

-I would like

-to claim it, yes, but no.

-No.

-So, how did you come by them?

-My mum's neighbour passed away,

so her daughter was going to throw them in the skip.

-So she saved them from the skip.

-She saved them from the skip.

-And then we was over at my mum's one day...

-Eight years later.

..and she was going to throw them away, so we rescued them again.

And the only reason she didn't was because she couldn't lift them

to chuck them in the bin.

Thank goodness for a nice, heavy volume!

It's very nice, actually.

We've got an inscription here -

William Vigor, 1767.

And if we look at the frontispiece there...

There we go, the Christian's Family Bible - the Old and New Testaments.

And there is the date of publication - 1767.

So Mr Vigor, whoever he was, obviously bought them

absolutely brand-new.

The bindings would have been in absolutely full calf,

fully tooled in gild, the most expensive bindings.

And one factor is, if we leaf through this, it is

always expensive to put illustrations into a book.

It is much easier just to do the plain text.

The artist has to engrave it, it has to be done separately.

And there are lots of illustrations in this book,

lots of lovely engravings. This one,

we've got the Tribute Money from Matthew.

And each one, funnily enough,

is inscribed or dedicated to a different bishop.

Which is a nice touch, with the bishop's arms there.

And then if we turn over, we've got one more there.

And we've got the Wise Men's offering.

I wonder how much they'd offer for these?

Have you decided to sell them so you don't get tempted to put them in the

-skip as well?

-No, we don't want them to get damaged any more.

No, they're quite damaged now.

We just don't like people leafing through them, to be quite honest.

-Condition is an issue.

-Yeah.

Because to restore these books would be more money than

they would be worth once they were restored.

-Yeah.

-People do collect Bibles, particularly in America.

I think that's where these will probably have the best market.

And somewhat depressingly, were they in pristine condition,

we might be looking at many hundreds of pounds.

Because it is a nice early edition.

I think, with all of this damage and staining,

we've got to be realistic and say £50 to £100.

-So, if you are happy, we'll put them into the auction for you.

-Yeah.

The auctioneer will put them on the internet

and the world will see them. That is quite a big market to sell to.

And we'll see if we can catch ourselves a bidder.

Hello, Nick, it's good to see you on this wonderfully sunny, hot day

with your glorious teapot, which I just love.

-What's the history of this one?

-My grandfather on my mother's side

was a captain in the Indian Army.

And in approximately 1904

he was seconded to an expedition into Tibet

with a guy called Colonel Younghusband.

And apparently it was quite a big affair,

and during the course of that expedition,

my grandfather came across this teapot in the Himalayas,

wrapped in paper, in the snow.

-OK!

-And it was then inherited by my mother and when my mother died

I inherited it. So that's the story that I got from my mother.

OK. So he actually just found it wrapped up in the snow?

-Apparently so.

-Wow, OK.

It's so obviously Tibetan. It has a slightly primitive look to it,

-doesn't it?

-Yes, I fear there's a few dents...

-I was really surprised.

-As to its original age, I have absolutely

no idea at all and it's value, I have no idea.

Yeah, well, obviously, he found it in the very days

of the 20th century. It's going to date from the last part

of the 19th century so it probably wasn't that old when he found it.

-Right.

-From my understanding,

cos I think these were actually in fairly ordinary, daily use.

I mean, it wasn't just sitting on the side waiting for high days

and holidays when the family came round. I think they were used daily.

My understanding would be the same.

It's brass and silver, not quite so highly burnished at the moment,

and you very often find with Tibetan items they've got this rather crude

sort of brass embellishment on them.

Makes them look very primitive but I think actually is charming.

I think the story behind it is actually amazing

and within that I'm sure there's a lot more history involved.

You've obviously decided that it's time for it to find a new home?

I think so. I have the story, I have the memories,

-and that's perfectly OK for me.

-No-one can take away the story

and you've got other things that relate to that journey as well.

-Absolutely.

-I think it will sell fine at auction. My feeling is

-probably 80-120, good old auctioneer's estimate, that.

-Mm-hm.

-Does that feel OK with you?

-Yes, I would think so, yes.

-I think a reserve perhaps of £80 with discretion on it.

-Yeah.

But it's a fascinating story

and I'm sure there's an awful lot more behind that.

-But I shall look forward to seeing you at the auction...

-Thank you.

..and watching it fly away.

'A rather humble estimate by Claire, but her instincts about there

'being more to the story and history of the piece are correct.

'Photographs taken during the 1903 British expedition to Tibet

'undertaken by Nick's grandfather

'and led by Colonel Francis Younghusband

'are thought to have depicted Mount Everest to westerners

'for the very first time.

'However, this expedition was effectively a temporary invasion

'by British forces, possibly to counter feared Russian influence.

'And around 3,000 Tibetans are thought to have been killed.

'In terms of associated items, this area requires specialist knowledge.

'But objects connected with the exploration of Tibet, and especially

'this controversial expedition, are very collectable,

'as we'll see later on in the programme.

'But first, while some of our visitors

'are enjoying a bit of shade,

'Dee is putting her best foot forward in the topiary gardens.'

Dee, thank you for bringing this wonderful large snuff box.

Erm, before I tell you anything about it, what do you know?

It's my partner's and apparently it belonged to his great aunt.

It's a very unusual thing for a great aunt to own!

-Was she a snuff box collector, or...?

-No, I think it was part

of a family of three, and that's the largest one.

-Three, all shoes?

-All shoes.

It's certainly one of the largest ones I've seen.

We've basically got a mahogany, solid mahogany body...

-It is mahogany.

-..that's been carved as a lady's shoe.

-Mm-hm.

And then all of this very meticulous detail,

all the seams, the buttoning, the decoration,

-that's all done with little brass pins, and they're nailed in.

-OK.

It's a sort of pique work, which is gold inlaid in tortoiseshell.

Same technique, small pins to form a decorative effect.

So do you think this would have been a table snuff box?

This is a table snuff box,

unless you've got a giant's pocket to put it in.

And you would have it on your table and gentlemen would partake of snuff

at a particular point during the evening.

But we've got a label there, that's interesting.

Stuck on, so it's not period with it, but someone's written,

-"Henry John Perkins, Fox White City Exhibition Circa 1875."

-Yeah.

Had I seen this without that date,

I would have thought it's more likely to be 1840-1850.

But we'll just call it a Victorian snuff box.

Any idea of what the value might be?

We have no idea.

Because the small ones always make £100-£150,

and this is such a big example, it's the biggest one I've seen,

let's say £300-£500 and put a fixed reserve of £300 on it.

Yeah, that'd be good.

And then hopefully we'll see towards the top end.

So if we do particularly well,

any plans for what you'll do with the money?

-We're going on holiday later this year.

-Oh, marvellous.

So we'd use the money to spoil the children...

-Oh, that's brilliant.

-..and be completely frivolous.

-Thank you so much for bringing it in.

-You're welcome.

-Thank you.

Well, there you are, our experts have just made their final choices

of items to take off to the sale room,

so it's time to say farewell to our magnificent host location,

Longleat House in Wiltshire,

but right now we've got some unfinished business to do

in the auction room, and here's a quick recap of all the items

that are going under the hammer.

'These illustrated family Bibles were saved from the skip

not once but twice, so let's hope they find a new home.

'We are all on tenterhooks with this teapot.

'We've seen how the story starts, but where does it end?

'Certainly not with an estimate of £80-120, I can tell you.

'And last but definitely not least, this huge snuff box.

'Let's hope we can raise lots of money for Dee's kids

'to spend on their holiday.'

'It's a full house in the sale room at Devizes,

'and with the atmosphere building, it's time to see

'if the mahogany snuff shoe walks out with a new owner.'

Dee, good luck with the snuff shoe. Absolutely love this.

I wish I did this valuation

and at £300-£400, it's nothing to be sniffed at!

Why are you selling it now?

It just sits in the house. It's not doing any good.

Didn't it inspire you to go out and buy more snuffboxes

and start a little collection?

Because, really, they look great on a shelf or display cabinet.

-It's not my thing.

-Not your thing? Let's see if we can get you

to the top end of that estimate. Here we go.

Very unusual table mull,

in the form of a boot. Lovely thing.

Somewhere around about £400?

400, 3 start me, 2 get me going.

2 I've got. 210? 220. 230...

It's a good start. It's a good start.

250, 260. 270, 280.

3, 310, 320.

At 310?

All going!

Yes, job done, hammer's gone down.

-That was a good valuation.

-That's great, thank you.

-Thank you for bringing it in, as well.

-Lovely.

Going under the hammer right now - a set of three family Bibles

dating back to the late 1700s, belonging to Kim

who's right next to me. Good luck with these.

I know this kind of thing is really hard to sell.

I expect Michael has explained that at the valuation day,

-but I think because of the age...

-The quality...

-..and the quality...

There's a market in America. I mean, they are more valuable

when they're signed by the author,

-but these aren't. But we'll see what we can do.

-But I think they're good,

they're the best I've seen. They're the best I've seen.

If you polish them up, they look very tasty on a bookshelf.

20, get me away?

20, I've got. They're all three of them, remember. 20, I've got. 30.

40. 50. 60.

70? At £60.

-They're gone.

-Yeah.

At £60...

-Sold.

-Yeah.

-Miracles do happen.

That was quite nice.

-I'm pleased they've gone.

-Yeah.

-Tricky thing to sell.

Now, on the preview day at the auction, I caught up with Alan to

have a rather revealing chat about the lot we've all been waiting for.

I think the most intriguing item to turn up at our valuation day

had to be this Tibetan teapot, brought along by Nick,

who had a few other things and some other items at home,

part of a larger collection, that he's since decided to sell.

He's brought them along to the auction room.

I know, Alan, you've done some research.

You've had these for a couple of weeks now.

And it turns out they're part of

-a very significant and important collection.

-Yes.

Talk me through what we've got.

How many lots, and what sort of money's on them?

-OK, starting with the photographs, we've put them into three lots.

-OK.

Because we could have made them an archive.

But it would have made it probably quite an expensive archive.

So, putting them into three lots...

Gives a chance for other people...

Yes. For two or three people to invest in them.

Wonderful items of social history.

They're extremely rare. What do you expect to get for the photographs?

60-odd photos. Something in the region of £2,000-£3,000 per lot.

That's a lot of money, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Were you happy with the teapots at £80?

I tested the teapot. It has a very high silver content.

-So we upped the reserve slightly...

-To?

-£300.

OK, let's look at this little figure. I think she's stunning?

She is absolutely stunning. We tested for silver.

It's a very low-grade silver, if it is silver.

But it's still an important artefact.

There's a hole to test beneath.

So we had to just leave it as "silvered".

But, in terms of her quality, it's absolutely stunning.

-How much do you expect this to fetch?

-She could be a surprise.

We've put a very conservative estimate.

I think she's about £800-£1,200. That's come and buy me with bows on.

Do you have a favourite?

This little fellow here. I think this is so beautifully made.

Condition is superb.

The jewels, turquoise, rock crystals,

and I think one of the fun things, on the back,

and that's all the little skulls wrapped round his shoulders.

-What a jolly little fellow!

-Wow! What do you expect that to do?

-Has there been a lot of interest? Interest from China?

-Yeah.

China, the rest of the world, United States, Canada, Britain.

Conservatively, we put in 12,000-13,000.

-12,000-13,000 alone on this one?

-Yes.

And he is... I think that's a come-and-buy,

I hope it's a come-and-buy.

I can see it doubling, potentially trebling, that figure.

-30,000 for this alone?

-Yeah.

Which puts these at around 20 as well.

So, really, really, we could be looking at...

-We could be rocking and rolling!

-We could be rocking and rolling.

The teapot has turned into, what, £80,000 on a good day?

And I expect you've done a lot of marketing as well.

We've done a fair bit, Paul. It's been in Tibetan newspapers,

Boston Times,

Australian newspapers, Indian newspapers, Himalayan newspapers.

-You name it.

-The list goes on.

-It's been there.

You're a good auctioneer. That's what you have to do.

We really want to make Nick as much money as possible.

That's what we're here to do, isn't it?

'It just goes to show, with pricing antiques,

'it's not just about the item.

'History and provenance can be incredibly important

'in determining value.

'And, as the big moment approached, I had a chat with Nick

'to gauge his feelings on all of these exciting developments.'

-Nick, it's good to see you again.

-And you, Paul.

Boy, that Tibetan teapot has certainly caused a stir!

Were you aware how significant this collection was?

No, in a word. I remember these things

all the way through my life, really, childhood and so on.

My wife was saying to me, "Perhaps you should sort of sell them."

So, she saw the advert for Flog It! at Longleat.

If I hadn't brought along the teapot,

none of these items would have seen the light of day, I don't think.

It's wonderful, documented social history,

an expedition that hardly anybody knew about.

At the preview day yesterday,

there were experts from all over the country,

from every museum you could imagine.

I think these are going to go for a lot of money.

Hopefully, it's going to be a day in your life to remember.

'With the tension mounting in the saleroom,

'Nick's first lot is about to go under the hammer.'

I'm getting excited. I hope you are,

because I think the numbers will add up right now.

Please don't go away. We valued the teapot at Longleat,

which led to the rest of the collection being brought along.

Yeah, that's right, because I spotted the teapot,

and then I understood that Nick had other items,

so I advised him strongly to get them looked at and get some proper

advice on them, because they're so specialised, lovely, lovely, things.

And Alan has done a lot of research.

He's contacted people in Nepal, China, all over the world,

some of the greatest institutions

are going to be on the phone and online.

So fingers crossed.

First lot, start me

somewhere around about £4,000

for this first group of photographs.

-That's punchy!

-£4,000? 3, start me. 2, get me away.

2,000, I'm in. 2,100, 2,200, 2,300,

2,400. 2,500, 2,600.

2,700, 2,700.

They're having to wait for the confirmation on the phone.

3,500 with me.

3,600 anywhere else in the room?

3,650, 3,700. 3,800, back with you.

£3,800. It's taking its time,

because the bidders are making their

minds up, bidding on the phone.

I'm going to be good to you. 3,950.

4,050 with you, Brian.

At 4,050.

Is there 4,100 anywhere else?

At 4,050.

Yes, first lot done, at 4,050. Happy?

That's very good!

OK, here's the second group of photos.

1,500 I've got. 17?

2,300, 2,400, at 2,700, is there anybody else?

-Not bad for 36 photographs!

-No!

'Not bad at all, Nick, and after the single group shot made £250,

'just on its own, the last batch of pictures didn't disappoint.'

17... 2,500.

2,800...

-Suspense.

-3,000.

They've gone.

£3,000! That's fantastic.

'Well, that adds up to £10,000 for the photographs alone.'

This is the first of the figures. Here we go.

1,200, straight in.

-That's good value for money.

-3? 4?

8?

You can wake me up in a minute!

20?

Wow, we're making history here. You are a big part of this. Thank you.

33? 34?

Well, all I can say is thanks to you guys, really.

37? 38?

All going?

'I think we're all bit shocked, and Claire's feeling emotional.'

It hasn't finished. It really hasn't finished.

We're going to have some more.

'The next Tibetan deity went for £1,600,

'and the gilt with epousee panel raised a very healthy £1,800.'

All done.

'But now, what about that very special item

'that started this incredible story?'

This is our teapot.

This was actually where we came in.

This was the beginning of the journey, yes.

Interesting little thing.

I think, probably, £1,200?

1,200, straight in. At 12, I've got.

Oh, fantastic!

Is there 14 anywhere else?

14. 15, 16.

17, 18,

19 is back.

Am I all done at £1,900?

-£1,900.

-That was good for a teapot!

That's brilliant, that's amazing. Well above estimate.

Slightly, slightly, yes!

'And I think we're all very happy about that.'

OK. Now, this is the big one.

This is the one that I know the auction house has been waiting for,

Alan, in particular. He really rates this.

The deity, Mahakala.

Let's say somewhere around about 25,000?

25,000, straight in.

Ho-ho-ho! Big bucks!

At 25 I've got, 26.

26? 27, 28.

35.

-40?

-What's going through your mind right now?

Feels like a dream, really.

Are you totting this up, thinking,

"Gosh, I've got so much money, what am I going to do with it?!"

55, 60.

INAUDIBLE

61. 62.

63, 64, 65.

66?

At 65 here.

For the first time.

For the second time.

At 65,000...

-Done!

-Well!

That is the most expensive item we have ever sold on Flog It!

-in 12 years, yes.

-Really?

You must be so happy!

-Well, it's incredible.

-You must be. Come on, come on. Talk to me.

-It is fantastic, yes. Fantastic.

-You're taking this very calmly.

You should be jumping up and down, now.

Well, my wife will actually do the jumping up and down bit,

but it's actually surreal.

I bet it is.

Because I honestly thought,

maybe a couple of hundred pounds from the teapot, you know?

And the other bits and pieces... A few hundred. If I was lucky.

-It just goes to show you the significance of this collection.

-Absolutely.

'And Nick isn't the only one pleased with this sale.'

Fantastic sale, very, very pleased with it.

The Tibetan things went absolutely beautifully.

The photos and the teapot stayed in the United Kingdom.

One lot went to Europe.

The other lot went to Hong Kong where, hopefully,

it will find its way back to Tibet, where it belongs.

200 I've got, 220. 240, 260.

280, 300. At £300, all going!

We've certainly ended on a real high, here. £118,300.

-That's incredible.

-I know you've got commission to pay on that,

but it's still an awful lot of money. That's a Flog It! best.

-That has just made my year, it really has. It really has.

-Excellent.

What can I say? Sadly, we've run out of time here in Devizes, but see you

next time, and hopefully,

there's going to be many more big surprises. Stay with us.