Derbyshire 6 Flog It!

Welcome to one of my favourite places in the world.

This is one of our oldest and most romantic manor houses,

and one of the most perfect to survive from the Middle Ages.

It gives me great pleasure today to say that this

beautiful manor house is exclusively ours.

Haddon Hall is home to "Flog It!"

THEME MUSIC PLAYS

Haddon Hall in the heart of

the Peak District National Park is very special

and its Grade I listed status reflects its historic importance.

Haddon Hall lives and breathes history.

It's a perfect example of why we should protect our

heritage buildings, and later on in the programme,

I'll be finding out why it is so well preserved.

But first, let's meet our "Flog It!" crowd who've

arrived in their hundreds carrying bags and boxes

full of antiques and treasures from their past

and, of course, before we go inside this beautiful manor house,

there is one question on everybody's lips, which is...?

ALL: What's it worth?!

Stay tuned and you'll find out.

And responsible for uncovering today's treasures

is our lord of the manor, Michael Baggott.

You may pass.

And joining Michael as our lady of the house is none other than

Caroline Hawley.

-You've got a big pocket in there, sir.

-I have, yeah.

-What else is in there?

-It's not very deep! All the money's gone.

-She's spent it all.

-Aw!

And it's time to get everyone inside.

Follow me!

So, with our experts poised, our house guests filing in,

and the "Flog It!" team set up in every room of this

historic manor house, we're ready to unearth items fit for

today's surroundings, and then,

we'll take the best ones off to auction.

But which of these items will fetch

more than double our expert's valuation?

Will it be this Victorian perfume bottle?

This sextant, which has special historical significance?

Or this exquisite ruby and diamond bracelet?

Caroline's first find gives us more than a snapshot of history.

John, what a fabulous collection of stereoscope and slides all of

-the First World War.

-Thank you, Caroline.

-They are fascinating.

Before we go into further detail, tell me how you came by them.

They belonged to my grandfather who used to live in Sheffield

and when I was a young lad I used to visit him and they were all on

display in his display cabinet, and I said to him one day,

"Do you think I might be able to have those one day, Grandad?"

And he said, "I suppose so." So, they were passed down to

my father and then to myself and I've had them about 40 years.

And do you look at them all?

I've looked at them a long time ago, but, regrettably,

I haven't looked at them recently.

Now, this set of cards was made by Underwood & Underwood,

a firm which set up in Kansas in 1881,

and it went right through to 1840,

and they were pioneers in early news photography.

-They really are a lovely collection...

-About 200 in total.

200 in total?

And all in good condition and, tell me, you know how they work?

Yes, I do. You literally put one of the slides in the viewer,

look through the twin aperture there and you put it to your face

and then move the viewer backwards or forwards

until it comes into focus and you see the 3-D image.

Thank you.

Yes, so it starts off with the two pictures

-and as you put it to your eyes, get it into focus...

-It puts them together.

Wow. You could almost be there.

The two pictures merge into one and you have this 3-D effect.

It's incredible! And they're so widely varied.

There's Her Majesty Queen Mary here, visiting the hospital in Hull and

then there's one which is the super one here of the troops

enjoying a bath after a long day's march.

"Crocodiles made the rivers too dangerous."

And they are all in these boxes here which are made to look like books

and a lot of people would own these.

They wouldn't be terribly expensive to buy at the time.

Tell me, why have you decided now is the time to sell them, Tom?

Having had them for about 40 years, I feel that it's

-appropriate for someone else to have a look at them now...

-Yeah.

..and maybe generate interest in schools or colleges who may

not have seen these before.

-To put a value on this is a difficult thing to do.

-It is difficult.

There's a lot of interest in World War I.

-I would put an estimate of between £100 and £150.

-Mm-hm. Mm-hm.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yes, I am, yes.

Right, and we'll see where they go.

That's just over a pound a photo. Surely they've got to be worth that?

And with finds like that, I'm taking the opportunity to see

what else people have in their bags and boxes.

It's all coming in today, isn't it?

Next, Michael with a bevy of beauties.

Charlotte, Vivienne, what can I say?

I've got a table full of semi-clad, naked young ladies.

Um, explain this, immediately. Where did these come from?

-Well, I've collected them over a period of 30, 35 years.

-Right.

And so, from various places.

And what was the appeal in collecting them?

I just thought they were very attractive and elegant.

Yeah, it's quite extraordinary cos you would expect these to be

the sort of remit of the sort of gentleman's library,

the sort of sniggering Edwardian having those probably on a desk

or tucked away somewhere cos they are quite, um...

..quite risque, I mean, Charlotte,

these have been in your house for some time, what do you think of them?

I did find them attractive in the house. They were cute.

I mean, they are made by...some of these are glazed,

some of them are bisque.

The bisque ones are probably by the same manufacturers

they would make the bisque heads for dolls.

Uh, so someone like Heubach.

Uh, the glazed ones would be from any number of

9small Bohemian, Czechoslovakian potteries,

-and they would have been imported into this country and sold.

-Right.

Dating from around 1900 up through about 1920, 1925, this,

probably my favourite, this large figure of a girl reading

a book with a bow in her hair and that's probably 1910 to 1915.

When were you collecting these...?

Years and years ago or recently?

About 30, 35 years ago, um, I haven't...I must have

stopped...probably, 15 to 20 years ago.

And were they still out in the house or where they...?

-Um, I had several out, uh, the rest were just in a box.

-Packed away.

So, "Flog It!" is here today, you thought, "Get the box out!"

That's right.

I'm afraid the market for these sort of figures has sort of gone up

-and then gone down again.

-Passed.

And some of these, the larger bisque ones are quite attractive.

Some of the smaller glazed ones, '20s, '30s, not quite so commercial.

Um, there's always going to be the naughty boy factor at auction,

and you've got a large number of them,

but, I think, to be very cautious, one would say...

£150 maybe up to £300 as a broad estimate

-and fix a reserve at £150 for them.

-Thank you.

Um, so you're going to sell them.

What, if they make a good sum of money, are you going to spend it on?

-I've got eight grandchildren.

-Oh, so...?

-It wouldn't take long!

Well, we've got to at least get 160 for you to get £20 each.

I mean, Charlotte, would you prefer the money or the figurines?

-What's...?

-The money!

-The money! Well, there's your answer, isn't it?

Off to auction we go.

Well, Charlotte was clear about that.

It's a big event here at Haddon today.

Hundreds of people are waiting to get their antiques valued

and, whilst the experts are working away, I want to take a look at some

of Haddon's most prized possessions, and these ones are priceless.

There's a collection of five royal tapestries here in this house

called The Five Senses and there's three of them in this

particular spot and, as you can see, they are incredibly detailed.

This particular one is hearing.

Now, the condition is exceptionally good, considering the age.

These were made in the reign of Charles I, 1630s.

The colour has somewhat faded.

The black that you can see was originally gold thread,

but it's tarnished over the years.

It's the only surviving full set of the five senses,

which makes them incredibly rare and incredibly valuable.

The fires are still roaring

and the valuations are in full swing in the Long Gallery.

And Caroline's eye has been caught by some gleaming jewels.

-Joy, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

And you've brought along this delightful bangle.

Would you like to tell me about it?

-Um, actually, I bought this one in Jaipur in India.

-Yeah.

In 2007, my husband proposed to me...he proposed to me in India.

-Oh, how romantic!

-At the Taj Mahal!

-Oh, how lovely.

And we found a nice engagement ring there and then I saw this bangle.

-As well as your engagement ring?

-Yeah!

-So, I thought, "OK, that's mine."

-Yeah, it's very nice.

-But it's a little bit too dainty for me.

-It's tiny, isn't it?

-It's tiny.

Well, I can get it on easily when I wash my hands with soap,

-so it slides on easily.

-It's 18 carat gold.

-18 carat gold.

-With rubies and diamond.

-55 diamonds in it.

-55 diamonds!

-I haven't counted.

-5 times 11.

-And it's a very Art Deco style.

-It is.

It's a modern style and the lovely cut of the rubies.

Why have you decided now is the time to sell it, Joy?

Well, I don't wear it anymore and I can't be bothered to,

every time with washing my hands,

and with swabs of soap, putting it on, taking it off again...

-Yes, yeah.

-Um, I've got other bangles and I live in them.

-Right.

So, this one can go and make place for the others.

-Right, now, value wise...

-Yes.

This is a lovely bangle and, all things considered,

the 18 carat gold, the rubies, the diamond...I think it should be

-worth between £350 and £550 at auction.

-That's OK, yeah.

But if we put a fixed reserve of £350, is that all right with you?

-Yes, that's OK.

-That's brilliant.

We'll hope for the best

-and what we want is two ladies or three ladies or more...

-All bidding.

-..all mad for it, yeah, bidding for it and then it could really soar.

-OK.

-So, we'll hope for the best and we'll do our best.

-Yeah, wonderful.

-Thanks, Joy.

-Thank you very much.

It's a delightful bracelet with all those rubies

and 55 brilliant cut diamonds.

It should do well.

Everybody is thoroughly enjoying themselves here in this

magnificent room, the Long Gallery.

It is 110ft in length and during the Elizabethan period,

whole families would promenade up and down here taking exercise.

The children would play board games during the winter months.

Right now though, it's time for us to play a game of our very own as

we put our first set of valuations to the test in the auction room.

Will they come up to the mark? Let's find out.

As we make our way over to the saleroom,

here's a quick recap of all the items we're taking with us.

Will the buyers snap up the stereoscopic viewer and photos?

It is possible they might be attracted more to

Vivienne's collection of semi-nude figures.

Or will they both be outshone by the ruby and diamond bracelet?

Just one mile down the road is the village of Rowsley,

part of the Haddon Estate until the 20th century.

It was transformed in the 1860s by the train line, which was built

through the Peak District, creating one of the most

spectacular railways in the country.

Today's sale comes from Bamfords Auction House, built on the

original site of Rowsley Railway Station, designed by

the celebrated architect Sir Joseph Paxton.

Sadly, the railway station is long gone, but let's hope

our experts are on track to hit the top end of their estimate.

Sellers here pay 12.5% plus VAT, so it's always worth

doing your sums and checking for any hidden extra charges.

'Conducting our auction today is "Flog It!" regular James Lewis

'and we're off to a romantic start.'

Going under the hammer right now we have

Joy's diamond and ruby bracelet.

There's a lot of love attached to this little story,

-the Taj Mahal as well.

-Yeah, actually, it's too dainty for me.

OK, and it's something you don't really wear that much.

-No, no, not at all, not at all.

-You're hoping to sell this and

buy something that you will wear.

-That I will wear.

-OK, OK.

-With ruby and diamonds again.

-Let's hope we get that top end, around a £500 mark.

-Yes.

We've got our work cut out,

but anything can happen in an auction room and

-we're going to put it to the test. Good luck.

-Thank you.

Lot number 268 is this very pretty ruby and diamond hoop bangle

with the panels of cushion cut rubies divided by the

brilliant cut diamonds. There it is and I have interest in it.

I can start at £300, 300, 320 now.

320, 350, 380, for you.

380 in the room seated. At 380 and 4 now. 400, sir, 420.

420 for you, 410 if you like. 410 bid, 420, you sure?

At 410, here, to the left is against you down the centre.

All the bidding's stopping in exactly the same spot.

-Oh, don't stop.

-At 410, 420 now.

'It's going, Joy, it's going, isn't it?'

At 410, are your sure? Internet's out.

-Yours.

-It's gone mid-estimate. Good valuation, Caroline. It's gone.

-It's gone!

-It's OK, isn't it?

-It's OK.

-It's OK.

-It's on the way to buying you the next one.

-Yes.

Why hang onto something you don't use? Joy has the right idea.

She can now spend that on something she will wear.

At £70 standing to the left.

Right, this one's going to raise some eyebrows.

Going under the hammer right now, 17 semi-clad, nude figures

belonging to Vivienne and Charlotte who are right next to me.

-This is your collection...

-That's right.

-..built up over, what, 35 years?

-30, 35 years.

-Gosh!

Why have you decided to stop collecting and started to sell?

Well, actually, I stopped collecting some time ago

and they were just packed away in a box like so many people do.

-Yeah, and you don't really want to add to this collection?

-No, no.

-That doesn't really interest you?

-No!

-You'd rather collect something else.

-Yeah.

I think some of them are really nice.

There's a couple I'm not keen on,

but I can understand why you're selling them in a group.

There's a broad mix and the good ones will help the bad ones sell.

-The thing you don't want to do with a collection like this is...

-Split it up.

..break it up, have all the good ones that you really like, sell,

and be left with the ones that you can't sell.

-There's some great figures and a lot of figures.

-Exactly.

Right, and they're going under the hammer right now.

Lot number 373 are these German bisque piano ladies. There we are.

Some naked, some clothed, a very pretty little lot. And I have...

-In good shape.

-I think James is blushing, isn't he?

..130 now, 130, 140, 150, 150, 160, 170...

-'We're finding a buyer.'

-190. 190, 200, 220.

220 has it on the aisle. At 220, gentleman's bid. At 220...

Gentleman's bid, of course.

At 220, any advance? At 220...

£220...

the hammer is going down.

It's gone, it's sold.

-There's a big smile, there's a big smile, Charlotte.

-Yes.

Are you getting the money?

-Well, it's being split between eight of us...

-Is it? Gosh!

There's a lot of you!

Eight grandchildren, so, they're all getting a piece.

Getting a figure each, so to speak.

And the new gentleman owner will be very happy.

And now for an item I have great hopes for.

Going under the hammer right now,

George V's stereoscopic viewer with 200 images belonging to John.

-Pleased to meet you, John.

-Pleased to meet you, Paul.

-And this was grandmother's?

-It was grandfather's.

-Grandfather's,

so you had a lot of fun as a child looking at the images.

-That's correct.

-I bet that was great.

-From a very early age, yes,

-I was fascinated by it.

-Wow.

We had a great time with the valuation, David. Looking at them.

These find markets all over the world, as you know, being

an auctioneer, and we've sold them on the show before and

they exceeded the top estimate by hundreds, so, hopefully,

we can have a surprise today.

We're going to find out right now here in Derbyshire. Here we go.

Lot 749 is the George V stereoscopic viewer and I have one, two,

-three bids on it at 110 to start.

-Wow, straight in.

-Oh, brilliant, brilliant.

-120, 130, 140, do I see?

140, 150, 160, 170, 180.

-Good, brilliant.

-Fantastic.

At 170, 180 now.

At £170, at 170, 180, do I see?

170...

-170.

-Fantastic. Thank you so much, Caroline.

-It's a pleasure.

-Thank you so much, Paul.

-Well done.

-Really delighted with the result.

-Oh, good.

-Thank you so much.

-There's a lot of history there.

-Thank you so much.

At 450.

There you are, that's the end of our first visit to

the auction room today. Some great results and I rather enjoyed that.

Now, we all know how important it is to look after

your antiques and collectibles, but what if

your most important antique happens to be your family home?

Well, I'm going back to Haddon Hall right now to find out how

this 900-year-old house was restored and rescued by one man who

made it his life's work to preserve its heritage.

Beautiful Haddon Hall has the reputation of being

something of a medieval Sleeping Beauty.

It's been a place of romantic pilgrimage for generations

and stepping into this magnificent courtyard,

it really is like stepping back in time.

Just take the windows, for example.

These Gothic pointed ones are the oldest,

dating this part of the hall back to the 13th century.

But, if you look around the courtyard, the square windows,

well, they're more Tudor in style, so they tell us that this

section of the building is a couple of hundred years younger.

And the journey through time continues inside.

And this, the banqueting hall,

would have housed many a great feast during the medieval period.

Huge, great big chunks of pork

and extravagantly baked pies would have lined this single plank

refectory table with the lord

and the lady of the house sitting here with this

tapestry behind them, facing out into the room

so they could see everything coming and going.

There would be another refectory table lined along here and one along

that side where all their guests and servants would sit and dine.

Remember, this was a time in our history before there was such

a thing as upstairs and downstairs.

The servants dined with their masters

and they were all entertained here from the minstrels' gallery.

MINSTREL MUSIC PLAYS

It's so very easy to imagine the hustle and the bustle

of medieval life here.

And there's a very good reason why this magnificent building

is in such good condition.

At the early part of the 18th century, the Manners family

moved out of Haddon Hall, leaving it empty for more than 200 years.

Bizarrely, this neglect was the very thing that preserved

the hall's medieval and Tudor character.

It was as if it slept through the Georgian and Victorian eras.

But although the hall lay dormant for most of that time,

it became very much alive with the imagination of Victorian England.

Popular fiction was full of the story of the 16th century elopement

of the young Dorothy Vernon,

daughter of Haddon Hall with John Manners.

It is thought that Dorothy's father, a Catholic,

disapproved of John Manners because he was a Protestant.

There's was an important union,

because it was their direct descendant,

the 9th Duke of Rutland, who, at the start of the 20th century,

turned the fortunes of the hall around.

But breathing new life back into the house was easier said than done.

Yew trees had rerooted themselves and taken over the gardens.

The roof in the main hall was falling in and there was very

little left in the way of furniture that wasn't completely rotten.

It was a huge undertaking and the restoration was all-encompassing.

And it's here, in this ancient chapel, that the most difficult

and delicate piece of restoration work was carried out.

If you look closely, you can

see images of frescos that adorn these wonderful walls,

but, like many other frescos, during the time of the Reformation,

they were all plastered over and whitewashed.

The Duke employed the foremost expert of the day to restore

these beautiful frescos.

Now, this, the three skeletons, that's a very popular

and poignant 15th century fresco image.

It's there to remind us all of our fate.

The fate of Haddon Hall nowadays rests on

the 9th Duke of Rutland's grandson, Lord Edward Manners,

a great admirer of his grandfather's work.

Tell me about your grandfather's dreams for Haddon Hall.

Well, his dream was really to restore Haddon.

It was just at that tipping point, I think, in the 1920s.

The family basically kept it watertight

and made some repairs on the roof and on the pointing,

but it was basically abandoned for 200 years,

so, it was his life's work and he started restoring this house in 1913.

And finally completed the project in 1934.

He was a man of many interests

and one of his great interests was also archaeology.

He helped Lord Carnarvon excavate Tutankhamun's tombs.

He also recorded each stage of the restoration in volumes

of notebooks which have fantastic photographs in them

and drawings, architect's drawings as well,

which we use to this day for continued restoration projects here.

This must have been an ambitious project at the time.

It was a very ambitious project and he brought in all sorts

of experts to repair and restore, for instance, these Bombay glass windows.

Every single window was taken out and he devised a methodology

for actually making the undulation on the glass on a wooden frame.

-What was he like as a person?

-He was known as quite a serious person.

Reasonably bookish and quite academic,

but he was a fantastic enthusiast.

People loved working with him, so what you see here is a very

authentic view of sort of Tudor and Elizabethan life.

-Yeah, a very honest view as well.

-Yes, quite.

If he hadn't done it then,

then Haddon would definitely be a ruin now.

Time has literally stood still here

and that's thanks to the 9th Duke and his passion for history,

that this place remains a window into life in medieval England

and a modern day marvel.

It's lunch time, and we're taking a break from our valuations to

go back in time with some musical entertainment renaissance style.

Inspired by the professional court music that would have

entertained the great and the good of the 16th and 17th century,

local group Piva are on the bagpipes, the violin,

and the hurdy-gurdy and they even came dressed for the occasion.

From historical wooden instruments to a historical wooden box.

Abigail, Rod, thank you for bringing in this very intriguing box.

Very good.

I love the reveal part of this job.

THEY LAUGH

Good grief!

There we go.

Normally, in a box like this, you'll get lovely scientific instruments

and, of course, here we have a lovely sextant, all blacked out.

Usually, blacked out for military purposes, so it can be used

and not reflected and this in itself is a very interesting instrument.

Is this a family thing? Has it come down through the...?

No, no, I bought it 20-odd years ago

-at an auction in Radford, Nottinghamshire.

-Good grief.

-Yes.

When you bought this,

was there a large catalogue description about its associations?

None whatsoever, no,

-I was after it because I was doing a navigation course at college.

-Oh!

I thought, you know, I should get a sextant just to try it out.

-Good lord!

-So, I was...you know, I bought this one.

This is the first one I bought and I'm very lucky to...

No offence, but talk about dumb luck! That's absolutely brilliant!

-So, you bought this purely for practical use?

-Practical use, yes.

Well, what makes it special is this plaque here in the top.

That's right.

"Sextant used by Lieutenant Commander John Bowman,

"navigator HMS Exeter." Well, there's a familiar name.

"Killed in action, River Plate, 13.12.1939."

River Plate, to anyone that's familiar with good cinema,

-they will have seen The Battle of the River Plate.

-That's right.

-And the re-enactment of the pursuit of the Graf Spee...

-Yes.

..by the various cruisers at the time, one of which was the Exeter.

The marvellous thing is that this sextant saw that engagement.

And that's incredible.

I mean, this is a piece of World War II history that's

-so important that it was brought to life in cinema.

-Yes, that's right.

-Now, I've got one question...does it work?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

-Yes, yes, it works.

It's a lovely instrument, It is actually, I mean,

-ironically, an instrument made in Hamburg.

-Correct.

So, there's a touch of bitter irony there,

but it was retailed in Portsmouth.

I mean, Abigail, what does this do to you as a youngster?

-It's a piece of history, isn't it? Yeah.

-It's enthralling, isn't it?

-And it's lovely to see that people appreciate it.

-Definitely.

And people do appreciate it, they appreciate it for what it is

and for its associations and, of course, that means a value.

Oh, right, yes.

-20 years ago, was it very expensive?

-Well, I paid about £200 for it.

Which, at the time, was a very reasonable price to

-pay for a sextant.

-That's right.

But not with these associations, not at all. Um, that was a snip.

Ooh...why have you decided to sell it now?

-Are you not in naval training, Abigail, or anything? No?

-No!

Her grandfather was though and he was very good.

He taught me how to use it and...

-Oh, so, your grandfather taught you...

-Yeah.

-..how to use it?

-Yeah.

-Oh, that's marvellous. So, no pangs to hold on to it or...?

No, I've got another one which was her grandfather's,

so, I'm quite prepared to let this one go.

Normally, this would be two to three,

but this makes all the difference, it really does.

It's a stab in the dark, because I can't hand on heart tell you

how much difference this will make, but let's say...

-£500 to £800.

-Right.

-And a fixed reserve of £500 on this.

-Yes, I'd go along with that.

You know, I mean, if it goes on for very much more than that,

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised, because it's just

a wonderful piece of history, more than an instrument in fact.

Thank you so much for bringing along something from one

of my favourite films!

-Yes.

-If nothing else, it relates to that.

Well, it's marvellous to see a piece of history like that.

Now, Caroline has found something far more domestic.

-So, welcome, Ron and Liz.

-Thank you.

And thank you very much for bringing this fabulous thing to show me.

-Can you tell me anything about it?

-It was part payment of a job.

Part payment of what sort of a job?

-To do with farming, ploughing or something of that region.

-Yeah?

So, you want to know how much this is worth to know

-if you've got your money's worth for your job.

-True.

Right, OK, well, let's see if I can help you.

First of all, I think it's wonderful.

It's pottery, Staffordshire pottery, and it's encased in silver,

which is made by a very famous London silversmith, William Cummins.

Very good make, so, those are all the plus points that add to it

-beautifully, but, as in life, as always, there are some minuses.

-Yeah.

There's damage. You probably know there's quite a bit of damage.

For instance, the cup here is damaged and if we look at the teapot,

if we lift it up, we can see, at the bottom, it's been riveted

and I like to see rivets, it shows how much somebody's thought about

-the item to rivet it.

-Yeah, yeah.

You don't see it being repaired like that these days, do you?

No, no, absolutely not.

It's various dates...this lovely teapot with

the William Cummins, London silver maker's marks here, 1896.

The various cups and jugs are later and it's been a very, very smart set.

Your average person wouldn't own a set like this and it's all complete.

-Yes.

-You've got four cups, four saucers, the four plates

-and the two serving plates.

-Yes. What would the handle be made of?

Now, this is a wooden handle because it's not heat conductive,

-so you would be able to hold it and pour without getting hot.

-Yes.

-Do you like it?

-I like it, it's pretty, but

-I would never use it for anything.

-It's too fragile to use, really.

-We don't have it out on display or anything, do we?

-It lives in there.

-It lives in that box?

-In the box in the loft.

-Aw!

Why have you decided now is the time to sell it?

-Well, somebody else could maybe appreciate it more.

-Yeah.

Well, I think somebody would really appreciate this.

-And as for value, do you have any idea of value?

-No.

Well, I would think, if we put an estimate at auction of

-£150 to £250 with a fixed reserve of £150.

-Yeah.

-If the pottery was Royal Worcester...

-Yes.

-..that would make a big difference to the price.

-Yes.

-This is just a Staffordshire potter.

-Yeah.

If it was in perfect condition, it would

-make a huge difference to the price.

-Yes.

-Yes.

It could do quite a lot better than that,

-but if we put a fixed reserve of 150, are you happy with that?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-And does that pay you for your job?

-Yes.

Well, that's a relief!

There are antiques and collectibles from all eras here, but no prizes

for guessing the age of the little scent bottle coming up next.

Oriana, thank you so much for bringing this little gem along today.

-All right.

-Lovely little thing.

Before I even begin to tell you about it, you tell me where it came from.

-My father's shed.

-Your father's shed?!

-Yes.

-He actually worked for the refuge...

-Yes.

..many, many years ago,

-and he would make private collections for the council.

-Right.

Um, and I think this is one of the items that he found in his job.

-What? Thrown out?

-Yeah.

-In the rubbish?

-Yeah.

Right, now, following it so far, someone has thrown this out.

-Whoever they may be, they're fools.

-Yeah.

-But your father found it.

Why did he then put it in his shed?

Overspill of things in the house, so they went in the shed.

-It's not very big, is it, Oriana?

-You didn't see the shed.

-There's not more of these in the shed, are there?

-No, no.

Aw! Is it something you've known then, or it is something that's...?

No, I found it three weeks ago.

-And, up until then, no idea...

-Didn't even know it existed.

Oh, that's fantastic.

So, when you discovered it three weeks ago, what did you think?

-Do you think...?

-I actually thought it was a bit of plastic.

Oh, be fair! It's got that plasticy look

because it's trying to imitate ivory.

-Right.

-It's an ivorine porcelain body.

-Well...

-Highlighted in gilt.

-Mm-hm.

And we've got...you know who she is, don't you? Cos it's written...

Queen Victoria, yep.

That's Queen Victoria's young head.

Right.

Um, and we've got the coronation date, 1837,

-and then we've got the Jubilee 1887.

-Right.

-Um, and she didn't look like that in 1887, I can promise you!

-No!

If we look at it, we've got the stopper.

-I mean, isn't that ingenious?

-It is, it's lovely.

Making a silver stopper look like a crown for the Jubilee,

and, if we turn it over...

..flowers, but not just flowers.

-The emblems of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

-Yep.

So, the Empire, basically, and if we look at the bottom here...

-that's what we want to see, Royal Worcester.

-Right, OK.

So, I mean, really, when you see this blush ivory with gilding,

you think it's going to be Worcester,

-but to have a mark as confirmation on the base is rather great.

-Right.

And, surprisingly, for all the places it's been, the bin, the shed,

only a little bit of the gilding has worn off the edges

of the top of the decoration.

-Any idea what it's worth?

-Haven't got a clue.

£20 to £40, would that seem a fair...?

I honestly don't know, haven't got a clue.

We can do a little bit better than that, because it's two things.

-It's a royal commemorative.

-Mm-hm.

-And it's Royal Worcester.

-OK.

So, you get royal commemorative collectors

-bidding against Royal Worcester collectors.

-Right.

And that's not even factoring the scent bottle collectors,

of which there are many.

-Yes.

-Let's put it in at...

-£200 to £300 and let's put a fixed reserve of £200 on it.

-Yes, please.

I mean, they might have made quite a few of them,

-but they haven't all survived.

-No, no.

-And not in lovely condition.

Um, it's an absolute find, but why, after discovering it,

are you selling it now?

Whatever it raises is going towards a headstone for my mum and dad.

Oh, well, that's a very worthy cause, isn't it?

They both recently passed away.

Oh, that's very sad, but,

hopefully that will get you some way to a beautiful headstone for them.

-Yeah.

-If not all the way. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

-You never know.

It is extraordinary what people throw away.

I started this show by saying, "Haddon Hall is one of my

"favourite places in the world, I love it,"

and now I hope you and love it too.

We're off to the auction room now, to put these values to the test

and here's a quick recap of what's coming with us.

What price history? It's up to the bidders to value the sextant now.

Caroline loved the tea set, but will she be the only one?

And will the little perfume bottle do its bit to help Oriana

with the headstone for her parents?

Let's find out.

Welcome back to Bamfords Auction Rooms,

where James Lewis is on the rostrum right now.

Let's catch up with our next owners, Ron and Liz,

as we're about to put the Staffordshire tea service

under the hammer, and here's our expert Caroline.

-Good to see you both again.

-Yes.

Now, you got this tea set as part of a part payment,

-in a way, for a farming job.

-Yes, yes.

-Well, we got a value of £150 to £250.

-There is some damage on it.

There is a bit of damage, but it looks like a lot of lot for

-the money, doesn't it?

-It does. Yeah.

And the silver's beautiful, isn't it? William Cummins' silver. Fabulous.

I think it's about time we found out what it's worth, don't you?

Here it is.

And I can start the bidding at £140, 150 now.

-150, sir...

-Straightaway we're straight in there.

170, 180, and 190 beats it. At 180, very close, 190, now, standing.

At 190 standing, 200, do I see? Coming back, 200, no?

At 190 standing to the right, at 190 you're out online as well. At 190...

All sure? Gavel's raised. 190...

-Yours, sir.

-That was short and sweet, wasn't it!

That chap was determined to have it. He came to buy that.

Well, someone in the room did love it.

180, 190...

Now, let's see what the provenance does for the sextant.

Showing us the right direction now is Rob and Abigail with

the sextant which has been blacked out for military purposes.

We've got a value of £500 to £800 on this,

-and I know Rob has had this for around 30 years.

-That's right.

And why have you decided to sell now?

I don't think I'll be using it again, Paul,

so I hope it goes to somebody that will be using it.

-I think it will go to a military historian.

-Sure.

It is a historical piece, Abigail, what do you think of it?

I think it's a great piece of history,

and it needs to go to somebody who's going to appreciate it and enjoy it.

-Sure.

-And hopefully a collector will.

-Yeah.

We're going to put it to the test right now. Here we go.

The 760, this is the sextant.

And I can start the bidding here at...

well, I've got three bids,

all of them below estimate at £420,

440. 440, 460 do I see?

At 440, 460 now. At £440, I have...

460. Lots of interest,

but all around that area. At £440...

-We've got a fixed reserve of 500, haven't we?

-Mm-hm.

No, it's too much, I think. Sorry.

Lots of bids in the 400s, but it needs to make 500. Not sold.

Oh, well. I would suggest a specialist maritime sale.

It's disappointing. I think all those bids were for it as a sextant.

-Yes.

-But not its history.

-Yes.

And, you know, sometimes we say specialist sales are

the best place to go, and this is so niche,

there's probably only five or ten people in the country that

appreciate what it is and, sadly, we didn't get them here today.

Well, the good news is that after the sale,

Rob was offered £500, which he accepted.

So, the sextant now has a new home.

Earlier, I caught up with auctioneer James Lewis to get his opinion

on our final item, the commemorative Royal Worcester scent bottle.

Will this have the sweet smell of success?

Do you know, actually, James, I quite like that little scent bottle.

-Young Queen Victoria on it, and I know you've sold these before.

-Yeah.

-We've got £200 to £300 on this.

-I think that is almost spot on.

-Yeah.

-I hope to get top end estimate.

-OK.

-They come in various colours.

This is quite a common colour.

They come in slightly brighter ones as well

and they also occasionally have a fleur-de-lis

moulded into the back, and the countries of the commonwealth

-around the outside.

-Right.

Uh, so this is one of two or three different models,

but still, it's a good thing.

And it's lovely to see that crown that hasn't been compressed,

-cos the reppouse is quite thin.

-Yeah, that's a nice thing.

-Well, good luck with that.

-Thank you.

Well, the condition is good, so it's got everything going for it.

And at £200 to £300, it's here to go.

Oriana, why, why, why are you selling this?

This should be a keeper somewhere.

-It should be, but, at the end of the day, it belonged to my father.

-Right.

He recently passed away and I am left with dealing with his estate.

-If it sells, the money is going towards the headstone.

-OK.

It ticks so many boxes.

It does and, right now, it's going under the hammer.

Let's find out what the bidders of the Peak District think. Here we go.

318 is this Royal Worcester commemorative scent bottle.

Let's find out how many phone lines are booked and what's the interest.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 11, 12, 13 bids.

-I thought he wasn't going to stop for a minute!

-Two telephones...

This is going to be a fight. This is going to be enjoyable. Watch this.

This is going to be a classic auction.

-220? 220.

-And the phones are poised as well.

-240, 260.

300, 340, 400, 420. First phone at 420.

460. 500.

-540.

-Wow.

-580.

-Huh!

This is great.

-Hidden treasure.

-Yes.

-600. 650.

At £600, 620 do you want?

-620 second phone. 620.

-(620!)

-650.

680.

680, 700. 750.

750. 800.

850.

-£800.

-It's just one of those moments.

-It's fantastic.

-One more?

-'It is amazing though.

-Yeah.'

820. 820.

It worked at 820 on the phone, "I'm out." 820, gavel's raised. You sure?

At 820 on the telephone...

-820, well done.

-Yes! £820.

-Fantastic result. You're shaking, aren't you?

-Very good...

-for a bit of plastic!

-You're shaking, aren't you?

You thought it was plastic, but there you go. Porcelain at its best.

-Yeah.

-Well, look, I hope you have many more times like this.

It's really, really put a highlight

and a wonderful end spot to our show today from the Peak District.

I hope you've enjoyed the surprise we guaranteed.

You never know what's going to happen in an auction. Keep watching.

So, until next time, from all of us. It's goodbye.