Gloucester 7 Flog It!

For centuries, Gloucestershire has inspired poets, painters

and composers.

And it was here that an American poet wrote some of the most

frequently quoted lines in all of poetry.

We'll find out which ones later on in the show

but right now, here's a clue.

Flog It! is either this way or that way.

Well, I hope I've chosen the right one. Welcome to the show.

Actually, I'll go this way.

Dominating the landscape is Gloucester Cathedral,

our spectacular venue for today.

Originally built as a church for the Benedictine monks

in the 11th century, it was embellished in the 14th century

with the uniquely British perpendicular style.

Basically, adding panels of fine stone tracery to the Norman walls

resulting in one of the most exquisite

medieval buildings in the country.

Now, you could say we know a thing or two about queues

on Flog It!, but we're in good company here.

Such are the treasures inside the cathedral

that people have been queueing to get in for centuries.

Let's catch up with our experts,

Philip Serrell and Catherine Southon

and eavesdrop on a little of their learned deliberation.

-Any goodies?

-Yeah, they've turned out in their legions, haven't they?

Very interesting items, not quite the norm, which is good.

-Yeah, good old Norm. I always liked Norm.

-You like Norm?

Yeah, he's a good bloke.

Well, one can only hope they are more illuminating at the tables.

Well, I think it's time we let this magnificent crowd go inside,

sit down and hand the proceedings over to our experts.

Let's get valuing. Come on, everybody.

Coming up on the show, we have three beautifully crafted items

which, in their time, would have been in everyday use.

Which one of these treasures will surprise us

by reaching double its estimate?

Copper jelly moulds.

They really were the preserve

of the very best kitchens in the land.

I'm surprised that there's no damage on this at all.

It is absolutely superb on every single side.

Don't be surprised, don't expect it, but don't be surprised

if it just eats into four figures for us.

Stay watching to find out.

Well, with everyone now safely seated

inside this magnificent cathedral, it's time to get started.

And soon, this space will be echoing

to the delighted sounds of reactions from our experts' valuations.

So, without further ado, let's see the first one.

And it's Philip first at the table.

I think these are really lovely, June.

-Thank you.

-Really, really lovely.

Unfortunately, there's an "unfortunately" coming,

they're very much of an age gone by.

Not just in use but in collectability.

And this is from an age when jelly moulds...

-And they weren't just for jelly they were for savouries.

-Yes.

-It was done in some style, wasn't it?

-Aspic and...wonderful.

-And these are mid-19th century, I would think.

-Probably.

And copper jelly moulds or savoury moulds, they really were

the preserve of the very best kitchens in the land, you know?

-If you didn't quite have the quality you'd have had a tin mould.

-Mm-hm.

But you can go into all the great stately homes and they would have

had a wonderful array of copper moulds hanging on the wall.

And this one here, we can tell from the marks, is by Benham & Froud.

-Really?

-And they were sort of, in a way, perhaps one of the Rolls-Royce

-makers copper moulds.

-Really?

-Yeah. And I think they're lovely.

But there's a "but".

And these, now,

are probably making less money than they were 25 years ago.

-What a shame.

-It's a crying shame. Why is that?

Well, I suspect that people don't want to clean them.

It also falls into, what I call, into the stuff category

and young people today don't want stuff.

-No, they don't want memorabilia.

-No, they certainly, certainly don't.

They don't want memories at all.

Question - have you ever made jelly in these?

-When I was smaller, they were used quite often.

-Really?

-Yes.

-And what do you think they're worth now?

-A lot of money.

I think, at auction,

we can put an estimate on these of sort of £60-£90.

And I'd probably put a fixed reserve of £50. How does that sound?

-Wonderful.

-Good.

-It's a good meal out.

-Well, yeah, it might be a meal for two.

-You're coming with me?

Absolutely, yes. Never miss a date.

Oh, dear, Philip. I don't think June meant you.

Now, let's fly over to Catherine's table.

Leslie, the butterfly is symbolic of transformation and elegance

and certainly we've got an elegant piece here.

Where did you get this brooch?

I was given it by my mother-in-law

and it was her mother's before that.

But she wouldn't wear it because she was very plain

and I sort of said,

"Well, look, you've got to wear it." She said, "No, I don't."

So I took it off her hands and wore it a couple of times, two or three.

-But it had to be worn on a plain... Like your dress, plain.

-Right.

But it's been in the drawer for the past...

It hasn't been loved.

..15 years. Well, it's been loved, but it's been in the drawer loved.

Well, it is a showy piece. It shouldn't be in a drawer.

It's there to be worn.

I'm just going to have a look at it cos you said on a dress like mine.

Well, put it on yours, yes.

Because, actually, against the navy,

that really brings out the sapphires that we've got there.

And the diamonds are just sparkling.

We've got a mixture of diamonds here, we've got

some brilliant-cut diamonds and then we've got some old-cut diamonds.

We've got sapphires going down the middle of the butterfly

and then here we've got two pearls which been joined together.

It's unmarked...

..but I would say it's probably 18 carat.

As I'm turning it over, I'm seeing that there's a little hole here.

This probably could have been adapted to be used as a hairpiece.

-Wow, isn't it beautiful?

-What do you think?

-Very nice. Suits you.

So maybe you might reconsider it as a hairpiece.

-No.

-LAUGHTER

You're beyond that.

The date of this is Victorian.

This is late Victorian.

Jewellery with insects on - bees, wasps, butterflies -

-are very popular at auction.

-Uh-huh.

I would probably put an estimate of 1,000-1,500

but it wouldn't surprise me if it made a bit more than that.

-That would be nice.

-It would be very nice.

Let's put it in, anyway, to auction. 1,000-1,500, with a £900 reserve.

Can I put a higher reserve on it?

-What would you like the reserve to be?

-Well, I want the fixed...

I was hoping for about 1,200.

If we put a reserve of 1,200, then we have to increase the estimate

because we can't really put...

-Right, well, can I put it on at 1,000, then?

-£1,000.

-Let's put a reserve of £1,000.

-That would be lovely, Catherine.

And hope it flies away.

Whee!

Well, it's certainly pretty enough to do that.

Now, I have some special people I would like you to meet.

Great historic buildings like this cannot survive

without the help of volunteers and, of course, guides.

And I'm sitting between two right now. And what's your name?

-Susan Hamilton.

-Susan. And...?

-Jaq Hyam.

-Jaq?

Now, that's an unusual name.

Now, you're a well-seasoned guide, aren't you?

-I'm afraid so.

-How many years here?

-Oh, about 18 years.

So you must know every nook and cranny and every nail.

Oh, you'd think so, but every visitor who comes in

seems to point out something that we don't know.

PAUL LAUGHS They've got sharp eyes, I can tell you.

-And how long have you been here?

-Since Tuesday.

Oh, gosh!

-Two days I've been a guide.

-Not long.

-No, not long at all.

-Two days. I did my assessment on Tuesday.

-It's a tough test, is it?

Erm, it's quite a tough test.

You have to go around with the Canon and three experienced guides

and you have to do it within particular timeframe,

you have to include certain things in it, so...

So you have to talk confidently about things

-and know your facts and dates.

-Yes.

And you passed with flying colours? Did she pass with flying colours?

She did, yes, yes.

So we're very happy for her to join our team.

Mind you, of course, she went in for 15 weeks of intensive training.

-15 weeks?!

-15 weeks of training, yes.

-Wow, 15 weeks of training?

-A lot of reading.

-Walking round and being told things.

Oh, do you know? I envy you, really.

Because you will know the heart and soul of this building

-after a few years, won't you?

-Mmm, I will indeed.

-Well, look, good luck, both of you.

-Thank you.

-I know you both love your jobs.

-Yes.

-Yes.

It's a dream place. This is your office.

THEY LAUGH

Another way to brush up on your history is to listen

to our experts as they unlock the stories behind the items here today.

-Nancy, how are you?

-I'm very well, thank you.

-Are you a Gloucester girl?

-No, I'm a Birmingham girl, or a Brummie.

-You're a Brummie?

-Yes.

How did you get down here? Who brought you down here?

Well, we lost our money in Birmingham

-so we thought we could make it in the forest.

-And did you?

-To a degree, yes.

-You did all right? What did you do?

We opened up a... what they called a junk shop.

So, you've got a bit of insider knowledge here, haven't you?

Well, not as much as I would have liked. But, yeah.

And did these come into your antique shop?

Erm, one was an exchange with a very nice lady.

Did a few favours and she wanted a sugar shaker I'd got,

-a cranberry one.

-Yeah.

And I didn't want to charge her for it and she gave me the clock.

Can I just stop you just there for one minute?

The first rule of business, right,

if you're going to run an antique shop, you can't give stuff away.

-Oh, is that right?

-You've got to charge people for things.

-Oh, I see.

-Well, I did, I got the clock.

-You swapped a clock.

-Yes.

I'm not sure about this but my husband had it, I think,

it may have come from his family, I don't know.

So, who dropped it?

I was dusting the mantelpiece and it went...

-SHE MIMICS CLOCK SLIPPING

-Shall we just spin it round?

-Yep.

Now, you can just see there, it's shattered, hasn't it?

And this is a reason why I do not advocate dusting.

Well, I don't very often! Try not to.

I don't believe in housework.

All right, let me just tell you that

they're French and these are carriage clocks

and originally they would have come in a little leather case

with a box and you could open the front of the case.

And so you could still read the time

because it was in its case and, presumably, they're called

carriage clock because you could take them around with you.

And you get all sorts of different carriage clocks,

you can have repeaters, you can have

ones that have got champleve decoration, they're painted.

-These really...

-Common or garden?

Well, I wasn't going to put it quite like that.

I was going to say that these are the bottom rung

in the ladder of carriage clocks.

-But it was worth a sugar shaker.

-Yeah, yeah, absolutely right, yeah.

What were you hoping they're worth? Well, let's turn it round

another way. What was your sugar shaker worth?

At the time... £40, something like that.

£40. Well, that seems like a good number to me, £40.

-Because I was thinking, we put these into auction as one lot.

-Yes.

Because this one's really had it, so they're one lot,

estimate them at £60-£90 and put a reserve on them at £50 for the two.

-That's fine.

-Happy?

-Yes, I'm quite happy.

-Shall we just hope that time flies?

-Yes, obviously.

And now over to Catherine.

This is a real chunky piece you've brought along to Flog It!, Lynn.

Where did you get these scales from?

They actually belonged to my father who's been dead now for 20 years.

They've been in our family for about 47 years.

Right. And where did your father get them from?

He bought them in an auction in Hereford, when we lived in Hereford.

Did he buy them to use or just for a decorative purpose?

Just because he liked them, I think.

Do you know if he paid a lot of money for them?

I was given to understand he paid about £500 for them,

-but I don't know whether that's true or not.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Wow, that's actually quite a lot of money for them,

going back how many years ago?

-47, probably even...

-47 years ago, right.

Because essentially what we've got here

is a set of Victorian parcel scales.

And we have a lovely set of weights here,

ranging from the great big 4lb here right down to the half an ounce.

So this is for your parcels and for your letters.

Thinking about how the Victorians used to use them,

how they used the weights and the measures,

and of course now everything is digitalised.

When we go to the Post Office now,

we just put our parcel onto the scales, they press a few buttons.

Unfortunately, we can't see any names here.

Where it's been cleaned it's been rubbed out.

It has been rubbed out a bit.

And it would be nice to see a maker's name,

but nevertheless they've got a good look about them.

I see quite a lot of scales coming up for auctions,

particularly smaller ones, and they don't make big money.

But this is a really impressive set, and lovely, importantly,

you've got all the pieces there, you've got all the weights,

which is essential. Where is it now?

Just upstairs on a desk and I'm downsizing,

-that's why I want to get rid of it.

-You want to get rid of them?

-Yes.

OK. So you think that your father probably paid around the £500 mark?

They are an excellent example, but I'm a bit concerned

that your father paid that sort of money for them.

-Because I would value them at around £100-£150.

-Right.

So, would you be happy to put them

-back into auction at 100 to 150?

-Yes.

We'll put £100 reserve on, just to make sure they don't go for nothing.

A great example, in good condition,

thank you for bringing them along to Flog It!

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Before we head off to auction, there is something I'd like to show you.

Amongst the cathedral's many treasures

are its stained-glass windows.

There are so many here, everywhere you look, you can spot one.

In fact, there's 154 in total.

I don't know if that's some kind of record, but it is pretty impressive.

The art of stained glass reached its peak during the Middle Ages.

And Gloucester Cathedral

has one of the finest surviving examples in the world.

This is the Great East Window.

And it's extraordinary, not only because of its size,

which is monumental,

but also for the survival

of most of its original pieces of medieval stained glass.

Designed and constructed around 1350,

during the reign of Edward III,

it's survived an astonishing 600 years.

with its intense colour still blazing.

It's an incredibly bold and audacious design.

It literally is a wall of glass bigger than a tennis court.

And it fills that entire wall behind the high altar.

At the time of its installation,

that was the largest window anywhere in the world.

There are several tiers of figures,

starting at the bottom with the noblemen on earth,

rising to Christ and the Virgin Mary,

flanked by the 12 Apostles.

And above, the angels, before rising to Christ in Majesty on the ceiling.

Well, I've decided to come up here

to get a closer look at the stained-glass windows.

And from here, you can really appreciate the techniques

of the medieval craftsmen.

Each window would have been individually handcrafted in the workshop.

They used delicate brushwork with a silver stain

that, once fired, turned yellow.

This window is carefully thought out. It really is.

With white glass or the tinted yellow glass for the figures,

which are the central characters,

surrounded by the dark reds and the dark blues

of the background colours.

It's quite fascinating, it really is.

The majority of the cathedral's stained glass is Victorian,

created during the Gothic Revival of the 19th century.

However, the medieval influence re-emerges in these windows

from the early 20th century.

They're by Christopher Whall,

a key figure in the Arts and Crafts movement.

In the first series is The Fall Of Man from 1899,

which shows the Garden of Eden, rich and bold in colours.

Whall's exquisite painting,

combined with the medieval characteristics

of texture and unevenness in the glass

allow the vibrant colours to glow with an internal brilliance.

They are regarded as some of the finest examples

of glass of the period in England.

And they've been described as

"perfectly medieval and perfectly modern"

which really does sum up, for me,

the whole ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement

Whall's work was hugely influential for many stained-glass artists,

including Tom Denny,

the man responsible for these spectacular windows

in the small side chapel of St Thomas.

The subject overall is praise.

And it explores the idea of praising God

through different parts of Scripture.

So, in the two outer windows, on the left and the right,

there are all sorts of elements and creatures

which come from Psalm 148.

And then, in the central window,

praise becomes something much more personal

and we see Doubting Thomas

realising that it is Christ

and kneeling to worship him.

Why did you choose blue?

I decided that unified colour would allow more freedom.

I felt that the three windows needed to have a sense of movement,

a fluidity between them,

so that they worked together as a whole.

Tom's most recent work is a series of windows

commemorating the life and the work

of Gloucester poet and composer Ivor Gurney.

He not only had the horrors of the First World War to endure,

but he suffered mental depression

and illness throughout his life.

And I've tried to express that tightrope in all of them

but, at the same time, to select a particular poem

that concentrates some aspect of his experience.

So, for example, in this group of four,

there is a sequence, in a sense.

The first, on the left, is a grey-white Somme landscape,

where horses and men slain by the mud

are emerging from a shell hole full of water.

And there's an endless column of figures moving into the distance.

And then the one to the right of that,

with figures walking through the landscape,

that's called To His Love.

"He's gone, and all our plans Are useless indeed.

"We'll walk no more on Cotswold

"Where the sheep feed quietly And take no heed."

So there's that memory.

But then, there's also the horror of a broken body at the bottom.

I mean, what strikes me, at first glance, is the chromatic hue,

that vivid colour.

But once you see that and you lock onto that,

-then you start to explore the narrative, don't you?

-Yes.

I think that's absolutely the essence of stained glass,

that it operates, initially, as colour and light.

So it can be, apparently, a very abstract medium.

But then, I think it's more rewarding if you can then go on

-and take a second sort of phase in your exploration.

-Exactly.

And that's the key to all good art, though, isn't it,

-when you think about it?

-Yeah.

Yes, I think so.

That it deserves more than one look.

Exactly.

We've got our first four items. Now we're taking them off to the sale.

Here's hoping the bidders take a liking to June's

highly decorative Victorian copper moulds.

The butterfly brooch is a symbol of transformation.

Let's hope it transforms into some cash at the saleroom.

And the pair of carriage clocks have damage

and are not of the first order but they could appeal to a repairer.

Lynn is downsizing, so the parcel and letter scale needs a new home.

We travel to the outskirts of another Roman town,

Cirencester, to Moore Allen & Innocent, our auctioneers for today.

The excitement of the saleroom.

Well, as you can see, the sale has just got under way.

Auctioneer Philip Allwood is on the rostrum doing his stuff.

It's down to that man to work wonders

and get top dollar for our lots.

I'm going to catch up with our owners

and we'll get on with our first lot. Don't go away.

Here is our first lot.

Right, now, you could say it's in the balance.

-Oh, very clever!

-Which brings us to the set of a Victorian scales.

Belonging to Lynn. Well, let's see if we can get the top end.

-How's it weighing out?

-It's weighing up.

I think, as scales go, they're not those little...

-No, they're not tiny, are they?

-They're a good set.

One way or another, I think we'll let to the bidders decide.

It's going under the hammer now.

Start me at 100. That would be cheap, wouldn't it? £100.

It would be very cheap.

I'm going to start you here on the book at a mere 55. 55.

We want a lot more than that, don't we?

-60, 65, 70. 75, 80. 85.

-We're getting there.

At 85, how about 90?

-Five. 100.

-Yeah.

-100 on my left. 110 if you like on the net. £100.

On my left at 100.

-Sold, yes, hammer's gone down.

-Sold for 100.

-Are we happy?

-Yeah.

-You didn't want them, did you?

-No, no.

-You weren't downsizing.

£100 is better than nothing.

And £100 is always worth having. But what about our next a lot?

-Nancy, good luck.

-Thank you very much.

You could say time is up, and there's a clue.

Yes, we are selling those two French carriage clocks.

-One's damaged.

-Yes.

-Why are you selling these now?

In case I break the other one. LAUGHTER

-Oh, I see. Thinking ahead, I like that.

-I think she's got dropsy.

Well, hopefully you haven't made a whoopsie on the valuation.

-No, no, no.

-It's going under the hammer right now, this is it.

Two of them, should be 100, really, shouldn't they?

Start me at 50 to get on. 50 for the two. Pretty little one there,

50. £30, then.

At £20 a bid there. At £20, 5 anywhere now?

At £20 at 5, at 25, 30 if you like.

Now, 25, 30. 5, at 40.

5, at 45, 45, 50 now. 50...

-Oh, come on.

-At 45, 50 on the net.

At £50 here. £50, 5. At 55, it's on the net. At 55, 60.

-At £60, 5 anywhere now?

-Come on, come on, come on.

-At 5.

At £70 it's on the net. 5. At 75, 80 now.

All out in the room then at £75.

Are you all sure at 75?

-Oh.

-Gone, £75.

-Yes, I'm happy.

-Good.

-Yes, I'm happy.

-Are you going to miss them?

-No.

-No?

-No.

Well, no regrets there, then.

Well, it's been hidden away sitting in a drawer for a few years now.

I think it's time this one flew away, don't you?

It belongs to Leslie and, yes,

I am talking about that stunning butterfly brooch.

-It is delightful and I'm so pleased that you wore it.

-I did.

-Yes.

-And I bet it looked stunning on you.

-It looked lovely.

You could wear this. Oh, you could wear this.

-I fell in love with it.

-You'd never take it off.

No, I wouldn't. It's just a special piece and it shines.

It's going under the hammer right now, fingers crossed,

please, let it make the top end. Here we go.

Gold butterfly brooch set with a pearl and sapphires.

And set with 64 various diamonds. Who will start me?

Pretty little brooch there. Start me at 1,000, it would be cheap.

1,000?

-1,000.

-He said 1,000 is cheap, and it is cheap.

-Still seems cheap, at £800. At 800, 820 now if you like.

-Come on.

-At £800 I'm bid. At 800. At 820, 850.

-It might...

-850, 850.

-Someone in the room now, come on.

-At 850.

Out on the left at 850. Sure now, then, at 850.

Are you all done then now at 850?

No. Well, thank goodness, thank goodness we put a reserve on it.

-We had to protect that.

-Never mind, I can go back home and wear it.

Yeah, that's what reserves are for. Please, please,

please don't put things into auction without a reserve.

Discuss it with the auctioneer, with the rest of the family,

settle on something that you're happy with and stick to it.

-Yeah, yeah, and it's worth that again.

-Of course it is.

-You can always try wearing it again.

-Well, I could, couldn't I?

And it would look lovely.

Now, for a bit of fun.

Right, now it's wobble, wobble, wobble, jelly on a plate.

Yes, it's those two jelly moulds!

And I'm so pleased you brought those in.

I love them, good Victorian jelly moulds.

-These are quality, aren't they, Philip?

-They're the best.

The best. Did you ever make some jelly with them?

-Many years ago.

-And these are so collectable now.

People just like to buy them,

polish them up and put them on the Welsh Dresser.

They're great dressers, aren't they? Just really good.

Well, fingers crossed you can get a bit of money for these, OK?

-Top end plus a little bit more.

-I hope so. I hope so.

-Should do, shouldn't they?

-I'd like to think so,

I'd like to think you could get 150 quid for these two.

They're going under the hammer right now.

And lot number 200 is the jelly moulds here.

Good pieces, should do well. Where are you going to be?

Start me at 100. Should be 100, really, shouldn't they?

Start me at 100.

50, then. At £50, a bid only of 55.

60, 5, 70, 5,

-80, 5, 90, 5.

-As far as I'm concerned, one's worth 80.

110, 120, 130, 140.

The book's out at 140, 150 now. At 140 in the room now.

140, 150. At 150 on the net, 160.

At 160. 170 now. At 170, 180.

190, now, 180. At £180. 190. 200. At £200, 220 now.

-At £200 on my left.

-That's good, isn't it?

220 now on the net, if you like. At £200.

Brilliant, 200 quid. That's a good result. That's what they're worth.

-That's a lot of jelly that, isn't it?

-It is.

-At 200, are you done?

Yes, fantastic. I'm so happy, you've got to be happy with that.

I'm very happy.

It's probably cost that much to keep them clean all those years.

Well, there were no wobbles there. That was a good result.

Well, that's it, that's our first visit to the saleroom over with.

Done and dusted, three lots under the hammer

and after all that excitement

I need some fresh air, I need a change of scenery.

I need this. Just look at that. The great English countryside.

Now, that hasn't changed, that landscape, for centuries.

In fact, this landscape inspired two poets to gravitate to this area

in the early 1900s to work and write and live.

So while we were in the area filming,

I had the opportunity to find out more about them and their poetry.

For a few brief years before World War I broke out,

a small group of poets and writers

gravitated to this idyllic corner of Gloucestershire

with their families to live, work and write, side by side.

They sought a more peaceful life away from the hustle and bustle

of London, its distractions and high expenses.

They chose to live here on the outskirts of Dymock.

History now refers to them as the Dymock poets.

Among their number was an American, Robert Frost,

and his British friend, Edward Thomas.

They are now recognised as significant poets.

Both their work is to be found in anthologies of best-loved poems.

Which may not have been the case if they had never met.

Now, a lot of you will recognise that poem,

called The Road Not Taken, by the great American poet, Robert Frost,

one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.

What's not so well known is that he moved to England with his family

in 1912 in an attempt to get his poetry recognised and published.

And in 1913, they moved into this small farm-labourer's cottage

to enjoy the quiet country life

and write poetry inspired by the surrounding countryside.

And in 1914, they were joined by his friend,

the other famous Dymock poet I mentioned earlier.

And he moved into that house at the bottom of the field there

with his family where they rented rooms.

Adlestrop, by the English poet Edward Thomas,

captures the English countryside

and a lost way of life before the Great War so successfully

that he's seen by many as the quintessential English poet.

When Robert Frost and Edward Thomas first met in London in 1913

they were both in their 30s.

Thomas, who was earning a living by writing prose,

was in a desperate state of mind,

plagued by depression and feelings of failure.

It was with the American's encouragement

that he found his voice as a poet.

The two men's intense friendship was to change both their lives.

They spent the summer of 1914 walking the fields

and the lanes of Dymock, from dawn to dusk,

talking about everything from marriage, to friendship,

the wildlife, nut most importantly, poetry.

Events in the outside world soon caught up with them

and it was here they heard the terrible news

of Britain's decision to go to war with Germany.

At the time, most people believed the conflict,

although serious, would be over by Christmas time.

No-one knew, least of all the two friends,

how this war would come between them.

Naturally, their thoughts turned to the future and their families.

And together they settled on a plan that would make the lifestyle

they were enjoying at Dymock more permanent.

They would move to America, buy a farm and work, teach,

and, most importantly, write side-by-side.

You can imagine the excitement of the two friends,

discussing the plans.

On the surface, this seemed like the perfect solution,

yet, on reflection, Thomas began to see the cracks.

It would mean leaving his beloved England, his joy, his inspiration,

perhaps for ever.

He'd also begun thinking about enlisting,

again, spurred by his deep love for his country.

Thomas was plagued by indecision and he mentally wrestled

with his two life-changing choices for the months ahead.

Going to war was a daunting prospect for Thomas

and a dramatic incident during a walk with Frost

threw him into a further turmoil.

I met academic Anna Stenning to hear about it.

One evening they were walking back. We think they may have gone

for a walk in the Malvern Hills, and they came back quite late.

They found they were stopped by a gamekeeper

who apparently had been waiting for them.

He made it clear that they weren't allowed to be in the woods

and he suspected them of poaching.

Robert Frost was very annoyed about this, so he decides to walk

with Edward Thomas to the gamekeeper's house,

to follow him there. And wants to fight him.

Then the gamekeeper threatened them with a shotgun.

-So that's when they left.

-Really?

-Yes.

And this incident was something that stuck with Thomas

for a long time, didn't it?

Yeah, I guess it was the first chance he had to be tested -

how would he react to that sort of threat?

So right up until the time he was in the trenches, it haunted him.

He was wondering if he could keep his nerve.

Sure, and I imagine, for the first time in your life,

anybody pointing a gun at you, it would be quite serious

and frightening, wouldn't it? You would remember that.

The incident caused Thomas to doubt his courage.

Would he be able to fight if he signed up?

Just four months later, with the war in Europe raging,

Frost and his family returned to the safety of America.

It's widely believed that Thomas's indecision was

the catalyst for Robert Frost's famous poem, The Road Not Taken.

Thomas had written to Frost telling him about his eagerness

to join him in America, but equally his feelings about enlisting.

And Frost's reply included a poem

with some of the most famous lines in poetry.

Thomas finally made his decision.

Though he yearned to join his friend in America,

the love for his country won out.

He felt he must fight. He enlisted in July 1915.

We can never know what finally changed Edward Thomas's mind

about moving to America and his decision to enlist.

Maybe it was Frost's poem, or his deep sense and love

and connection for his country.

Possibly it could have been a combination of the two.

Edward Thomas died in the Battle of Arras

on Easter Day in 1917.

He was 39.

It was Robert Frost who provided perhaps the most poignant obituary

in a letter of condolence to Thomas's wife, Helen.

"I want to see him to tell him something.

"I want to tell him what I think he'd like to hear from me.

"That he was a poet."

Welcome back to our valuation day here at Gloucester Cathedral.

It's now time to catch up with our experts,

to see what else we can find to take off to auction.

Sue, what a beautiful card case you've brought along

to a beautiful setting, in fact, Gloucester Cathedral.

This is a lovely card case. Tell me a little bit about it.

-Where did you get it?

-It's a family piece.

It's been in the family as long as I can remember,

but I don't know where it came from.

-Do you know if this was ever used in your family?

-Not as far as I know.

Right. OK. So just something that was displayed

or perhaps was it in a drawer?

-In a drawer, more likely.

-Hidden away in a drawer.

Well, I'll just tell you a little bit about it.

Because, essentially, it's an ivory card case.

The ladies would have had this in their handbags

or in their purses when they were visiting places.

They would have had their calling cards inside

and then they would have left one of their calling cards.

It's from the Canton province of China.

The date of this is around circa 1900

and this has all been hand carved.

Now, we have to be very careful, of course, with ivory,

because of the laws.

With this, it is pre-1947, which is the cut-off period.

So it's perfectly legal to sell something like this.

What I love about this is the amount of work that has gone into this.

It is superb. It is very well carved.

I have to tell you, they're not uncommon.

I see these time and time again.

And I'm surprised that there is no damage on this at all,

because if you see there,

you've got little protruding branches and what have you.

None of that has been lifted off, none of it's been broken.

It is absolutely superb on every single side.

And that really helps when we're talking about estimates.

-Have you any ideas on price?

-I haven't really, no.

I imagine it would be worth £100 or more, but...I don't know.

Right, I think you can treble that,

because I think we'd be looking more in the region to £300-£500.

-Really?

-And it wouldn't surprise me if it does

-towards the top end of that.

-It is beautiful.

-It is beautiful.

-Are you having second thoughts now, Sue?

-No, no, I'm not.

-You're happy to let it go?

-I think so.

Shall we put it at 300 to 500, and let's put it at 250 reserve.

-That's fine.

-And let's hope it flies at the auction.

-I'm happy with that.

Thank you very much.

A good example there, with no damage.

Over to Philip now, who has a bit of a surprise.

-It's Ann, isn't it?

-Yes.

You know, out of all the things I thought I was going to see

in Gloucester today, this is not one of them.

-Tell me how you got it.

-Well, I got it from my mother when she died.

I don't know how long she'd had it.

I had her note inside, which said it was French, but beyond that...

-Can have a look?

-Yes, of course.

-Beyond that, I don't know anything about it at all.

-This is gold.

This is tortoiseshell.

And the note to which you referred there is Louis XVI there,

and just here, we've got some French import marks, or maker's marks,

which are around about... I would think...

-1810, 1820, something like that.

-Oh, it's quite old.

Today, this would carry a health warning. But in those days,

snuff-taking was a very, very sophisticated thing to do.

And we've got this miniature scene on the front,

-which is Pierrot and Columbine.

-Oh, right. Yes.

My mother thought it was Gisele, but that's obviously wrong.

No, I think it's Pierrot and Columbine.

He's pining for his broken heart here.

-If you look very carefully just there...

-Oh, yes.

-Can you see you've got a little bit of a...?

-What do you call that?

-Fogging?

-No, no, no, no, that's called a crack.

-Oh, is it?

-Yes, that's worse than foxing.

-That's the word, yes.

No, it's got a crack just down there.

So there's a little bit of damage there

and you've got some little bits of nicks just here and here.

Now, why do you want to sell it?

Like everybody else, it's just sitting in a china cabinet

-and it's stuff.

-"Stuff", I like the word.

Our sort of generation are the last of the stuff collectors.

-Yes.

-And we all bought stuff and we all bought cabinets

to put stuff in, and younger people today don't want stuff, do they?

So now we know what it's made of - gold, tortoiseshell -

-we know when it dates from, which is about 1810, 1820.

-Yes.

We know where it comes from, which is France.

And there's one thing we haven't discussed yet,

which is what it's worth. Have you got any idea what it's worth?

Well, I would like it to be 500, but I don't know whether it is.

Well...

I think we can put an estimate on it of £600-£900.

-Oh, right. Good!

-We'll put a reserve on it of £500.

Now, if you get a really good day in the saleroom

and you get some competition for it, don't be surprised -

don't expect it -

but don't be surprised if it just eats into four figures for us.

-That would be lovely.

-Fingers crossed.

I think it's a lovely thing and thank you for bringing it.

Thank you very much.

That sounded like a nice surprise for Ann, as well.

It is of course now illegal to buy tortoiseshell, but this snuffbox

will be exempt from normal sales controls, as it predates June 1947.

Well, in 13 years of Flog It!

and just shy of 1,000 shows under my belt,

I've seen plenty of collections in my time,

but I haven't seen a collection like this one before.

-Look at that. A collection of matches. What's your name?

-Jill.

Jill, why do you collect matches?

My father collected them and brought them back from places to start with -

he travelled a lot and I travelled a lot -

and I've just picked them up. Hotels, restaurants, wherever.

-So, there's matches from all over the world?

-Yeah.

-Do you display them at home?

-They've just been in the box.

In a big box? It would be nice to sort of mount them

and put them under a glass coffee table.

Wouldn't it?

How many boxes or books of matches have you got?

I counted them the other day - 299.

299.

I'm half tempted to run to the nearest bar,

which is just out there, isn't it? There's some coffee shops out there.

And run back and give you your 300th one.

You don't get them any more, though, you see. Because of the non-smoking.

Who knows, one day, those matchboxes may be as collectable

as snuffboxes are today.

Welcome to Flog It!

Now, we've got Carol and Carol, just to confuse matters.

Now, you've brought along this lovely selection of gold items.

-Who do they belong to?

-My husband.

-Right, OK.

And he's had them for quite some time?

No, his father before him had them for a long time.

He's had them for about seven or eight years, something like that.

So, they've been handed down?

So, you're a friend of the family's?

I'm a friend of Carol and Carol's husband.

And I saw a local advert in the paper to come to Flog It!

So, I tried to persuade Carol to come and it was hard work,

-but she did come.

-So, you didn't want to come along?

I didn't want to be on the TV.

Well, here you are in a wonderful setting

and I bet you're glad you did it?

I'm pleased. I'm glad I did it for Brian, yeah. And for Carol.

So, we've got three items here.

The value isn't the pocket watch, which is what a lot of people

might think, because this is actually gold-plated.

The value is in the Albert chain.

That's the piece that's worth the most.

It's only nine carat gold, but it's a heavy piece.

And the weight is there.

And, unfortunately, a lot of these are sold on scrap value.

And the value of this is around £370 at the moment.

But of course, the price goes up and down.

Now, the sovereign - this is a full sovereign.

The mount is nine carat gold and the sovereign

dates from 1912, the sinking of the Titanic, which is interesting.

Now, these pocket watches by Waltham -

American pocket watches -

these were mass produced. Any ideas on price of this one?

I would say £200.

£200? Really?

No, more like 80.

About 80. You're closer. £20.

About £20, £30. I know.

But sadly, so many of these were produced and it's gold-plated.

Not great value.

So, we've got about £20, we've got about £200

and we've got about £370.

But of course, this is the scrap value.

We've got to think about auction price.

So, I think, estimate wise, we're looking at about 450 to 550.

-How does that sound?

-I think Brian would be pleased with that, yeah.

-Would Brian be happy?

-I think so.

-What do you think about...?

I would definitely second that. He would be happy.

-Are you happy to take them off to auction?

-Yes.

-Lovely. Fantastic.

-I'll see you both there.

-Lovely.

That was a good item. There is very little as reliable as gold.

Now, let's see what Philip has unearthed.

-Susan, how are you?

-I'm fine, thank you.

-And this is?

-This is my daughter Juliet.

-Right. So, whose is the painting?

The painting is mine.

But the money is going to help Juliet with her travelling

-and university.

-Juliet, do you like this?

It's interesting.

That's "interesting". I'll have to remember that.

-It's a nice artwork, but not my thing.

-It's not your thing.

-No.

How old do you think it is?

I'd say...100 years?

It might be a little bit earlier than that.

It's by this man called William Langley.

And I say this man called William Langley

because I've seen lots of work by William Langley,

but there's a school of thought that says William Langley never existed.

-Really?

-And he was actually a pseudonym for a man called Sherring.

-Ah.

-And his work is always either beach scenes

or these sort of almost made-up Welsh mountain landscapes.

-Yes.

-OK. And...

..this is a painting that's sort of so out of vogue,

it's sort of our generation but not your generation.

-Yeah.

-The heyday of this would have been in the 1970s.

It's what I call the rum baba and Black Forest gateau era, you know?

And this painting then could have made, in good order,

around perhaps £200-£400.

The issues with it today, it needs a jolly good clean under the glass.

-Can you see this blooming here?

-Yeah.

All right? So, that needs sorting out.

If you wanted to present this at an antique fair or in a gallery,

you'd need to sort the frame out.

And that could cost you £100.

It's on canvas... Let me just...

The canvas is a little bit slack,

which means it might need restretching.

So, we've got a work by William Langley,

an original oil painting, who might actually be our friend Mr Sherring.

-Right.

-It's painted at the back end of the 19th century,

it's a Welsh mountain landscape.

Um...what's it worth? Have you got any idea?

-Well...

-Or have you had any comparables as its value?

Well, about 30 years ago I was told it was worth

the price of a three-piece suite.

So I took that to mean £600, £700-ish.

I think it's probably now the price of a second-hand three-piece suite.

-Right.

-OK? And in auction today,

I would see this making somewhere between probably £50 and £150.

-OK.

-So it's not going to be the longest trip you're going to go on,

-but it might contribute to something else.

-Yeah.

-Are you happy to put that into auction?

-I am, yeah.

Well, let's keep our fingers crossed and hope we can find

a couple of people who really fall in love with it.

That would be wonderful.

What a fantastic day we have had here!

Everybody has thoroughly enjoyed themselves

and we've found some cracking gems.

But sadly, it's time to say goodbye to Gloucester Cathedral,

our magnificent host location,

as we head over to auction room for the very last time.

And I've got my favourites, you've probably got yours,

but right now, it's going to be down to the bidders to decide.

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

Surely someone will snap up the ivory card case?

The workmanship is so exquisite.

Ann's snuffbox is just that little bit out of the ordinary,

so the collectors should be interested.

There's a pretty picture in there somewhere, it just needs some TLC.

But at that price, it's a good investment.

And if ever there was a sure bet,

a collection of gold items has to be it.

Back to Cirencester and the thrills and the spills of the saleroom.

The commission here at Moore, Allan & Innocent is 15%, plus VAT.

And our auctioneer is Philip Allwood.

Going under the hammer right now,

we have a Chinese carved ivory card case.

It predates 1947, it's legal to sell

and it's going under the hammer right now.

We don't have owner, Sue, but we do have Sue's best friend, Dawn.

-Hello, Dawn.

-Hello.

-So how long have you known each other?

Oh, gosh. Quite a few years.

You were at the valuation day,

so you saw the whole process going through.

You're going to see it through to the end.

-So do you know much about this item?

-I don't, no. I don't, to be honest.

Real quality. The carving's superb.

The carving is absolutely superb, but the good thing about this one

is it's in the great condition. Nothing's broken off,

so we've got a good example here.

-Needs no restoration. Ready to go.

-Absolutely.

-OK.

Let's find out what the bidders think, shall we?

It's going under the hammer now.

Carved ivory card case there. Good quality, well-carved piece.

What are you going to bid for that? Who'll start me?

Is that 300 to get on? 300?

Start me 200... 150?

It's 150 bid there. Thank you, 150.

At 150 here. 160 now, 160 on the net.

-170.

-It should take off.

180. At 180. 190.

-It's got to.

-200 now. At 190...200.

220. At 220.

240 now. 220 in the room. 240.

At 240. 260 now, sir?

At 260. At 260. 280 now.

-We've sold it, but we'd like a bit more, please.

-At 280...

At £280. It's on the net at 280.

-280 now.

-On the net at £280.

You sure? At 280...

-Hammer's gone down. £280.

-Oh, she'll be pleased.

-She will be pleased.

-Are you going to ring her up as soon as you get home?

-Well, yes.

As soon as you get in the car?

Well, I'll give her a call on the mobile, yes.

She was so disappointed she couldn't be here. She will be pleased.

Well, at least Sue got a good result.

Now for something from the Continent.

Well, I've just been joined by Ann, and going under the hammer

right now, we've got that lovely 19th-century French snuffbox.

It's beautiful. It's gold with that wonderful portrait.

I think it's a bit of fun.

It's a quality lot and it's got a few issues,

-but I know Philip's had a good look at it.

-Fingers crossed.

-Yes.

Here we go. We're putting it under the hammer now.

French gold-mounted tortoiseshell snuffbox with the painted top there.

Super piece. For my money, the best piece in the sale.

-Where are we going to be with this?

-There, the auctioneer said

the best thing in the sale then.

Should be 1,000. Start me 500.

Well, I can start you on the book here at 500. At £500 here. At £500.

520. At 520. At 520. In the room now at 520.

550 now. At 520 my on left.

At 520. 550, if you like.

At 520. On my left here at 520.

550 anywhere?

At 520, the book's out. At 520...

At £520, it's selling on my left. Make no mistake.

At £520, selling in the room. At 520, are you all sure?

Gone, 520.

None so strange as auctions.

Even the auctioneer, even Philip is

slightly confused up on the rostrum there.

There was just no-one else there to bid

and someone just left a random bid of £500 on the book.

One guy in the room, one more bid 520, gets it.

If there was someone to bid against that guy over there,

he probably would have gone up to...

There's an expression in this business - if the only thing you've

-got to apologise for is the price, you're all right.

-Yes.

The problem with that is commission.

And I think that, perfect, you could name your price.

-Sure, because then someone can't...

-You've got to take a price.

That's true in this business. Condition is everything.

With me right now I have Susan and Juliet and our expert Philip

and we have something for you fine art lovers.

It's an oil and it's by William Langley

who specialises in landscapes, and I think this should go.

Philip is slightly nervous, I think he's a bit nervous on this one.

Look, you pitched it right, Philip.

-I don't see how it can't sell and sell quite well, actually.

-No.

Famous last words.

OK, right, it's tough being an expert, you know.

Let's put it to the test, here we go.

And lot number 470. The William Langley, the river landscape.

Start me at 50. £50 to get on.

£30 then. At £30 a bid there.

£30. Five anywhere now? 35, 40. 45, 50.

55, 60 at £60.

Five if you like, sir? At £60. Five. 70. At £70.

Five if you like. Now at £70.

Five on the net. At 75 now. At 75, 80 now.

At £75, you're out in the room now. At 75 here.

All out in the room then, are you all done?

-It's not going to get you a three-piece suite, is it?

-No.

-No.

But it's sold, £75, spot-on, Philip.

Someone got a bargain,

but it will cost a bit to bring it fully back to life.

Now, time to meet two friends.

I've just been joined by Catherine, our expert, and the Carols!

I'm surrounded by summer frocks, it looks fantastic, doesn't it?

And the heat is rising in here.

I tell you what, it's going to get rather exciting right now,

because your lot is going under the hammer.

There's a lot of gold here.

You'd get a Cilla Black, so you'd get a lorra lot.

You've got a lorra lot, don't you? You really do.

Right, we're going to put this to the test. Fingers crossed.

These will sell, won't they?

The Waltham pocket watch with the Albert watch chain there

and the 1912 gold sovereign.

Start me, 500 would be cheap.

500.

400 to get on? Yes, 400, a bid there. At 400.

At £400, going to be cheap at 400.

400. Scrap money. Looking at 400.

-At 400.

-It's valued 500.

At 420. At 420. 440 anywhere?

At 440 here. At 440. 460.

480.

At 480, right in front of me. At 480, 500 now?

At 480, it's selling right in front of me, then.

All...? 500!

-Yes, thank you.

-Yes.

520 if you like, sir? 520.

At 520. At £520, still right in front of me, then.

You're out, on the net. At 520...all done.

That's a good price, because someone's got

to pay commission on that anyway.

-520, that's good scrap value.

-Good, good.

-You're going home happy?

-Yeah.

An auction is a fantastic experience.

You never know what's going to happen.

Well, that's it. It's all over for our owners.

We put those values to the test.

We let the market decide and now we know what they're worth.

And that was a tough day. All credit to our experts,

because it's not easy putting a value on an antique.

But everybody went home happy and that's what it's all about.

Job done. I hope you've enjoyed the show.

See you again for many more surprises.

But from here, from Cirencester,

with Philip Allwood on the rostrum, it's goodbye.