Bedfordshire 31 Flog It!

What a wonderful day for a stroll.

I'm in one of the few remaining formal gardens

of the early part of the 18th century.

And all of this is overlooked by this very impressive,

French-style chateau.

But I'm not on the Continent - I'm actually in Bedfordshire.

This is Wrest Park, home for our valuations for one day.

Welcome to "Flog It!"

For over 600 years, the estate of Wrest Park was home to one

of the leading aristocratic families in the country, the de Greys.

The present house, built in the 1830s

in the 18th-century French style,

provided a sumptuous setting for the family

throughout the Victorian era.

Today it's owned by English Heritage, which is

working hard to restore the house and the three centuries

of English garden design that is Wrest's crowning glory.

MUSIC: Get Lucky by Daft Punk

What could be more fitting than this?

Especially on a day like today, that we hold our valuations outside,

here by the formal gardens,

overlooking these magnificent grounds.

And just look at all these people here, lining the terrace!

Hundreds have turned up from Bedfordshire and beyond,

laden with antiques and collectables,

here to ask our experts that all-important question - which is...

ALL: What's it worth?!

CHEERING

And already feeling at home in this palatial setting

is queen of the collectables,

and everybody's favourite, Anita Manning.

-Hello, Anita.

-Hello, and nice to see you.

I see you every programme you do.

Well, I've got a feeling you're a bit of star.

What, at 91 years old?

-91 years old!

-Yes!

You only look about 23.

And joining the ever-charming Anita

is another lady with enviable pedigree in the antiques world -

Christina Trevanion.

-Hello!

-Hello.

-Who's was that?

-It was dug up from the ground.

-No!

-Yes, I used to dig for Victorian bottles on a very old dump.

-Oh, wow!

Did he disappear every weekend, digging up stuff?

-He did, at one time.

-Was that encouraged or not so much?

I'm quite happy.

We've got plenty of our own digging to do today to uncover

all of those antiques and collectables.

So let's get this show on the road.

There are plenty of seats ready for this eager crowd as they make

their way round the house and down through the formal terraces.

Later on in the show, we'll be finding out about the people

who made Wrest what it is today.

But not before Anita entertains us with her vivid imagination.

Margaret, maybe he lusted after an Alvis car,

and this was the nearest that he could get to them.

And Christina makes a top-class discovery.

This, really, is the creme de la creme

of chess pieces.

But you'll have to wait to see

which of our items gets the most playtime at auction.

50 at the back, and five.

Ooh, ooh, ooh!

Thank you.

-Sold! Karen, that's brilliant news!

-It's amazing.

This little area of the garden that we've taken over

is our research area.

This is where we have off-screen experts working very hard

behind the scenes, finding out about the item and the owner

before they hit the valuation tables,

which is over there, look.

Lights, camera, action - that's where we're going right now,

and we're catching up with Anita Manning,

who's spotted her first item.

I like this little bachelor's tea service.

Can you tell me, where did you get it?

I got it from a car-boot sale.

-Is this a car-boot sale story?

-It is, yes.

Oh, I love it, I love it!

Did you have to pay a lot of money for it?

It was £10, it was in a box with other items.

That was a great bargain for £10. You're obviously an expert.

And it shows you, if you're up there early enough in the morning,

and you're searching and rummaging, you can find good things,

and this is a good thing.

It's called a bachelor's tea service

because it only holds maybe a couple of cups of tea.

And it would have been the service

that a young man would have had his rooms.

Three pieces - a teapot, a sugar and a little milk jug.

Now, it's in quite extravagant pattern.

It's what we call, "in the rococo style."

Did you notice any marks on it,

or were you looking for any marks, Karen?

No, no - I just thought it was a pretty set, and I just liked it.

You've got a good eye.

-This is silver.

-Oh, lovely.

We have on here the lion, which is the assay mark.

We have the crown that tells you it was made in Sheffield.

And we have a little letter date here.

And that tells us the date, 1900.

And we maker's name here.

And this is JD & S - that's Dixon and Sons.

Now, how much is it worth?

-I've no idea.

-It is silver.

I think there's maybe 15oz in it.

And I would like to put an estimate of 80-140 on that.

-Would you be happy to sell it at that price?

-Yes, I would, yes.

-That was a great investment.

-It was, wasn't it?

-For your £10.

Yes, definitely.

And think of all the dosh you'll have to go out and reinvest

-in antiques in your boot sales.

-Yes, definitely.

To get that wonderful buzz from the thrill of the chase.

And from that gleam Anita's eye,

I think it's a thrill she's quite familiar with.

How many people need six pocket watches, do we think?

My dad was a great collector of watches.

Actually, people used to give him watches.

He used to mend them as well.

Where did his interest in pocket watches come from, do you think?

I honestly don't know,

because he actually worked for Vauxhall for 42 years.

And he had ten children,

and I suppose this was his part-time hobby

that he could wander away and just get into.

-Tinkering away in his shed.

-Yeah.

So really, these represent him trying to avoid ten children.

Exactly. THEY LAUGH

We've got six pocket watches.

-A lot of these, unfortunately, have seen better days.

-OK.

We've got quite a few hairline cracks,

we've got some hands missing -

so they do represent a bit of a mishmash, don't they?

-Yes.

-Bless them. The two I think we're going to talk about

which are the most interesting are the central one here,

which is a little ladies' open-face fob watch.

It's got a really sweet little gilt dial, a gilt-decorated dial on it.

-It's very pretty.

-It's really pretty, isn't it?

And I love the fact you've got

the maker's name on there, which is Skarratt and Co, Worcester.

So it's a Worcester maker, and then it's stamped Swiss -

so it's got a Swiss movement in it, which is great.

Swiss movements are really the best of the best.

And this is in silver, possibly silver plate.

We can see... Can you just see on that loop there

where the silver is coming through there?

So I think we've got a silver case and a silver-plated ring there,

or suspension ring.

And the second one is this one, which is a gents' watch.

And if we open it, I always think that pocket watches quite superb

when you get into the movement.

-I mean, look at that, just fabulous.

-It's wonderful, isn't it?

And we've got a maker here, which is Marshall, Sunderland.

So, again, good, British watch. Really lovely thing.

And has got a lovely hallmark on here which tells us it's Victorian.

We've also got a nice movement number on the back there.

And again, a further hallmark in there. Nice little lot.

They certainly represent a good cross-section

of pocket watches and fob watches,

probably towards the late 19th century.

Is there a market for pocket watches at auction? Yes there is.

They do have an intrinsic value,

because they've obviously got the silver cases,

so we have got some value there.

But obviously, it's a bit tricky...

When was the last time you wore a pocket watch?

Well, who does wear them nowadays?

Having said that, I think at auction,

you might be looking at the £80-120 region for them.

I would suggest possibly selling them without reserve,

-if you just wanted to get rid of them.

-Yeah.

But if we put 80-120, then I think it certainly stands a good chance

of selling the group at that, and I'd sell them as one lot.

-One lot, yeah.

-How do you feel about that?

-Yeah, that's great.

-Is that all right?

-Yes, that's fine.

-Super.

-Let's hope they do fly at auction.

-Yep.

MUSIC: It's A Hap-Hap-Happy Day by Joe Loss and his Orchestra

# It's a hap-hap-happy day

# Toodle-oodle oodle-oddle-oodle-ay. #

It's not just the grounds and the formal gardens

we've taken over today.

Just look at this - we've also commandeered

certain parts of the house.

Rooms full of people, all enjoying themselves.

-Having a good time, everyone?

-ALL: Yes!

Well, look - fingers crossed, it could be you, you,

or you going home with lots of money.

You've got a treasure in your bags and boxes -

it's our experts' job to find it.

And that's what we're here to do today.

So, enjoy yourselves and I'll see you later on.

Paul, thank you so much for bringing these textiles along

which are items which are very close to my heart.

They're Paisley shawls, and Paisley is a little town

just outside of Glasgow, where I come from.

Tell me, how did you come by these?

These were inherited by my wife

in 1985 from her father,

who was passed them down by his grandmother.

This type of thing was very popular in Victorian times.

The larger Paisley shawl was used as an overcoat.

When women wore wide-skirted dresses, like crinolines,

or frocks with a bustle at the back, to wear a coat was uncomfortable.

So they would wrap these wonderful Paisley shawls round them,

and it was very fashionable to have a Paisley shawl.

And these patterns, in the main, came from Kashmir.

And there are stories that are told about Paisley textile workers

going down to the south coast of England to wait for the boats

coming in from Kashmir to find the new patterns for Kashmiri shawls

so that they could horse ride all the way back up to Scotland again

and get the latest patterns.

I don't know if that was true or not,

I wasn't around at the time, but I like the idea of it.

Now, there are two different types of shawls here.

This one, with the wonderful traditional pattern.

The pattern is woven into the material.

The pattern is part of the material.

If you look at this one here,

we see that it's a printed design on it.

And, obviously, the difference in cost for the manufacturer

between a woven shawl and a printed shawl was considerable.

So these would have been a cheaper version

of the woven Paisley shawl.

But still very attractive.

And if we look at this one here...

This is a lovely pattern here.

And to tell you the truth, David, it's bang up-to-date.

You know, with the lovely pattern and these marvellous fringes.

I would like to put these to auction with an estimate of, say, £60-80.

Would you - and your wife, of course -

be happy with a valuation at that level?

That's fine.

We'll put a reserve of £50, just to protect them,

but thank you for bringing them along.

-I think they're absolutely lovely.

-Thank you very much indeed.

MUSIC: Love Me Again by John Newman

-Having a good time, everyone?

-ALL: Yes!

Well, we have been working flat out.

And I know everybody's keeping themselves suitably refreshed here

with lots of cups of tea and bottles of water

because the temperature is rising.

But right now, it's going to get even hotter.

We're going to put those first three valuations to the test

in the auction room,

and here's a quick recap of what we're taking with us.

First up, it's that amazing car boot find -

I don't know how you guys do it.

Bought as part of a box lot for a tenner?

I bet Karen will make at least ten times that.

And then there's Yvonne's pocket watches.

Will that tinkering her dad did in the shed pay dividends?

And a lot from Anita's hometown in Paisley.

Will they catch the eye of a trendsetter in the Home Counties?

We're heading a short distance south to Tring in Hertfordshire

for our auction today.

This estate was once owned by the Rothschild family,

who built a private zoological museum here.

Now called the Natural History Museum at Tring,

we visited back in 2009 -

once housing the largest collection of stuffed animals worldwide.

The Rothschilds' influence on this area can still be

seen in the town's unusual symbol -

a zebra.

And another established feature of this town

is Tring Market Auctions,

where our lots will be in the capable hands

of auctioneer Stephen Hearn.

50 at the back, and 5?

5, 80, and 5.

No, 80 has it then.

I sell down. Thank you.

Remember, if you're buying or selling at auction

there is commission to pay.

Here, if you're selling something, it's 15% plus VAT.

So factor that in, won't you? Because it can add up.

At 10, 20 I have.

260, and 70.

At £280, and I'm selling down.

Thank you.

Coming up on the show right now, we have some antique textiles.

Yes, textiles, for the first time in a long time.

And, Paul, you brought them along to the right expert.

Paisley shawls, Glasgow girl, makes sense.

Did you know Anita was going to be there?

-I hoped she was going to be, yes.

-Aw, bless!

-That's sweet.

You're everyone's favourite, aren't you?

-Well, I hope I'm the guys' favourite.

-You are, you are.

Paisley shawls - it's a great bit of Scottish heritage, there.

-The colours are marvellous and vibrant.

-Yes, they are.

-And not a lot of money for three.

-No.

You're looking at around £60, £60-80, fingers crossed.

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

What about those? £60 for them?

£30 for them?

5, 40, 5, 50,

5, 60, 5, 70.

70, I have...

-£70!

-That's good.

£70...

-They've gone, hammer's gone down.

-Yes.

-That's very good, thank you very much indeed.

-Good, spot-on.

Paul seemed pleased with that.

A good, solid, mid-estimate sale there.

£150.

If you want to know the time, ask Yvonne -

she's got six pocket watches. Why are you selling these?

-We're going to put it towards a family get-together.

-Oh, are you?

-Yes.

-How big's the family?

-There's ten of us.

There's ten of you in your family.

And when was the last time you all got together then?

-Must be a few years ago.

-Oh, really?

-Gosh, it's going to be a big moment.

-Big party, I like it.

You'll all fall out after an hour, if it's anything like my family.

Anyway, look - great pocket watches.

Here we go, they're going under the hammer now.

There we are, what about these pocket watches,

where are we going to go on those? 100 for them? 50 for them?

Yes, 50 we're bid then.

60, I have. Are you 70, sir? 80...

Come on, we need more.

-At £90...

-That's more like it.

-Phew!

At 90, I shall sell them then.

They're going down then, you have them for your £90. Thank you.

-Well done. Are you happy?

-I am very happy.

-Good.

That will go towards a lovely get-together.

-Do you think we'll get an invite?

-Could do, you could do, yeah.

-Good party?

-Well, it's a big party.

I'm sure you'll have a great time, Yvonne.

Now, I'm really intrigued to see what happens with Karen's tea set.

£160...

Hopefully, with this next lot,

we're about to turn a £10 car boot find into £100 plus.

That's what were hoping for. Do you still go to car boots?

-Yes, certainly.

-Keen, yeah?

-Rain or shine?

-More or less.

Look, let's see if we can get the top end of that estimate.

150 for it. 100?

£100 for the tea. 110, I'm bid...

That its scrap value.

130, 140. £140, with £50 now.

At 140, you lose it.

There's a new bidder, look. 150.

150, I've got 150. 160.

And 70, and 80, perhaps.

90 now? Yes, 190.

-Karen, that's a fantastic result!

-That's amazing!

220. Sold then at £220 there.

Sold! To the chap over there!

-Karen, that's brilliant news!

-It's amazing.

Ten quid in a car-boot sale.

That's wonderful.

It just goes to show - if you get up early,

-it is out there, isn't it?

-It is, yes.

And having made 22 times her investment,

we'll all be setting our alarm clocks

and heading down to the car-boot sale.

What a great result to round up our first visit to the auction.

Our valuation day venue, Wrest Park, is something of a rarity.

Not only is it a great example of English architecture

in the 18th-century style, but within its grounds,

it contains a collection of statuary of national importance.

To get a better understanding of who the key players were that made Wrest

the place it is today, I decided to have a stroll in the park.

The story starts with Henry Grey,

the 12th Earl of Kent.

A cultured man, he inherited the estate of Wrest in 1702,

and he began to improve the gardens to reflect what

he had seen on his travels through Europe.

He created the great garden, a rare example in England

of a formal woodland garden in the French style.

A series of rides and paths create the structure.

And the paths open out onto clearings

which are populated with monuments and sculpture.

Each opening is intended as a separate event,

a surprise to be happened upon whilst out wandering.

And here is one of Henry Grey's statues.

It's thought to be of his first wife, Jemima,

peacefully reading here in the dappled sunshine.

Henry did well in the court of Queen Anne,

rising to Lord Chamberlain,

despite being disliked by many of his contemporaries.

They christened him Bug, on account of his strong odour and pomposity.

And perhaps confirming their slurs, in 1710,

Henry traded in his office for the title of the Duke of Kent.

And befitting his increased status,

he decided the gardens needed to be even grander.

One notable result is this.

A superb baroque pavilion.

It celebrates Henry Grey's elevation to the dukedom.

And what a statement it makes.

This is absolutely fantastic, just look at the paintwork.

It's trompe l'oeil - trick of the eye.

It gives a wonderful three-dimensional effect,

with these gorgeous Corinthian columns rising up

as this building seems to go through three floors.

It was designed to entertain hunting and fishing parties -

and, of course, also the odd occasional supper party.

In these alcoves would have been tables and chairs.

There's a spiral staircase which goes up to a servants' room

and also another little staircase which goes down to a small basement

where there's a kitchen.

And also down there, believe it or not,

was a two-seater privy.

Not for me, that.

You'd have to know somebody really special to use the loo side-by-side.

But this is absolutely incredible!

I love it, absolutely love it.

After the Duke's death in 1740,

the estate was eventually passed down to his great-granddaughter...

The garden Amabel inherited was densely populated with statues,

mainly lead figures by the leading sculptors of the day.

Amabel, however, was left with the burden

of maintaining a crumbling house.

And in 1809, most of the statues were melted down

to provide lead for the leaking roof -

a decision she soon regretted.

I have here a copy of a letter which is dated 19th March 1809,

obviously in reply to her change of mind.

I'll read a little bit out,

it starts at the bottom of this page.

"I'm sorry to say that most of the images your ladyship wishes

"to have remade have been melted down.

"However, the third Diana at the head of the little canal

"is yet standing.

"I hope it will not be of much consequence

"that the others were inadvertently" -

which has been crossed out - "removed."

I wouldn't like to be in his shoes.

It sounds like her ladyship is a trifle upset.

In turn, the estate was left to Amabel's nephew...

In 1833,

he inherited an outstanding - if depopulated - garden,

which came with an old house in a state of bad repair.

So he decided to demolish it and build a new one.

Unusually for the time, he chose to adopt

an 18th-century French style of architecture,

probably inspired by the great legacy

of the estate's formal gardens,

which had been influenced by French fashions.

Normally with these big houses, the gardens were designed

to compliment the house, but here, it's the other way around.

The house was designed by de Grey to fit the garden.

And what shows that here, more than anything else, is this.

Just take a look.

A magnificent vista if ever there was one.

This is the Countess's sitting-room,

designed by Thomas de Grey for his wife, Henrietta.

It was his intention that no lady should enter the room

without thinking the man who designed such a jewel of a place

would be a sweet man.

By his own account, he was much satisfied with his efforts.

And who can blame him?

From here you can see Thomas, as ever, had the gardens in mind.

The doors here have been aligned with the doors in the conservatory

so the Duchess could sit by the fireside here

and get a clear view of the Italian garden and the walled garden beyond.

And as de Grey himself put it, she could, if she wished,

inspect every dung barrow wheeled in by the head gardener.

So, of course, it wasn't long before Thomas turned his attentions

back to the gardens.

He planted formal terraces and French parterres

to complement his ancestor the Duke of Kent's great garden beyond.

Importantly, he started repopulating the grounds with statues.

He deliberately bought statues that were similar in design

to the ones his ancestors introduced to the gardens,

even though they were out of vogue in his day -

for example, these 18th-century lead statues on the French parterre.

They're by the leading English sculptor John Cheere.

They've been cast in lead so they're hollow on the inside -

listen to this -

and then painted white to imitate marble.

The two nearest the house are pairs of lovers.

Here, we have Venus and Adonis.

It seems fitting that we end with the lovers

because love is the key to Wrest's survival -

the love and the respect shown by de Grey

and those who came after him for the legacy of their forbears.

In doing so, they have left us

with a remarkable heritage to be proud of.

MUSIC: Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera

Back in the fun and the commotion of our valuation area,

people are still flocking to the tables,

keeping our off-screen experts very busy.

Having said that,

the on-screen experts haven't been slacking either.

Very nice.

That's catch up with the ever industrious Christina Trevanion.

-So, Derek, you've bought Lynne today...

-Yes.

Or, Lynne, did you bring Dad?

-I brought Dad.

-You brought Dad, official taxi service.

Official taxi service from Upper Caldecote.

You've brought these lovely rings to show me. Where have they come from?

My late wife had them. She's been passed away two-and-a-half years.

Right, I'm sorry to hear that.

This ring would have been her engagement ring,

which would have been bought in 1958

and if I remember rightly, it cost £25.

£25!

That must have been an extortionate amount of money in 1958.

Well, it was, because my pay at that time in the Air Force

-was four guineas a week...

-Oh, my goodness.

-..so you can tell how valuable it was in that day.

-Absolutely.

And very treasured, I'd imagine.

It is, very sentimental, but the time has come now,

I've no granddaughters to pass the rings on to.

-They're just sitting there.

-Lynne, how do you feel about that?

I think it's the right time.

As Dad said, there's no real need for us to have them,

for me to have them, so I think it's the right time

to hopefully get something from them that we can remember Mum by.

What was mum's name?

-Margaret.

-Margaret.

-Margaret.

-Was it new when you bought it?

-No.

It looks slightly earlier than 1950s.

No, she wanted value for money and she wouldn't buy a new one.

She wanted from a good jewellers, one that was second-hand.

Second-hand. It's very beautiful. It's stamped 18 carat in platinum.

It's got an 18 carat gold hoop here

and it's set in platinum at the top here.

We've got a lovely little central stone,

which I think is about a quarter of a carat,

and then some further little diamond-set shoulders here.

Now, I would say that that's probably 1930s, maybe 1940.

-Definitely not new when she had it.

-No, it was definitely not new.

Where does this one come in to the equation?

That one would have been made in Malay in Malaysia

and that would have been made in 1971 or 1972.

It certainly doesn't look like an English or British style of setting.

It's also stamped 18 carat, it's not hallmarked

so there's no British hallmark on there.

Again, we've got a little diamond solitaire on here

with again some little diamond to the points there.

A bit of a wider band as well

which, again, is quite a 1970s feature that we see.

All in all, two very sweet little rings.

-Are you absolutely sure that now is the right time?

-Yes.

-Yes.

I don't want you to regret selling these

-cos when they're gone, they're gone.

-Mmm.

No, two-and-a-half years has elapsed

and they're just sitting there, doing nothing.

I mean, obviously, I cannot and I would not

put a price on the sentimental value they have attached to them.

I can tell you what that sort of carat stone

and that sort of gold content would make at auction.

I think we're probably looking somewhere in the region of

maybe £150-200 for the two.

-That's quite OK.

-Are you sure?

-Yes, I'm absolutely sure.

-OK.

I think if we put them in at £150-£200

with a reserve of 150, cos I think any less than that...

Yes, I wouldn't let them go for less than that.

No, quite, and I wouldn't want them to go for less than that.

Let's hope we can find something else to remember Margaret by.

MUSIC: Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller

It can be a difficult choice to part with treasured objects.

Let's hope Derek's brave decision pays off at the auction.

For now, I want to take you

to a less well-known part of the grounds here at Wrest Park.

While the valuations are underway on the formal lawn,

I just had to sneak away

because there's something I want to show you and it's in here.

It looks rather unassuming, this space,

but take a look at what's in here.

JAZZY MUSIC

This is English Heritage's new archaeological collections store

at Wrest Park.

It houses over 153,000 historical artefacts

spanning over 2,000 years of English history.

One of the people looking after it all is conservator Beth Stanley.

Beth, I'm pleased to meet you. This is fabulous.

I said on the way in it was extraordinary

-and it really does take your breath away.

-Thank you.

Well, it's over a third of our entire stored collection.

It's taken us over two-and-a-half years to get everything here, once it's been packed and moved.

It took over 80 lorry loads, but now it's here, it's fantastic

cos it means people can see it and experience it for themselves.

Do you mind if I become an excited schoolboy for five minutes

and go and wander off and explore? Can I do that?

Can I go and touch something and say,

"Gosh, this is thousands of years old."

-Please do, just don't get lost.

-Thank you. I'm going that way.

MUSIC: Mercy by Duffy

Look at these chaps. Aren't they fantastic?

They're 19th-century bell jacks.

They're carved in solid oak

and they were taken from the roof of Columbia Market,

a building in Bethnal Green in London which no longer survives.

Thank goodness these guys are here.

MUSIC CONTINUES

Ooh, look at this.

Could you imagine pushing this around the streets of London

in the early 1800s? That's where it was used.

It is portable scaffolding.

Believe it or not, that was used

to change all the light bulbs in Covent Garden.

Look at that - it's a tiny little copper alloy brooch

from the 17th century.

That's a bit of post-mediaeval bling if ever there was some

and this cute little face on it.

This really is a journey through our fascinating history and heritage

and it's all here, in this building.

MUSIC: Jumpin' At The Woodside by Count Basie

Well, I could stay for hours,

but we've got to get cracking with those valuations

and Anita has found an item I'm particularly keen on.

Margaret, welcome to "Flog It!".

You are a woman of style and what you have brought along today,

these wonderful little cocktail sticks, have got bags of style.

Where did you get them?

Well, they were my father's

and he would have had them before the war in the 1930s

but I don't know any more than that.

Uh-huh.

These little sticks are enamelled with the name of Alvis on them.

Now, Alvis was a spectacularly glamorous classic car of the 1930s.

-Yes.

-The 1930s and the Art Deco period, a time of glamour,

a time of travel, a time of speed, a time of luxury

and these little things are describing that period to me.

-Did your dad... Was he interested in motoring?

-Yes, he was.

He did have a sports car and it had raced at Brooklands.

That was obviously before the war and during the war,

obviously, there weren't cars

and then afterwards, he did take an interest in various cars.

Do you know, Margaret, maybe he lusted after an Alvis car

and this was the nearest that he could get to them.

That's right, that's right.

They're in very good condition.

-On the little base here, we have a mark which says silver.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now, on silver items, we're really looking for hallmarks.

-Yeah.

What we would call this is a white metal

and it's quite possibly not silver.

At the top here, we have this enamelled triangle

with the name of Alvis, the name of the car.

They're making me think of the maker Fattorini,

who made good enamelled objects

that was sold in prestigious outlets like Asprey's.

I'm going to put a conservative estimate on these of, say, 25-40.

-Mm-hmm.

-Would you be happy to put them forward at that?

-Yes, yes.

-Let's do it and let's have a bit of fun.

-All right, yes.

-We'll keep our eye open for the bidders.

They might become an accessory to a very stylish couple

-and be used at their cocktail parties.

-Thank you.

I'll come along with my Alvis car.

Alvis toy car.

I'd be very jealous if you did have one, Margaret.

Only 22,000 were made between the '20s and the '60s,

a fraction of which still exists today.

An important part of British manufacturing history,

Alvis was the first company

to mass-produce a front-wheel drive car.

In 2012, we visited its hometown of Coventry

and I got to drive my favourite car of all time,

the TD21 Drophead.

Let's hope the bidders recognise Alvis' individuality and character

when these cocktail sticks hit the saleroom.

Brenda, this looks like a little box of tricks

that you've brought for me here.

Where has it come from?

From my husband. He was given it in lieu for a job when he did some work.

He was a carpenter and joiner...

Oh, OK.

..and he often got gifts given because he was a good craftsman.

Well, that seems quite appropriate

because obviously these have been turned in wood.

We've got boxwood and ebony examples of a chess set.

-Yeah, yes.

-But I believe we've got a bit missing, haven't we?

-Yes, the board.

-The board, exactly. Where's the board gone?

-At home.

-It going to be picked up, apparently. They've arranged it.

-Oh, it is?

Good, so we'll have the board with it as well.

-Do we know whether the board is by the same maker?

-I presume so.

This really is the creme de la creme of chess pieces.

-Yes.

-Do you know anything about the Staunton Chessmen?

-No.

Well, basically, when you think of all the best games boxes,

fitted games boxes of backgammon sets

and every other sort of games compendium that you can think of,

the best of the best was made by Jaques.

He did luckily stamp his works

and we can tell this is Jaques because we've got a lovely stamp

-on the bottom here, which says Jaques London.

-Oh, yes.

-Never noticed it.

-Oh, really?

The immediate thing that I notice when I pick them up

-is how wonderfully heavy they are.

-Yes.

-They're really heavy. They're not going to blow away in a wind.

-Lead weight, I think.

Exactly, yes. They are lead weighted

to make them feel more luxurious, if you like.

Now, I believe that on the earlier pieces,

only the white ones were stamped,

so the fact that the black one is stamped as well

tells us it's maybe a slightly later example.

Early 20th-century, I'd say. They are just fantastic.

-You've got a complete set.

-Yes.

-Were they ever played with?

-Yes.

-Oh, were they?

-Yes, my son and his dad used to play with them.

Why are we selling it?

Because I'm not interested in chess.

I can't play it and I've got so many other things

that, you know, it's just taking up room.

-Perfect, it's the time to sell it.

-Yes, true, yes.

Time to find a home that appreciates it.

Yes, certainly.

At auction, they tend to regularly make in the region of £200-300.

-Yes.

-We'd be looking at entering them into an auction at £200-300

with a reserve of 200, should we need it. Would that be all right?

-Yes, all right, then, yes.

-Is that OK?

-Yes, thank you.

-Super.

-Well, hopefully, there won't be any games played on the day...

-No.

..and we'll get a really good price for them.

Thank you ever so much for bringing them in.

-Shall we have a quick game?

-No, I can't play.

-No board.

-No board!

I think Brenda and Christina might be stumped,

but the rest of us have had plenty of fun and games.

MUSIC: Get Lucky by Daft Punk

Well, what a magnificent day we have had here at Wrest Park.

We've had a wonderful reception from the people of Bedfordshire

so thank you very much.

We've all enjoyed this magnificent historical backdrop

but right now, we have some unfinished business to do

in the auction room.

We're going to put those last valuations to the test

and while we make our way over there,

we're going to leave you with a quick recap of all the items

that go under the hammer as we say goodbye from Wrest Park.

-Bye-bye.

-ALL: Bye.

Winging its way to the saleroom are two diamond rings

that caught Christina's eye...

..and then there are those lovely Alvis cocktail sticks,

a marvellous statement of prewar style and glamour

and finally, there's Brenda's chess set.

Her husband must have been a fine craftsman

to have been gifted this top-of-the-range chess set.

Back amongst the hustle and the bustle of the saleroom,

auctioneer Stephen Hearn is in full swing up on the rostrum.

£150. Thank you.

Up next, it's the jewellery

which belonged to Derek's late wife, Margaret.

Going under the hammer right now, we have two rings

belonging to Derek and he's here with his daughter, Lynne.

Good to see you both. Two good quality rings.

One was an engagement ring.

We were engaged for five months and we were married for 53 years.

-Aw.

-Something to aspire to, isn't it?

53, wonderful... Yes, it is.

-Do you think your wife would put up with you for 53 years?

-No, I don't.

I don't, no, I don't. I hope so!

Anyway, let's put these rings to the test. Here we go.

There we are, two gold rings, they're diamond set ones...

At 150...

160, 70, 80...

90...

190, 200 now...

And 10, yes...

220, 230 and 40...

240 and 50...

And 60, no...?

I'm selling then. They're going down for £250 then.

Thank you.

Yes, the hammer's gone down.

I should say, well, hang on, it's gone, he sold it. £250.

-£250.

-Brilliant.

-That's great.

-That's fantastic. How do you feel?

-I feel great about that.

-Oh, brilliant.

My wife loved "Flog It!" and she would have been thrilled

-to know that her rings were being sold on "Flog It!".

-Oh!

-Aw.

-Anyway, it's been lovely.

-Thank you so much for coming in.

It's been a pleasure to meet you.

'I'm so glad they're happy.

'It was a brave move and clearly the right one for Derek.'

Next up, my favourite lot of the day.

Good luck, Margaret. Fingers crossed. This is your turn.

Those cocktail sticks are going under the hammer

and when I saw the sign of the red triangle,

immediately it went "ding-ding-ding!"

Yes, Alvis - my favourite classic car.

I can't afford one because a fully restored one's around £60,000,

but I could afford the cocktail sticks.

There we go, I could own an Alvis...ish.

Let's put it to the test, shall we?

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

I think we ought to be looking around £50 for these...

50 or 30, are you 20...?

Yes, you're 5, 30...

5, 40, 5...

50, 5...

Yes or no...?

Well, £50, that's good.

No? I sell then, they're going down then for £50...

Thank you.

-Sold, £50.

-Thank you.

I'm not surprised they sold for above the estimate.

There are clearly some bidders here who are Alvis fans, just like me.

Now, it's time for our last lot of the day,

which once belonged to Brenda's husband.

Well, it could be checkmate right now.

Yes, you know what I'm talking about - Brenda's chess set.

I love this. I have a Staunton chess set,

my dad gave me it.

It's early 20th-century, it's exactly the same.

I've got the same box as well. Love it.

-Why are you selling at and do you play?

-No.

My son doesn't either.

-Aw!

-I'd rather let somebody who could use it.

I'm sure.

Do you know, there's plenty of chess collectors out there.

There's people that play it and there's people that collect it.

-Yes.

-We're going to sell it.

Are we going to break £500 for it?

Are we going to break 300? We are.

We got there anyway...

-Oh!

-At 300, we're bid for it...

Thank you very much...

£300 is bid!

And 50, and 80, 380...

400...

And 20, and 50...

480, 500, 520...

550, 550...

Look at this, this is unbelievable.

600, we're bid...

At 600, we've got it...

20, 650...

700 now...

700. Wow!

Really?

£700.

It's going, I sell then...

For £700...

Thank you.

-Oh, fantastic.

-Sold. That is a fantastic moment.

-Gosh.

-What a make, you see, Staunton, that's where the money is.

-It would have been my husband's birthday tomorrow.

-Oh!

-Aw, well, look, it was meant to be, wasn't it?

-Yes, yes.

-It was meant to be.

-£700.

-There is commission to pay, it's 15% plus the VAT.

-Are you pleased?

-Yes, very pleased.

-What a way to end the show.

-700, 700?

-£700.

-Not two to three - 700!

-Yeah, all right.

-Hey, checkmate.

-Yes.

-Absolutely.

I hope you've enjoyed today cos we thoroughly have.

Please join us again soon for many more surprises in the auction room

but from Tring, it's goodbye from all of us.