Ragley Hall 6 Flog It!

Today, we're in Warwickshire, at Ragley Hall,

ragley meaning the Old English word for rubbish dump.

But any hint of rubbish is long gone today.

Look what we have now - a magnificent Palladian house

full of some of the finest things from all over the world

that money can buy. Welcome to "Flog It!"

Ragley Hall contains all manner of wonderful things.

A list of the makers names reads like an auctioneer's catalogue.

Mirrors and furniture by Chippendale.

The finest Bow in Chinese porcelain.

Glass and silver by Paul Storr.

And I haven't even mentioned the paintings yet.

It's like being a child in a sweet shop.

Later on, by contrast, I'll be looking at an exhibition

of art which is much more everyday but equally as intriguing.

But we'll come back to that in a bit

because there's a long queue forming at the front of the house.

The weather may be a bit below par,

but it's great to see it hasn't put a dampener on anyone's spirits.

-Good morning, everyone. ALL:

-Morning!

Thank you so much for turning up because without you,

we would not have a show.

Hundreds of people here,

laden with antiques and collectibles.

And they've come from Warwickshire and beyond to see our experts.

And I can guarantee one or two real treasures today.

And hopefully, one or two of you - it could be you, you, you or you -

going home with a small fortune.

Of course, if they're happy with their valuation...

-What are you going to do? ALL:

-"Flog It!"

And already in the queue, searching for the top items to take to

auction, are our discerning antiques experts, Christina Trevanion...

What have we got in here, ladies?

Right, we have the most unusual Carlton Ware I've ever seen.

-It is unusual.

-With the hanged man inside.

-It's really...

-It's horrible.

-..awful.

-It's my grandad's.

..and Charlie Ross.

-You brought some frozen food for us, have you?

-Not quite.

What have you got in there, herrings?

Salmon? Good Lord!

-So where has this lot come from?

-We found it in Devon.

Cor, you didn't buy that in Devon.

-That's not the Devon pottery that I know and love.

-No.

So, let's get on with the matter at hand.

This is the Great Hall, where the cameras have started rolling,

under the gaze of the great and the good,

including the Prince Regent, no less.

And there's plenty to look at.

Christina has a back-breaking job on her hands.

-Made of...bronze!

-Yes!

Charlie has the measure of one of our owners.

-14-1.

-Ah, very good.

Fantastic. Well, I shall saddle you up and ride off.

And I'm overwhelmed by the sheer scale of things.

The biggest teapot I've ever seen in my life there.

-Having a good time, everyone? ALL:

-Yes!

-Yes!

Well, look, waive to the camera, you're all on telly.

We've set up our valuation tables in the finest room in the building,

with the most wonderful Baroque plasterwork.

Just look at this, designed by James Gibb in 1750.

Also we have the goddess Minerva up there. We have the symbol of war

over this fireplace and the symbol of peace over the other fireplace.

But right now, we have the perfect setting for you -

peace and harmony -

with our first valuation with the gorgeous Christina Trevanion.

And she's just over there.

Bernadette, how on earth did you bring this into us?

Did you have some sort of crane to lift it in?

-Well, I put it in the back of the car to start with.

-Yeah.

-Then I lifted it out and put it into the buggy.

-Oh, my goodness!

-And you've wielded here?

-Yes.

You are a strong lady, cos that is jolly heavy, isn't it?

-I know, yes.

-My goodness. So, where did you get it from?

Well, my father used to go to house sales back in the '50s and '60s,

and he came back with this.

So what do you think inspired him to come back with this?

-There was a palm tree in it.

-Oh, right!

A big palm tree, massive palm tree.

And the jardiniere has outlived the palm tree, I assume.

-Oh, years ago, yes.

-Oh, really?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-But that's exactly what it was used for.

-Oh, yes.

-Originally.

-Basically, it is Japanese.

-Yes.

-OK.

The reason we know it's Japanese is that

if you look at this wonderfully magnificent dragon...

-Yeah, all these dragons.

-If we look at his claws...

Let's just count them. So how many claws has he got there?

-Three.

-Three claws.

-Now, if he were Chinese, he would have four claws.

-Oh, right.

OK? So Japanese dragons have three claws.

-So that's how we know he's Japanese.

-Wow.

-Also by the style of it.

Now, I would say that he probably dates to the end

-of the 19th century, so 1880 to 1900.

-Yeah.

-Fantastic thing.

And I personally love this dragon.

I mean, full of symbolism -

they were signs of happiness, good health, wealth.

And it's just fantastic. Really, really lovely quality thing.

And obviously, made of...bronze!

-Which is jolly heavy.

-Yes.

Now, it's the kind of thing that would sell well at auction.

Japanese works of art are not selling as well as Chinese works.

-No.

-Chinese works of art are really very popular.

-Yes.

But nonetheless, it's incredibly attractive, it's very well made.

The only downside to it would be there wouldn't be that many people

who would be able to accommodate it.

So I think for that reason, I'm going to scale back

the estimate slightly.

If this came into my saleroom, I would say, at auction,

we'd be looking at putting about £150 to £250 on it.

-And I think that is a sensible auction estimate.

-Yes.

-Would you like to sell it at that?

-Oh, yes.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

So I think we would want to put what we call a discretionary reserve

-of 150 on it.

-Yeah.

-You're hoping to go on holiday.

-Yes. And I thought of going to Greece.

Oh, lovely.

Let's hope that we can get you part of the way there.

Get me some of the money.

And let's look forward to a successful auction for you.

Thanks so much for taking the effort to bring it in.

Yes, that shows real dedication.

And now over to the Red Saloon, and Charlie has found something musical.

-I'm so thrilled you brought this along.

-Good.

-I love a bit of music.

-All right.

-Look at that.

Now, you know exactly what you brought along, don't you?

-Yes, a phonograph.

-A phonograph. By who?

-Edison.

-Thomas Edison.

-Yes.

-Yes.

Well, he invented the phonograph in about 1875, 1880.

This is a model which is the Edison Standard,

-quite a big size, from about 1905, 1910.

-I did wonder, yes.

-Have you ever had it working?

-Yes, but not for number of years.

-How long?

-Probably 15 years.

Well, it's anybody's guess as to whether it still works,

-but we're going to try. You've brought some music along.

-Yes.

Where are your musical tastes?

-SHE LAUGHS

-Spill it. Rock and roll.

Oh, I'm afraid...

I'm afraid this is a little pre-rock and roll, my darling.

Ah!

-Private airs from The Pirates Of Penzance.

-Right!

-Do you know The Pirates Of Penzance?

-Not really.

Unfortunately, but fortunately for me, I know The Pirates Of Penzance,

-so if it doesn't work, I shall sing it to you.

-Wonderful.

Now, they are quite simple to work. You wind the handle here.

It's on a spring, so it is spring operated.

-I think it's already been wound a bit.

-OK.

-And we've got here...

-The magic horn.

-HE TOOTS THE HORN

The magic horn.

-Which I believe to be original, of the period.

-Yes.

Which slides onto here.

Except in this case, it doesn't.

-You're missing a bit.

-Yes, probably.

Where is your rubber sleeve?

The rubber sleeve has probably perished.

Hm. Always a problem.

But I'm sure we can get over that problem by holding

-it in position and hope that it works.

-Yes, all right.

-OK? Right.

We reach for The Pirates Of Penzance.

That fits on rather nicely.

We get that locked onto the cylinder,

which will hold it in position.

-Yes.

-Drop that onto there. So here we go.

MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY

Shh!

MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY

# For he is a pirate king, he is

# Hurrah for the pirate king

# And it is, it is a glorious thing

# To be a pirate king

# It is, hurrah, for a pirate king

# Hurrah for the pirate king! #

-Marvellous, it works!

-Wonderful.

-You see? Wasn't that wonderful?

-THEY APPLAUD

-Thank you very much.

-Wonderful.

-What a voice!

Splendid!

Well, I couldn't have believed it could have worked as well as that.

Now, value.

They don't make as much money as they used to.

I think people have realised that actually the company made

a lot more than they thought.

-It is in splendid working order.

-Yes.

-You have some cylinders.

I can't believe it's worth less than £100,

so I think the safe estimate here is £100 to £200.

-Put a reserve of 100 on it.

-Yes, all right.

So are you happy to put it into auction?

-Yes, certainly.

-I think it's splendid.

It's a great bit of social history, isn't it?

Imagine retiring after supper, into the drawing room...

-And listening.

-..and playing The Pirates Of Penzance.

-Yes.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

And on that note, it's a good time

to see a little more of this fabulous house.

Away from all the crowds of people and the valuations, there is

one room the general public haven't seen today,

and it's this room - the dining room.

It's a lovely room, actually. It's fit for a state banquet.

This room is north-facing, it's quite cold.

So it's been cheered up with this lovely sunshine yellow colour

on all the walls.

It really does warm it up. It's a joy to be in.

Now, during the Second World War, like many grand country houses,

this place was used as a war hospital.

And this room, in fact, was used as an entertainment room.

And believe me, they did have fun in this room.

So all the furniture, the silver, the cutlery, the glass,

the artwork was packed away carefully and stored in the attic

because they played cricket in here, football, they even played darts.

And after the war,

when the room was handed back, the walls had to be patched up.

There were holes everywhere. It's a lovely story, actually.

But now, as you can see, it is fit for a queen.

Good job as well, because we have royalty in this room.

Up there, a wonderful portrait of Queen Victoria. Look at that.

Painted by the Austrian artist Heinrich von Angeli.

Over here, look - Queen Charlotte and George III,

painted by Alan Ramsey.

Up there, Prince Regent, who later became George IV,

painted by Hoppner. And my favourite, Charles II.

There he is. Look at that. What a fine chap he was.

Painted by his favourite court artist, Dutchman Peter Lely,

strongly influenced by Van Dyck.

And you can see those long Van Dyck-type fingers, can't you?

Isn't that great? A room fit for royalty.

Back now to Charlie, who has a surprise in store.

And don't worry, he's not going to sing.

Phil, I feel a bit of a Beau Brummell,

a bit of a man about town, with this stick. It is absolutely splendid.

-Where did you get it from?

-Well, I got it out of a skip.

-You got it what?

-Out of a skip.

A lady I was working for, she decided to use the skip

at the weekend and threw stuff away, and that was in it.

-Do you think she knew what she was throwing away?

-I...

Well, I don't know, but I did ask.

-Did you?

-Yes.

-I mean, it's not just a bamboo walking stick, is it?

No, it's a measuring stick for horses.

It is a horse-measuring stick.

And not only that, it's a particularly good quality one.

It's got a silver mount on here. Are you a horse measurer?

-No.

-Do you know how to measure a horse?

-Yes, by hands.

-Yeah.

-How big is a hand?

-Four inches.

-Very knowledgeable.

Well, what we do here, we just slip that up,

and that is how you measure your horse.

You put the base of the stick on the ground.

You have here a spirit level.

Which is set into the brass stick here. Have you tried dating it?

-I did try dating it.

-Yeah? What have you got?

-I got 1910.

Jolly good effort. It's 1908, made in London. Bamboo, as we've said.

And then, if it pulls out,

I'm hoping to find a maker's name on here somewhere.

-I think it's here.

-Oh, well spotted.

Swaine & Adeney. They obviously specialised in these objects.

And you measure a horse to where?

-To its withers.

-To its withers.

You know all about this. Now, where is your wither?

Well, I think it's where the head comes down and joins the back.

I think that's right.

I think they say it's where the front of the saddle should be

-when you saddle up.

-Right.

-Shall we measure you?

-Yes,

-go on, then. If you'll just turn slightly that way.

-Where is your withers?

-HE LAUGHS

That's what everybody asks.

I'm not the first person to ask you where your withers are.

I think your withers are about there.

Are we agreed that's where the withers are? Marvellous.

We're unanimous about your withers, which is good news.

-And so I've got you here at 14-1.

-Oh, very good.

And as it were, I shall saddle you up and ride off.

THEY LAUGH

I think that's a great, great object.

-What do you think someone would pay for something like that?

-£70?

I think they'd pay more than that.

I think that could make between £100 and £150.

In fact...

-I'd be pleased at that.

-Shall we put a reserve at £80?

-Yes.

And estimate it at 100 to 150. I think it's splendid.

I won't be able to go on a cruise, though, will I, with it?

-Well, you could go on a very short cruise on the Thames.

-Oh.

But not much longer than that. Thank you so much for bringing along

-a really interesting piece of social history. Thank you.

-Thank you.

Well, it's busy, busy, busy here at Ragley Hall.

This room, behind-the-scenes,

is where our off-screen experts are working,

doing all the research for the on-screen experts,

so when it hits the tables, they hit the ground running.

Hopefully, most of these people here, including you,

will go on to the auction later on and go home with a small fortune.

Well, our experts have made their first choice of items.

This lot are coming up later on in the show.

So let's get over to Bigwood's auction rooms

and put those first valuations to the test.

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

We simply must sell the Japanese jardiniere.

There is no way Bernadette

should have to carry it home again.

A reminder of a bygone era, Wendy's Edison phonograph is

great fun, especially with Charlie's accompaniment.

And the silver-topped bamboo walking stick doubles up

as a horse-measuring stick,

so that should certainly get

the bidders raising their hands.

We are heading some ten miles east across Warwickshire to

William Shakespeare's birthplace - Stratford-upon-Avon.

Bigwood Fine Art Auctioneers work out of this delightfully old

red brick Victorian schoolhouse just on its outskirts. There is

always a good atmosphere in the saleroom,

and we have not one but two auctioneers

on the rostrum today -

Christopher Ironmonger and Stephen Kaye.

Remember, with every auction, there is commission to pay.

Now, here today at Bigwood's,

it's 15% plus VAT

if you're selling something.

If you're buying something,

it's 17.5% plus VAT on that hammer price.

So please do your sums because it does add up.

If you're not sure,

ask the auctioneer, pick up a catalogue like this one.

All the information is printed inside.

But these rates do vary from saleroom to saleroom,

so please do find out before you start bidding or selling.

280. 300.

360.

'Philip's unusual walking cane is first up.'

Were you a horsey man?

No, I wasn't. But people have borrowed it to measure their horses.

Oh, I like this. The condition is fantastic.

-We measured Philip with this.

-Did you?

-Yes.

-How many hands?

I had a bit of a problem finding his withers, that was the problem.

Look, I think it's quality.

It's hallmarked London, isn't it? 1904. It's in perfect condition.

And I think we should do the top end plus. Happy with that?

-Very happy.

-Right, let's hope we don't fall at the first. Here we go.

The horse-measuring walking stick, very useful things.

There's a number of bids here on the book.

And I can start at £120.

I'll take 130 from anybody else.

I'll go 140. 150. 160. 170.

180. 190. Make it 200?

I'm out. Anybody else? At £200 with Christian. Anybody else interested?

Selling at £200...

-Yes.

-Brilliant.

-He's a very good valuer, isn't it?

-He is.

No, it's just that they're so rare, those things, you know?

And they don't come on the market that often.

There are people out there that love their horses that would want

-to own that.

-And use it.

-And use it, yes.

It'll get me further down the Thames than what you thought.

It will. It won't quite get you to the Bahamas.

What are you doing then?

Well, I was hoping to go to a world cruise, but...

We don't think we will do that.

Hey, you set your sights well, didn't you?

There's nothing wrong with being ambitious.

Right now a touch of the Orient comes to Stratford-upon-Avon

with this wonderful Japanese bronze jardiniere belonging to Bernadette.

-That's great.

-Yeah, I like this.

-Yeah.

-Shame it's not Chinese, though, isn't it?

-Oh, I wish it was.

-Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

Nevertheless, it's got the look. Why are you selling it now?

-It's going to the holiday fund.

-Oh, is it? The holiday fund, right, OK.

-Where are you going?

-I don't know yet.

-It depends on the price.

OK, let's find out what it's worth. Here we go.

Early 20th-century Japanese bronze jardiniere. On the book here at 120.

Is it 140 now? At £120, the bid's with me.

-At 120.

-Oh, more than that, surely, come on.

130 is it? At 130 only. At 130.

Are we done? Are we finished at 130?

-It can go.

-At 130... Are you done?

Yes, the hammer's gone down. £130.

I think he sold that cos we had a £150 reserve with discretion.

-With discretion, yeah.

-Which means 10%. So I think it's gone.

-Oh, lovely. I'm going.

-Skegness, here we come!

-Are you going too?

-No.

-Blimey!

-THEY LAUGH

I don't think I've got a suitcase big enough.

THEY LAUGH

I thought I was in with a chance at an extra holiday there.

There are lots of bidders in the saleroom, which is great

because we don't want any of our items going for a song,

especially the next one.

-Wendy, good luck.

-Thank you very much.

-You could be hearing sweet music in about one minute's time.

-OK.

I have to say, I sold one of these last year.

I put it into auction and it made £380. And it was identical. So...

-Did it have The Pirates Of Penzance?

-No, it didn't.

No, it didn't have that. We'll see.

If the collectors are out there and they find this online,

they will buy it. Whether or not we get that big bucks is another thing.

Number 431, the Edison Standard phonograph, oak case and cover.

-And I'm bid, £100, straight off on the book.

-Oh, we're selling.

At 100, 120 is it?

120 is it? 110 on the net.

120 it is. 120. 140, net. Do you want?

-160, room.

-Oh!

-160, room. 180, net.

200. 200, room. 220.

220 on the net if you want to carry

on. At £200, it's going to go.

Are we done at £200?

-Sold for 200.

-Yes!

-You're pleased, aren't you?

-Yes, I am very pleased.

-No more Pirates Of The Penzance.

-No.

-THEY LAUGH

Not at all.

170. 180. 200. 220. Lady's bid at 220.

Well, there you are, our first three lots,

done and dusted here today. We are coming back, so don't go away.

It could get very exciting.

But right now, I'm going to take you on a trip

to show you something quite naive.

Earlier on in the week, while we were in the area filming, I went

to a rather special venue locally to see a wonderful collection.

Only ten miles south of Stratford-upon-Avon

is Compton Verney, a fine classical house.

Since March 2004, it has been an art gallery.

Some of the exhibits are antiquities and some are Baroque.

It's also the place to find the best collection of British

folk art on permanent display anywhere in the country.

Folk art is a term used to describe a wide variety of objects,

from paintings to quilts, carvings, toys, trade signs, tools...

furniture. And most of these things have been made by untrained artists.

But not all. These pieces have been inspired by everyday life.

And there's a growing interest

in their delightful non-academic freshness.

Jeff McMillan, an American artist living in London,

was asked by the Tate to co-curate a touring folk art exhibition

featuring works from all over the country.

And here is a taste of it.

I love the use of colour. You've got blue in this section, yellow,

and it just changes everywhere you go.

How did you go about sort of putting it into sections?

What was your thought behind that?

Well, each room, each section is basically kind of themed,

so there's themes to do with either the sea or the land or maybe to do

with sort of signage, or the idea of text in work as opposed to

things that are just visually arresting objects.

Was it a difficult project? There's a lot here.

It was difficult. There was a lot of work to do.

-But it was also hugely enjoyable.

-Sure.

And to be introduced to all these incredible objects was a real treat.

I think folk art, really, it's all about where it's been over

the last few years, isn't it? The last century.

It's been touched, it's been used, it's been loved.

-Yeah, it's not precious objects.

-No.

They are often things that have been kept in a family,

for instance, and then given over to the local museum.

And then those things kind of sit in a drawer

and then sometimes see the light of day,

which is what happens here, in this case.

We are surrounded by ships' figureheads.

So let's have a look at these two. I mean, they look to me 19th century.

He's got a Victorian haircut with sideburns.

They're both from the 1840s, these two.

Both great sort of dynamic figures.

-They're almost quite cartoonish.

-For example, it was all the fashion.

-Yes, yes.

-That's had a recent coat of paint, hasn't it?

-Yes.

There's an idea that, at a time, a lot of the ships' figureheads

would have been painted white perhaps originally.

Cos when you imagine a boat at sea, they'd have to be conditioned

and painted fairly regularly to keep them from deteriorating.

-Sure, yeah.

-You know, and rotting. But what you see now...

And it's interesting when you see a whole roomful of these, is that the

most recent version of paint is probably not the original at all.

And it's one of the great things about folk art, I think.

It's not necessarily about the authenticity from the beginning.

Cos maybe things have been repaired over the years.

-It's been loved.

-It's been loved and it's been changed. And that's OK.

There's a lot of work that's gone into that carving.

Look at the way her coat is sort of flowing backwards in the wind.

She's interesting because she was originally from

a carving family called the Hellyers.

And they were carving since the 16th century.

And they had a long tradition of carving some 200,

300 different figures for different Royal Navy boats over the years.

-Gosh.

-The idea of carving for wooden boats had a great history.

And then at the advent of steam engines and...

-And the steel hull, the iron.

-..the steel hull,

-then of course these became redundant.

-Obsolete.

What a lot of these carvers ended up doing is going into a whole

new industry, which was carousel and fairground work.

It's not a classical sculpture, is it?

-Of a goddess, of a woman.

-It's not.

-It's crude.

-It is, but it's very dynamic. I love her with her torch.

It's a bit like the Statue of Liberty or something.

Yeah, it's lovely.

-Anyway, look, I've been drawn by the yellow wall.

-Hm.

So let's go down there and have a look.

-Oh, tell me about this.

-Oh, this is great, the Bellamy quilt.

It's a courtship quilt that was created in 1890, '91 by a couple.

And I think it was kept by their daughter until 1980,

and then it was given to the Norwich Castle Museum,

which is where we found it. The textiles curator,

Ruth Battersby Tooke, brought this out and said,

"I don't know if you've ever seen anything like this,

"or if this is what you want in your show."

We were completely bowled over.

If I hadn't seen that date,

I wouldn't have thought that's Victorian.

-I'd have thought that's contemporary.

-It looks it.

-Yeah.

And part of it is because it's in such great condition.

It's so vibrant. The colours are amazing.

And I think it'd never really seen the light of day.

It's quite interesting to think about the idea of a courtship quilt.

They're getting to know each other.

It's a great way to spend time, to sort of embroider things.

It looks like there are two different hands at work.

There's a very accomplished hand, which does the things

like the flowers and the centrepiece,

which is a very elaborate sort of cartoon.

But then there's also quite sort of crude things,

like a very simple face or quite a crude foot, for instance.

So it definitely looks like there's two hands at work there.

There's a lot going on.

There's a lot. What I like is I think it almost represents things

that they would see around them, including things from the town.

I'm noticing here lots of objects here that

I see on your trade sign wall.

I see you got a teapot on the quilt, but there's a magnificent...

The biggest teapot I've ever seen in my life there.

Where did that one come from?

Again, from the Norwich Museum. It's a fantastic teapot.

It's just this great thing, a great sculptural object.

It happens to say The Teapot on it,

and it's one of the only words on the whole wall,

everything else being just identifiable in silhouette,

-but it's got, you know, a fantastic shape.

-That's nice as well.

-A locksmith's.

-Yeah, a great locksmith sign from here

-in Compton Verney. I love it. I love the green surface of it.

-Yeah.

And I love the fact that you've given the exhibition

-space around the items.

-They're little sculptures, aren't they?

I think they need to be appreciated that way.

They would've hung outside of shops, maybe protruded over the payment.

-It's a shame we don't have this kind of branding still.

-It is.

I know, how great would it be to go to the mall and have a display

of all these great things rather than backlit signs?

I love the top hat. I've got to say, congratulations.

It's a great learning curve for anybody that's interested

in folk art and it puts a smile on your face as well.

Well done, Jeff.

And of course, many of the items in the exhibition will remain

at Compton Verney

as they belong to its permanent collection, like this

piece of sailor's woolwork which is a particular favourite of mine.

I love the three-masted schooner.

Sunbeam, built in 1874. But look at the detail.

Look at the rolling hills as well.

This was done by a sailor whilst at sea, when he had nothing else to do.

This was done as a tribute to the vessel.

And I think it's really stood the test of time. It's beautiful.

And if you are fascinated or interested in folk art,

then this is definitely the place for you to come and visit.

Back to Ragley and to the grandeur of the Great Hall,

where Christina is in the company of two rather remarkable ladies.

Gwen and Jackie, welcome.

Thank you so much for coming in today.

You brought this really rather wonderful collection

of brooches here. Where on earth have they all come from?

Are they all yours?

Well, there were donated to the building fund of my church.

Oh, OK, so when you say YOUR church...?

Yeah, Studley Methodist Church, I'm the minister there.

Oh, right. Oh, gosh, I'm in the presence of greatness.

I'm feeling very intimidated now. So are you...? What's your title?

-My title is deacon.

-Deacon!

-Deacon Gwen?

-Deacon Gwen.

-Deacon Gwen in the hat.

-Yeah, I'm usually known as the vicar with the hat.

-Are you?

THEY LAUGH

I love it. That's fantastic.

Is this a trend that's followed on in the church?

Are you all wearing a hat as well?

-No, I'm just wearing the hat cos I'm having a bad hair day.

-Are you?

-SHE LAUGHS

-I wish I could do that.

-Well, that was an incredibly kind gift, was it not?

-It was, yes.

Just having a quick glance around here.

This is certainly a great selection.

They are all what we would class as costume jewellery.

There's no gold.

There are no semiprecious stones or indeed diamonds.

It would be lovely if there were.

But sadly not. The most collectible ones are the coronet brooches here.

People like to collect certain designs, and coronet brooches

do seem to be quite collectible,

especially in the red, white and blue.

-I think that was probably from a coronation year.

-Yes.

So really rather nice to have that in those different colour waves.

And the other one that I picked out was this one here,

which I have seen before but not in this sort of rose gold finish.

I've seen it in a yellow gold finish.

I think it's by a company called Trifari who produced really

quite good quality costume jewellery.

And it's a really very, very designer thing.

It's very sort of 1950s, if you think of that ribbon style.

So, would either of you be tempted to wear any of these?

-Well, I'm not really a brooch-y person.

-Really?

-No, not really.

Everybody's a brooch person, aren't they? I love a good brooch.

-I like this one.

-Oh, that's very pretty, isn't it?

-Yes.

That's quite 1960s, isn't it?

It's a wonderful sort of pastel colours.

-Flower power.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Were you a flower power girl?

-I was a flower child, yes.

-Were you?

-Yes, with a flower painted on my forehead.

-Really?

-Long hair in a thong.

-Oh, my goodness me!

-Yes.

And flares and Glastonbury?

-Oh, the flares, but I didn't get to Glastonbury.

-Aw.

Never mind, you still have a chance.

-THEY LAUGH

-There's still time yet.

I particularly like this one, with the acorns.

That's beautiful, isn't it?

Very reminiscent of sort of that Tudor stump wood.

Have you seen those boxes

and the panels of embroidery they did?

I do think, offering them at auction,

-we would sell them as one lot.

-Yes.

We're not looking at a fortune, sadly, ladies,

but we are looking probably somewhere in the region

of maybe £30 to £50.

And I would suggest, if you don't mind, I think we should try

and sell them for what we can and get that money working for you.

-Yes, absolutely.

-And it's going towards?

-It's going towards

Studley Methodist Church Building Fund.

And does it need a lot of repairs?

We need a new entrance to the church

cos at the moment, we've got a flight of stone steps,

which means that mums with babes in prams can't get up there.

And anyone with any sort of disability can't climb the steps.

Well, look, hopefully, I'm being incredibly pessimistic

and we'll get hundreds of brooch collectors in the room and it'll

make more, cos it sounds like it's going to a very good cause.

Let's keep everything crossed and maybe pray

-for some divine intervention.

-Absolutely.

-Thanks so much for bringing them in.

-BOTH:

-Thank you very much.

Brilliant! I'm looking forward to meeting those two at the auction.

There are always marvellous people visiting the valuation day.

Sometimes it feels as if they know the show better than we do.

Well, everybody is now safely seated in the Great Hall,

waiting for their valuation. Having a good time now, yes? Yes! So...

-I like Charlie because he makes me laugh.

-I didn't ask the question.

-Well, that's the answer anyway.

-THEY LAUGH

-You're having it, you're having it.

-HE LAUGHS

Well, we better get straight over to him,

as I hear he's found himself a quiet spot.

Pat, what better place to be than in a splendid country house

-library...

-Beautiful.

-..looking at some of the finest porcelain

our country has ever presented.

-Yeah.

-Wonderful. How long have you had them for?

-About ten years, I think.

-About ten years? They are Worcester

and are one of the most-loved decorators of porcelain

from the Stinton family.

We've got James Stinton here, who I think retired in 1951,

so, you know, we're into the 20th century here.

But nevertheless, the quality is superb.

And we've got the mark for Royal Worcester.

And the great thing about the Worcester mark is that we are able

to date these. There is one thing.

I've looked at all of them -

they are all 1932, with the exception of one.

-Yeah.

-Which is 1930.

-Yeah, why is that?

-Why is that? Yeah.

Well, I can only think that they were a set of 12, 1932,

one got damaged and they replaced them.

The factory do keep a certain number of these things,

and they might say, "Well, hang on, you've broken your pheasant,

"we've got a pheasant by James Stinton of the same pattern.

"But it's 1930, does that matter?" Well, I don't think it does, really.

What do you like about it?

-Well, I think it's just the colours and they look so lifelike.

-Yeah.

That's exactly... Hit the nail on the head.

-Do you know my favourite?

-Which?

-Yeah.

-Ptarmigan.

-Yeah.

-I think they are absolutely wonderful.

-Have you had these on display or...?

-Yes, in a glass cabinet.

So that begs the question, why are you selling them?

-Because we've downsized.

-Oh, have you?

Did you pay much money for them?

-Well, a few thousand.

-A few thousand pounds, yeah.

-Yeah.

-But you're happy to sell them?

-Yes, yeah.

So I think the sensible estimate is 600 to 800,

tuck it in below 1,000.

We'll need a reserve on them.

We're not going to let some bounder get away with these for nothing.

-So I think we'll put a reserve of £600.

-Yeah.

Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Will you be sorry to see them go?

-Um, yeah, I will, but I've got other things to look at.

-Have you?

-Well, lovely. We'll get you as much money as we can.

-Yeah.

-Thank you so much for bringing them along.

-OK, my pleasure.

Next, Christina has selected an autograph album.

Sandra, I have to be perfectly honest with you, when one of these

normally lands on my desk, I think, "Oh, dear!"

Cos it's normally full of people that I've never really heard of.

-Yeah.

-But this is fantastic, isn't it?!

-Yes, it is.

Look inside here!

You've got some really daring people,

some really diverse characters as well.

You've got this wonderful chap called Hearn,

-who looks relatively unassuming there.

-He does, actually, yeah.

And then we turn a few pages, and look what he's doing!

He's doing wonderful acrobats and wing walking,

and it's just fantastic.

And it's chock-a-block full of some fascinating individuals.

She was a very interesting woman.

Well, how on earth did you come by it?

-Well, she was my neighbour for 25 years.

-Right.

-The owner of this?

-Yes. And she died at 91.

-She left it me in the will with some other things.

-Oh, really?

-But she was a lovely woman, very knowledgeable woman.

-Really?

So often I see autograph collections collected at a specific place

or of a specific group of people, but these seem to be quite sporadic.

-Did she specialise in anything in particular?

-No, no.

No, she used to work at the Morecambe theatre.

-Oh, OK.

-So she knew the manager that ran the Morecambe theatre.

He allowed her to collect autographs.

And that makes perfect sense now

because it is chock-a-block full of sort of music hall characters.

-And we've got George Formby there.

-Yes.

"Now I'm cleaning windows!" Bless him.

-So they all seem to be sort of 1935, 1936.

-That's right, yeah.

-So they've got some quite serious age to them, really.

-Yes.

Which is your favourite?

I personally like them all because I find it really fascinating,

especially the fact that I know the neighbour anyway,

and she was a very interesting woman.

-Yeah, quite. 91 when she passed?

-She was 91 when she died.

-Goodness me.

-And obviously, a good neighbour.

-She was wonderful.

-Yeah.

-I wish she was still here, actually.

-Aw. I bet you do.

Yes, she was lovely.

So, it's a difficult thing to put a value on because there are

so many different signatures in here.

-Yes, I know.

-Autographs in here.

We've totted them all up and we're probably looking

-somewhere in the region of about £200 to £300 at auction.

-Yeah.

How would you feel about that?

-That's fine.

-Is that all right?

-Yes, that's fine.

Would you like us to put a reserve on them

or would you just like us to let them go?

No, I would like a reserve.

OK, so we're legally bound to set the reserve at the low

-estimate or lower.

-Yeah.

-So in this case, obviously, it would be £200.

I think we should do 200 with some discretion, should we need it.

-Yes, that's fine.

-Would that be all right?

-That's fine.

-Splendid.

Well, that's it, our work is done here at Ragley Hall,

our magnificent valuation day venue.

Our experts have now found their final items to take off to auction,

and I think this venue has certainly done us proud.

We're excited about what we found.

And hopefully, we're going to have that big surprise I promised you.

We're going straight over to Bigwood's saleroom,

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

Deacon Gwen and Jackie need a new entrance to their church,

so this collection of brooches,

with no reserve, is there to go.

Next, we have the best of Worcester served up on a plate,

or rather a set of 12,

to be precise.

There are autograph albums and autograph albums,

but Christina thinks this one is a good one.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Next, we need lots of money for a good cause,

so, everybody, cross your fingers.

Are we all done?

Gwen and Jackie, we are pinning all our hopes on these brooches.

-24 brooches, all donated to the church.

-That's right.

It's for Studley Methodist Church, and it's to raise £125,000.

This is a small collection of brooches that were given to us

-to help with that building fund.

-Every penny helps.

-125?

I don't think they're going to make 125,000.

Hey, look, this is a good starting point, isn't it?

How long will you be at the church for?

Cos I know you have to move around a lot.

Yes, I've been on the Methodist circuit for four years here

at Bromsgrove and Redditch, and I'll be here for another six years.

Jackie, how long have you been involved with the church?

Well, I've been in Studley for four years with Gwen,

but I've sort of moved around with her. I'm like her little Alice.

-If she's the Vicar of Dibley, I'm her Alice.

-Brilliant.

Well, hopefully, someone that loves costume jewellery or something

like that, or has a textiles collections, will buy these.

-Absolutely.

-They're going under the hammer right now.

This selection of costume jewellery, 24 pieces in all. £30?

For the whole lot?

-Come on, we need the money.

-Come on.

-30, thank you.

Lots of hands going up in the air.

35. 37? 37. And 40?

And five?

-And 50. And five.

-Yes!

-Fantastic!

50 with the lady, I'll take five from anyone else. Five. And 60?

-Yes!

-And five.

60 I have standing in the middle. Anyone else?

All done at £60?

Yes! The hammer's gone down. £60, that's brilliant, isn't it?

-Very good.

-It all helps, so that's fantastic.

-And I hope you succeed.

And I'm sure you will.

-Yeah.

-Well, every little bit helps.

And now time to see if we can sign off on Sandra's autograph album.

I'm pleased I didn't value this next lot.

Christina, you're very brave. This is a tough one to put a price on.

-Very tough.

-Very tough.

-It is a very, very niche market.

And I know your next-door neighbour gave this to you 25 years ago?

What have you done with it over the last 25 years?

-It's just been in a drawer, actually.

-Just hidden away?

-Yeah.

And it just comes out occasionally.

-You absolutely wanted the £200 reserve, didn't you?

-Hm.

-Which...

-I see, that dictates the price.

-That dictates the price.

I'm not sure whether we'll get that 200, but hopefully...

-Yes, I know.

-You just don't know. You just don't know.

That's the beauty of an auction, anything can happen.

Let's put this to the test. Here we go.

I've got a bid, and I can start here on the book at £200.

-Fantastic!

-200, anybody else?

210. I'll go 220. 240?

-260. 280.

-I can't believe it.

-Fantastic.

-That's wonderful!

340. 360.

340 on the book. Anybody else?

-340!

-All done at 340?

Yes!

-Fantastic!

-You set the reserve, well done.

-Yeah.

-That's wonderful.

-£340, Sandra.

-That's very good, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Are you happy?

-Very, yes.

-Good.

-I didn't think it would actually

-do that well, to be honest.

-No, me neither. That's fantastic.

There's only one thing left to say, really - job done!

THEY LAUGH

That's the stuff! And now for that fabulous set of Worcester.

Our next lot is a bit of a mix-match, really.

It is 12 Royal Worcester plates,

but in my opinion, it's 12 works of art.

All hand-painted by James Stinton.

But I'm sure the Royal Worcester collectors will love this, Patricia.

And I know you were a big fan, weren't you?

-You bought these ten years ago?

-Yes.

I know, Charlie, you put these in at around £600.

-Yeah.

-I'd like to see them double that. I mean...

-600 to 800.

I have to say, even in front of Patricia,

-if they fall much short of 1,000, I will be a bit disappointed.

-Yes.

Having said that, Patricia doesn't want them back.

They're in a cupboard, so we put £600 on them.

Thank goodness they were in a cupboard, you've looked after them.

-Well, yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

Let's put it to the test, let's find out what they're worth. Here we go.

James Stinton set of Royal Worcester porcelain bone

China ornamental plates.

And I've got an opening bid

on the book here at £500.

At 500. At 500. 550.

550. 600.

600 at the back.

600 standing at the back.

650 of the phone. 700.

-That's better!

-750? 750 on the net.

-800 at the back. 800 in the room.

-Come on.

800 at the back of the room. Is it 850 on the net or on the phone?

-850 on the phone.

-Come on, now they're fighting it out.

Let's get £1,000, please!

It's 900 in the room.

900 at the back of the room.

950 here. 1,000?

-1,000 in the room.

-Come on, come on, a bit more.

1,000 in the room.

-1,050. 1,100.

-Every bit counts.

-It does.

1,100, back of the room, and I'm going to sell it.

Last chance and done.

-They've gone, they've gone.

-They've gone, yeah.

Yeah, and I hope somebody can enjoy them.

Wow, that was a good one. Well done.

And they went over that £1,000 mark. Fantastic!

17 at the back of the room. I've got 1,800 here.

19, sir? 19. Are we done?

Well, that's it, it's all over for us.

Another day in another saleroom and some happy owners.

And that's what it's all about.

We've thoroughly enjoyed being here

and I hope you've enjoyed watching the show.

If you've got anything you want to sell,

we'd love to "Flog It!" for you.

Bring it along to one of our valuation days.

But until then, it's goodbye from all of us here at Bigwood's.