Compilation - Coughton Court 17 Flog It!

On today's programme, we're touring Britain,

discovering the wealth of treasures you own, and want to sell.

-And what are you going to do? ALL:

-Flog it!

And I'm at Coughton Court,

a majestic country house in Warwickshire.

It's been home to the Throckmorton family for over 600 years.

It's a house that has plenty of stories to tell.

Welcome to "Flog It!"

This gatehouse dates back to the early 1500s,

but just looking around you can see how different members of the family

have left their mark on Coughton Court over the centuries.

The Throckmortons were a powerful family, and they weren't averse to

doing a bit of social and political manoeuvring if it benefited them.

Back in the mid-17th century they bought a title, a baronetcy,

and they paid £1,095 for it.

Bear in mind that's back in 1642 -

in today's money that's equivalent to a small fortune.

Later on in the programme, we'll be taking

a closer look at the house and some of the family treasures inside,

but right now let's take a quick look at some of our treasures

that are coming up later on in the show.

Today, we're taking a tour around the country, to revisit some of

our stunning valuation day locations from the series.

It's another chance to see those magnificent venues,

and discover some additional gems

which were brought in for our experts to look at.

There was a brilliant atmosphere

when we visited the awe-inspiring St Albans Cathedral.

Hello! This is where it gets exciting.

Come on, everyone.

And there was an explosion of colour

at our valuation day at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

James Lewis loved a painting - but his passion for it wasn't shared.

My dad's got an interest in old painting, but it's not to his taste.

-He didn't like it?

-No, he didn't.

-How ungrateful is that?!

-I know.

-I wouldn't buy him anything again.

-No.

In Morecambe, Lancashire,

we spent the day at the wonderful Platform building -

once the terminus of the town's old promenade station.

They're here to ask that all-important question, which is...

-ALL:

-What's it worth?

And we were blown away by the response we got in Grimsby,

at our valuation day in the Minster.

Christina Trevanion really felt the love.

-Now you're selling them, I can cuddle them?

-Yeah, you can.

-Oh, look at his little face!

-He is beautiful.

But first we're off to the seaside town of Morecambe,

where Adam Partridge has spotted something which might not be

to everyone's taste.

So Julie, you've bought this for David for Christmas,

how did you know he'd like this?

Cos it's not for everyone -

there's going to be some people watching thinking "That's foul,

I wouldn't want that for anything"

and some saying, "What a lovely piece."

How did you know he'd like it?

Well, we lived quite near to Leek in Staffordshire

which is full of so many antique shops...

I know it well, I live quite close to there myself.

You'd actually seen it in the window...

We were out walking one Sunday, and the antique shop was actually

closed, but this was in the front of the window and I just admired it.

And then, thinking what do I get him for Christmas one year

and I thought, "It's never ever going to be there."

-Yeah.

-It was still there, was probably tells you something!

What a surprise(!)

So that was it. So I hid it under the bed,

and said "You're never, ever going to guess what I've bought you."

So after the 10,000th guess,

-I still hadn't got it.

-No.

And David, what was your reaction

on Christmas morning when this was presented to you?

I think "gobsmacked" doesn't cover it.

-And it is a fascinating thing, it's got everything in it...

-Yeah.

Naked people, devil worshippers...

-Most of your interests summed up there, are they, David(?)

-Yeah!

-If you want a haunted house, just buy it.

-Yeah.

You're right, there's a lot going on,

as is typical with these sort of narrative Italian maiolica vases.

On the front you've got a mythological scene there,

and you've got these grotesques and serpents.

It's late 19th-century,

Italian, maiolica - not ma-jolica.

Very brittle earthenware,

and on the subject of "brittle",

well, it's been extensively restored.

Well, when it was first bought, there was a light coming out the top

-and it had a big lampshade on it.

-Ah, that often happens.

So it was even uglier than it is now!

So, it's been knocked over a lot before,

and as it's a brittle material, it's been heavily restored.

In good condition it would be

a couple of thousand quid, something like that, however...

my estimate I think should be

£100 to £200.

-OK. Yeah.

-OK.

-Yeah?

Why have you decided to sell it?

Because we've had it probably 15, 16 years.

At the moment we're buying a lot of Georgian miniatures.

But if we can reinvest the money we get from this,

that's the best thing for us.

-Portraits.

-You're going to spend the money on a portrait miniature?

So we'll go £100 reserve, £100 to £200 estimate -

fingers crossed two people like it, and it might make a bit more.

Fantastic.

I've had great fun talking to you,

-thanks for coming.

-Thank YOU.

-Thank you.

What a great vase, and what a lovely couple.

Now, from Morecambe we head to Wolverhampton,

where James Lewis has spotted something which looks right at home.

Well, Samantha, I have to say what better place could you have

-a work of art than in a gallery like this?

-Yeah.

It would be nice if it was of the same quality as the paintings

around us, but I have to say you certainly

don't buy this sort of work

-for £7, from a car boot...?

-Yeah.

That is brilliant. You bought that for £7?

Yeah, I bought that for my dad, about three weeks ago.

Do you know much about it?

I don't know anything about it, all I know is it's an oil painting.

Yeah. Any idea of date?

-No. Nothing.

-Well, let's have a look at the subject matter,

it's a classic English landscape,

with cows watering and a meandering river,

late summer, early autumn,

and on the reverse it says

"The River Tame

"at Hamstead, Staffordshire."

It's the classic of its period, it's about 1880, 1890 in date,

but it also has its period frame.

And if you look around us, that's what links this to all of these.

They've all got this sort of moulded gesso and plaster giltwood frame.

But it is by an amateur artist, it's not by one of the greats.

-Yeah.

-Why did you buy it?

My dad's got an interest in oil painting,

so I saw it and it looked a bit like when he usually goes for, so...

I bought it but it's not to his taste.

-He didn't like it?

-No, he didn't like it.

-How ungrateful is that?!

I know.

What did he say to you? "No, thank you, I don't like it"?

Well, he thought I should bring it along and see what you say.

-I wouldn't buy him anything again.

-No! I won't be.

Well, I mean, I have to say,

ten or twenty years ago this sort of painting would have been

very, very popular, it would have made £150 to £200.

-Yeah.

-But tastes have changed.

And as tastes have changed,

people have become more fussy about what they buy.

And we're talking about a period here in the 1880s

when almost every middle-class person was taught how to paint.

You would be taught how to sing, how to play the piano.

Every lady would do needlework.

And of course today we've got Nintendo, we've got Netflix...

-Yeah!

-..we've got, you know, DVDs...

it's a different world. But it's the equivalent, you know -

it's the evening entertainment of the time.

But this is an amateur picture by an amateur artist -

signed just here, "A Coleman" -

but a talented amateur. But as an amateur, as the tastes change,

those are the ones that people stop buying.

It still has a value -

not £150 to £200...

-OK.

-..I would say closer to £40 to £60.

-Yeah.

-Something like that.

But better than £7

-you spent on it.

-Yeah. I've done all right, then.

-You have.

Let's stick £30 reserve on it,

and if it doesn't make that than have it back.

Now, you gave it to your dad - who's taking the profit?

It's still mine, technically.

Brilliant. He shouldn't have given it back, should he?

Good for you, Samantha -

let's hope it does really well when it comes up for auction.

Now, let's take a quick break from our valuation days,

as I want to say something I found on my trip to Warwickshire.

Now, back here at Coughton Court,

this broken old sword that I'm holding

may not look like anything special.

But believe me - it has a fantastic story to tell.

In 1642, the Battle of Edgehill

took place just 20 miles away from Coughton.

It was the first major battle of the English Civil War,

fought between Charles I's Royalists

and the Parliamentary army which wanted to overthrow him.

Some 25,000 soldiers clashed swords,

and the Warwickshire landscape was left strewn with bodies.

The story goes that at the height of the battle,

the King's standard-bearer was set upon by a mob of Parliamentarians.

The soldier fought bravely to protect the flag,

but eventually he was overpowered and it was lost.

Losing the King's flag

was a real blow to the Royalists' morale,

but Captain John Smith of the King's army spotted it,

and charged at the enemy lines to retrieve it.

He was fired upon with pistols, even attacked with a battle-axe,

and it was only the high doublet collar on his tunic

that saved his neck.

All he had was his sword,

and he used it with all of his might.

He retrieved the flag, and returned it to the King.

He was rewarded for his great act of bravery the following morning -

The King knighted him.

Now, Captain John Smith was the great uncle

of Coughton Court's Sir Robert Throckmorton.

On his 21st birthday in January 1683,

he was presented this sword as a gift.

It's been here in the family ever since.

For me, it's a real privilege and an honour to be holding this

sword in these historic settings. It really is quite humbling.

Now, while I return this sword to where I got it from safely,

we're going straight over to Grimsby to catch up with our very own

Anita Manning who seems to be having a cup of tea with

a lady called Kathleen.

Kathleen, welcome to Flog It! and bringing in this lovely

wee silver tea set. I adore it, it's so pretty.

Tell me, where did you get it?

I was given it by my godfather, who I absolutely adored.

He gave me lots and lots of other things.

I don't drink tea any more so I can bear to part with this.

Do you remember it when you were a wee girl in your godfather's house?

I don't, but he reminded me at the time that I used to stand in

front of the cabinet where it was, in awe.

-So this was a sparkly, silvery beautiful thing?

-I don't know.

I don't remember it at all.

Maybe he was just telling you that because he was going to give it to you.

THEY LAUGH

-Now, when you got it, did you use it?

-All the time. Every day.

-Every day?!

-Yes.

-When you had friends round for afternoon tea?

No, no. I used it for my cup of tea in the morning before I went

-to work and everything.

-You are a woman of style.

Oh!

I love the idea that every morning you had your cup of tea out

of a silver tea service. Let's look at the outside first.

It's made of silver, you know that.

It has great charm,

the wonderful embossed work

and decoration that we see on the outside.

Now, if we look underneath and we hear its story and its history here,

we can see our little lion here and that tells us it's silver.

We can see that it was made in Sheffield and we have a look here...

which is the Crown mark. The maker's name is here, JR.

John Round.

Next to that we can see a star and it's like a Maltese Cross.

This was the emblem that John round, the maker, made. Hm.

We also have the date mark and yes, it's from the beginning of

the 20th century.

Now, silver has gone down a little bit in price so we have to take

that into consideration.

My estimate on this little tea set would be £3-£500.

Are you happy to let it go at that?

You don't think it would be melted down, do you?

-No.

-Good.

-It's too decorative for that.

I'd like to think that somebody would use it.

We'll put a reserve price on it of £300.

So, thank you, Kathleen, I'll see you at the auction.

That beautiful tea set is the last of our first batch of items

and now it's time to find out if they make our owners any

money when they go under the hammer.

David and Julie's large Majolica vase might not

be to everyone's taste but they hope it will raise enough money

to buy a Georgian miniature.

Samantha's 19th-century painting was an unwanted gift

but it looked grand at the art gallery venue in Wolverhampton.

And finally, in Grimsby Minster, Kathleen and Anita had

a lovely time talking classy silver tea sets.

We've stayed in Lancashire to sell the Majolica vase but travel to

Clitheroe and Silverwoods sale room,

where auctioneer Wilf Mole is on the rostrum.

Remember, whether you're buying or selling,

at every auction there's always commission and VAT to pay.

Well, if you like big decorative items then this one is definitely for you.

It's that huge vase belonging to David and Julie.

-It was a present to you, David, wasn't it?

-From my wife Julie, yes.

-So you like antique hunting?

-I do.

-Good for you.

Big Georgian house, trying to fill it up.

That would look great in that, why are you selling it?

Well, really, we just wanted to come on the telly.

-At least they're honest about it!

-Exactly.

That's the thing I thought might get us on the telly.

It worked, didn't it?!

-Right, let's hope we get that top end for you, OK?

-Thank you.

It's going under the hammer right now. Good luck.

Right, the vase there for you.

Start me at what for this one? £150 for it.

150 anywhere? Impress somebody with that.

£100 then? 50? 50 bid.

£50 bid. 55 online. 55.

60. 5 again.

At £60 bid, at 65 online. £70. £70.

75 this time. 75. 80. And five. 85.

-90 is on the books.

-Yes!

-95 in the room now.

-It's gone.

-95. Gone 100. And 10.

120 from anywhere else?

At £110, have you all done?

-At £110.

-Yes! Didn't need the bubble wrap.

-Did you actually bring bubble wrap with you?

-Give me a hug.

-I brought a trailer!

-Just in case.

-Well done.

I think David and Julie were happy with that and they can at

least put the cash towards a miniature painting.

From Clitheroe, we're heading 80

miles south to a former clock factory, now Trevanion and Dean sale room in Whitchurch, Shropshire,

where auctioneer Aaron Dean is holding the gavel

for the sale of Samantha's bargain work of art.

50.

Now, sadly our next owner, Samantha,

cannot be with us today but we do have her item,

it's that fabulous oil painting bought for £7.

We have our expert, James Lewis.

We're bound to make a profit on this one, aren't we?

-We're in trouble if we can't.

-30 to £40 you put on this?

Yes, maybe 40 to 60, something like. It's about that sort of area.

She doesn't want it back.

Good luck, James and good luck to Samantha, we'll get on the phone to her shortly afterwards.

Let's put it under the hammer and put it to the test.

Lot 512, ladies and gentlemen,

English school 19th-century oil on canvas in the original frame.

I'll start you to straightway at 20,

-25, £30 on my commission at 30.

-Yay.

It's with me at 30. £30 on commission is coming in now.

35 online. 40 with me. Still on commission at 40.

£45, internet bidding at 45. Joining at 45.

-Sold, £45.

-Not the easiest thing to sell these days.

-No.

-I'm pleased about that.

Nevertheless a profit, that's the main thing.

Finally, we are off to Golding, Young & Mawer in Lincoln,

where auctioneer Colin Young

is in charge of selling Kathleen's silver tea set.

Kathleen's just told me the silver tea set we're just about to sell,

the three-piece, going under the hammer right now, you used to use.

I did.

You're the first person in the auctions here on Flog It! who said

-yes, we used all the time. How very posh.

-Lovely!

-Do you know what?

If you've got it, use it, that's what I say.

-Don't stick it in the cupboard and polish it.

-No.

-Use it! Ready?

Let's do it. Here we go.

What shall we say for this one?

Who's going to start straight in for £300, £300, anyone? 300? £300 bid.

-At 300 straight in on the net at 300.

-Good.

-Straight in.

-Straight in at 3, yes!

-320 do I see? £300 bid.

Do I see £300 from anywhere else now? At £300. Any more now?

Looks like I'm on my own. At £300 bid.

The idea of auctions, ladies and gentlemen,

is you raise your arm and I can keep counting.

But at £300, maiden bid has it, it's on the internet then,

no more from the room. Done and finished and selling then.

It's gone. I was being too optimistic, I said get the top

end, you got the lower end. But it has gone.

I hope somebody enjoys it anyway.

-I'm sure they will.

-They will, they will.

Don't go away because there will be more auctions and more

surprises later, but before that I want to take you back to

Coughton to take a longer look at this wonderful grand old house

which is filled with treasures and history.

Coughton Court in Warwickshire has been home to one of Britain's

leading Catholic families, the Throckmortons,

for more than 600 years.

They inherited the house through marriage and 20 generations

on, they still live here today, but now part of the property is

managed by the National Trust and open for the public to explore.

This magnificent gatehouse is the oldest part of the Court

and it dates back to the mid-16th century.

Originally it would have formed

a grand entrance to an enclosed courtyard.

You can just imagine it looking like the quadrangle of

a traditional Oxford college.

Now because of the Throckmortons' determination to hang on to their religious beliefs,

this house and the family were often under fire.

In what was called the Glorious Revolution of 1688,

when the Catholic King James II was overthrown,

many Catholic country houses including Coughton Court were

looted during the rioting that followed.

Now, here would have been the east wing,

this was ransacked and set on fire.

Eventually it had to be demolished,

leaving this side completely exposed to the countryside beyond.

Coughton is filled with furniture, ceramics, tapestries and paintings,

which tell the story of the family and their lives.

Much of it dates back to Tudor times and it isn't all happy.

Now, this portrait is of Nicholas Throckmorton.

Now, he's the cousin to Catherine Parr,

Henry the VIII's sixth and final wife.

He served in the royal court and he was very well regarded.

He was knighted for his services to the crown,

but then something happened.

He fell out of favour and he was sent to the Tower of London

for treason, possibly on some trumped up charge because

he managed to talk his way out of it and then he was sent off to France.

But there's more scandal to come.

Nicholas' daughter Bess became a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I.

She became pregnant and secretly married her lover,

courtier and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh,

who the Queen was so fond of.

When Elizabeth found out the following year, she had both

Raleigh and Bess imprisoned in the Tower of London.

When Sir Walter Raleigh was eventually executed,

it's said that Bess had his head embalmed

and carried it around everywhere with her

for the rest of her life. Now, I'm struggling with that one.

I don't know if that's romantic or ghoulish.

Each generation of Throckmortons put their stamp on the house.

In their heyday, the family not owned not only Coughton,

but houses in Devon, Buckinghamshire,

Worcestershire and Berkshire,

which they had obtained through marriage.

Their estates included some 22,000 acres of land.

But in the late 1800s, Sir William Throckmorton, the 9th Baronet,

saw the family fortunes dwindle due to the agricultural depression.

Three properties were sold off including a part of the estate.

In a bid to secure Coughton's future, he persuaded his nephew

Courtney and his young wife Lillian to come and live here at the house.

Unfortunately, the first world war put paid to Sir William's plans.

Courtney, a lieutenant colonel, was killed in action,

and it's said that the day he fell in action,

the Throckmorton's stone coat of arms fell from the gate house

and it came crashing down to the floor.

Lady Lillian was left a widow with three young children,

the house was put into trust for her son Robert, then aged just nine.

She managed it as best as she could,

but by all accounts she struggled to make ends meet.

During the Second World War, Lady Lillian retreated to the south wing.

Part of the house was occupied by a convent school and the north wing

was made ready for the staff of the Speaker of the House of Commons

in case the country should be invaded.

But Lady Lillian had grown to love Coughton and she was worried

that her son wouldn't take his responsibilities seriously enough,

so in 1946, she arranged for the freehold of Coughton to be

transferred to The National Trust,

with a 300-year leaseback to the family.

The papers for the deal were signed right here in her sitting room.

Today, the house is lived in by Mrs Clare McLaren-Throckmorton,

Lady Lillian's granddaughter, who has been here since 1992.

In time, the lease will be handed on to her grandson Magnus.

Magnus, it's good to meet you.

I've had a look around the house and it really has bowled me over.

It's full of history, yet at the same time it really embraces you.

It's a proper family home. What does it mean to you?

Coughton is one of those places where you sit and you enjoy

and actually it's got the history behind it.

Then it's also when you're sat up in the panel dining room

and it's lit by candles and everything and you just sit there

and think of generations before who sat in the same place having

conversations, stories, gossips and everything.

And you just want to recreate it and want to know what goes on.

I've learnt a lot, but there's still far,

far more to learn and I will hopefully keep learning

and be able to pass on information to future generations.

You could say this house has had its up and downs over the centuries.

It's got through it,

many Catholic families have lost their homes and their possessions.

Why do you think this one survived?

It survived because this was where the Throckmorton family came to prominence.

It's where they got their stature from in the beginning.

They had several other houses and estates,

but when the times got tough, those were the places that got sold off

and everyone kept on retreating back to Coughton.

Another reason that Coughton survived is that the women in

the family have always been very, very powerful and very, very shrewd.

But one of the advantages during the Reformation, on the whole,

the women were left behind and they did a lot of the plotting

while the men were abroad and everything.

But Coughton has survived because it has been the heart of the thing

and it is the reason it is still in the family today.

Coughton has an incredible family tree and you must have

a favourite relative, or are there too many to choose from?

That's an impossible question.

-Like, everyone has got their stories and everything.

-Yeah.

One of my favourites is Sir John Throckmorton

who did the Throckmorton coat.

He bet 1,000 guineas with the mill owner

that he would be able to create a coat from scratch from sheering

the sheep to wearing it a dinner party that night

between the hours of sunrise and sunset.

He bet 1,000 guinea, which today is the equivalent of about 17,000.

-That's a lot of money.

-Yeah.

I'm really grateful that he actually won the bet because

we may not be sat here today if he hadn't.

But I think the biggest travesty, if I'm entirely hones,

was the two poor sheep who created the wool and had the wool in

the first place, were actually the centre piece of the banquet.

Oh!

I reckon he would have been one of those few people you'd like to

get to know and actually ask him,

"What went through your mind when you were saying things like this?"

That's an incredible story. That really is. Has the jacket survived?

Yeah. It's actually still here today and it's just in the other end...

-Can we have a look at it?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-OK.

So, this is the original coat which was from the sheep's back to

Sir John Throckmorton's back in the day between dawn and dusk.

It is actually the one he's wearing above the fireplace in the saloon.

That's astonishing.

They had skill.

They did, didn't they?

So, to recreate it 600 years later,

The National Trust made their own coat which was to try and portray

different parts of the house.

It's taken bits of the curtains from around the house, the front hall,

the ceiling, and everything, that was their inspiration for it.

I think they've done a terrific job as well, actually.

Two beautiful garments.

And really, you've got 600 years

of potted history on a jacket, haven't you?

It is. That coat describes Coughton.

-Have you tried that on?

-Yes. I did.

-What did it look like?

I think Sir John Throckmorton wore the original far better than

I wore that, if I'm entirely honest.

I'm not sure I'd be able to get away wearing that

-to a smart dinner or a ball in the evening.

-No.

Magnus, thank you very much for showing me around.

-Thank you very much.

-I thoroughly enjoyed myself,

-learnt a lot as well.

-Thank you.

We'll be popping back to Coughton later, but before that,

we're returning to Wolverhampton Art Gallery

where the crowds are still pouring in.

And James Lewis has found something deliciously quirky.

Jean, whenever you're valuing antiques,

there are certain things that are really important.

Good name, good quality, useful,

would fit into a modern interior and novelty.

And this covers just about every single one of those.

-It ticks all the boxes.

-Good.

OK, well first of all.

You know what it is. It's a lemon strainer.

It's a wonderful looking thing.

I mean, the first thing I would do if I got that would be to, I don't

know, pour a bit of gin, some ice, lemon, squeeze it, and have a go.

-So, is it a family thing?

-Yes, it is.

It is a family thing, yes.

Just been handed down. I've never used it.

-Do you remember it as a child?

-No, I don't.

I don't remember anything about it at all.

Just that my mother gave it to me.

Wow! Let's go through the different parts.

It looks like a lemon in itself.

We've got a rotating screw thread at the top there.

And if we open it up, the purpose of that becomes obvious. There we go.

The bottom half of the lemon sits in there. You close it. And turn.

In terms of date, it's going to be about 1870 to 1880,

something around there.

Oh, look, it's going on its own.

-Oh!

-Wow! That's a bit odd.

But anyway. OK. I mentioned the makers.

If you turn it over, we've the bird on the right-hand side,

and we've got H&H.

And H&H stands for Hukin and Heath.

And the interesting thing about them is they were manufacturing

this sort of ware not too far away from where we are today.

They were Birmingham makers.

-Really?

-They were very well-known for silver-plated wares.

They were the ones that made so many of the silver-plated wares.

Now, most valuers have their own particular valuation kit,

a lens, scales for measuring gold.

Mine is a lemon.

A knife.

And a glass.

-Oh, wonderful!

-Ready?

-Here we go.

-Are you going to drink it?

-No.

-A real anti-climax if nothing came out.

-Here we go.

-Ooh!

-Oh!

-Oh, wow!

-There we go.

Look at that.

That's just enough for a gin and tonic.

I think there should be more than that. Let's have a...

-Ooh!

-Oh!

It works!

Brilliant.

So, what's it worth?

£200 or £300.

-Fine.

-Is that all right for you?

-Fine.

Love it. Thank you so much for bringing it along.

What's it worth?

A bit sharp,

but actually jolly nice.

Let's hope Jean's fantastic lemon squeezer gets the bidder's

juices running at auction.

First, we're revisiting Grimsby Minster where there's a still

a cosy queue including a few rather furry faces

So, Elizabeth, tell me about your bears, because they're rather

-really lovely, aren't they?

-OK.

This one was bought for me in 1989, 1990.

And then this one was bought for me, cos I did collect bears.

And then I bought that one for myself because I really liked him

and I thought he was different, with him being black one.

Let's work through all of them.

First and foremost, the three that you've brought into me today

-are all Steiff Bears, are they not?

-Yes.

So, we've got a lovely Steiff button in every single one of these

little ears, haven't we?

Now, Steiff was, what we know Steiff now as, a very,

very high quality, very well thought of collectable bear.

It started by a lady called Margarete Steiff

in the early 1900s in Germany.

I mean, the really, really early, really collectable ones

date to the early 20th century. The early Margarete Steiff bears.

These are much later.

As you said, this has got, "1989, Made in Germany," on the ear.

But it is a white label example.

Obviously different to the yellow label example,

so a little bit more sought after.

And it is a copy of an early bear.

Now, the early bears that I've sold in the past have been much

larger sizes than this,

but they've got these wonderful elongated paws which are

so typical of Steiff and the early bears so often, you see it, they've

been clipped or shortened down because they've been so well loved.

And then you've got this replica of an original 1909 bear.

And then you've got this wonderful little black mohair example,

which is supposedly a replica of the teddy bears that were given

to child survivors of the Titanic disaster.

So, there really interesting bears.

And three bears that are in really brilliant condition,

and that is the key to this.

When they're modern examples like this,

they have to be in good condition.

How have they stayed in such good condition

cos they're begging for cuddles?

-Cos I'm the only one allowed to touch them.

-Oh, really?

-No-one else.

-Well, they might.

-No.

-So, who else is in your house?

-No children.

I don't have children, so that's why they've not been played with.

-So, strictly Elizabeth's teddy bears?

-Totally.

-Right.

At auction, I would offer them as a group

because I don't want to split them

cos they've been friends for such a long time, it seems mean.

So, I think we sell them as one group and I would put them

somewhere in the region of maybe £100 to £200.

-That's fine.

-What's your thoughts on that?

-That's fine.

-I have no idea, so that's fine.

-OK.

Well, I think as a group we'll put them at £100-£200, with a firm

reserve of £100, so we don't let them go for any less than that.

OK.

Now, can I have a cuddle now? I'm dying for a cuddle.

-Go on.

-Thank you.

-And you can take them out the box to lift them up.

-Oh, can I?

Can I touch them? You're not going to tell me off, are you?

-No.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

-Oh, look at his little face.

He's beautiful.

# If you go down in the woods today

# You're sure of a big surprise... #

Those bears were much-loved, but in fantastic condition,

and with the Steiff nametags they're bound to do well.

Next, we're off to St Albans Cathedral where

Jonathan Pratt's chatting to Mike about some impressive family items.

So, Mike, you've brought the contents of your jewellery box.

Well, it was my auntie's.

She passed it on to me to be divided amongst her nephews and nieces.

And she passed away 2 months ago, and she was 103.

Oh, my word!

So, they've given to me, as the eldest,

so I can hopefully do the right thing.

Well, it's the sort of stuff you find when you're doing

a valuation of a person's property all the time.

You're finding cufflinks,

you're finding watches and things like that.

Starting at the top here.

This open-face pocket watch and obviously it's gold,

we can see that.

Let's have a look in the back.

You've got a 14k stamp. So that's a 14 carat gold watch.

You are on a curb link chain,

which as graduated from small, up to the middle and back down again.

And then you've got the end here. A gold sovereign, George V, 1912.

Obviously he's 22 carat gold. They weight 8g.

They have a bullion value, but they also have collectors value,

however, the person, rather than putting it into a colette,

has soldered the mount to it, so it's worth its weight in gold,

but no-one's going to buy it necessarily as a sovereign.

We've got this thing which is silver.

A vesta case. And it contains matches.

That's the whole thing, the whole thing is a matchbox.

It's a Chester hallmark, it's 1907. Chester, 1907.

So, moving on to the front pair of cufflinks.

Nine carat gold, oval panel cufflinks.

Hallmark for nine carat on the back.

And this nice, bright cut engraving across. No personalisation.

Fitted case. Ready for a gentlemen to buy.

-Not much more I can say about them.

-No. Not really.

You've got here an Omega pocket watch, great Swiss make,

making fine watches throughout the 20th century,

-and still going obviously today.

-When was that made?

It looks like it's from the '30s, around that sort of period.

They're sort of Arabic numerals, a slant to them, so it's around that.

-So, it's probably before the war.

-Sure, yeah.

But the dial, as you can see, you've got

a few cracks but you've also got a few losses, which is not great.

Yes, I know.

And then you've got this lovely 1960s watch, Helvetia.

-It's ticking away beautifully, but it is what it is, really.

-OK.

So, Mike, let's talk about values.

This group here is worth around £650 to £700.

Very good.

You put that with a reserve of £630. The cufflinks are worth £70 to £90.

You've got a £70 reserve on the cufflinks.

These two items, sadly, aren't worth very much at all.

The Omega is in too poor a condition, is worth maybe £20.

This one is probably worth £5 or £10.

Now, what I would propose to do is take this off here...

..because it's silver and doesn't add value to that.

Put it in here and you've got a pocket watch and little bits

and pieces like that.

I say we put that in with an estimate of £30 to £50,

-without reserve.

-Yes.

And...I think we should have three very happy and successful lots.

We hope so, yes.

-Very good.

-And then you can divvy up all the profits amongst yourselves.

Everybody will be very pleased.

Well, that's it for our last lot of items.

We'll find out exactly what they're

worth then they go under the hammer shortly.

But first, I just want to show you this cabinet.

The contents belong to Mary Throckmorton.

Now, she served as a lady-in-waiting to the Austrian royal family

in the mid 19th century.

Now, while she was working as a governess to the royal Princess

Archduchess Valerie,

Mary enthusiasm for the English fresh air got the better of

her and it wasn't appreciated. When Valerie caught pneumonia

the doctors blamed Mary for insisting that

the windows had to be open all the time, so they sacked her.

Well, let's hope that we have better luck with our last batch of items

just about to go off to auction,

and here's a quick recap of what they are.

Jean and James had great fun trying out the unusual

19th century lemon squeezer.

Christina couldn't resist having

a cuddle with Elizabeth's teddies.

And finally, Mike brought in a great collection of watches and

cufflinks to St Albans Cathedral.

MUSIC: Let's Dance by David Bowie

So, it's auction time,

and our own Christina Trevanion has now taken to the rostrum

at Trevanion & Dean's in Shropshire to sell Jean's lemon squeezer.

We've never seen a lemon squeezed on the show before at a valuation day.

What's going on with you, James?!

Well, I just thought, you know, it's Hukin & Heath,

it's a wonderful firm. I just wondered how practical it was.

-And was it?

-It worked!

I didn't think it was going to work as well it did.

I didn't, cos looking at it, it looks a little bit cumbersome.

It was brilliant.

But you'd never squeezed a lemon from it, have you?

Never, never, never, no.

-Never, ever, ever?

-No, I was waiting for James to do that.

Oh, all this time, waiting for James to come...

We'll squeeze a bit more out of James if it doesn't sell.

Here we go. It's going under the hammer.

Lot 60 is a Hukin & Heath lemon squeezer.

I'm looking for £150 for it.

Where's 150?

At £150 for the lemon squeezer.

At 150. At £150.

100, then, get me started at 100.

Looking for 100. 100 is bid.

120 here, sir.

At 120 still with me, then, at £120.

Looking for 130 now.

That's not good, is it?

Are we all done? At £120.

That's not sold.

That wasn't easy-peasy lemon squeezy, was it?

No, definitely not.

What is shame, but another day and another saleroom and I'm sure

Jean will be able to squeeze a bit more out of it.

Next, we're heading to Lincoln, where Colin Young's still wielding

the gavel in helping to make a good price for Elizabeth's teddies.

..sold, £200.

-Are you prepared to say goodbye today?

-I am.

Why today?

Why do they have to go?

Because, next year, I hope to be living in Cyprus

and I can't take everything with me and I have to sell them

and they're going in the Cyprus fund.

-She's got hundreds.

-Oh, a big move! Why Cyprus?

Because it's warm.

Oh, really!

Lot number 631 showing next.

This is three modern Steiff collector's bears.

Who's going to start me? All they need is a home.

Who's going to start with £100? 100? 80 to go? 80?

Just remember, a bear isn't just for sale day.

80 bid. Five now. 85. At 85 bid. 90 surely?

At £85. Are we all done? Last call, then, going at 85. All done, are we?

I'm afraid at this price I'm going to have to withdraw it.

THEY SIGH

Are you sure? Just look at their sad eyes.

90, anybody?

No? At 85.

90. At 90 bid. We've got to be one more. Five?

-Make it 100. £100 bid. At £100.

-Amazing!

-Ten now, surely?

Just goes to prove an auctioneer should never, ever give up.

At £100. Thank you very much for your bid, most appreciated.

-Well done, Colin.

-£100, well done.

-That was close, wasn't it?

-Going towards the Cyprus fund?

They're definitely going towards the Cyprus fund, yeah.

Right, time for our last stop on today's show.

We've come to Tring Market Auctions in Hertfordshire,

where Mike's items are for sale

and auctioneer Stephen Hearn's in charge.

I've just been joined by Jonathan, our expert,

and Mike, our next owner.

-It was a bit of a mixed lot on the day.

-Yeah, yeah.

Lots of things there you brought in, Mike. They been split into

three separate lots.

The first lot - the time's ticking - is going under the hammer right now.

This is it.

We have the Omega pocket watch, pocket watch,

one Helvetia gents wristwatch and one silver vesta case.

Nice vesta in there.

What about £80? At 70.

That a good result. That's more than what I thought.

At £80. And five? No.

OK, then, I'm selling.

At £80, there.

Yes! We now need to sell those cufflinks for

around about £70 or £80 to make up the tally.

Here we go, second lot going under the hammer now.

There we are, nice little set of cufflinks there for £80.

For £50? For 60, 70? Is it?

70 I'm bid for those. 80?

75. 80 I have.

85.

90 now. No?

I shall sell for £85.

Thank you.

Yes! And one more a lot to come.

It's that gold pocket watch. OK?

We've got a nice, 14-carat gold wristwatch and you've got

a 1912 full sovereign with it.

500, we've got it.

520, 50, 80.

620, 50.

650 is there. You're out.

680? 680.

700, we're bid now.

720.

No? Sure? You lost it there.

It's going there, at 720 then.

Yes! That's a grand total of £885.

-Very good.

-I'm pleased.

-A very good day.

-I'm delighted.

-A good day.

Thank you so much. Thank you ever so much.

70, 80, 90 I have now.

£200. 10?

Well, that's it for today's show. I've had a wonderful time

here at Coughton Court, looking at the portraits and delving

into the family history.

We've also seen some wonderful items,

we've heard some of your fascinating stories and we've had some great

results from auction rooms on all over the country.

I was especially pleased for Mike and that great little collection

of watches and cufflinks.

It did well, didn't it? If you've got anything like that,

bring it along to one of our valuation days.

So, until the next time, it's goodbye.