King's Lynn and Yeovil Flog It!

Today we're looking at "Flog It!" finds in the east and the west of the United Kingdom,

so get ready for a cold war, because they both have a proud tradition of trading.

In Norfolk, they reckon they know it all when it comes to spotting a bargain.

You bought this for a fiver? That's such a good spot!

But in Somerset, the locals are just as confident

they've got the best eye for an antique.

The quality's there, so your £18 has been a good investment.

Which of our two towns will do the best at auction?

Well, keep watching "Flog It!" to find out.

First we'll be travelling to Yeovil in Somerset,

and all these people are waiting to hear whether their antiques

will make them a profit when they sell them at auction.

And they reckon they've got the pedigree.

Yeovil has got a long history of buying and selling.

From Saxon times, it became famous for its weekly market,

and from the 15th century onwards there's been two annual fairs here,

attracting buyers from all over Somerset and Dorset.

-People like you!

-THEY LAUGH

And some of them are pretty confident they've found a winner.

I found it in a charity shop in Shaftesbury

about two, three years ago. It was £18,

and the wife loves camels, like, so we had to have it.

But they're not the only ones.

Later we'll be travelling to King's Lynn in Norfolk,

where they also pride themselves on their trading history,

dating back to medieval times,

and it seems our owners have also got a gift for spotting something with potential.

All I can tell you is, I got it from a car-boot,

-um, probably about four years ago.

-Right.

I do know the name Moorcroft, so I bought it for a fiver.

-£5? Really?

-It was £7.50.

-And you beat them down?

-To five!

But first let's get back to Yeovil,

where James has already made a shocking discovery!

Deirdre, I saw this in the queue a couple of hours ago now.

-That's right.

-And it looks, from the outside,

like any other mahogany box. But there's a telltale sign.

It's that little ivory-turned handle there gives it away.

-An electric-shock machine.

-Oh!

-Absolutely fantastic.

It says here, "For nervous diseases". An "electric machine".

It says, "Connect the two metallic cords." Let's have a look here.

We've got two metal tubes,

and they have little pegs at the end there.

And the little pegs go into the outside, there. OK.

-That's right, I thought.

-And the other one in the other side.

And in the 19th century, and in fact the early 20th century,

people believed that giving somebody electric shocks

would treat so many different things -

depression, anxiety attacks...

But I can't imagine them using it today to such a degree.

But it's a good-quality thing. It's an interesting object,

as well as a scientific instrument. Have you had it on display at home?

No. I'm afraid it's been in the attic.

-And how did you come to have it?

-My mother-in-law gave it to us

when our children were small. She thought it'd be fun for them

to try it out, which they did. But they're grown up.

-They're not interested in it now.

-OK. So it wasn't lethal.

-No, no.

My mother-in-law said when she was a little girl,

she and her friends used to stand in a circle, hold hands...

-Yeah?

-..and pass the shock round the circle.

-Oh, blimey! OK.

-And it's American, is it?

-Yes,

according to the little plate inside.

It says here "CH Woodard & Co,

surgical instruments, Portland, Oregon."

So, family from America?

Yes. My mother-in-law had an aunt or a great-aunt

who actually lived in America, and she brought it back.

-OK.

-This is a very long time ago.

-Turn of the century?

-Yes, I would say so.

-That's when it would have been made, 1880 to 1900.

-That would be about right.

-The box is in mahogany.

It's brass-bound, with lacquered brass mounts,

and it's in really good order. It's lovely to have the original name at the top.

If we look at the way this actually works,

at the back here, we've got a rather large horseshoe magnet

with positive and negative at the ends here.

And here we have copper cable, curled,

and as we turn the handle,

they are passed next to the positive and the negative end of the magnet,

and it causes an electric current,

and the faster we turn it, the greater the current,

a bit like a bicycle dynamo. Very well made.

I think the only bit that's ever been replaced there

-is a little bit of string...

-Mm. Yes.

..which keeps it going. There you go! Good thing.

The fact that it is in working order, that all the wires are there,

-£60 to £80, something like that.

-Yes.

-Is that OK for you?

-Yes. Do you think we could put a reserve?

-Reserve of £50.

-Don't let it go below that. Are you happy with that?

-Yes.

-I reckon it'll do well. Let's flog it.

-Thank you very much.

Dave and Shirley, thank you for bringing this table to the show.

-I saw you in the queue this morning.

-I know.

-I jumped on him.

I literally had to zoom in on this lovely cricket table.

Why are you flogging this?

We've got a new house now. It's a very small house.

-Yeah?

-This doesn't look right in it at all.

Can I ask why you call it a cricket table?

Why? Well, good question.

They were originally designed to go in the front

of a big inglenook fireplace. That was the central avenue

of any building.

The section in front of that fireplace was called a crocket,

and I think this is where the word has been misused

over the centuries. Crocket has been loosely translated to cricket,

because cricket has three stumps in the game.

But these tables have been around since the 16th century,

two centuries before cricket was invented,

and they're really designed for uneven floors.

If you've got an uneven floor and a four-legged table,

you just can't get them steady!

-No.

-No.

-They just don't go steady.

So a lot of the chairs in the 16th and the 17th century,

and most of the tables, were made with three legs,

because all you have to do with a three-legged table is rotate it

two or three inches, and it will find its own level.

-So what age would that be?

-This is towards the end of the 18th century.

It's around about 1780 to 1800.

-Where did you come by it?

-I bought it about 20 years ago.

-And how much for?

-I think about 20 quid.

-That's quite a lot of money, 20 years ago.

-But I did like it.

It's had a little bit of damage to the side here.

The tip has come off the table. But I'm not worried about that,

because it hasn't got a sharp edge. It's got a nice wear to it.

-It's very tactile.

-Yeah.

-That won't put the collectors off.

In fact, that gives it a little bit more personality.

-Yeah.

-And I'd just like to tip it up and have a quick look.

You can see how it's constructed.

Most cricket tables have a block underneath them

which secures the planks together, stops them from moving open.

If they don't have a large central block,

they'll have a cleat, and this one's got a cleat. That's the cleat.

-What would you say about these?

-Ah, now, that's an early repair.

You see that? That's known as a strap repair,

probably done in the Victorian era, around about 1850.

But it's a lovely example of an 18th-century cricket table,

and I think you've got a little gem here.

I wouldn't sell it. But you've got your reasons,

-and that's what the game is all about. You're here to flog it.

-Yes.

I'm going to put a value on this one of £200 to £300,

but I wouldn't be surprised if we got £400 for it.

-Right.

-I know you're desperate to sell it,

and I'm pretty sure my instinct will bring the bidders in at £200.

-Fixed reserve at £200.

-That's fine. Yeah, that's good.

Nick, you've brought in a wonderful bit of jewellery for me.

I mean, this is absolutely my sort of thing.

If we just take it out of the box - the box is original to it -

and have a look at it... How did you come by it?

Well, it belongs to my mother,

and she was given it, um...

We understand it comes from one of her great-uncles.

Right. There's certain iconography in jewellery that's quite subtle.

When you've got a pick, a shovel, a gold nugget and a bucket, um...

HE LAUGHS

..and Perth, Western Australia stamped on it, and Murchison,

it can only be one thing. It's actually due to the gold rush

in Australia, and it commemorates that.

Were there any relatives that went out in the gold rush?

Well, the story is that the great-uncle, or two great-uncles,

-went out to Australia...

-Fantastic.

..and that that was the first nugget of gold,

-but I think that's a bit far-fetched.

-Well, there isn't much jewellery

that one can certainly ascribe to being manufactured in Australia.

That's quite a rare thing anyway.

So the fact that we've got - there we go - F Piaggio,

Perth, Western Australia,

on the box and stamped on the piece,

and, of course, they're jewellers. What do they work from?

Raw materials. So the whole idea

that their first nugget would have been turned into a brooch

-to send home, probably, to a loved one, is entirely plausible.

-Right.

And we've got the name Murchison there,

and that's for Sir Roderick Murchison,

who was a notable geologist. When he went over to Australia,

he was one of the few geologists that explored the possibility

of finding gold there. They named a river after him, Murchison.

-Right!

-Which is, I imagine, where your relatives were panning for gold, found the nugget

and made the brooch, so it all ties in.

And it's really quite a sought-after thing,

-so any idea what it might be worth?

-We've never had it valued.

I would like to think £50, £60, £70.

I'm reaching for my wallet as you say that.

It's one of those things, because it's so specialist,

it will make a lot of money or it won't sell,

-but you have to protect it with a decent reserve...

-Sure.

..and I think we've got to think in the region of £120 to £180,

a fixed reserve of £120 on it.

Hopefully the auction house will illustrate it online,

and we'll have telephone bids from Australia.

-That would be lovely.

-Which is where this stuff goes back and sells.

That's the main collecting area for it.

So hopefully the telephones will be fighting it off on sale day.

That would be lovely. Thank you so much.

-Adrian, what a great thing!

-It is.

-I love it.

-Where did you find it?

I found it in a charity shop in Shaftesbury

about two, three years ago. It was £18.

And the wife loves camels, like, so we had to have it.

That's why you bought it? Not because you thought it was good -

-Because it had a camel on it.

-That is the best reason to buy.

If you love it... I like that. I have to say, I love camels, too,

and this sort of thing, you go to Egypt...

This may well have been made

around the time of the great excavations in Egypt

and the discovery of Tutankhamen and the tombs there.

But what we're actually looking at, of course, is a table lamp.

-That's right.

-It's cast in bronze. We call it cold-painted.

-Yeah.

-Decorated... Here we are. Little bits of gilt and red.

And this huge trunk here of the palm tree

has two little lamps at the top. Now, this, when it was made,

-I'm sure would have been gas.

-That's right.

Somebody's converted it. You can see where the solder is attached.

They've added two little electric light sockets to the end.

Whenever we're looking at this sort of cold-painted bronze,

the country that we associate with that is Austria,

and there was one factory called Bergman

who was making an awful lot of this between around 1880 and 1920,

and their mark is either a little B in a vase,

stamped into the bronze, or they often marked "Bergman",

or sometimes "Namgreb", which is Bergman backwards.

Now, I have had a look all over this.

I've had the figures off. I can't see anything underneath.

So I think it's in the Bergman style,

but probably not by Bergman. But the quality is there.

-It's wonderful.

-It shines through, the quality.

-The detail on the camel alone is -

-Oh, it's great.

A lovely little expression on his face! You can even see his teeth.

Now we've got to come to some sort of idea of value.

-If it was a Bergman one, it would be of huge value.

-Yeah.

It really would. The quality's there,

so I think your £18 has certainly been a good investment.

-That's good to hear.

-Would you be pleased with £80 to £100?

Yeah, I think I'd be happy at that.

That's good, because I'm going to put £200 to £300 on it.

Oh, that's good! That's even better. That is much, much better.

I'm hoping that two people will think it's Bergman.

Leave it up to them to decide, and it'll do very well.

-It's going into a good sale...

-That's good.

So I'm sure it'll do well. Sure you want to sell it?

-Definitely.

-See you on sale day.

-Yep. I'll be there.

And later on, all these items will be coming to the auction room.

If there's one thing that'll cause a buzz in the auction room,

it's Deirdre's electric-shock machine.

There's hundreds of years of character in the gorgeous cricket table,

so I hope the furniture dealers are out in force.

Michael's looking for gold in them there hills

with this bar brooch from Western Australia,

and lastly there's the cold-painted bronze.

Is it a Bergman or not? I think we'll let the bidders decide.

I'm taking a trip into the Exmoor countryside

to find out more about an almost forgotten craft

which is enjoying a revival in the modern world.

These days we rely on the motor car and the lorry

to transport us and goods all around the country from A to B.

But not so long ago, we relied on a very different type of horsepower

to do exactly the same thing.

Here, boy!

For hundreds of years, horses were a vital part of daily life.

They were essential for transport, working on farms, down mines,

and countless other jobs. In fact, around the year 1900,

there were more than three million horses in Britain.

Of course, they needed regular shoeing,

and that's where the village blacksmith came in.

They became so inundated with work that specialist farriers

began to concentrate on just shoeing horses alone.

By the start of the Second World War,

the number of horses in Britain dropped dramatically

because of the use of cars and tractors.

Nowadays, owning a horse and riding it for leisure

is a booming business, so once again the farrier is in hot demand.

These traditional skills are being kept alive today

by guys like this - Andrew Dennis and his apprentice Jamie.

I love the setup! It sounds like a mobile blacksmith's shop,

-and you're hot-shoeing on site. Is that what you're doing?

-Yeah.

What's the training involve to be a farrier?

How long do you have to serve as an apprentice?

You're looking at a four year, two month apprenticeship -

four years, then the extra two months, a trial period

when the boss and the apprentice work out

if they're going to get on together for the four years.

-What's the first thing an apprentice has to learn?

-Taking the shoes off,

trimming the feet and adding the shoes on, and finally fitting.

Traditionally it would have been the village blacksmith

that would have done everything, from making the tools to shoeing.

That's right. They would have done everything,

even repairing the farm carts, any farm machinery as well,

and that type of thing,

whereas nowadays it's quite a separate trade.

We only shoe horses and don't do anything else at all.

The farrier needs his anvil, that's for sure.

This is a lovely little cute anvil. It's a nice portable one.

It's got all the tools around it, as well.

Andrew makes horseshoes at his static forge,

and travels all over Somerset,

fitting shoes to around 30 horses a week.

It takes about 50 minutes to shoe one horse.

Different metals and weights of shoe are used

depending on the type of horse and the work they do.

-What's the shoe made of?

-Mild steel.

-Can I have a look at one?

-Sure.

-And there's different sets for the front and the back?

There is. The front shoes tend to be a slightly rounder shape.

You've got one clip on the front there,

whereas a hind shoe is slightly more a triangular shape.

Then you've got the double clips on the back.

And the average set of horseshoes will last how many weeks?

Depends on what people are doing. If you do a lot of road work,

they may only last three or four.

But after six weeks they've got to be taken off and put on again,

otherwise the feet start to overgrow the shoes.

We're going to see it right now. We've got Casper,

who you shoe regularly. We're going to parade in now. Here we go.

Obviously you watch the horse walk, don't you?

We do, yeah. You're checking to see that it walks with an even stride,

and you're watching how the limbs move.

So the first thing to do is take the old shoe off?

-That's right.

-OK.

There you go. That's it.

It's a pretty quick process, isn't it?

It is, yeah. It doesn't take long to do that.

And obviously you've got to clean out.

We're taking away any excess sole,

because there will be some hoof to cut off, after five or six weeks.

-What's the tool you're using now?

-This is called a loop knife,

because it's a double-bladed knife,

which is useful for trimming the frog up there.

That's the frog.

And the horse just doesn't mind at all.

-He really doesn't care, does he?

-No. Most of them are pretty good.

-Looking good.

-Yeah, getting there.

-What's next?

-The next thing will be to shape the shoe up.

Ooh, that's hot!

I'll stay well back, cos I've got no goggles.

There you go, boy.

And the idea here is to burn the sole of the foot.

-Where the burn marks are, you peel off?

-That's right.

The clip here at the front has burnt the hole in the front of the hoof,

so I'm cutting out a hole to allow that clip to sit in there,

so it sits flush at the front, then, to the hoof.

And you're burning down to make sure you've got the foot absolutely level.

-That's it.

-And now for the nails?

That's right, yeah. There we go.

-One final clean-up.

-That's right,

and I'm just checking to see where the white line of the hoof is,

running round the outside,

cos that gives you a guide as to where you can put the nails

without doing any damage to the horse.

I see. So you always hit them almost straight down,

then cut off the excess once it's come through the outside of the hoof.

That's right. You're cutting the edge off

so it doesn't do any damage if the horse pulls away. That's it.

How about that? Unbelievable!

Nothing like a new pair of shoes, is there?

We all need new shoes.

-New shoes?

-Don't mind if I do!

That's quite enough horsing around.

It's time we were off to Bearnes auction rooms in Exeter.

We're about to sell our electric- shock machine to the highest bidder.

I'm hoping the cricket table will catch somebody's eye.

And will there be any collectors awake in Australia

to bid on the gold brooch? Finally, has anyone spotted the potential

in the cold-painted bronze?

Hopefully we're in for a shock right now! We've got £60 to £80

riding on Deirdre's electric-shock machine.

-It's a lovely old curio.

-It is, yeah.

-Be sad to see it go?

Sort of. My husband would be quite glad if I took it home.

-Would he? Is he going to miss it?

-Sort of.

It's the curio factor. You always want to play with it,

-or entertain someone with it.

-We don't want to do that.

-They don't know what it is.

-It's not even that.

It's just, once it's gone, you'll never see one again.

-But if it goes, it goes.

-You do see them.

You do. We value regularly.

But they are such a lovely talking point at a dinner party.

Exactly. End of dinner, fingers in there.

THEY LAUGH

Victorian patent magneto-electric machine

for nervous diseases. 30 starts me. Anybody nervous?

32. 35. 38.

And 40.

-We're in!

-42. 45.

48. No? It's with me at 48. But 50 for you?

There you go. On my left, at £50. And five anywhere?

It's on my left at £50. And five, will you?

-Are you all done?

-We've done it, haven't we?

-Great.

At £50.

-£50.

-Made it.

-Just.

-Just, just, just.

-Just, just!

-It's gone!

-It's gone, yes.

Don't have to carry it home. It's heavy.

Here with me at £50.

My turn to be the expert now,

and I'm biased, because I absolutely love furniture,

especially oak, and it's Shirley and David's little oak table.

It's absolutely gorgeous. This would be a keeper for me,

but I know you want to sell it. I'm confident of the value,

£200 to £300. OK?

-Yes.

-Nice West Country table!

Let's flog it, Shirley. This is it going under the hammer.

Georgian provincial-oak cricket table.

A few pretty repairs. Interest here. Commission bid is with me

at £170. 80, will you?

-It's with me at 170.

-Just showing there.

170. And 80, will you?

-Come on!

-Are you all done?

-Are you sure? Then, it's with me.

-Oh, no!

-And it's going to stay.

-I hope he's going to sell it.

-At £170. That's unsold.

I can't believe it! Do you know what...

I don't believe it!

That's £200 to £300 any day of the week.

I just don't think the bidders are here.

It's a general sale. If somebody was here

that loved that piece, they'd have picked up a bargain.

-It's one of those things, isn't it?

-Yeah. Not to worry.

Don't part with it, then! You're meant to keep it.

Oh, dear. I feel like I've let you down.

-Don't worry about it.

-It's gorgeous!

It's got the right height and the lot. It's just beautiful.

-I'm sorry about that.

-We can find somewhere for it.

Five. 60. Five.

70. Five.

It's a gold brooch. It belongs to Nick here.

We've got a valuation of £120 to £180.

There's a lovely story with this. It's been in the family a long time.

It's been in the family well over 100 years,

and it came to my mother,

and her great-uncle went off to the Australian gold fields,

and this was the first nugget of gold they found.

Spot-on. You've got what it is, and you've got the original box

with the retailer's name. Maybe I should have said 300 to 500 Australian dollars! I don't know.

Hopefully someone's on the phone going, "G'day! Is that Exeter?"

-Why are you flogging this, Nick?

-My mum and dad are coming up to 60 years of marriage in September,

and Mum doesn't want it any more, and they're going to put the money towards celebrations.

-Why not? 60 years together.

-Wonderful.

-That's lovely, isn't it?

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

The souvenir bar brooch in the form of a gold miner's pick,

shovel and bucket. Starts me here, then, at 75.

85.

95. 100.

And ten. Doorway bidder at £110. 20, will you?

-It's in the doorway at 110.

-Come on!

-20, will you?

Are you all done? And I'm selling outside...

-Selling it, though.

-Yeah. Bit of discretion.

-The hammer's gone down. £110. That's a result.

-Yes.

-We just got it away.

-Just. That's not bad, though.

They're all asleep in Australia. That's the problem.

Needed a later start! They'd have all been on the phone.

Not bad. I mean, it is a brooch,

which is the least saleable and wearable piece of jewellery.

I think that's gone to a collector for its history.

I think you're right, yeah.

This one will light the room up. It's a cold-painted bronze.

It belongs to Adrian here. £200 to £300.

Why are you flogging this?

Because basically it's surplus to our requirements.

We've got another baby coming,

-and it's a bit of a heavy lump to have around.

-OK.

-And the money will come in handy.

-Dead handy. Be a new car seat.

Why not? £200 to £300. We've seen these do a lot.

A lot better. We've seen them make a lot of money.

Can't find a maker's mark on it. If it had Bergman,

you could put a one in front and more.

-Cold-painted bronzes always sell.

-They do, especially with camels.

Or animals, animals as such. Yeah. It's about to go under the hammer.

This is it. Good luck, both of you.

Austrian cold-painted bronze table lamp

of an Arab on a camel. Minor bit of damage,

but that doesn't seem to have put you off. I open the bidding here

at £550.

-Straight in!

-£550.

80, will you? 580.

600. 620.

650. 680.

700.

And 20. That's the book out. It's with you in the room, sir,

at £720. 50, will you?

-Wow!

-No phones. The book's out,

and I'm selling in the room at £720.

-Yes! We will take that.

-Excellent!

-Do you know what? Job done.

£720. They are so decorative. No wonder it went for that.

I am so happy. What are you going to do with £720?

-Buy a new car seat for the baby.

-And? Plus?

Plus probably have a couple of bottles of champagne on the baby

when it's born.

You had a sneaky notion that would do well.

Yeah. I think they think it's Bergman,

and it's one of those things that, the right feel, the right vibe,

-so fashionable! They do so well.

-Yeah.

-Great result. Made its money.

-Well done!

Fantastic!

Adrian is delighted with that result -

£400 over the estimate.

But now it's time to travel to Norfolk

and see whether King's Lynn can beat that.

At the easternmost reach of England, the pretty port of King's Lynn

has a history of commerce and dealing

that goes back to medieval times.

For many centuries, the Warehouse on the Wash was a boom town,

not only trading with ten English counties

but also with our European neighbours.

Just looking around King's Lynn,

you can see it contains some of the finest buildings

you'll see anywhere in England,

with a mixture of medieval, Tudor, Jacobean

and Flemish-influenced architecture.

And raring to go exploring the antiques of King's Lynn

are experts Elizabeth Talbot and that salty old sea dog, Charlie Ross.

David, wonderful case. Fabulous quality.

Will I be disappointed when I open it up?

-Have a look.

-Will I be?

I think you'll probably not be disappointed.

Look at the lining!

The condition! It doesn't look as if it's ever been out of there.

-I think it's probably been in a drawer for most of its life.

-Has it?

-Yeah.

-Sugar, cream...

-and tongs.

-Yes.

-Now, where did you get it from?

This came from my parents.

I believe it was a wedding present to my father's parents.

-Right! Have you dated it?

-Well, I've had a go,

and I think 1882.

And you can probably say where it was made?

-I think so.

-Yeah?

-I think Sheffield.

-You think Sheffield.

Well, we're going to have a look. It's a London maker.

-It's a leopard's head in a shield.

-Ah, yes.

-OK?

And I think we're on a capital G in a shield.

1882 is spot-on.

A fabulously presented thing!

-And a little bit of gilding, silver gilt on the inside.

-Yeah.

It's hardly ever been used, because the first thing to go

-would be the gilding.

-I don't think my parents used it.

That lovely golden touch to the inside

makes it even more attractive.

And even down to what we call the cartouche here,

which hasn't been engraved to anybody,

which means that, if you wanted to re-present this to somebody

as a present, you can put their initials in there.

It's beautifully made.

But I've gone a bit overboard with my description of it

-and my enthusiasm for it.

-You going to match it in price now?

I'm not, really, no.

The value, sadly, is not more than between £100 and £200.

It's more or less where I thought, yes.

I'd like to see that have a reserve of £100.

I think it's going to make... If you put me on the line,

I'd say it's going to make 130 quid, 140, that sort of money.

-Happy with that?

-Yes, indeed.

-What will you spend it on?

-What will I spend...

-It might be down to my wife to decide that.

-It always is!

-Perhaps she'll spend it on you.

-Unless she doesn't know we're selling it.

Ah! Cross that bridge when you come to it.

-Let's get it sold.

-Good luck.

Thanks very much indeed.

-Robert, what a gorgeous watercolour!

-You like it?

-Yes, I do. Is it yours?

-It is.

-How long have you had it?

-About 12 years.

-How did you acquire this, then?

It was left to me by my aunt.

-She died at the age of 93.

-Oh, wow!

Believe it or not, it was left to her by her father,

and in turn, the painting was actually given to her father

-by the artist.

-Really?

-Evelyn Engleheart.

-Yes.

-That's got provenance, doesn't it?

-It does. Intriguing, really.

I've not come across her before.

I'm using the art index sale-guide book, which all our experts use.

It says Evelyn Engleheart,

"fl. 1906-21",

-"fl" meaning "flourishing".

-Oh, right!

It says here, a topographic artist doing lots of continental scenes,

especially in the Far East and around Constantinople,

and this looks like it's somewhere maybe on the Nile,

with the fishing boats, the dhows, coming in...

-Typical scene, isn't it?

-..unloading their catch,

a lot of people here cooking and sitting down

-and just looking at the goods.

-Possibly having a picnic.

Yes, or that were unloaded from the boats.

It's beautiful. It's got that lovely evening-sun look to it,

that warm glow, that lovely light. Well, looking in the book,

we can tell that she's sold before, she's exhibited before,

-and she's collectable.

-Oh, good!

That's the good news, isn't it?

OK? And some of her works here have sold -

watercolour on paper -

for in between £500 and £800.

-Oh, that's very good.

-Travel scenes, lots of dust.

That's again in Egypt or Constantinople.

I think a value of 300 to 500's about right on this.

We'll put a fixed reserve of 300 on it.

If it doesn't sell, I'll be quite happy to take it home,

-hang it back on the wall.

-OK. Well, we're going to flog it.

-£300 to £500, fixed reserve at 300.

-Yeah.

-Let's see what the market dictates.

-That's lovely.

-Thank you for bringing it in. It's absolutely gorgeous.

-Thank you.

I'm very excited about this, Sue.

What can you tell me about your wonderful sugar caster?

All I can tell you is that I got it from a car-boot,

-probably about four years ago...

-Right.

-..um, near Southend.

Er, I do know the name Moorcroft,

and I just liked it,

so I bought it for a fiver.

-Five pounds? Really?

-It was £7.50.

-And you beat them down.

-To five!

And do you know the name of this pattern?

-No, I don't.

-I believe it's the Hazeldene pattern,

which is this very stylistic, and quite recognisable...

Once you've seen it, you do spot it again.

These trees, in a very simple landscape,

but this very electric combination of shades of blue,

and it really works very well, I think,

and the use of the combination with pewter

links it back to the early days when, in the early 1900s,

they produced a lot of items for outlets such as Liberty's,

and I was rather hoping I'd find a Liberty mark on this,

but I can't find any Tudric stamp on that.

But it's certainly... The combination suggests

that it's a nice early 20th-century example.

And on the bottom, one might expect to see a very bold Moorcroft,

with a signature, and the "made in England" impressed into the bottom.

So it's beautifully documented. It's amazing nobody else spotted it!

You must have been secretly jumping up and down...

-I was, sort of, but I didn't know what it was.

-Right.

I just assumed it was something to do with sugar, or maybe flour.

It's more likely to be sugar. Something as grand as this

probably wouldn't have been kept in the kitchen,

but sugar, yes, for strawberries and nice desserts and so on.

In terms of a piece of Moorcroft, anything which is culinary

or more unusual obviously is quite a find.

-One tends to find bowls and vases.

-Yeah. I've got a bowl.

Yes. I can't say ten-a-penny, but you'd expect to find that,

whereas this is a little more exciting.

We'll be realistic. The condition is good.

The only thing that's suffered is the top.

The pewter's beginning to deteriorate at the top,

but the actual Moorcroft pottery body looks to be absolutely fine.

And I'd have said that it should make between £300 and £400

-quite comfortably.

-Right!

Er, and it might do a little bit more,

but £300 to £400, I think, is a realistic pre-auction estimate.

-Are you happy with that?

-Very, very happy with that.

-It's just a lovely item.

-Oh, I love it.

-Good return for a five-pound note.

-It is, indeed!

-Well done, you.

Yvonne, you've brought a bit of history along with you here.

-Where did you find this?

-It was actually a neighbour

who was moving out, and he was going to be using it,

-in his new property, for his birds.

-For his birds?!

It was going to be a loft box for his birds to go in and out.

-So I sort of nabbed it off him.

-Did you?

I didn't think it was worth being used for birds.

Certainly not. I don't suppose the birds would have wanted it.

You fly in there and end up in a drawer!

-I mean, you know what it is?

-Yes. A ballot box.

It's a ballot box, and the date of it, I should think, is about 1910.

It's Edwardian - 1900, 1910, I would think,

judging by the construction and the timber.

It's made of a combination of timbers.

It's got some mahogany in it.

The majority of it is just ordinary beech,

which was a common, cheap wood.

This is a piece of oak here, which needed to be harder wood,

because people's hands bashing against it all the time,

doing their voting.

Inside, it's got a sort of triangular division,

so you drop your balls into the right or the left,

depending on whether it's a yes or no.

I love the front for a reason.

The knobs on the drawers have obviously fallen off at some stage.

-Have you seen what somebody's put on there?

-Chesspieces.

They've glued a couple pawns to it,

so somewhere somebody's playing chess

without the right number of white pieces!

We'll just use that to pull the drawer out.

Crudely made.

There's no dovetailing in the joints.

It hasn't been made by a fantastic carpenter and joiner,

er, cabinet-maker.

It's just basically panel-pinned together

with some standard locks.

But it's a great bit of history, and I'm glad you rescued it.

I'm not quite sure how the birds would have coped with all that lot.

Did you think it had a value when you rescued it?

-Not much, no. No, not much.

-Any idea?

I thought about £30, £40.

I'd like to see it make more than that.

I think, because of the history,

-I'd rather it made between £50 and £100.

-Right.

If you're happy, and we've saved it from the birds, we'll sell it without a reserve on it.

-That's fine.

-Let's say it makes £100 -

-what would you do with it?

-Finish the floor in my living room.

So we need more than 30 quid, don't we?

-Have you got half a floor now?

-I haven't got anything just yet.

-This is the start, is it?

-Yes.

-Right. We'll do what we can.

-Thank you for bringing a bit of history along.

-Thank you.

So here's what we're taking to the auction room a little later on.

Charlie was effusive in his praise for David's silver set,

so let's hope it fetches an equally impressive price.

Robert's watercolour beautifully evokes

the warm landscapes in the Middle East,

and I think it should do well.

The Moorcroft sugar-shaker was a rare find in a car-boot sale,

and is likely to attract lots of attention.

Finally, Yvonne saved this Edwardian ballot box

from being used as a bird box, so here's hoping the ayes have it.

Now, we British are truly an island race,

and the sea has always played a crucial role

in King's Lynn's development and prosperity.

Situated as it is on the River Ouse estuary,

the town has always been an important working port.

It was only in the 19th century, with the advent of the railways,

that King's Lynn's prominence as a centre of trade began to wane.

But for many centuries before the Industrial Revolution,

the town boasted a thriving fishing industry.

In fact, there was probably a fishing community here

before there was even a town here.

For several centuries, that fishing community lived

on the northernmost reaches of what is now known as King's Lynn,

in an area that became known as the North End,

and to find out more about that unique community

and its inhabitants, I've come to this local museum

to meet Arthur Paynter.

Well, here we go, Arthur. Oh, wow! Look at this.

Gosh! Aren't they tiny?

Arthur, you've got a particular interest in this place. What is it?

Well, my family grew up in this North End area,

and lived in a little cottage just like this.

My grandfather and grandmother lived around here.

My mother's family were all in fishing,

and had been for several generations.

And it was a very, very close-knit community,

a huge amount of intermarriage over the years,

so lots of people were related to each other.

My old grandmother was one of three sisters who married three brothers.

Paint the picture back then. Was this a street?

-There's only two cottages here.

-No, this was typical of a yard.

This was True's Yard. It was built around 1790, something like that.

There were at one time ten or 12 cottages in this yard,

but only two remain now,

and probably about 60 or 70 people lived inside this tiny little space.

That's why it was such a close-knit community.

-They were all on top of each other.

-Did it ever grow

and move out into the town, or did the town come into this space?

No. It was always an isolated community

up this end of town, and it had been here about 1,000 years.

It was here before the church was built, which was 1146.

And because of its isolation, I think,

that contributed to the way the community formed.

They tended to stay within the community,

they married within the community.

Ladies were frowned upon if they married outside the North End,

so they were encouraged to marry inside it.

So it was quite an embracing, powerful family union here.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Family, I think, was everything.

What about feuding? Families don't get on sometimes!

I think, like all families, there were fallings-out and fallings-in.

I remember as child, sometimes there would be a huge screaming match

when the ladies would go at one another hammer and tongs,

but within a few minutes they would all be friends again.

It was a very rough area, and there were fights down this end of town.

People would not come down to the North End unless they had to.

-So it had a bad reputation?

-A bad reputation,

and strangers were spotted straight away.

The police tended to come down here in twos, and never at night -

-always during the day.

-What was the income like,

and what was their daily routine?

Well, most of their daily routine was governed by the tides

and dependent on whether they could work

and whether they could eat this week...

But if the seas were rough and they couldn't fish,

did they supplement their income any way?

They would take any work that was going.

They would clean out the rivers, sell a barrel of beer

from the front room, they would tidy up - do anything to get some work.

And occasionally it got so bad that they had to go to the workhouse.

Now, these were really proud people,

and the workhouse, to them it was a stigma worse than prison.

-I can't wait to go inside. Can we go and have a look?

-Yes.

I'll follow you in, Arthur. Was this your grandparent's cottage?

-No, but she lived in one exactly like this.

-It's tiny!

Yes. They are very, very small,

and this is typical of the cottages here,

with just one room up and one room down.

That is incredible. What was the average size of the families?

In this one, we know that 11 people lived in here.

-How can you get 11 people in here?

-Mother and father and nine children.

You have to remember the physical area of the place.

There were other cottages in the yard,

and because of the proximity of families,

they would have been surrounded by uncles and aunts and grandparents.

So the children would move about in shifts, eat in one house

and sleep somewhere else. It was the only way.

Obviously this is your central heating and your cooking, is it?

Everything was done from the one fire.

There's no water in here. There was no water at all when these cottages were built.

People would drink water from the river, which ran fresh when it was going out,

or an old man with a horse and cart would sell you a bucket of water for tuppence.

Eventually they got a tap on, in the 1920s,

but that was only switched on for about hours a day.

But even then, that was enormous luxury.

People would tend to drink water out of the fleets and the rivers,

which brought in great loads of cholera and things like that.

It got to be a national scandal at one time,

and it was even raised in the Houses of Parliament,

when some MP said, "The people of Lynn will drink anything" -

only because they had no choice. They had no choice.

The women would have had to keep everything scrubbed clean.

One of my memories as a child is the ladies in North and Pilot Street

scrubbing the step first thing in the morning,

and you would see a nice half-moon of scrubbed pavement

outside the front doors, so that was all part of their role as well.

And they did lots of other things. There were wonderful old ladies

that used to act as midwives, and they really were part and parcel,

the glue that held the whole thing together.

Yes. You must have felt so safe!

When did the last families move out of here? When were they demolished?

The process of slum clearance started, I think, in the 1930s,

mainly due to the bad conditions, the overcrowding.

It was interrupted by the war,

and during the late 1950s the programme got going again,

so the last families moved out of here probably around early 1960s.

It's a shame these communities are disappearing, isn't it?

I think when all the bricks and mortars were pulled down

and taken away, nobody gave any thought

to the community that existed here, the community spirit and the family,

so it was one of the things that was lost, I think, along with the bricks and mortar.

But at that time, people just didn't realise it.

Thankfully today the fishing industry is still going strong,

but, as Arthur said, the community has been scattered

all over the town. But old Northenders still come back here

now and again to meet up and keep the spirit of this place well and truly alive.

'And now let's see how much spirit we'll find

'among the bidders at auction today.

'Will they be willing to shell out for the silver set,

'or will the watercolour attract their attention?

'Yvonne's ballot box gets my vote,

'and I'm sure the Moorcroft is bound to pull in the collectors.'

Batemans in Stamford is the venue for today's sale,

and while auctioneer David Palmer bashes his clipboard

instead of wielding the gavel,

valuer Kate Bateman has a look at some of our lots.

Kate, this is a cracking lot. It belongs to Sue.

Elizabeth, our expert, has put £300 to £400 on this Moorcroft shaker.

Believe it or not, she bought this for five quid

-four years ago in a car-boot sale.

-That was a good buy.

I wish she would tell me where she'd gone. I'll go there myself.

I think even your valuation is pretty low.

We've got lots of interest in this. It's 1920s,

-it's got the Moorcroft signature...

-Everything's right about it.

Condition's brilliant. Lovely pattern, not particularly well known.

-I haven't seen a shaker in it.

-It's a gorgeous colour, as well.

It'll do really well.

What do you think this is going to go for under the hammer?

We've got £300 to £400 on it.

We're going to beat your estimates, I'm pretty sure.

-I'd like to see it make double.

-Double!

-Oh! You think £800?

-I would think, yes.

-Lots of interest, then?

-Yes, and some telephone bids on it.

Can't go wrong, can we, really?

I think Sue will be so thrilled. Everything is a bonus to her,

-because she no longer wants it, and it's kept in a bookcase.

-Flog it!

Flog it, yeah. And that's the name of the game!

We've got a Victorian cased silver set, and it belongs to David,

with a valuation of £100 to £200. Who have you brought along?

-My wife, Maraike.

-Mar-... McGregor?

-Maraike.

-Are you Scottish?

-No, I'm Dutch.

THEY ALL LAUGH

-So, you're from Holland.

-Yes, I am.

-Maraike.

-Maraike. Beautiful name.

It sort of rolls off the tongue. Why are you flogging this?

-Family silver?

-Well, it's just been in a drawer for decades,

and I think even when my parents had it, it was also in a drawer.

It never came out. I think it's time to go.

-OK. Do you like this at all?

-I like it very much.

But not enough to keep. Let's hope we get the top end of Charlie's estimate.

Mm. Certainly the bottom end. I'd like it not to sell!

The case is fabulous. It's gorgeous. It's really never been used.

A good maker, good date, good case. Must sell!

-Great price?

-Let's prove it.

-We're going to find out right now.

511 is the silver three-piece set,

sugar bowl... Oh, in a nice case. There we are. Little cased set.

50 quid I'm bid. 50. Five. 60. Five.

70. Five. 80. Five.

90. Five. 100 now.

At 100. I sell in front. 110.

120, 130.

140. 140 down here.

Goes, then, at 140. I sell on the table here.

At £140. Anybody else?

The seated bidder now at 140...

-HE BANGS CLIPBOARD

-Well done, Charles.

-Yes, well done. Very accurate.

-Very good!

THEY LAUGH Spot-on.

What are you going to put that towards - jewellery?

-Er, no.

-Well, I thought... All the fashion now is towards the peerage.

You can't even get an MBE for 140 quid!

Robert, what do you think? We've got a packed saleroom,

lots of bidders here. Will we get top price for the Engleheart?

-We'll keep our fingers crossed.

-I had a chat to Kate, the valuer,

earlier on. She said three to five, that's tempting them in.

Hopefully it'll be a little bit more than the £500.

It's a great scene of the Nile. It's topical at the moment.

Lots of memories evaporating? Oh, is it a sad moment?

-Not really, no.

-No. It's got to go.

-It's got to go, yes.

-You need the money.

-Holidays are calling, aren't they?

-Holidays are calling.

Let's see if we can get Robert away on a nice holiday.

-Let's see if we can top that £500.

-That would be nice.

-It's going under the hammer now.

Lot 215...

is the watercolour,

the Eastern view. A lovely study, this. Very nice watercolour.

-It's a lovely, lovely scene.

-Straight in. £100 for it.

100 I'm bid. At 100. 110.

130. 140. 150.

160. 170.

180. 190. 200. 210.

210 now. At 210.

At 210. 220.

230. 240.

250. 260.

At 260. 270. 280.

At 280. 290.

300. £300 now on the phone.

At £300. I sell on the phone, then, at £300.

You're all out in front? It goes on the phone.

At £300. Done and finished, then, at 300...

-HE BANGS CLIPBOARD

-It's gone down. 300.

-We just got it away.

-Yeah.

-That was a good result.

A good result. You can still get that holiday.

-Oh, yes. A bit cheaper, but...

-There's some cheap flights about.

-Where's the next one going to be?

-Probably one of the Greek Islands.

-I love the Greek islands.

-Well, enjoy it.

-Yeah.

-Thanks, Robert.

-Thank you.

Right now it's time to cast your votes on that lovely old ballot box.

Will it be £50? Will it be 100, or will it go for next to nothing?

Yvonne, there's no reserve, is there?

-No.

-What a cracking bit of social history, Charlie!

Absolutely. In good condition, with its original little plaque on.

It came from somewhere around the law-courts area.

I like the improvising on the finials,

little chess pieces.

-THEY LAUGH

-That's a nice touch. That's cute.

-Lot 127 is the early 20th-century ballot box.

-This is it! Fantastic.

St Stephen's Chambers, Westminster.

Very interesting lot. As I'm sure you all know,

-Winston Churchill was a member of this club...

-Wow!

..and one drunken evening, he broke the knobs off

to be replaced by chess pawns. A lot of social history with this piece.

Putting up the price for us there!

Start me at 20 quid for it. 20 I'm bid.

20. Two. 25.

28. 30. 32. 35. 38.

40. 45. 50?

50. Five.

60. I sell over here at £60. It's got Churchill's pawns!

65.

70. 75. 80.

-Oh, this is great!

-85. 90.

95. 100.

110.

110. All done?

At £110 I sell this item.

-£110!

-At £110...

-HE BANGS CLIPBOARD

-Yes!

You're bang-on, there, Charlie. Top end of the estimate.

-Are you pleased with that?

-That's brilliant.

That'll go towards that flooring. Is the husband laying it, as well?

-No.

-Are you getting somebody in?

-Somebody else has to.

Right now we've got some quality with a great maker's name.

It's Moorcroft. It's the best. It's a sugar-shaker.

-£300 to £400. It belongs to Sue.

-It does!

-You bought this for a fiver.

-I did.

-That's such a good spot!

-In a junk shop or charity shop?

-Car-boot.

-In a car-boot.

-In Southend.

-Elizabeth's put £300 to £400 on it.

-Yes, I have.

-It's a nice one, isn't it?

-Very nice. I was very taken by it.

But I will own up - I called it Hazeldene pattern,

and the auctioneers have corrected it and put it down as Moonlit Blue.

All the blue ones do really well. It's a similar palette.

I love the turquoise green and the blue.

I'm not a big red-Moorcroft fan. For me, this has it all.

It's got the Liberty's feel, with the pewter top.

Now, would you take £300 for it right now?

-You'd be happy with that?

-Yeah. I'd like more.

You would? OK. What would you like for it right now?

-I'd like, er, 400.

-You'd like 400.

Would you take 600?

-I'd be silly not to, wouldn't I?

-You'd be happy with six?

I certainly would.

-Do you want to take 600 now?

-Yeah.

-No! Wait, wait. Honestly, wait,

because I think it's going to do that.

I really do. It's going under the hammer now.

Lot 462

is the Moorcroft sugar-shaker.

Rather fun. Arts and Crafts.

Put 100 to start. 100 I'm bid.

At 100 now. Take ten now. 110. 120.

130. 140. 150. 160.

180. 200.

220. 220 over there.

It goes at 220. 240. 260?

-260. 280. 300.

-It's climbing, Sue!

-300 this side.

320. 340.

360. 380. 400.

400 now. This side at 400.

420. 440. New money. 440. 460. 480.

500. 520.

540. 560? 560. 580.

600. 620.

640. 660.

680. 700.

720. 740.

760. 780?

780. 800. 820.

820 now.

At £820. Done, then, at 820. 840.

-At 840. 860. 880.

-Yeah!

900? 900. 920.

-We're going to do the thousand!

-950? OK. 950.

-950. 950.

-You're shaking.

At 950. 1,000.

1,050?

What? At 1,000.

At 1,000. Oh! Madam, you bid?

At £1,000.

LAUGHTER

-False alarm!

-At £1,000.

At £1,000 it goes, then. I'm disappointed. I hoped for more.

At £1,000. Done, then, at £1,000.

-You're going to settle for that, aren't you?

-Yes!

Yes! THEY LAUGH

-APPLAUSE

-How fantastic is that?

-Fantastic!

-That is absolutely brilliant.

I'm as pleased as Punch with that result.

And it's a resounding success for King's Lynn today

in the tussle between east meets west,

although we really did well in Yeovil earlier on,

with a whopping £720 for Adrian's bronze lamp.

Well, all I can say is, from Stamford,

I hope you've enjoyed the show as much as Sue has here.

Take care. See you next time for plenty more surprises on "Flog It!".

-Well done!

-Thank you so much.

-Well done!

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