Clacton Flog It!

Welcome to Flog It. Today we're at the seaside on the Essex coastline on the lookout for some real treasure.

And later on in the programme, I won't be building sand castles, I've got a real one to play with!

This is the fascinating Harwich Redoubt fort, built 200 years ago

to fend off the threat of Napoleon's invading French army.

It's now hidden away and nearly forgotten.

Later in the programme,

I'll be having a good look around and finding out

why this place was once of great importance to our island nation.

Just look at this! It feels like one great big solid mass, but it is a visual delight.

But first we're off to a traditional British seaside holiday resort,

nearby Clacton-on-Sea in Essex,

where the queue is already forming for our valuation day.

Today we're at the Princes Theatre,

just a couple of minutes from the seafront and the town pier.

Our experts are already mooching through this massive crowd,

searching for the best items to take off to auction

and today we've got the wonderful Elizabeth Talbot and Will Axon.

Well, by my watch, it is now 9.30.

It's time to get the doors open and get this show on the road.

-Are you ready to go in? CROWD:

-Yes!

Everybody is now settled inside and it's time to get started.

It looks as though Will has found an item to put a big smile on his face.

-Malcolm, hello there.

-Hello.

-Thanks for coming in.

-Yeah.

-Tell me, are you a cat lover in particular?

-Yes.

-I've had collections of cats.

-So what drew you to this cat,

because looking at him, he's got quite a scary face, hasn't he?

He's very unusual to look at, the green eyes and the funny-coloured mouth.

Yeah, I mean...

And that's what took me to him.

-That big grin, I would say Alice In Wonderland.

-Yeah.

-It's the Cheshire Cat, isn't he?

-Yeah.

Let's have a closer look at him because I rather like him.

And I can just see inside here,

-"Modelled by FG Doughty". Freda Doughty.

-Yeah.

So 1957, Royal Worcester, Cheshire Cat modelled by Freda Doughty.

Now, Royal Worcester, Freda Doughty, good names,

in this case, for a series of Alice In Wonderland figures.

-Have you got the whole set at home?

-No, I wish I had.

-So do I. That would have been nice.

-Yeah.

So how come you've come by getting just the one figure here?

Well, the one figure - I was car-booting at Weeley

and it started to rain, a lady was packing up, and I...

I just looked in the bottom of a box and it was wrapped in a towel.

-Really?

-Yeah. And I said, "Are you selling it?" And she said,

-"Yeah, a pound."

-And you said, "I'll have that!"

-Yeah.

-You didn't know what it was?

-No.

-You didn't even look at the mark.

-No, I just had that...that thing that it was worth something.

Well, we love to hear stories like that on Flog It!

It makes you want to get up early and get out to the boot fairs.

-Yeah.

-Something for £1.

Because once you got it home, you did a bit of research, did you?

Or did it hang about in the display cabinet for a while?

Well, when I was at the car boot, there was a dealer there

and he said, "I'll give you £50 for it, here and now,"

and that's what tipped me over the edge.

I thought, "No, I'll stick with it, I'll keep it,"

just to have a bit of a study and I looked it up

and, lo and behold, it was worth more than I thought.

I've done a bit of research. If we had a full set, then you're talking,

because that's a lot rarer than just single figures.

-Yeah.

-A set of seven, you're looking at about £1,500 to £2,000, because obviously, there's a premium.

-Yeah.

-So, what's that? A couple of hundred each, just over.

-Yeah.

So what I would like to sort of say to you is it's worth about 150, 250.

-Right.

-OK? Right. So, straddle that £200 mark.

-Yeah.

-Shall we reserve it at the bottom figure?

-Yeah.

-150 with discretion?

-150, yeah.

-Not a bad return for £1!

-No, it's not.

-A lot of people would have been tempted to take the £50.

-That's right.

Alistair, I think you've made my day.

-Oh, that's good.

-I've seen a lot of Black Forest carving,

we've seen a lot on Flog It! before, but I think...

this has got to be the best piece I've seen, that's for sure.

And the biggest! So tell me, how did you come across this?

The earliest I can remember is when I went to my grandmother's house.

-I was about five or six.

-So you were about that high.

-Yeah.

I remember the bear used to come up and stare me in the face!

-I was quite frightened of it sometimes.

-Aww!

So it's been in the family a long time.

-Did they use this as a stick stand?

-It was an umbrella stand.

-Yeah.

-We used to put umbrellas in there.

My mother inherited it and now she's given it to me.

I don't know how old it is, actually.

It's quite old, late Victorian.

-OK.

-And it is absolutely gorgeous.

It's still got its original glass eyes.

It's chip carved, as you can see.

-I love chip carving.

-This is all hand carved?

-Yes. With a tiny gouge, and this was one great lump of beech.

-Wow!

He'd have been working on this for days on end.

Now, the problem is, wood dries out.

If it's not seasoned properly and you put it inside next to radiators,

-it splits.

-That's what's caused that.

-That's what's happening.

I love Mr Bear!

I do as well. You can see the colour.

You can see on his forehead, you can see where everyone's walked past him.

-Yeah, I remember doing that myself.

-And stroked him.

I think he's got the potential to do an awful lot of money.

Had you any figure in mind? What do you think he's worth?

Well, I'd like to get about 1,000 for him, I think.

I actually thought, before you said you wanted £1,000,

I was going to put this into auction with a valuation of £1,000 to £2,000,

but because you want to go home with £1,000...

-It would be nice!

-There's commission to pay, so let's call the valuation £1,100, fixed reserve.

1,100 to 1,900.

Instead of 1,000 to 2000, 1,100 to 1,900.

-Well, if I could get 1,000 for him, I'd be very happy.

-OK.

Jack, I have never seen a pair of Carlton Ware figures like this before.

They're new to me, but what can you tell me about them?

They belonged to my father and they're about 35, 40 years old

and he just went out one Sunday and came back with them, like.

He said he'd bought them at a market.

-An impulse buy, was it?

-Yeah, well, that's it.

He's like me, he's a military man, well, he was in the Navy,

and I like anything military, so they caught his eye.

Hence you've carried them forward to this date.

-Well, that's it.

-But you're looking possibly to sell them, now.

-Yes, yeah.

-And why is that?

Well, I want to go to Australia next year and see my boy

and, you know, everything else at the moment...

-Everything adds up towards the big fund.

-Yeah.

-But do you like them, though?

-I do, as it happens.

-Yeah?

-I'll be sorry to see them go, really, but as needs must.

-Sure.

I think that they date slightly from before when your father bought them,

-but they were probably nearly new when he bought them.

-Yes.

-I think they date from the 1960s and they were intended to be advertising figures.

-Yes.

They do appear even to possibly have hollow tops

and it could be that they were intended to have contents as well.

Having said all that, because... because they're unusual,

it doesn't necessarily mean to say that they're any more valuable.

-No.

-Because there will be, I think, a very specific person

who looks at them and thinks they are collectable and interesting,

although I do like your idea of the military link,

somebody who's interested in the military and uniforms and history.

I think that's also an aspect which could appeal.

To be fair, you'd need to be looking at around about £60 to £90 for the pair.

They might make a little bit more. It would be lovely if they make a lot more, but I think it's unlikely.

I think £60 to £90 is about the area that we would...

-Yes.

-That we should be looking for before auction.

Does that suit you?

I'd rather put a reserve on them of £100.

-You'd like £100?

-Yeah.

-That means we need to make the estimate higher.

-Yes.

Because we can't put a reserve higher than an estimate,

so we need to make the estimate 100 to 150.

-So that's kind of doubled, well, almost doubled what I think.

-Yes.

-But if you're happy to go, we'll see.

-Yeah.

The worst thing that can happen is they don't sell.

Or they sell and we all learn what they're worth,

which is a big question mark at the moment.

-So see you at the auction.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

Carol, is this your money box from childhood you brought in?

That's right, it is, yeah.

-Was it full of pennies before you brought it in?

-It was.

Emptied those out, have you, put them to one side?

-It was my nan's.

-OK.

And she died six years ago at 96

-and I've inherited it, so...

-OK.

It carries the date underneath, the patent date, for 1883.

-That's right.

-So, it's 19th century.

Let's see if it does work, shall we?

There's 10p, I'll donate that to the cause.

Let me see if I can just pop that in mother bird's beak.

There she goes, holding on to that,

and let's see if she can dip it in the nest and feed the young.

Hey! There we go.

So, that's another 10p in there.

Hopefully that will entice the bidders!

Now, did your nan give you any idea of what it was worth

when you inherited it from her?

-No, she never did.

-No?

Never talked about value?

-The cast-iron money box has been much reproduced.

-Right.

They started making copies of these

and the reason I mention that is because that can, in turn,

affect the value of even the genuine ones

because the market gets a bit nervous, isn't sure if something is genuine or not,

but the fact that you've got this story that ties it back to your nan

that helps put it into some sort of perspective, give it what we would call a bit of provenance

and just puts me at ease that we're not dealing with something here that is brand new or made to deceive.

Value wise, I'm going to sort of remain a bit cautious

because of those factors that I've mentioned

and I'm going to say it's worth 100 to 150.

What do you feel about that valuation?

I'll put a reserve on it for 100.

Well, straight to the point! I like it, no mucking about!

Let's get that bottom figure fixed at 100, then.

Are we going to give the auctioneer some discretion?

Would you let him sell it at 90 if he's struggling on the day?

No. A fixed reserve at £100. You're quite right to put your foot down.

-Well, we'll give it a go for you...

-All right.

-At 100 to 150.

-OK.

Everybody's working so hard down there.

Our valuations are underway, but we've found our first items to take off to auction,

so while we make our way over, we're going to leave you with a recap of the items going under the hammer.

Malcolm bought his Royal Worcester Cheshire Cat from a car-boot sale for an absolute bargain.

I said, "Are you selling it?" and she said, "Yeah, a pound."

Will thinks it's worth at least a few hundred.

I just loved Alistair's inherited Black Forest umbrella stand.

Let's hope the bidders will feel the same.

It's time for Carol to part with her cast-iron money box

which belonged to her gran, and it certainly got Will excited!

Hey! There we go.

And, finally, Jack is hoping to add to his Australia fund

with the proceeds from his two Carlton Ware beefeaters,

so fingers crossed they'll find fans in the auction room.

And this is where all our items will be going under the hammer,

Reeman Dansie Auction Rooms in Colchester,

and I hope this lot here are getting ready to bid on all our items.

Before the sale starts, I'm catching up with today's auctioneer, James Grinter,

to ask him what he's got to say about one or two of our items.

What do you think of this, James? This belongs to Malcolm.

Royal Worcester Cheshire Cat.

We valued it at £150 to £250.

It's a rare figure and there's a lot of interest in it

and I think this cat's not the only one that will have a smile on its face tomorrow.

-A big grin at the end of the day.

-Yes.

-Well, Malcolm paid a lot of money for this.

-Right.

-And he wants his money back.

I think he'll be pleasantly surprised.

What do you think the top end will be?

Well, I reckon it could do two or three times your estimate.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Gosh!

Can tell you how much he paid for it?

-Go on, tell me.

-A pound.

I think he did all right, don't you?

Will James be right? Wait and see, because first up are those two pieces of Carlton Ware.

-According to Jack's wife, the beefeaters have to go, don't they?

-They certainly do.

-She doesn't like them?

-No.

-They don't suit the house.

-No.

-But you love them?

-I do, I don't want them to go, but she's the boss.

-She's the boss, so.

-She's the boss. Oh, well, I concur there!

-Keep her sweet.

-You've got to keep the wife happy.

-That's it.

-I hear there might be a trip to Australia coming up.

Hopefully, yes, in the end of the year, to see my boy.

I haven't seen him for five years.

Really? You talk on the phone, though.

-Yes, obviously.

-What's he doing out there?

-He's in IT.

-Is he? Oh, good job.

Yeah. He's in Perth. So, hopefully going to...

-This will be going towards...

-The holiday fund to get out and see him.

-Oh, brilliant. Well, we've got £100 to £150, Elizabeth.

-We have.

And I saw a couple of elderly ladies this morning viewing them saying, "I like these, I want to buy them."

-One each.

-One each! You never know!

Number 24 is the pair of impressive Carlton Ware ceramic beefeaters.

There are the beefeaters here. What do you say for this lot?

£100 to start me. £100 to start me.

80, then? 80 I have down here now.

At 80. At £80 bid now. At 80, 5.

At £85 bid now. At 85.

90, 5. At 95. 100.

At £100 bid down here now. At 100.

£100 is bid. Any advance?

All done now at £100. All done?

-Yes, £100! A nice, round figure. Well done, Jack.

-Thanks very much.

-That's a bit towards the holiday fund, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Spot-on valuation.

-Spot on, yes. Well done, Jack.

-Thank you.

Hopefully this next lot should be worth a lot of money

and it's something to put your money into, as well, because it's a novelty money box.

It belongs to Carol here.

-Beautifully modelled, possibly American. It's got traces of polychrome paint.

-Yes.

It's just what the collectors want, because it's in its original condition.

Exactly. You mentioned a bit of damage.

Keep your voice down, because someone might not have spotted that!

But it's the replicas of these that have affected the market, but there's no doubt this is genuine.

-Yeah.

-It's been catalogued as late 19th, so we were right on that.

Yeah, it's ready to go. It's good.

It's novelty, it's fun, it puts a smile on your face.

There's lots of collectors for these money boxes.

-That's good.

-I'm sure this has been picked up on the internet.

-OK, that's good.

Shame it's not full of money. Then it would be worth a bit more.

-Full of gold sovereigns!

-Absolutely!

Number 532 is the unusual late-19th-century cast-iron

novelty money box.

I have two commissions and I start the bidding at £200. At £200.

210. 220. 230. 240.

250. 260. 270.

270 is bid over here now.

At 270. 280 anywhere? At £270. Are you all done?

Yes! Just over the top end.

£270, that's a great result.

-Cor!

-You've got to be so happy with that?

-I am, I am.

What will you put the money towards?

-Perhaps we'll go to the theatre.

-Take Mum?

-Yeah.

-Because I know she's here today to give you a bit of support.

-Yes.

-Enjoy it, Carol.

-OK, thank you.

-Off to the West End.

Brilliant! That was a great price.

You should be able to get front-row seats with that sort of money.

Next up, my turn to be the expert and I fell in love with this Black Forest bear.

He's big, he's beautiful, but he is damaged, so it's going to hold it back slightly.

-I've just been joined by Alistair, Big Bear's owner.

-Yes!

-Now, at the evaluation day you were adamant, you said you didn't want this to go below £1,100.

-Yeah.

Because we've got commission to pay, you wanted to come out with 1,000.

-That's right, yes.

-But you've had a change of heart.

You want it to go, so we've dropped the reserve to 800,

which is sensible, but I still feel it stands a chance

-of doing what we suggested in the first place.

-Hopefully, it will.

It's the 19th-century Black Forest carved wooden bear umbrella stand.

A very handsome stand here. What do you say to start me?

£600 to start me? £600 to start me?

600 I have. At £600, now. At 600.

-Do I hear 620? At £600, now. Do I hear 620 anywhere?

-Come on.

At £600.

-Oh, it's sticking, isn't it?

-Any advance? All done now at £600.

All done? I'm sorry, that lot didn't sell.

I didn't think it would. I had this awful feeling.

It didn't make any difference.

I had this awful feeling it wasn't going to sell.

-Why?

-I don't know, I just had a gut feeling when I woke up this morning.

I don't understand that.

It was quality, it was just a bit damaged,

but there was enough, for somebody, in it to make it work, give them some profit.

-It's their loss.

-Yeah, exactly.

-I think Big Bear's going home with you.

-Big Bear, yeah.

It's not meant to be parted with you.

I've just been joined by Malcolm and we're going under the hammer

with that Royal Worcester Cheshire Cat which Will put a value on of 150 to 250.

I had a chat to the auctioneer, you know what he said.

It's positive, it's a good result.

Hopefully, we're going to break that top end

and we'll all be having these wonderful grins, unlike that cat!

It's described in the catalogue as "with beaming smile,"

but I think it looks a bit gruesome, don't you?

-Yeah.

-But £1, what a find!

Yeah, a very good find. A very good find at the time!

Would you be happy with 250?

-I certainly would.

-Would you be happy with 300?

-Yeah.

-You'd be over the moon with four, wouldn't you?

-I would.

You're building his hopes up!

The 1930s Royal Worcester Cheshire Cat with beaming expression.

We're just waiting to get through on the telephone here.

-That's a good sign.

-That's a good sign.

-We could see this going up to 1,000 nearly, Will.

-I hope!

A lot of interest in this lot, ladies and gentlemen,

and start the bidding with me at £300.

At 300. 320. 340. 360.

-380.

-Wow!

-400.

420. 440. 460.

480. 500. At £500 with me now.

At £500. Still with me now at 500.

Do I hear 520? At £500 with me. All done. 520.

-Yes!

-On the internet.

-Fresh legs!

-540 on the internet.

They're bidding against each other on the internet! 540.

560. At 560 on the internet.

They're bidding against each other at 560. 580 on the book.

They absolutely love this little cat.

On the internet now at 580. With me on the book at 580. At £580.

600. At £600 on the internet.

-620 with me.

-Wow!

Still on the book now at 620.

At 620 with me on the book.

At 620. Make it 640 on the internet?

At £620. I'm going to sell it, fair warning now, at 620.

-Brilliant!

-Wow!

£620!

-Brilliant!

-We should be clapping you. Gosh!

For a pound, not bad!

-What a lot of money!

-That's right.

Had you ever thought it would be worth as much as that?

Not really, no. 300, I'd have said, you know,

-very good if I'd walked away with 300, but double that, lovely!

-Great.

Incredible. What are you going to do with all that money? Obviously, there's commission.

My exhaust fell off the other day, I think I'll replace that!

Later at the valuation day, we're in for some more surprises

as Will finds a piece of majolica with an unusual use.

Do you know what it is, what it should be used for?

Keep watching and you'll find out.

Well, that's all to come, but right now I'm heading back to the seaside,

to rediscover one of the hidden treasures of Britain's coastal defences.

The port of Harwich on the Essex coast is a bustling trade centre

with passenger ships and container vessels coming and going,

but 200 years ago, this was a vital part of England's defences against invasion.

And proof of that importance is a little-known gem, hidden close to the town's harbour entrance.

And this is it, Harwich Redoubt fort,

built to defend Britain from Napoleon's invading French army

and just look at it! You can see it's such a solid fortress.

When work started on the fort in 1808,

there was a perceived threat that Napoleon might invade at any time.

So Harwich Redoubt was one of four Redoubt forts built along the east coast of England.

Each was manned with 250 soldiers.

The idea was traditionally it was built to be undefeatable,

to withstand any attack.

The fort was made circular so it had a 360 degree defence against any attack from land and sea,

as well as squatting low in the ground to make it a very difficult target.

There's a wonderful feeling of security down here.

All the bricks were made locally, and thank goodness they didn't have far to travel

because there's millions of them!

The thickness of the walls is so deep!

Look at that, you can see there.

And considering this was built so rapidly, the attention to detail is second to none.

Look at these wonderful brick lintels over all of the windows,

and that's quite aptly called a soldier course.

And then the fort had this,

a six-metre-wide dry moat to protect it from invading armies on foot,

and you can imagine, once you're down here,

it would be virtually impossible to scale these massive high walls.

The only way in would be by a working drawbridge.

All of these design features made the fort a formidable defence.

But all that preparation was for nothing.

By the time the fort was finished in 1810,

Napoleon's attention had turned elsewhere and the feared invasion never happened.

However, despite the lack of frontline action,

the fort was manned by an army of 200 to 300 soldiers

that were billeted here and ate and slept here.

A century later in the First World War,

the fort was used as a lookout across the bay,

but when peace came in 1918, Harwich Redoubt had still seen no front-line action.

In all that time, in over a century of military service,

not a single shot was fired in anger from these walls.

In the 1920s, the fort was abandoned and left to fall in disrepair.

Houses were built nearby and some land was given over to allotments.

The fortified embankments became lost in the landscape,

but one man who remembers this fort as a little boy

is Bernie Sadler from the Harwich Society, which rescued the fort.

-It's good to meet you, Bernie, up here on a rather breezy day.

-Very breezy.

When was the first time you discovered the fort?

Oh, as a small boy, just after the war, I used to play round here

and this was... Part of our adventure playground was to pop into here.

It must have been exciting as a young lad!

Yes, it was, but fairly inaccessible,

because it was in such a state, particularly dumping,

so that most of the staircases, there was no access,

but it was certainly an exciting place for a young lad.

-Did it feel like a special place?

-Even in those days, yes.

One knew there was something special about it.

Not only because of the size, but because of the construction.

What were your fears? What could happen if it hadn't have been restored?

Well, we'd already seen the lower parts develop during the 1930s and the concern was, of course,

that the allotment area at the top would be taken for housing as well and this would be demolished.

But it was kind of discovered by the Society in the late '60s

and then it was very quickly listed.

It wasn't even a listed building until 1969,

and then the Harwich Society started carrying out its renovation works.

From 1969 until the present day, the people of the Harwich Society

have worked tirelessly to save the fort.

The volunteers have cleared the rubble

and in doing so, they unearthed an original cannon.

They have shored up the structure of the fort

and have turned the lower rooms into a museum.

So what does the future hold now?

Well, we're glad that we've got the structure stabilised now,

although of course, even that's a continuing process.

We have chaps working up here every Sunday throughout the year.

-All volunteers?

-All done on a voluntary basis.

There's also a lot of space up here,

so we do need to fill the various rooms,

-particularly downstairs, with various artefacts.

-Yeah.

I expect the local community are really proud of this.

Yes, of all the ancient monuments in the town, this is the largest and one of the most attractive.

I noticed your people, when they came up here this morning,

it almost took their breath away and that's the usual impression that people get.

It is amazing what can be done when a group of volunteers work together,

and thanks to the Harwich Society, the fort continues to stand

as an important monument to England's military history.

It's still packed at the valuation day in Clacton's Princes Theatre

and Elizabeth has found an impressive collection.

Sylvia, I'm intrigued by your collection of jewellery,

which is rather an unusual cross section of the history of jewellery,

but how have you come by it all?

Well, I started collecting mourning jewellery about 30 years ago

and I started with a lot of ebony, which has long since gone,

and these are some of the pieces that I've kept.

-I used to wear them.

-That's good.

But fashions change and I don't wear them any more,

so they've just been sitting in the back of the cupboard

and I thought, well, it's time they had an airing

and so I thought I'd bring them along.

I'm pleased you did, because it really is a joy to see so much, and so much quality.

You obviously have quite an eye for both interesting things, good quality items.

Starting at this end we have the Georgian elliptical elegant ring,

which contains a glazed panel of plaited hair.

Typically Georgian,

-very much of the sort of late 17, very early 1800s in dates.

-Right.

And that progresses through to the much more traditional

Victorian mourning jewellery,

where they introduced the black background and the use of seed pearls heavily

and a lot of scrollwork and decoration.

And then this translates to, again, the later Victorian period,

the love of the cameo, which was popular in the Victorian period.

And moving through to the Edwardian period

and the early 20th century with this stunning watch.

I think this is gorgeous.

The enamel work on this, which is guioche enamel,

where they tool that the case and then an enamel over the top

so the decoration shines through,

-and if I just turn that over, that is just...

-So lovely, isn't it?

Gorgeous. Really rich and sumptuous.

And moving through from that watch

through to this very high Art Deco wristwatch.

-That was my mother's.

-That was your mother's?

-Yes, yeah.

-So do you remember her wearing that?

I think on a Saturday night, maybe, yes!

-It was a special occasion watch. Absolutely.

-Yeah.

Well, they're all gorgeous and it's difficult to say which I prefer.

I think they're all very good examples of their type.

I would strongly recommend that you're looking at this to be offered not as a collection.

It needs to be sold, I believe, in a minimum of, probably, eight lots.

-Virtually every item will stand alone.

-Oh, really?

-As an item.

-Oh, OK.

So you've got certainly six to eight lots of jewellery there

with an overall value, which I think is realistic

and possibly slightly conservative, of between £800 and £1,000.

-Oh, wow! That's really good. Fantastic.

-So we're going to have an exciting day!

It's nice to know that someone's going to appreciate them

and they're not just collecting dust.

I think they'll be highly appreciated.

Heather, thanks for coming along today

and I must say, this is probably one of my favourite bits today.

-I love this. The wacky world of Victorian majolica!

-Yes.

You knew what it was when you brought it in.

How have you come by it?

Is this something you collect or have bought?

-No, it was my grandmother's.

-Right.

And then my mother had it, and then...

-OK. So it's come down to you.

-Yes.

No-one left to pass it on to?

Well, I've got two sons and a daughter

and they're not really interested.

We hear that a lot in this business, I'm afraid.

It gets to a certain point and then no-one's interested in it.

Do you know what it is, what it should be used for?

Only recently.

-It's a spoon warmer.

-You're right.

-That's exactly what it is.

-Yes.

-Fill it with hot water.

-Yes.

-Put the spoons in, it warms the spoons.

-Yes.

Now, I knew it was majolica as soon as I saw it across the room.

You've got these wonderful bold colours,

this nice turquoise, the green, the blue,

real deep, rich colours typical of the majolica palette.

They tend to be by a chap called George Jones.

George Jones was one of three big majolica producers.

You had Minton's, Wedgwood and George Jones.

-Minton and Wedgwood I'm sure you've heard of.

-Yes.

George Jones, interesting this, probably why you haven't heard of him,

is because all he did was make majolica, so when the fashion for this waned

at the end of the 19th century, when we turn into the 20th century,

he had nothing to fall back on. This was all he made.

As soon as people stopped buying it, he went out of business.

I've had a close look over it and I can see that generally,

it's in good condition, I'll give you that,

but there is a hairline crack. It's not the end of the world.

It gets disguised in with the crazing which you get on the glaze,

but it does go through to the other side,

so that would be classed as a crack rather than a hairline glaze flaw.

-That's going to have to be taken into consideration when we come to a value.

-Yes.

Have you any idea, have you come with a figure in your mind today?

Well, it's only because I took it to the Antiques Roadshow,

and they said about £200, but that was over ten years ago.

Well, you've stolen my thunder now! What am I going to say?

Because that's exactly where I was going to come in too, at 200 to 300.

I sold a few bits in the last antiques sale,

which we estimated cautiously and they made a lot of money.

-Yes.

-And, again, you had Americans bidding

as well as English collectors and dealers,

but I'm going to be cautious and stick to my guns

and while it hasn't appreciated much from your last valuation,

I'm going to say 200 to 300 today.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes.

-Yes?

Doreen, your painting stopped me in my tracks when I saw you coming into the queue

and I think it's lovely, but what can you tell me about it?

I bought it 45 years ago in an antiques shop.

-Well, I exchanged it for another painting.

-Right. OK.

And I've enjoyed it for years

and now I've changed house and it doesn't go with the decor at the moment.

You're having a refurbishment of your new surroundings and it just doesn't fit.

-After so many years, you're looking to part with it?

-Yes.

-Aha, OK.

Well, it was in the cupboard, so I think, you know,

somebody will get a bit more pleasure out of it.

And what was it particularly that drew you to this one?

Well, it's peaceful.

I think it's a peaceful painting

and I enjoyed having it, you know,

in an old farmhouse that we had

and it looked beautiful.

What we've here is a Highland scene, a Scottish Highland scene, with a sort of a loch in the foreground.

-Yes.

-And if you look carefully,

there is a sort of flock of sheep and a shepherd,

and looking even more closely,

-I see he's wearing his kilt, which is rather charming.

-Yes.

A lovely picture.

-Yes.

-But it's signed at the bottom here, I think it says HB Goodman.

-It's not the clearest of signatures.

-No.

And I haven't been able to establish anything about an HB Goodman.

-No, no.

-But don't give up hope,

because I think there's a chance that if further research was done

on another occasion,

-we could put a bit more meat on the bone of the artist, if you like.

-Yes.

-And I do believe that the signature is possibly 1901.

-Yes.

Certainly stylistically, it would look to be late 19th, early 20th century painting.

It's an oil on canvas and it's very evocative

-of the Victorians' love of anything Scottish.

-Yes, yes.

Led by Victoria's, Queen Victoria's, love of Scotland

and I would have said that

market value was somewhere between £150 and £300,

I think, without even really trying.

-Right.

-And I think you should expect to get that.

I think if you don't fetch that, it's disappointing.

-Yes.

-You know, put £150 reserve on it, if you're happy at that.

-Yes.

-That would be fair.

-That's fine.

-Are you comfy with that?

-I'm quite happy with that.

Well, it's now time for Doreen's painting of a rural scene by Goodman

to go under the hammer on our final trip to the auction room.

Joining Doreen's painting is Heather's inherited majolica

egg-shaped spoon warmer, which is one of the most unusual items of the day.

Finally, we're selling Sylvia's fabulous collection of jewellery,

which really impressed Elizabeth.

You obviously have quite an eye for both interesting things, good quality items.

Let's hope the bidders agree with Elizabeth.

It's now time to find out as the jewellery is first under the hammer.

I've been joined by Sylvia. We've got eight separate lots.

The first one is the pocket watch and then we've got the wristwatch

and it goes on and on.

There's some quality items

and hopefully, we can get a total of around £1,000.

We've got a lot of trade here. There's a lot of dealers and prices are good.

-Great.

-That's what we like to hear.

We've got a packed saleroom and it's going under the hammer right now.

A good quality late-Victorian lady's yellow metal and enamel fob watch.

-I have two commissions. I start the bidding with me at £180.

-Good start.

At 180. Do I hear 190?

-Good quality!

-All done now at 180.

Straight in, straight out. There was one bid left on the book.

Number 302 is the 1930s lady's gold Dayton wristwatch.

I have 120 with me now.

At 120. Do I hear 130 anywhere?

Oh, late call!

At 130 down here now. Against you at 130.

Down here on the internet.

-Yes, £130!

-Right.

This is firing along now. Next up is the nine-carat-gold bracelet.

-Three commissions and I start the bidding at £200.

-Good start.

At £200 now. Do I hear 210?

At 210. 220. At 220 with me.

-Wow, that's £530! That's incredible!

-That's kind of what I've spent.

Number 304 is the lady's nine-carat-gold gate bracelet.

At £90. At £90 bid. 95. All done now at £95?

That one didn't sell. The memorial ring's coming up now.

Commission to start at 100. At £100 for the memorial ring.

110 beside me. 120. 130. 140.

150. 160.

170. At 170 down here now. At 170.

-That's a good result. 170.

-That's great.

Number 306 is two Victorian yellow metal enamel memorial brooches.

Say for this lot, 50?

£50 to start me. 55. 55 I have.

At 55. Make it 60? 60. 65.

At 65 against you. At £65.

70 on the internet. Are you all done?

Yeah, £70. That's a total of 770 so far.

The lady's gold necklace set with jade at £60.

With me on the book now at 60. 65. 70, 5.

80, 5.

-At £85. Over here now at 85.

-Yes.

Number 308 is the lady's nine-carat white gold mounted cameo brooch

and a bracelet.

50. At £50. Down here now at 50.

At £50 bid. Are you all done?

50. And that is for 980.

That's £905! Perfect.

That's mid-estimate. We said 800 to 1,000.

We did. One lot didn't sell, so still a bit in reserve for a future date.

-I'm amazed.

-That's great, isn't it?

Elizabeth was certainly on the money with Sylvia's jewellery.

Let's see if she can do as well now with Doreen's painting.

Going under the hammer right now, a bit of fine art. It's by Goodman.

-Yes.

-We've got a valuation of £150 to £300.

Why are you selling this? It's gorgeous, Doreen.

-It's a lovely painting.

-Yeah.

-But I've changed house and it's very modern, this house, and I just have got no...

-It doesn't really fit.

-It doesn't really fit.

-But when you look at the image, it's sort of romantic.

It's got a lot of artistic licence and you just want to be there.

-It puts a smile on your face, don't you think?

-Yes.

That's what's going to help it sell today.

-I kept the estimate quite wide, but I did wax lyrical about it, because it's a gorgeous picture.

-Yeah.

-Hopefully, we find somebody else who appreciates it.

-I'm sure we will.

Number 652 is the HB Goodman,

the early-20th-century oil on canvas here, the Scottish loch view.

£100 to start me.

£100. £100 is bid. At £100 now.

Do I hear 110? At £100 bid.

£100 is bid. Any advance?

110. 120. 130. 140. 150.

At £150 in the front row now.

At £150. Are you all done?

Yes, we just did it. £150. It was close, wasn't it?

-It was, yes.

-But it's gone.

-It's gone.

-It's gone. Happy?

Yes, happy.

Going under the hammer we've got some majolica, one of the top names

to be reckoned with. It's that wonderful egg-shaped spoon warmer.

I love it, absolutely love it! It's a bit of fun, isn't it?

It's so typical of the period, though.

Lovely bright colours.

-We're looking at 200 to 300, Will.

-That's right.

You either love it or hate it, majolica.

These sort of wacky shapes, bright colours.

I'm hoping there's someone here that loves it as much as I do.

Why have you decided to sell this now, Heather?

Because I'm getting old and I don't really have anyone to leave it to.

Oh, you're not!

I think it's a bit of fun, actually.

Number 81 now

is the Victorian majolica spoon warmer in the form of an egg.

I'm getting a lot of interest in this lot.

I have two commissions and I start the bidding with me at £300.

-Straight in at the top end!

-320. 340.

At 340. With me now at 340.

At 340. With me at £340.

360 on the internet. 380.

At 380 on the internet. 400 on the internet. 420.

This where the internet really comes into its own.

At 460. 480.

500. At £500 on the internet. 520 with me on the book.

-They love this!

-540. 560.

At 560 back with me on the book.

-580. 600. There's £600 with me.

-It must be quite a rare piece.

620. 640.

At 640 with me on the book.

660, I'm out. At £660.

On the internet at 660. Are you...

-Yes, one more!

-Internet bidders bidding against each other.

£700. On the internet now at £700.

At £700. I'm going to sell it.

Are you all done at £700?

£700. Yes! The hammer's gone down.

And we were worried about that hairline crack.

-Heather, £700!

-Yes!

-It's wonderful.

-Unbelievable!

-Yeah.

-I bet you never dreamed of that sort of money from us.

-No, I didn't. No.

A great result. I'm really pleased for you.

I would have been happy to get 200.

I thought you'd get the top end, but as you said, peaks and troughs.

The Americans had stopped buying this, but maybe they're starting to buy back.

It seems to be the trend at the moment. Majolica is making good money again.

You heard it and you saw it here first!

If you've got anything like that in the attic, bring it along, we'd love to see you.

Enjoy the spending! There is commission to pay, but what will you put the money towards?

Well, I was going to put it towards bills, but I might treat myself to something.

Well, pay a few bills and treat yourself as well,

and thank you so much for coming in.

-Thank you.

-What a wonderful day we've had here.

-Thank you, Will.

-Well done, Heather.

-I hope you've enjoyed today's show.

That's all we've got time for here today from Colchester,

so until next time, from Flog It! it's cheerio.

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