0:00:02 > 0:00:05Britain is stuffed with places famous for their antiques,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09and each object has a story to tell.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Hello!
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I'm Tim Wonnacott, and as the crowds gather for their favourite outdoor
0:00:14 > 0:00:19events around the country, I'll be pitching up with my silver trailer
0:00:19 > 0:00:23to meet the locals with their precious antiques and collectables.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26I'm feeling inspired myself, thank you very much.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Their stories will reveal why the places
0:00:29 > 0:00:34we visit deserve to be on the Great Antiques Map of Britain.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Today, I've come to London and one of its iconic squares,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39the Covent Garden Piazza.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47'It's brimming with people who've
0:00:47 > 0:00:49'brought along their fascinating objects.'
0:00:49 > 0:00:52People don't think about London as being a ceramic centre.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55'Which give a fantastic insight into the area's unique
0:00:55 > 0:00:56'antiques heritage.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:59It's all part of our wonderful story.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03'And, of course, they want to know what their precious treasures might be worth.'
0:01:03 > 0:01:05£50. 400-600.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07£3,000-£5,000.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10'And have I got a big surprise for Karen!'
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Henry Day was found out for issuing
0:01:14 > 0:01:17fake marked silver.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20- And having found him guilty, he was sentenced to death.- Gosh.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Today, I'm headed to the heart of London,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35to a place where people have gathered to buy and
0:01:35 > 0:01:37sell their produce
0:01:37 > 0:01:40and services since medieval times -
0:01:40 > 0:01:41Covent Garden.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48London's position on the Thames helped it to flourish.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53In the 6th century, the Anglo-Saxons created Lundenwic,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56where Covent Garden now sits, but it wasn't until the
0:01:56 > 0:02:0117th century that the great piazza was created by Inigo Jones.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Ask any Londoner and they're probably
0:02:04 > 0:02:07in possession of some treasure which tells a little bit
0:02:07 > 0:02:12of the story of how this great city came to be what we know it today.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19And first to put it on the Great Antiques Map,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22part of an extraordinary collection
0:02:22 > 0:02:26belonging to one of London's oldest tailors, brought along by James.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30I'm a historian who's worked on Savile Row for eight years now,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34and for the past five years, I've been cataloguing the Henry Poole
0:02:34 > 0:02:37ledgers, which date back to 1846, to the present,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41and, well, it's a hell of a job.
0:02:41 > 0:02:42Well, how lovely is this?
0:02:42 > 0:02:46In the heart of Covent Garden, which is not so very far from the heart
0:02:46 > 0:02:50of the very best things that happen in British tailoring,
0:02:50 > 0:02:51in Savile Row.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55This is a privy councillor's coatee. I think it is 1900, 1902.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00There is an element of gold in the embroidery.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03You can see here that...
0:03:03 > 0:03:04it's been adapted.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08This has been cut from another uniform, because it's so precious.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10They are recycled, these uniforms.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13What would it cost me, a coatee like that?
0:03:13 > 0:03:18I think you'd be talking in the region of £10,000-£13,000.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22- Ten to 13,000 grand.- I should think so.- Now, tell us about these ledgers,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25because that is a massive tome, isn't it?
0:03:25 > 0:03:29- They record all the sales, do they? - They do.- Oh, here we go, the King.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33- So if we've got the date, 1918, that's George V, isn't it?- Yes.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36These aren't personal orders, these are for the household,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40- so you'll see there will be pages and pages of it.- Good Lord!
0:03:40 > 0:03:45So we're still George V, George V. And then this is interesting.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Because we've come to Edward VIII,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51- and that was the year of the three kings, 1936.- Yes.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54When the King abdicated and became Duke of Windsor.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58- So King Edward VIII is deleted by your clerk.- Yes.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02And then they insert His Royal Highness, the Duke of Windsor.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05And I like to see, "Personal account,"
0:04:05 > 0:04:08so they know where to send him the bill after he's abdicated.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11And I think he gets 2.5%, by the looks of it.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- So that's a discount. - What a brilliant record.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18This is something that is so unique, you can't possibly value it.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21But as a piece of social history, it is extraordinary.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Now, another part of the tapestry of your history relates to
0:04:33 > 0:04:35objects that you've got knocking about.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- And you've kindly brought in this box...- Yes.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41..which has got an interesting inscription, hasn't it?
0:04:41 > 0:04:45"Wood and iron from the foundations of the old London Bridge."
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Which of course was built in 1176,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50stood for 600 years
0:04:50 > 0:04:52and was then pulled down in 1831.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57A really grand club would have had a large table snuff box like this
0:04:57 > 0:05:01to pass around for the members to take a sniff after lunch.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05But I've never seen one fitted with the individual
0:05:05 > 0:05:09brands of snuff inside, but for us, to be in London
0:05:09 > 0:05:13and have a box made out of the oak that came from London Bridge,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16it's all part of our wonderful story.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18How wonderful.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21'But can you imagine how much you'd have to pay for a rarity like this?
0:05:21 > 0:05:24'Have a think, and I'll tell you later.'
0:05:30 > 0:05:31Since the 18th century,
0:05:31 > 0:05:36the foreshore of the Thames has been scavenged by mudlarkers
0:05:36 > 0:05:38searching for treasures to sell,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42objects that had been dropped, lost or fallen overboard.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45These days, mudlarkers aren't in it for the money.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49They're passionate about uncovering artefacts that help
0:05:49 > 0:05:51illuminate the past.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Nice, old pewter button.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Military button.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59But it has to be done with a Port of London Authority permit.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02One of the mudlarkers is Nick Stevens.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05This is the tools of the trade for the mudlarker.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09So on a standard permit, you are allowed to scrape to 7.5 centimetres.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Each time the tide goes out, it's leaving fresh deposits,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14fresh erosion, so that is what I do.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17I'm always out looking for those areas that have been freshly eroded
0:06:17 > 0:06:21in the hope that I'm going to find something of historical interest.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25You'll always come back with something, and that's the exciting buzz about mudlarking.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27You're never going to come home empty-handed.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30But the most exciting thing for me is I get to go home now
0:06:30 > 0:06:34and spend a few hours trying to work out what this is.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Mudlarkers must report all objects of archaeological
0:06:37 > 0:06:39interest to the Museum of London,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43where I've come to meet Head of Archaeology, Roy Stephenson.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45What have we got in this boxful here?
0:06:45 > 0:06:48That box is just a fraction of a huge
0:06:48 > 0:06:51collection of buttons and cuff links
0:06:51 > 0:06:54that have been donated to the museum by one of the mudlarks.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Now, as far as these other objects are concerned,
0:06:57 > 0:06:59all found by mudlarkers.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02If you were to look at them chronologically, there is
0:07:02 > 0:07:05a little Roman, 2nd century lion brooch,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08which has only come to the museum fairly recently.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11This is something that would have sat on somebody's shoulder,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- held their cloak in place.- Yes.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Next up, we've got somebody that looks like a cleric.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Yeah, we've got Thomas Beckett, obviously Canterbury,
0:07:19 > 0:07:24and quite an unusual one from Germany, Gronenberg,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28so these are... As people travel now,
0:07:28 > 0:07:29they're desperate for a souvenir,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32you buy a souvenir, you wear it on your cloak, you show everybody
0:07:32 > 0:07:35where you've been, but of course, in the same way, it ends
0:07:35 > 0:07:39up like the buttons, it's in the river. And these are 15th century.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43This one has Jesus on one side and Veronica on the other
0:07:43 > 0:07:47side, which is a little brass case for a reliquary, so this is
0:07:47 > 0:07:51somebody who's gone to Rome in the mid-15th century,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53come back to London,
0:07:53 > 0:07:58brought their precious relic with them and lost it in the river.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02The reality is that most of the material is pretty low value,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04but it's priceless to us.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13In Covent Garden, we have a relic dug up by mudlarker Dean.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19I bet 99 times out of 100 all you get out is a little lump,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- cos it's bust.- It's normally just the top that you pull out, or the bottom.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24It's a big pot this, isn't it?
0:08:24 > 0:08:28And this is made of stoneware, which I think is the most
0:08:28 > 0:08:32marvellous stuff, cos this is high-fired to a high
0:08:32 > 0:08:37temperature in a kiln, specifically to make it as hard as you
0:08:37 > 0:08:42possibly can, because stoneware, properly fired, is impervious
0:08:42 > 0:08:46to acid, ink, any of these nasty chemicals,
0:08:46 > 0:08:47which you can store
0:08:47 > 0:08:51safely in a stoneware vessel. And down at the bottom here we've got
0:08:51 > 0:08:55a stamp, which is lovely for us in London today, because it's
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Doulton Lambeth, and
0:08:57 > 0:09:01Lambeth, just the south side of the Thames from where we are,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05was a substantial pottery and stoneware
0:09:05 > 0:09:08making part of London, and you
0:09:08 > 0:09:13had a cork in there, making it fluid-tight, watertight.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Take out the cork, and whatever fluid is in it,
0:09:16 > 0:09:17you want to precisely pour.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21It's got that little pourer all attached,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23which is really rather cool, and
0:09:23 > 0:09:27I guess I'd date that to probably 1850, 1860, something like that.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Doulton & Co are part of the London scene,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and people don't think about London as being a ceramic centre,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36but in the 18th century, Chelsea porcelain, stuff made in Bow.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40It doesn't all happen in Stoke-on-Trent,
0:09:40 > 0:09:41that's the important thing.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44A big stoneware pot like that,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46at auction in London, would
0:09:46 > 0:09:49probably make £50. I mean, it's a nice job.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Thank you.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00EXPLODING
0:10:00 > 0:10:04When the Great War took British troops to far flung places,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08homesick soldiers tried to keep in touch with their loved ones.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12And the method of the moment was an embroidered postcard.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14They became collectable, and John Cook
0:10:14 > 0:10:19left his collection of around 150 cards to his granddaughter Sophie.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21He used to show me them when I was a little girl,
0:10:21 > 0:10:26and since then I've always thought, "Well, one day I'd love to have those."
0:10:26 > 0:10:30And when my grandad did eventually pass away they were given to me.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36They first appeared in the Paris exhibition in 1900.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Embroidered cards, worked silk cards
0:10:39 > 0:10:42started to be made in France and throughout
0:10:42 > 0:10:47the continent, but it became wildly popular during the First World War.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48Yes.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53And I'm told the top end of ten million embroidered cards,
0:10:53 > 0:10:58it is thought, were produced through the First World War alone.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01But what's lovely about them, as a collectible, is that they come
0:11:01 > 0:11:04with an infinite variety of designs,
0:11:04 > 0:11:06and I've just plucked out a few,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and to stop them blowing away, we've put a bit of glass on them.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Here we've got a bit of Christmas jollity going on with
0:11:12 > 0:11:15a lovely embroidered card addressed "To my dear son", which is
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- really rather moving, isn't it? - Yes, definitely, yeah.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21There were a few birthday ones as well that I've got,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and all sorts of different occasions, it's very sweet.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Yes, and I've never seen one of these First World War
0:11:28 > 0:11:31embroidered cards saying, for example, "Greetings from Egypt."
0:11:31 > 0:11:36And some of them, which are really fun, have a hidden section,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39and on the back of this card it says, "Look under the flags
0:11:39 > 0:11:42"on the card," so you can peel back
0:11:42 > 0:11:45that flap and inside is another
0:11:45 > 0:11:49message, which in this instance says, "Happy Birthday Greetings."
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- Collectively, they're known as World War I silks.- Yes.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55But out of the collection, I've found two which particularly
0:11:55 > 0:11:59interest me. That one which says, "Greetings from India,"
0:11:59 > 0:12:02and that one that says, "Hands Across the Sea."
0:12:02 > 0:12:07They are embroidered cards, they are silks in the same way that the
0:12:07 > 0:12:09rest of the collection are embroidered silks,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12but these have been embroidered by machine. This has an
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Irish-American connection,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18which must make it really rather desirable.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And then we've got, "Greetings from India, Hands Across The Ocean,"
0:12:21 > 0:12:26so these machine-woven ones were also popular alongside
0:12:26 > 0:12:28the hand embroidered ones.
0:12:30 > 0:12:35'So what's the value of a collection like? All will be revealed later!'
0:12:41 > 0:12:46In 1666, the capital's skyline changed for ever
0:12:46 > 0:12:49following the cataclysmic Great Fire of London,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52when four fifths of the city was destroyed.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Out of tragedy, though, came an incredible
0:12:56 > 0:13:00opportunity for Christopher Wren, who redesigned 51 of the 84
0:13:00 > 0:13:04lost churches, including St Paul's Cathedral.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15I've come to find out more with guide David Thompson.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Well, Wren was in the right place at the right time,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20he was surveyor of the fabric of St Paul's,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24and within six days of the city burning, he had produced plans
0:13:24 > 0:13:27for a classical city of vistas, piazzas
0:13:27 > 0:13:29and eye-catching viewpoints.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33He came up with a new design, which this model represents, does it?
0:13:33 > 0:13:36What he wanted was to get away from essentially what the church
0:13:36 > 0:13:40authorities wanted - another church with a spire. Wren wants a dome.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Now this fabulous model, the "Great Model",
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Wren paid for out of his own money.
0:13:45 > 0:13:481674, £600.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52That would buy you a very substantial London house.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Oak, plaster, it was painted with emerald stone,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58leaden roofs, it was gilded.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Church authorities said an all-out no.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04He came up with what we today call the "Warrant" design, it has
0:14:04 > 0:14:08a curious ornamental spire coming out of a shallow dome.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Charles II sees the design and signs it,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16but he gives Wren his freedom by writing
0:14:16 > 0:14:21under his signature that Wren may make some changes -
0:14:21 > 0:14:27ornamental rather than essential - that from time to time he may desire.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29He has his freedom, he knocks off the spire.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33- And puts on a great dome.- And we see the great church that we see today.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35- That's brilliant, isn't it? - Essentially, yes.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37And it then took how many years to build?
0:14:37 > 0:14:4035 years. The architect... Very rare an architect
0:14:40 > 0:14:44in those days actually saw his great cathedral from beginning to end.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51A year after the Great Fire, this little book was written.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56Its owner, Hazel, couldn't make it today, so I've asked antiquarian
0:14:56 > 0:15:00book expert, Clive Farahar, to come and tell us what he thinks about it.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Well, first of all, what a lovely little 17th-century book
0:15:04 > 0:15:06in a 19th-century binding.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10A very nice little 19th-century binding. Green Morocco,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14some sunning on the spine, of course. But it is a rather nice binding.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16This is the sign of the collector,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20the collector decided, whoever it was, decided that this was a good
0:15:20 > 0:15:24book and wanted it in fine condition in his library.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Obviously, modern books, cloth books, paperback books, machine bound.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31But when you get a book like this which is bound in leather, or
0:15:31 > 0:15:36even one that is specially bound in cloth or paper, the book
0:15:36 > 0:15:38binder's art comes into that.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41It's a very fine art, and there are a few only in the country.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Well, most interesting that that's done in the 19th century,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46but the book itself is earlier.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50The book itself, we have the date here on the title, 1667.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53The short narrative of the late, dreadful fire in London,
0:15:53 > 0:15:58"Written by way of a letter to a person of honour and virtue."
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Very much a 17th-century sentiment - honour and virtue.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Yes. We were moving into the age of reason,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09and reasoning was what this man was all about, he was reasoning.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13This chap, who was in fact a chap called Waterhouse, he wrote this
0:16:13 > 0:16:16book. Anybody who was discerning in those periods would be thinking
0:16:16 > 0:16:21an awful lot about life, the meaning of life, all these disasters
0:16:21 > 0:16:25that had happened within immediate memory. The death of King Charles I,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28being ruled by Oliver Cromwell,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31the Restoration, what did it mean?
0:16:31 > 0:16:32And then the Great Fire
0:16:32 > 0:16:35when the whole of London virtually went up in flames.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40'What price would you put on this 350-year-old book?
0:16:40 > 0:16:43'Clive will give us his wisdom later.'
0:16:48 > 0:16:53Well, the rug that I've brought in today is my father's rug.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57And it's just been in the house all my life.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59He was a carpet dealer.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Now, Astrid, here is a letter that's dated 16th February 1937.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- I know.- To your father.- Yes.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09In which the Office of Works,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13in Whitehall, is saying to your father
0:17:13 > 0:17:17that he had submitted this Chinese rug
0:17:17 > 0:17:20to go to Westminster Abbey,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and it was following the submission of this rug
0:17:23 > 0:17:25that they chose the colours
0:17:25 > 0:17:28to go on the floor coverings at
0:17:28 > 0:17:31the time of George VI's coronation.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37This is what's called a Ningxia rug.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Ningxia is a region in China,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43sort of between Beijing and Mongolia.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46It's famed for its carpet production.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50What it's got is some interesting design features.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53- This circle in the middle is called a mon.- Mon.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58If you look at the ground itself, we've got stylised flowers here,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01these are supposed to be peonies. We've got
0:18:01 > 0:18:04a little temple here at the bottom, and then either side of that,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08these ripply bits are all ponds full of water.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12And then we've got these seriously zany zigzags on the ends,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15and they're supposed to be rays of light.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Now, I personally think this is quite an early rug,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and by an early rug, we're talking about something that
0:18:22 > 0:18:26certainly dates from the 19th century, which is old in rug
0:18:26 > 0:18:29terms, and who knows, it may be a little older than that.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31If you rub your finger over it,
0:18:31 > 0:18:33the areas of blue stand
0:18:33 > 0:18:36up from the areas of brown and yellow.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41- Yes.- Once upon a time, the pile of this rug was all level.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45- More even?- Yes, but what happened was, because the wool
0:18:45 > 0:18:48was died with vegetable dye,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51- some of them are more acidic than others.- OK.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56- And as a result of that, they degrade at different rates.- Right.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58If you said to me, how much?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01- It's difficult to put your finger on a number.- Yeah.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Would it be worth, in a specialist sale, £2000-£3000
0:19:05 > 0:19:08or £3000-£5000?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10That is a bit of a question,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13but that's where I think it comes from, in terms of its value.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Right, lovely. Well, I would never sell it, obviously.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19You'd never sell it, but it's nice to know, isn't it?
0:19:19 > 0:19:20It's very nice to know.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Before the start of World War II,
0:19:26 > 0:19:32more than 1.5 million men had joined the Air Raid Precautions, or ARP.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Among the volunteers from the London Borough of Hackney was
0:19:35 > 0:19:40Sid Goldsmith, who left some mementoes to his nephew, Peter.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45It's an ARP game of some description. It's 86 cards.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I'm really just interested in... what were they used for?
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Were they given out to everybody, was it a way of teaching
0:19:51 > 0:19:54people to watch out for incendiary bombs?
0:19:54 > 0:19:56What were they about?
0:19:56 > 0:20:00What I find so interesting about what you've brought is this
0:20:00 > 0:20:04very rare, surviving set of cards that were
0:20:04 > 0:20:07designed for training purposes
0:20:07 > 0:20:10for all these ARP personnel.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14They had to understand how to deal with an emergency.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17If an incendiary device fell,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21did you put that out with a stirrup pump and water?
0:20:21 > 0:20:25There is the stirrup pump. There's the siren which would give
0:20:25 > 0:20:29you the audio warning that an air raid was about to take place.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32There you've got a first aid card, there you've got a warden,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34so the deck of cards
0:20:34 > 0:20:37and the game itself would relate to
0:20:37 > 0:20:39these different circumstances.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42And on this side, we've got the weapons themselves, a gas bomb,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46an incendiary bomb, a high explosive bomb,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50causing a fire or needing a gas mask.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55So it's a kind of amusement for those air raid personal, who
0:20:55 > 0:20:59later became known as the Civil Defence Force, for them
0:20:59 > 0:21:03to play a game but actually learn what they had to do in an emergency.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07And what I find fascinating is that it's got a date on it which is
0:21:07 > 0:21:11the provisional patent date, so this game was
0:21:11 > 0:21:15invented before a bomb had fallen from the sky, before the
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Second World War. So well prepared
0:21:18 > 0:21:21were the authorities that they even wanted
0:21:21 > 0:21:25to produce a game which is going to entertain and be instructive.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28And there's a lot of interest in things that relate to the First
0:21:28 > 0:21:32and Second World War, in terms of collectibles. I wouldn't be
0:21:32 > 0:21:37surprised if this little set didn't bring as much as a £100-£150.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Wow, that surprises me. It's not going anywhere, mind...
0:21:39 > 0:21:42No, no, no, it's a nice piece of family memorabilia.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45But that's the sort of value that you'd get.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50CLOCK CHIMES
0:21:55 > 0:21:57From the early 17th century,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01the Guild of London Clockmakers have strived to achieve
0:22:01 > 0:22:03the highest quality of craftsmanship
0:22:03 > 0:22:06and engineering in their longcase clocks.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09By the 18th century, London clocks were considered among the best
0:22:09 > 0:22:13in the world, according to London clock dealer, Duncan Clements.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19London clocks are more stereotyped than provincial clocks,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21but they're all of a very, very high standard.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26Typical features were designs on the case, such as a double plinth,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28moulding around the door, lock on the hood.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31London clocks are not allowed to have oak cases,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34they have brass-encased weights.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37The vast majority of clocks are made by hand,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41and you have to just polish things to get them to fit precisely.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44These were the intellectuals of their day, they were very skilled.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49To make a clock to work accurately and reliable is very difficult.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02But what more famous iconic London-made clock
0:23:02 > 0:23:05could there be than this?
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Sitting, as it does, in the Elizabeth Tower, within
0:23:09 > 0:23:11the Palace of Westminster.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Londoners can rely on its accuracy.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Big Ben has chimed the hours of the Great Westminster Clock
0:23:21 > 0:23:23since 1859.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27It was designed so that the first strike of each hour was
0:23:27 > 0:23:30accurate to within one second of time.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Its time-keeping is tweaked with old copper pennies.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Engineers found that adding one old penny to the weight
0:23:36 > 0:23:40of the pendulum makes the clock go two fifths of a second faster.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Standby.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45BIG BEN CHIMES
0:23:47 > 0:23:51BIG BEN CHIMES
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Wow! Isn't that something?
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Now for a bit of London-made silver,
0:24:08 > 0:24:12and Karen has a penchant for antique silver spoons.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15My whole cutlery is not one piece.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17It's just made up of every
0:24:17 > 0:24:19single design that you can think of.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Some old, some new and some silver
0:24:22 > 0:24:26plate, mostly silver plate, actually, but a few pieces of solid silver,
0:24:26 > 0:24:31like the spoons I've used today, and I think it's nice to use them.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33- I think this is a stuffing spoon. - OK.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36When you look at the marks, all very straightforward, very nice,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39clear marks for London.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42And this is hallmarked for 1825.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45It hasn't been badly worn, and you can tell that
0:24:45 > 0:24:48because that tongue at the end of the bowl is very full
0:24:48 > 0:24:52and solid. If it would have been used a lot, they get worn down
0:24:52 > 0:24:55because silver is not that hard, you know, but it's not, it's nice crisp.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59But what is much more intriguing are these two spoons.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02What are called Old English pattern, which is this lovely shape,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06very simple shape. And these have been bright-cut, which is
0:25:06 > 0:25:09that cutting system where the
0:25:09 > 0:25:14silversmith cuts at an oblique angle so that when the sunlight hits
0:25:14 > 0:25:16the cut in the metal, it
0:25:16 > 0:25:22reflects the light back at you, hence it's bright-cut.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26These have been engraved with an armorial device,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28actually a bit of somebody's crest,
0:25:28 > 0:25:33and the two date letters that we've got are 1821 and 1822.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38And we've also got a peculiar mixture of sponsor's marks
0:25:38 > 0:25:40which are the maker's marks.
0:25:40 > 0:25:47You've got HD & CD for Henry and Charles Day, who were brothers,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50and registered silversmiths up the road
0:25:50 > 0:25:53at Goldsmiths & Silversmith's Hall.
0:25:53 > 0:25:59Next door, we've got a mark which seems to say HD, which may be
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- Henry Day on his own.- Ah, OK.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07But the trouble is that Henry Day was found out for issuing
0:26:07 > 0:26:12fake marked silver and he went to trial and they found him guilty
0:26:12 > 0:26:17- and, having found him guilty, he was sentenced to death.- Gosh!
0:26:17 > 0:26:20And that could be one of the spoons that he did false mark.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- How about that? - Wow, that's a very exciting story.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Wow, that's a big moment here in London.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31Anyway, the story goes that he was reprieved from his death sentence,
0:26:31 > 0:26:35he was transported for seven years' hard labour to Australia,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39and I'm not quite sure what happened to him after that.
0:26:39 > 0:26:40Oh, OK.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Quite a story, eh?
0:26:43 > 0:26:46So how much is Karen sitting on with these spoons?
0:26:47 > 0:26:52I think the stuffing spoon would cost £150-£180 retail.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54But those rogue serving spoons...?
0:26:55 > 0:26:59I guarantee you that if you told the story in Australia
0:26:59 > 0:27:03and put the spoons up for sale in Australia, you would get
0:27:03 > 0:27:07very, very much more money for them than you would do here.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12But I would guess that those spoons worth £100-£150 top-end here
0:27:12 > 0:27:15would be worth the equivalent of £400-£600
0:27:15 > 0:27:18- or maybe £500-£800 in Australia. - Wow.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21In fact, they're flying in now. You can hear them coming over,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25- isn't that exciting?- Yes.- Yes.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Some of Sophie's postcards are worth £30 each,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32others only a couple of pounds. So, on the law of averages,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36I reckon her collection is worth at least £1,500-£2,000.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42As for the Great Fire of London book?
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Clive and I got in touch with its owner, Hazel.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Where did you get it from?
0:27:47 > 0:27:48We actually acquired it
0:27:48 > 0:27:52when we purchased our house in Derbyshire about ten years ago.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56So, Clive, the million-dollar question. What's it worth?
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Somewhere between £300-£500 would be quite enough.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01That's lovely.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Finally, that marvellous Savile Row snuff box.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Well, I can see it in a sale making probably the top end
0:28:08 > 0:28:13of £2,000-£3,000, probably half a waistcoat in your terms.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15- One trouser leg, I think! - One trouser leg.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25London is the most extraordinary place, isn't it? Have we had fun?
0:28:25 > 0:28:27You bet your life we have!