VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts...

Which way are the bargains?

VO: ..behind the wheel of a classic car... Do you know where we are?

No.

VO: ..and a goal, to scour Britain for antiques.

Act one, scene one.

VO: The aim, to make the biggest profit at auction.

Ta-da!

VO: But it's no mean feat.

There'll be worthy winners...

Woo!

Happy dance!

VO: ..and valiant losers.

Heartbroken.

Close your ears.

VO: Will it be the high road to glory...

It's just delightful, isn't it?

VO: ..or the slow road to disaster?

VO: This is Antiques Road Trip.

VO: Yeah!

Come on, got work to do!

VO: They're back, and at it... A shop to be at, things to buy, come on.

VO: ..traversing the Cotswolds, following Britain's mightiest watercourse.

The river Severn, which runs through Gloucestershire, is the longest river in Britain.

Really?

At 220 miles...or it could be kilometers.

Kind of a difference.

Kind of a difference.

It's long.

VO: And Izzie has a geography degree.

Ha-ha!

I wonder whether you can take a boat.

We could do Antiques Boat Trip next.

IZZIE: Yeah.

VO: Oh, shush!

VO: You'll upset the swanky 1987 Lotus Eclat.

They're sensitive, don't you know?

IZZIE: What, like a rowboat or an engine boat?

Well, if it's rowing, I'll be on the front with a gin and tonic.

What, am I doing the rowing?!

Well, I didn't say that.

I mean, if you're offering... VO: What a pair, eh?

Can we take an oar each?

Yeah, actually, that's true.

Have to be very coordinated, though, wouldn't we?

We can work on that.

That would be fine.

IZZIE: (LAUGHS) VO: On the prior leg, jewelry expert Izzie was all about coupling up.

IZZIE: Necklace and earrings are very dainty and very delicate.

VO: Whilst 20th century design expert Mark was seeking...spiritual guidance.

And there it is, a little glass hip flask.

VO: Mark had much to celebrate at the last auction.

MARK: That is £20 worth of fantastic quality glass.

VO: So the auction tally is one each, but with three more showdowns to go.

MARK: We haven't had a fight over an item...yet.

IZZIE: Yet.

MARK: Yet.

IZZIE: I don't think we would... MARK: Fisticuffs.

..we'd both be far too polite.

"No, you saw it first.

You have it."

"No, no, no, I couldn't.

You have it."

VO: And Mark now has 925 of the £1,500 he began this trip with... VO: ..while Izzie has £902 remaining.

I think I bought a bit too much jewelry on our... ..on our last leg together, so if I can steel myself to... ..veer away from the jewelry.

I woke up this morning, that's what I felt like I wanted to buy.

You wanted to buy a bit of sparkle?

VO: Twinkle, twinkle, little Mark.

VO: Their trip kicked off in Cardigan.

Now, it's to the Cotswolds and Midlands before dipping down to Hampshire for the final auction.

I think you are a sparkly person.

(WHIMPERS) Thank you so much.

I'll go and stand in front of a mirror, then.

VO: Today they'll be eyeing up antiques all the way to Cirencester.

But first, Izzie's dropping Mark in Royal Wootton Bassett... ..the newest royal town in England.

Will Old Bank Antiques have the jewel in the crown that Mark's looking for?

VO: There's certainly a lot to cheer about in here.

Oh, now, this I like.

So what we have here is a group of accessories, combined together to make one accessory, which is known as a chatelaine.

VO: Blingy, eh?

Chatelaines were worn by the lady of the house to keep everyday items to hand.

So this one appears to be silver.

And you've got a silver propelling pencil.

You've got a little aide-memoire.

So literally a memory aide, a note pad, effectively.

Sometimes, you find them made out of early plastics and celluloid.

But this one has paper, as you can see inside there.

There'd be a pencil to write with and all sorts of other accessories.

And, in fact, the more you had on your chatelaine, the larger the house.

So it sort of showed your status.

What's the price on it?

We've got...£275.

It's really smart and I'm quite sure the lady of the house would have been incredibly grand.

I kind of have a picture of her in my head.

Big, black dress, hair pulled back and a stern look, like we see in all those Victorian cartes de visites.

And I'm afraid I'm getting a similarly stern look to myself.

£275, is that going to do something for me at auction?

I think not.

VO: So it's a no to the chatelaine.

VO: Is anything else sparking Mark's interest?

Amidst a sea of Victorian and Edwardian silver, I spot a little modernist gem.

I think that's really rather fabulous.

So this silver pendant really sings of Scandinavian design for me.

Scandinavian modernist jewelry, these clean, fluid lines that, in a way, almost sort of represent the flowing nature of molten silver.

VO: He's got the glass out.

MARK: So we've got Ivan Tarratt and Ernest A Blyth.

So Ernest A Blyth was a mid-century modern jewelry designer, and Ernest Tarratt was a Leicester-based jeweler, and he kind of tried to work with Britain's avant-garde modernist jewelry designers, and this is a superb example of that.

It is hallmarked, so it's solid silver and it looks like a Birmingham mark for 1959, which is exactly the period I would love to see this coming from.

This is priced at £125.

Now, British modernist silver, by and large, isn't as sought after as Georg Jensen silver.

But you know what?

I think this has got a good chance.

And if I can get this for a good price, I'll be a happy little bunny.

VO: While he hops off to find the dealer... ..let's catch up with Izzie.

VO: She's heading westwards towards her home patch.

I don't think it's going to give me any advantage whatsoever, because I never have time to go antiques shopping when I'm not at work.

And I also think that Mark has... Not only does he have incredible knowledge, I think he's just more competitive than I am.

So I think he'll be more determined to hunt out those bargains.

VO: Parking in Stroud, which is a former cloth town, surrounded by the rolling Cotswold valleys - gorgeous.

Izzie's made her way to Antiques Emporium Griffin Mill with her remaining £902.

IZZIE: (EXCLAIMS) Ah!

Thanks for inviting me, guys!

So...Deborah, what have you been up to?

Jeff, really?

No.

You don't say!

VO: She soon makes friends.

VO: She has a gift.

VO: Mm... Keys must be sticking.

Get back to browsing the curios.

There's plenty to see.

IZZIE: Ah!

Isn't she rather attractive?

Although she has been through the wars.

VO: She certainly has.

But isn't she just fantastic?

She's probably circa 1920s-ish with that hat there.

So here you've got this rather, in some ways, erotic woman, because she is showing quite a bit of skin even for the day, then.

She looks like someone I would like to know.

VO: You've made enough friends today, Izzie.

How much is she?

£80, due to damage, £80, is what it says on here.

Bless her, she's had her whole neck off, and she's...she's had a bit of nose surgery.

She's lost a few fingers, she's had her wrist off, blimey, she's had an arm off...

But it might be one to have a little ask.

Perhaps she's been here a long time, who knows?

The damage is...it is a huge, huge problem, but...there's just something about her.

VO: Meanwhile, over in Royal Wootton Bassett, Mark was taken with a silver pendant.

Anything else he likes the look of?

MARK: Ah-ha!

Now, I know exactly what these are.

So the term "antique of the future" is such a cliche, but this is one of them.

What we're looking at with this asymmetric, curving dish, so typical of the 1950s, is a design that I think is by a designer who is largely underappreciated in the vintage and antiques market.

So turning it round on the back, it's the Queensberry bit.

That's not the name of the pattern, that's the name of the designer.

And David Queensberry was an incredibly influential designer in the mid-century modern period, really all the way through into the 1970s and the 1980s.

VO: Not just a pottery designer, David Douglas is also the 12th and current Marquess Of Queensberry.

But for some reason, in the antiques and vintage business, he's kind of just been ignored.

I think he's hugely underrated.

And what's better, there's two of them, and the price tag is £30.

I'd love to shine a light on David Queensberry, so I think I'm gonna have a punt on these.

VO: Pursue your passions, I say, Mark.

Oh, Steve!

MARK: Hello, Steve?

STEVE: Hello.

MARK: Fabulous emporium of delights.

I found a couple of pieces I'd like to talk to you about.

So the first is cunningly concealed in my pocket here.

It's this rather lovely modernist pendant.

VO: Priced at £125.

The very best we can do is 110.

We can't do any more than that.

Thank you.

Then I found these two atomic plates by David Queensberry.

STEVE: Yeah.

MARK: You've got 30 on the pair.

Is there something we can do on those?

STEVE: 25?

MARK: 110, 25, that's 135.

Can we do 130?

I can do another five on those, then... MARK: Fantastic.

We have a deal.

STEVE: Thank you very much.

MARK: Thank you so much, Steve.

VO: That's some good going.

With £130 spent... STEVE: Thank you very much.

MARK: And we'll do a swap.

MARK: Thank you so much.

Take care.

MARK: Thank you.

Bye bye.

STEVE: Bye bye.

VO: ..Mark now has £795 remaining.

VO: Meanwhile, in Stroud... IZZIE: This is rather lovely, isn't it?

It's a food container.

It's Chinese.

It's made out of bamboo.

The look of it is very much circa 1900.

VO: Yeah, bamboo is a miracle material, used in China since time immemorial.

IZZIE: It's ever so slightly carved, so we've got this decoration in slight relief that will have been hand-carved and then it's sort of been hand-gilded, hand-painted.

It's very typical Far-Eastern decoration, Chinese decoration.

Says, "Early 20th-century food carrier.

Chinese.

£110."

But you never know.

Might be some room, some m-maneuver in there.

M-m-m-maneuver.

VO: M-m-m-make your move, Izzie.

Hello, Sarah.

Hello.

What a fantastic place you've got here.

SARAH: I know.

IZZIE: Isn't it fabulous?

I know.

The really lovely, but sadly very damaged alabaster figure, which is priced at £80.

SARAH: Mm-hm.

Then there's the beautiful Chinese food carrier which is priced at £110.

What's the best that we could do on, if anything, on those prices, please?

100.

IZZIE: For the two?

SARAH: Mm-hm.

Yeah, I will say deal on those.

SARAH: Lovely... IZZIE: Thank you very much.

IZZIE: I'll get you some money.

SARAH: Righto.

VO: That breaks down to £60 for the Chinese basket and £40 for the alabaster lady.

IZZIE: I will come again soon!

SARAH: Yes, do!

IZZIE: Thank you, now.

Bye bye.

VO: Which means Izzie now has £802 of her £1,500 left.

VO: Meanwhile, Mark's trotted off to take in the view of one of Wiltshire's most splendid landmarks, near the village of Broad Hinton.

MARK: Now, this is what I trekked up here to see.

This is the Hackpen White Horse.

And this is a hill figure cut into the side of the hillside.

And this part of the country is renowned for them.

VO: Indeed, there used to be 13 white horses in Wiltshire.

Now, there are just eight.

Created by cutting into the county's chalk grasslands - some for auspicious occasions, like coronations.

MARK: This was reputedly built in 1838 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Victoria.

As you can see, they are visible from miles around.

VO: A magnificent sight, no question.

But it's time for Mark to get off this high horse.. ..ha-ha..and mooch some more.

VO: He's unsaddling in Evesham on the edge of the Cotswolds.

VO: A picture-perfect place, can Mark find the perfect pieces at Twyford Antique Centre?

He has 795 smackers in his pocket.

VO: He is praying to the gods of side tables, I think.

Ha-ha.

Back on your feet, Mark, please.

You don't know who's been down there.

Now, that's an interesting thing.

Now, I'll admit it's not exactly the most practical thing anymore, but you know what caught my eye?

Look at this teapot for a minute.

So you've got this spherical form here with these angular legs, and it sort of appears quite modern.

That very modern shape really reminds me of work by Christopher Dresser.

VO: Dr Christopher Dresser created his designs for the 19th century market with principles including honesty in production and design.

MARK: Now, I really want to find this at a hot price.

(EXCLAIMS) Ee!

£200... VO: Hope you don't get your fingers burnt.

That's a really interesting piece for me.

VO: But what other delights are waiting to be found?

MARK: Now, that...is cool.

So it's a Marconiphone, and I'm guessing it dates from the 1960s.

So you've got the record player, you've got the speaker, you've got a radio and you've got a little port here for tape.

Vintage wirelesses and vintage radios have been collectable for decades.

And it's not just pieces from the, sort of, the prime period of the 1920s and the 1930s that are really collectable.

VO: It's because things made back in the day can still sound so great, Mark.

They knew how to boogie.

MARK: I would have loved it if it said "Dansette" on it.

Dansette is the sort of iconic 1950s, 1960s record player, beloved of vintage collectors, and, of course, those who love to listen to a few cool tunes.

But just look at the condition of this.

The case is absolutely immaculate.

It's got all its knobs along here and it's even got its carrying handle on the side.

It literally looks like it's never been used.

Looking at the price, it says, "£65 and fully working."

If I could do a deal on that, that's one to consider.

It's a good thing, that.

VO: Though he's not dancing down the aisles just yet.

OK, so now, that's interesting.

It's a knackered...Edwardian footstool.

It's got a tear in the leather, it's got a replaced cushion.

It's missing its original cushion.

But it is solid wood.

It is an antique, and it is covered with real leather.

And you've also got these studded details here.

It's perfectly sound and stable.

VO: And antique footstools like this have become quite the catch.

Ideal for perching in small places.

MARK: How much are we looking at?

It's £110.

VO: Time to talk terms with dealer Andy.

MARK: Andy, hello.

ANDY: Oh, hi.

MARK: So I found three items.

ANDY: Oh, great.

MARK: So first of all, you've got the Christopher Dresser teapot on stand.

MARK: It's got 200 on it?

ANDY: 150?

150, fine.

OK.

The next thing was the 1960s Marconiphone record player, which I think has 65 on it.

MARK: That's upstairs.

ANDY: Yep, I know the one.

I can do 50 on that for you.

And then the final piece is...it's also upstairs.

It's seen better days.

So it's a sort of leather Edwardian footstool.

How close to a tenner could you do for me?

Let's call it a tenner.

For the whole lot, what could we do?

160 for all three items.

In that case, you have a deal, sir.

Thank you very much... MARK: ..indeed.

ANDY: OK. VO: Very generous.

Thanks, Andy.

Let's call it £100 for the kettle, £50 for the record player and £10 for the footstool.

ANDY: Lovely.

MARK: I am delighted.

MARK: Thank you very much... ANDY: OK.

Thank you.

MARK: I shall go and gather my treats.

MARK: Thank you so much, Andy.

ANDY: Take care.

Bye.

VO: That leaves Mark with £635 left to spend.

MARK: Who's gonna win this?

IZZIE: Rolling up the sleeves... IZZIE: Oh!

Fighting talk!

MARK: Oh, yes.

Oh, yes!

VO: Our couple have found a competitive streak, just in time for - wait for it - nighty night.

VO: Huh!

VO: Come daybreak, it's time for a drive to the heart of the Cotswolds.

IZZIE: Are you musical at all, Mark?

MARK: I love music, but I cannot play an instrument to save my life.

You?

Erm... Well, I play the viola.

Erm... She says, "Oh, I play the viola."

Yeah, I play the viola.

As if it's like, "Oh, I went to the supermarket."

VO: I know.

I think Izzie's trying to get inside Mark's head here.

Yesterday, it was Mark who got ahead with five purchases - the copper and the brass kettle, the Marconiphone record player, an Edwardian footstool, the pendant and the David Queensberry dishes.

He now has £635 for the rest of the trip.

Are you generally quite a confident person, anyway?

Do you self-doubt?

Oh, my goodness gracious, yes.

I question myself all the time.

It's a nightmare.

VO: Now, Izzie, don't press too hard.

Yesterday, she came away with the art deco alabaster figure and a Chinese bamboo container.

She has £802 left.

This sort of unbounded sense of joy and sparkle you have, it's really brought a sort of new element to this road trip.

MARK: I've loved it.

IZZIE: Ah, Mark!

It's true!

That's such a kind thing to say.

Well, the feeling's all mutual.

Aw.

VO: Aw, it's so nice to see them get along.

But this is a competition.

Whoever makes the most profit from their wares at auction will be the winner.

VO: Dropping Mark before she heads off to Ashchurch near Tewkesbury Izzie will be shopping on her own.

Missing him already?

Mark is such a gent.

He does everything in the most gentlemanly way.

I really, really like that.

So I'm gonna channel my inner Mark.

Just try and do a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of his dapperness when it comes to dealing with the antiques and the shops and the owners.

I would love to find something quirky, cool, different.

I'd like to find something that puts me out of my comfort zone.

VO: Izzie's hoping there's plenty of quirk and cool to coo over at the Malt House Emporium.

Looks cool.

VO: Two floors' worth of glassware, ceramics and furniture - this place is bustling.

Make no bones about it.

Ooh!

Oh, Mark!

Did you not sleep well?

You're not quite looking yourself today.

VO: Now you mention it, Izzie.. ha-ha...

..I didn't have the stomach for lunch today.

Save some bone china for me, won't ya?

I'm not sure she will.

IZZIE: I think this might be a piece of Czech glass by a company - and please forgive my pronunciation - by a company called Skrdlovice.

And it was founded in 1942.

Everything was made by hand, hand-blown until the factory closed in 2008.

And in that time, they produced over 4,000 designs.

VO: Skrdlovice glass is usually full of color.

Pieces like this could have been made by designers to display in their own homes.

I would have thought, you know, it's mid-20th century, possibly ever so slightly later, but it's got a really good weight to it.

It's got some decent wear on the base, as well.

There's a tiny, tiny chip, which is such a shame, but it is a nice piece.

Now, how much is it?

It's £10...

It's lovely.

And you could have it as a decorative piece on your sideboard, but of course, you could still use it to put flowers in, as well.

It's a nice shape.

It's certainly very heavy, so your flowers aren't gonna wobble over out of it.

But for £10, you can't go wrong with that, can you?

I'll leave it there because it is a bit heavy - I don't want to smash it - but I'm pretty certain that one's gonna be coming with me.

VO: Izzie's steeling herself.

Time to buy.

IZZIE: Hello, Vance.

VANCE: Izzie.

How are you?

I'm very well.

How are you?

Good, thank you.

Now, I am slightly ashamed to say that despite having two floors of stock here, I'm not going to be spending a huge amount of money.

I found an item for £10.

Cool, great.

So I'm very happy to pay you £10.

Well, that's easy.

VO: Well, that was all very jolly.

VANCE: Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for having me.

VANCE: Lovely to see you.

IZZIE: Have a great day.

Bye.

VO: Let's hope it pays off sweet dividends, too.

Izzie has now got £792 left for the rest of the trip.

VO: And now she and Mark are off to Gloucester, once a Roman settlement and steeped in millennia of history.

Eh, Mark?

MARK: We had leeks in Wales, what do we have in Gloucestershire?

Oh, do you know what?

I'm not sure what the local delicacy is.

There must be one.

Cheese?

Double Gloucester?

IZZIE: Oh!

Very good.

MARK: Ah!

I'll have a double double Gloucester, then.

VO: Ha-ha!

Local delicacies to one side, one building has been the beating heart of this fabulous city.

One of the greatest medieval religious edifices in England - Gloucester Cathedral.

Look at that.

Mark's diving into the cathedral's crypt to find out more.

VO: Meanwhile, Izzie's made her way to St Peter's workshop... ..home to the dedicated craftspeople responsible for maintaining this incredible cathedral, like stonemason James Bayliss.

Hello, James!

Hello.

How are you doing?

I'm very well, thank you.

You're hard at work.

Yeah, just working on one of the parapet stones for the north nave of Gloucester Cathedral.

VO: Originally built as an abbey in 1089, there have been repairs and renovations throughout the cathedral's history.

Famous Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott almost completely restored it.

And extensive repairs came again in the 1950s and '60s.

Is there a lot to replace?

Are you sort of gradually replacing everything, or is it just what needs doing?

Yeah, we try and do sort of minimal intervention, really.

We're obviously not trying to replace all of the original fabric.

Trying to keep as much historic fabric as possible, but at the same time, replacing stones that need to be replaced, whether they're structurally, or they offer a weathering, and so they can save stones underneath them.

(HAMMERING) 1,000 years ago, my ancestors were stonemasons... IZZIE: ..at Durham cathedral.

JAMES: OK, right.

So I feel like...

I've never done it before, but I feel like it's in my blood to be stood here in a stonemason's workshop.

JAMES: We can give you a go if you want.

IZZIE: Will it be easy?

JAMES: Yeah.

If you've got ancestry, you know, masons, already... IZZIE: I don't know if that's... JAMES: ..it's in your blood... VO: You don't have to humor her, James.

Apprentice Elliot Lyster has been employed to keep a watchful eye over Izzie.

ELLIOT: But you want to be cracking, you want to be cracking it where you want it to crack.

You don't want... You don't want to let it take over.

VO: While Izzie strives to make her ancestors proud, Mark's a stone's throw away - ha!

- with archivist Rebecca Phillips, to hear how Christians and stonemasons built their foundations of faith together.

I was fascinated by this one in particular, in your Museum Of Stone, because of course, it's painted.

Yeah, so every inch of this building, we think, probably would have been painted, would have been gilded, we would have had much smaller windows, so the light would have been much darker.

It would have really shone and been so impressive.

VO: This stone museum, or lapidarium, is full of delights preserved from the Norman period, when pictures and images spoke a thousand words to the faithful, many of whom couldn't read.

There's stonework from that rocky period known as the Reformation too, when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church.

This has obviously been up for many centuries... REBECCA: Yeah.

..and it's weathered.

It's incredibly worn.

It's unbelievably heavy, as well.

Oh, yes.

MARK: So a stonemason having to replicate that has to really think about what it needs to look like.

Absolutely.

And, yeah, this, this would have been one of the crosses on the end of the cathedral.

So it was really up there, exposed to the elements.

So you really have to have an eye of imagination as a repairing stonemason to be able to imagine what's been lost from this carving and replace it and put it back in.

And, of course, there would have been way more detail because that's weathered away, so that's reimagined, and who knows what wealth of detail would have been on there that's gone now?

Absolutely.

Almost certainly must have had something much more decorative, much more kind of exuberant on the top of it.

VO: Talking of exuberant masonry, how's it going in the workshop with Izzie?

IZZIE: I can't imagine there are that many industries that are still using traditional methods from 900 years ago.

ELLIOT: Well, yeah, yeah.

It's a real privilege, to be honest.

There's still a role for a traditional mason.

But certainly in the conservation world, that's where we're more focusing on these hand tools.

VO: Stonemasonry is an ancient skill that continues to play a crucial part in the restoration and preservation of historic buildings.

And now, Mark's headed to the roof to see the conservation work on this cathedral up close and personal.

The most recent work is down on our north ambulatory, just below us.

We've had both conservation and creation down there.

So we've had pinnacles that have been replaced, so the points at the top of each wall, on the top of the parapets to keep the rain off, to kind of shed the rain.

But also, and much more importantly, much more excitingly for me, we've got six new gargoyles down there.

So they've actually been able to carve brand-new gargoyles inspired by the local cultures, local places.

Which is wonderful, because they'll survive for many more centuries.

So all that work will be enjoyed by literally millions of people... REBECCA: Absolutely.

MARK: ..for centuries to come.

And protect the cathedral for years to come, as well.

VO: And there's more work to come.

Izzie's masterpiece might be ready.

Ha!

IZZIE: Mark?

Mark.

MARK: Izzie, where are you?

Have you been nicking bits of the cathedral?

Well, sort of.

This is the very same stone that is used in the cathedral, so I had a lot of help, but I've made you something.

MARK: For me?

IZZIE: I have, for you.

OK, here goes.

Oh, my goodness!

(LAUGHS) It is emblematic of Mark Hill.

And I've put my own banker mark on.

(GASPS) There it is!

IZZIE: I.B.

MARK: Izzie Balmer.

MARK: Fantastic.

IZZIE: Do you like it?

MARK: I'm absolutely delighted with that.

VO: Yeah.

What a treat of a bow tie.

IZZIE: Shall we keep going?

VO: Izzie and the stonemasons of Gloucester Cathedral have etched a mark for Mark that will live forever.

Do you know, she adores him, obviously.

IZZIE: I could listen to you for hours.

IZZIE: You are so interesting... MARK: Thank you.

IZZIE: ..and you're so funny.

MARK: Aw!

Yeah.

No, I think you have so much sparkle and joy, as well.

A lot of people have said I'm funny.

No... Oh, not like that.

I think you're hilarious.

VO: They're on their way to Cirencester... ..built as a Roman settlement in the second century.

Back then, it was England's second city, and today it's home to Cirencester Antiques Centre... IZZIE: Oh, whoa, whoa!

VO: ..a genuine antique institute.

Go carefully, Mark.

There's fragile stuff in here.

VO: And theatrical, by the looks of it, too.

For the queen that I am.

VO: You're the queen of our hearts, Izzie.

Hats off to you.

VO: Just keep browsing like nothing's happened, eh?

I really like samplers.

With samplers, there's a few things to look for.

Is it named, dated?

And the age.

They're always made by girls.

So here we've got Mary Wratt... ..age 13, 1860.

And she's written the alphabet in capital letters.

VO: Intended to demonstrate skill in needlework, 19th century samplers were sometimes schoolwork and believed to be a sign of virtue, achievement and industry for girls.

IZZIE: She's done a floral design here... ..and then she's done her border.

It's in not bad condition.

Obviously, the fabric is discolored.

Now, there is a bit of damage down here... ..probably from moths over the years.

Now, how much is it?

£89.

Samplers are one of those things, they were very popular.

They went out of fashion for a bit.

They're certainly coming back.

It is a nice piece.

Mark, you look gorgeous, but what are you doing?

Oh, you know, there's always time for vintage fashion, darling.

(SOFTLY) See, look...

Thinking of your scarf.

Now you look like some kind of, you know, antiques explorer.

IZZIE: Antiques explorer?

The Indiana Jones of the antiques world.

Well, I'm gonna go and get searching for those antique monsters.

Alrighty.

I'll be with you... IZZIE: See you later!

MARK: See you in a minute.

VO: Now, what else do we have?

Instantly recognizable.

I can never resist opening them up.

It's a sort of tactile thing.

You just want to get your hands in it and open it up.

What a beautiful writing box.

Opening up the final piece, I find a small label here which says "Parkins & Gotto".

So Parkins & Gotto were a central London company who were founded, effectively, as stationers, but they grew to sort of supply and produce all manner of different luxury goods - vanity cases, writing boxes like this.

By 1893, they had become so successful that they had royal approval and they were appointed to the court, the Royal Court.

This was a wealthy Victorian's piece...but it's £175.

Agh!

It's coming with me.

VO: Time for Mark to search for some approval of his own.

MARK: Hello, Tim.

Hello?

TIM: Hi there.

MARK: Thank you very much.

TIM: That's alright.

So I found this writing box, which I love.

TIM: Yeah.

MARK: That's got 175 on it.

MARK: I am going to beg for the very best price that you can do for this lovely writing box.

I can push it to 155, but that's about the best I can do on that one.

Could we do 150 cash?

Yeah, we can do 150 cash.

MARK: Fantastic.

I'll take it.

TIM: Brilliant.

Thank you very, very... No problem.

VO: The last deal means he still has £485 for the next two legs of this trip.

MARK: So that's £160.

MARK: Thank you very much.

TIM: Cheers, thank you.

VO: Now, where's Izzie?

Everything on this shelf, half marked price.

Hm.

That is worth taking a closer look at.

Oh, that's lovely.

It's missing its saucer... ..but it's a little Royal Worcester coffee cup.

And you've got this really beautiful, hand-painted ivy-leaf decoration, and then you've got this gilded top, and then what we would call enamel-painted flowers.

VO: You might not have thought so, but coffee's been popular in Britain since the 17th century, hence old cups like this.

IZZIE: It's probably the late 19th century, so 1890s.

The handle that's also got the gilding on.

I don't think this cup has been used that much, because you would just expect to see a bit more wear.

I mean, there is a bit of a loss of gilding to the rim, so it has been used, but certainly, I wouldn't have thought used on a regular basis.

So it's £20, but the sign means that it's £10.

Very tempted.

VO: Go for it, Izzie.

IZZIE: Hey, Tim.

TIM: Hiya.

IZZIE: How are you doing?

TIM: Not too bad.

IZZIE: Now, you've got a really sweet little Royal Worcester mug IZZIE: - or cup, rather... TIM: Yeah.

..and it's priced at 20, but it's on a shelf that says, "Everything on this shelf half of the marked price."

So does that make it 10?

Yeah, that makes it 10.

OK, amazing.

Very happy to pay that, then.

VO: And how about the £89 sampler?

IZZIE: Could you do 50?

I could do 60.

Can we meet in the middle?

Yeah, we can meet in the middle.

So 55 on that, 10 on the mug, that's 65?

TIM: Yeah, brilliant.

IZZIE: Fantastic.

TIM: Cheers, thank you.

IZZIE: Thank you very much.

IZZIE: I'm all butter-fingers here.

£65.

TIM: No worries, brilliant.

IZZIE: It's been a pleasure.

IZZIE: Thank you.

Bye bye.

TIM: And you.

VO: That leaves her with £727.

MARK: So this is it.

IZZIE: I know!

MARK: Over halfway through our road trip.

That's really sad.

Can this be, though... Let's... Let's not make this final.

Can we still see each other after we've finished our antique road trip?

Turn that frown upside-down.

MARK: Absolutely.

This is the... IZZIE: Yes!

..start of a beautiful friendship, I feel.

VO: Oh, makes you feel all warm inside, doesn't it?

Time for shuteye.

VO: Our two antiqueurs have made their way back to Leicestershire because it's time for the third auction of their trip.

Auction day.

Sweaty-palm time.

Do you have sweaty palms, my dear?

Oh, Mark, I couldn't possibly say!

VO: Quite right.

Too much information.

After cruising through the Cotswolds, Izzie and Mark have bounded back to Market Harborough and Gildings Auctioneers where they'll be selling to people in the room and the wider world online.

Presiding over events is auctioneer Will Gilding.

£95.

Are you all done?

Selling, then.

VO: Izzie spent just £175 on five items.

What do you think, Will?

The Chinese painted and gilt wooden food container is a lovely decorative item.

For something a little bit different, a little bit Asian in your home, this is right up your street and could do well.

VO: Mark forked out more than Izzie - £440.

He decided to pair the Queensberry dishes with the record player for an eclectic lot.

But what's the one to watch, Will?

The 1950s silver pendant, the strength is in its design.

It is an absolutely super piece of modernist jewelry.

They will be queueing up to bid on this, I am quite sure of that.

It is a very stylish piece of jewelry.

VO: Exciting.

Let's see, shall we?

IZZIE: Time for more fun and games?

MARK: Time for more fun and games with the gavel.

VO: First up, Mark's mid-century combo - the Queensberry dishes and the Marconiphone record player.

This, I just think is a cool thing.

Immaculate condition.

It's not a Dansette - I'd like it to have been a Dansette - but it's just got that look and it works.

You can use it straight away.

WILL: And 18, £20.

I've got 20.

MARK: Uh-oh.

25, I'm bid.

Oh, it's moving.

25.

28, 30, £30.

Are you all done?

At 30... Eesh.

VO: Oh dear.

Not music to Mark's ears at all.

(SPLUTTERS) VO: Let's see if Izzie's Czech glass vase is a smash hit.

I saw this and I loved it.

Where do we go?

We start at £30.

Only 30.

Well, it's starting good.

We'll sell at 30... VO: Sold to a maiden bid.

That sneer has been wiped off my face.

VO: Next, will Mark's kettle on a stand be someone's cup of tea?

OK, it might not be the most modern look, but the kettle off the stand is just a little beauty.

WILL: 45, £48.

Bid at 48, 48.

MARK: Oh... 50, though.

55.

Online, 55, 60, £60, 60, 60, 65, £65, 65, 70, 75, 85, now, 85.

£85 and 90.

£95 bid, £95, 95.

IZZIE: We're getting there.

WILL: 100.

£100, bid at 100.

All out in the room at 100, selling to the internet, £100...

If I could melt... VO: Well, it washed its face.

..I would just melt like... Do you need a shoulder, or are we OK?

If I have the shoulder, you're going to end up with a big wet patch of tears.

VO: Izzie's hoping she'll have more luck with the Chinese food container.

It's a good size and it's just got the look.

It spoke to you.

It's sort of...

I really liked it.

25 to start.

£25.

IZZIE: Ooh... 60.

MARK: What did you pay?

£25.

Thank you, online.

Well, there are no further bids.

It's here to be sold, come what may, £25... IZZIE: OK!

MARK: (BLOWS RASPBERRY) VO: Try to contain yourself.

IZZIE: I tried and I failed.

MARK: It was nice.

It was nice.

VO: Let's try, try and try again with Mark's leather footstool.

Repurpose this footstool and use it for little Fido, you know?

So hang on, hang on.

Is it a footstool or is a dog bed?

It can be whatever you want it to be, provided you pay more than I paid!

Start me, if you will.

Do I see £30 here?

Oh, wow... Hey, I'm in profit already.

If that's... Is that a bid?

30, do I see?

Thank you.

IZZIE: Now you've got it.

MARK: I have.

Excellent.

Selling at £30... VO: Woof woof to that!

Ha!

Money for Mark.

30 quid.

£20 profit.

I think that's really good.

VO: Izzie's Royal Worcester coffee cup is next.

They didn't have flat whites in the late 19th century.

MARK: Did they not?

IZZIE: No!

Modest start, shall we?

£10, at 10.

On the absentee book at 10.

MARK: It's £10.

WILL: Only 10.

£10, 12, 15, £15, here, I'm bid 15.

18, 20, £20.

Oh, my goodness!

Will sell, then, £20... MARK: Well done, you.

IZZIE: That was short and sweet.

VO: Wake up and smell the profit.

I'm enjoying that.

Short and sweet, like a coffee with sugar.

Perfect.

VO: Here we go with Mark's writing slope.

Burr Walnut, in immaculate condition.

I just think it's a stunning piece of Victorian writing equipment.

Online coming in.

32, 35, £35 bid, 35, eight, 40, £40 bid, 42, 45... ..45, 48, 50, £50 bid, 50, auto bid of £55, at 55.

£60, your bid, you have £60.

All out in the seats at 60... (GAVEL) Deal.

That is an amazing deal.

(INHALES) That was painful.

VO: Soften the blow, why don't you, Izzie?

Where's that shoulder?

IZZIE: I'm still here for you.

MARK: (FAKES SOBBING) VO: Izzie's 19th century sampler, now.

IZZIE: It's lovely, isn't it?

MARK: It's very decorative, too.

The colors are good and the blue...

The condition is good.

£30 online, starting at 30, £30 bid, 30, 32.

Thank you.

No further bids.

Online has it, then, at £32... VO: I'm "sew" sorry, Izzie.

IZZIE: OK. MARK: Charming thing.

VO: Can Mark's final lot brighten things up?

It's the Ivan Tarratt pendant.

And I just think, as a pendant, that's as sort of fresh and clean and modern and fashionable today as it was back when it was made.

Online bid, start, 160... IZZIE: (GASPS) WILL: ..170.

£170, bid at 170.

MARK: Whoo... IZZIE: That's incredible.

WILL: 180, 190.

WILL: £190 bid, at 190.

IZZIE: Fantastic.

WILL: You're still thinking about it, I can tell.

200, 210, £210.

Ha-ha!

Fantastic.

210, will sell... IZZIE: (CLAPS) Well done, you, that's fantastic.

Fabulous.

I'm really pleased about that.

VO: Wow.

The bidders fell head over heels there.

IZZIE: Well done.

MARK: Style sells.

VO: Last one for Izzie now - the art deco alabaster figure.

She might be broken, dropped, repaired, pieced together, missing some limbs...

But you know, she's fantastic.

MARK: Missing some limbs?!

IZZIE: She's fantastic.

I've got 50, you've got five, £55 online.

60, 65, 70, 75.

£75, 80, 85.

Hey, doubled up!

Oh, I've had a double bubble.

90, 95, £95, at 95... Will sell at 95... MARK: Well done, Izzie.

IZZIE: I'm pleased with that.

MARK: I think so.

IZZIE: Very pleased.

VO: Not such a bad figure, after all.

I think you might have got this one, Mark.

Really?

I don't know about that, you know.

We need to go and do the maths.

IZZIE: OK. MARK: Come on.

VO: Yeah, let's work out how they've done.

VO: Despite that big finish, Mark has made an overall loss, after saleroom fees, of £87.40.

VO: But the winner of this auction is Izzie.

After fees have been deducted, she lost the least - just £9.36 - which means Izzie has now won two auctions to Mark's one, with two trips to go.

Oh, Mark, the tension... IZZIE: ..is mounting!

MARK: Well done.

Well done.

2-1.

But there's a pattern here.

MARK: There is.

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