Today, we’re talking antiques… And no, we don’t mean the regulars that prop up the bar here at the Oakeley! We mean the genuine, collectible ancient pieces that get the nation’s hearts all of a flutter. If we believe the hype then it would seem that we’re a nation of antique lovers who love nothing more than rummaging around dusty second hand and brick-a-brack shops searching for the perfect find – a long lost (and valuable…) antique. And who among us are transported instantly back to childhood when we hear the Sunday night theme tune of the famous Antiques Roadshow TV programme, amid memories of Sunday evenings with the smell of the afternoon’s roast dinner lingering in the air and the dread of the weekly bath and school the next morning…..?

The Antiques Roadshow is one of the BBC’s most popular programmes. It’s been aired since 1979, making it a whopping 36 years old, and so far it has screened over 700 episodes…. There have been numerous presenters over the years but the most memorable are Hugh Scully (from 1981 – 2000) and Fiona Bruce, who’s been presenting it since 2008.

And if you’re an antiques fan, then the news that broke today about the show’s biggest find yet will be something only to dream about……That the house full of “treasures” actually turns up a priceless treasure and lets you skip off the the Caribbean with a pocket full of £50 notes and early retirement. Early reports indicate that the treasure, found while filming in Harrogate in Yorkshire is worth over £1 million and has been described as a “a world famous piece owned by a sporting institution….”. Fans of the series will have to wait until next Spring for the full details of the find, and it’s exact value. So for now, scroll down for our trip down Antique Roadshow memory lane….

• 2008 – the model of Anthoney Gormlee’s famous Angel of the North sculpture was unearthed, and was the first item in the show’s history to be valued at £1 million.
• 2010 – an old car used by a farmer to take his pigs to market was identified as the one driven by Stirling Moss when he won the Charles Ferro Trophy in the 1967 Monte Carlo rally. The pig-carrier was valued at over £50,000!
• 2011 – a rare brooch by Victorian jewellery designer William Burgess was found on the show, and valued at over £10,000 because of it’s rarity. Not bad for something that had been languishing in a jewellery box for more than 40 years!
• 2000 – A gold plated Leica camera dating from the early 20th century was brought along to the show, and was found to be one of only 4 ever made. The experts valued it at over £800,000!
• 2010 – it’s the stuff of dreams…. a priest paid £400 for a painting in a second hand shop, that turned out to be the real thing! It was identified as a portrait of Anthony van Dyke and valued at almost half a million pounds!
• 2009 – experts unearthed a cigar smoked by Winston Churchill as he planned D-Day. The half-smoked pile of leaves were valued at £800!!

So why not get digging in your loft this weekend and see if you can unearth some priceless ancient relic (and no, that doesn’t include Grandad….). Happy antique-hunting!

ARtitle via Wikipedia