- 2 days ago
Angus Ashworth: Yorkshire Heritage Hero - Season 1 Episode 4 -
Thirsk Hall
Thirsk Hall
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FunTranscript
00:00Secret stately homes, a priceless part of our heritage, and now some are throwing open the doors.
00:06Wow, I like it already.
00:08To auctioneer and country house connoisseur Angus Ashworth.
00:11You walk in here, you cannot not be amazed with it. It's sort of a visual overload.
00:16He's on a mission to help save these historic houses for the nation.
00:20More than 200 have vanished since the war.
00:23They were just bulldozed. People couldn't afford them. They were lost forever.
00:26He'll be hunting through lofts and cellars.
00:29Oh, I've spotted something.
00:31That's, you see, look, look, armour.
00:33There's the armour.
00:33There's the armour, yeah.
00:35For forgotten treasure.
00:37Look at that.
00:38Look at that, bad boy.
00:39This is like a dream for me.
00:41It's quite a mess for me.
00:42I don't think I can do anything with the toilets.
00:45To raise cash to help fund renovation or repairs.
00:49It's a battle, you know, something goes wrong every day.
00:52Something significant breaks every week.
00:54And the upkeep's enormous.
00:56He'll be diving into life.
00:59As a weekend house guest.
01:01And occasional butler.
01:04All right, cheers.
01:06Arriving in style.
01:08It's beautiful from up here.
01:09It gives you a real perspective.
01:11To experience a lost way of life
01:13in some of Yorkshire's most stunning stately homes.
01:25Today, Angus and Pilot James are flying to the picturesque market town of Thirsk in North Yorkshire.
01:32To help the owners of a Georgian mansion clear out a hoard of unwanted furniture.
01:37To fund some much needed repairs and restoration.
01:42You wouldn't think it was so close to the town and part of the town with all this land at the back.
01:47Thirsk Hall is a gorgeous grade two-star listed stately home with 12 bedrooms, numerous outbuildings and 20 acres of parkland.
01:58It really symbolises the early part of Georgian architecture.
02:04Built in 1723 and extended in 1770 by the Yorkshire architect John Carr, this amazing house has been owned by the Bell family for over 300 years.
02:18The Bell family moved in, in 1723.
02:22Daisy Bell, with her husband Bill, and their three children have lived here for the last five years.
02:30There are days where it's a complete joy to live in.
02:32Then there are other days when it's raining and the fall leaks happening and you're kind of figuring out where they are.
02:39And then I've got to empty the buckets of water.
02:42Daisy took over from dad, John Bell, now retired to a cottage on the estate.
02:50And he chose an eccentric way of deciding which of his three daughters would take on the house.
02:56The story is that he had a pack of cards and he had three of us sat there and he upturned the card.
03:05And the first one, Jack, whoever it landed on, would get the house.
03:09Incredible.
03:09I don't really believe him.
03:11Yeah.
03:12I don't remember that.
03:13I don't remember that.
03:14I don't remember that.
03:15Today, Zilla helps sister Daisy run the various money-making schemes that pay for the upkeep of the house.
03:22I have to do the maths sometimes.
03:24It is pretty painful to work out how much money we need to make.
03:29But the cost of maintaining this historic house is taking its toll.
03:34With the annual running costs into six figures, there's little to spare to fix the leaky roof damaging the upper floors.
03:42The house almost pays its way with several income streams.
03:47An Airbnb flat, Georgian dining experiences and events in the garden.
03:52But finances are still tight.
03:54With a seemingly unending list of jobs and little extra cash, Angus has come for the weekend to lend a hand.
04:03Wow, we're at first call.
04:06And, you know, I'm excited for this, actually, because, you know, come over there, you've got the race course, and then you see the wonderful house.
04:14Great proportions.
04:15Condition looks good from here, but, you know, they all have their issues.
04:19So close to the town centre as well.
04:20I wonder how that feels.
04:22Can't wait to get inside.
04:23Hello.
04:24Hi, how are we doing?
04:25Hi, I'm Zilla.
04:26Nice to meet you.
04:27Hi, I'm Daisy.
04:28Daisy.
04:29Welcome to First Call.
04:30Thank you very much.
04:31Let's take a look inside.
04:38This is the main stairs.
04:41Oh, it's fantastic, isn't it?
04:42This is actually a typical Georgian hanging stairs.
04:45Let me take your stuff.
04:46Wonderful.
04:46Thank you very much.
04:47Though all three sisters are involved, it's Daisy who carries the burden of safeguarding First Call's future.
04:57There's probably a lot of issues that constantly need doing, so what's the challenges there?
05:02When we moved up, my dad haven't done much in the house because he ran the farm.
05:07So we're looking at kind of doing events, and the idea is to kind of build up enough funds to kind of reinstate the house into what it originally used to be,
05:14just to kind of restore the Georgian features.
05:18It's only really been on your watch for a relatively short period, sort of five years or so.
05:21Yeah.
05:22So it's just slowly doing bit by bit and trying to keep on top of it.
05:25That's the nature of being in a house like this, and we are, you know, the custodians for the next generation, so that's what we're doing.
05:32Angus has come for the weekend to help raise some funds and see the bits of the house few people get to see.
05:38Let me see you around.
05:39Visitors are rarely allowed up here because of the threadbare carpets, peeling wallpaper, and the damage caused by those leaks in the roof.
05:49So, Angus, this is where it's a little bit...
05:52OK.
05:52..a bit rough and ready.
05:53Yeah.
05:54It's where, you know, things like the leaks happen.
05:56Not many people come up here.
05:58In fact, no-one comes up here.
05:59Yeah, probably don't come up here.
06:01Yeah.
06:01Quite derelict.
06:02For as long as I can remember.
06:04A bit of a slow decline.
06:05A little bit.
06:06Let me show you through.
06:07What's the scale of the sort of work?
06:10I mean, you know, you can see bits, but is it...
06:12I'm guessing it's a big job.
06:15Yeah, 100%.
06:16You're like, OK, we're going to sort out the bathroom, and then the drains pack in, which is always just quite painful.
06:24Dad's sort of stepped back, but is he still kind of just keeping around things?
06:29No, he's always said, like, this is your thing now, you do what you need to do.
06:33He's just amazing to have around, because he then comes and says, oh, this is important, or this isn't.
06:38Yeah.
06:39He's literally an encyclopedia.
06:41He is.
06:41Information.
06:42And then, you know, obviously having the support of Zilla, you know...
06:45Zilla does run basically all our businesses for us.
06:49She's...
06:49I try to, anyway.
06:50No, you do have a very good job of that.
06:52And then Letty's just down the road, and we work together on the farm.
06:55Yeah, it's a real family affair.
06:59The source of the problems in the rooms below is a favourite spot for Daisy's husband, Bill.
07:05What a view from up here.
07:06It's amazing, yeah, you can see the, yeah, North York malls, and then wrapping all the way around, so 80 miles to the sea that way.
07:12Fantastic.
07:13And actually, the roof itself is quite attractive, isn't it?
07:16Yeah, I mean, he was, Car of York, who built the house, was, he was a great builder.
07:20You know, they are, they're beautiful buildings, and actually, I think when you get up here, you see the engineering of it.
07:24It's the really kind of, um, it's kind of, you get quite geeky about it, it's quite nice.
07:28Angus grew up in a nearby farmhouse with a leaky roof, and he's ready to lend a hand with some DIY roofing skills.
07:36It's all wonderful on a sunny day like this, but, you know, looking at some of the rooms, clearly leaks do get in.
07:42Yeah, and getting the problems before, before you discover them, right?
07:46Yeah, in fact, it looks like a slate that's gone there, doesn't it?
07:48This is why we're up here.
07:50Yeah.
07:51It looks like that should be.
07:53Yeah, you're better than me.
07:56I think that'll stop the rain getting in.
07:59Oh, thank you for bringing me up here.
08:00I don't think there'll be that many people that have been up here, so...
08:02Any time.
08:03Yeah.
08:04The roof is the most important thing on any house like this, or this scale.
08:08It's also the most costly bit.
08:09You've got to make it watertight before you do any work, otherwise you'll just keep doing that work.
08:13So you've got to keep on top of the roof.
08:14That's the big cost.
08:15You know, you've either got to have huge reserves, which a lot of people don't, or you've got to generate that income to pay for it all.
08:22So it's a tough gig.
08:26Down below, a trove of hidden treasures is waiting to be discovered, the sale of which might help restore neglected parts of the house.
08:35Oh, this is like a dream for me.
08:40It's quite a mess for me.
08:41No, country house attics when they're like this.
08:43This is an absolute...
08:44Oh, yeah.
08:46Like this.
08:48This is nice and broken.
08:49How did it break, Bill?
08:50I think someone sat on it.
08:52But to Angus's expert eye, it's a diamond in the rough.
09:00I mean, wonderful.
09:01Gillow's, say, one of the names in English furniture manufacturer.
09:05You had the big three, Sheraton, Hepplewhite and Chippendale, but a contemporary to those gentlemen.
09:11What date is that?
09:12Early to mid-19th century.
09:13Really, really nice.
09:15Amazingly, this chair is a matching twin.
09:18Thankfully in good condition, on display downstairs.
09:22How much would something like this be worth as a pair?
09:25Without...
09:25Yeah, restore.
09:26Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean.
09:28I could see them doing quite well at auction.
09:30Anywhere between sort of four and eight thousand as a pair, five to eight thousand, something like that.
09:33Wow.
09:35That's amazing.
09:36The pair of library chairs is a cracking start.
09:39Would that take much to get restored, Angus?
09:42Though restoration could knock a grand off the sale price.
09:46I think we could get that sorted.
09:48Do you want me to get that restored?
09:51Yeah, that would be brilliant.
09:52But can they be persuaded to part with it?
09:55That was your grandpa's chair, Dix?
09:56Was it?
09:57It used to be downstairs.
09:58Yeah, it used to be.
09:59In the green room.
09:59In the green room.
10:00So I take it you'd like to keep this one?
10:01Yeah.
10:02Definitely, we've got a pair downstairs.
10:05Undeterred, Angus spies another chair he thinks he can sell.
10:09Classic wing-back armchair there.
10:11I mean, the design dates back hundreds of years.
10:13Sort of fireside chair, so those wings would enclose you, so you wouldn't get the draft.
10:18Sort of keeps the heat in from the fire.
10:20But the design's never really gone away.
10:22It's a popular design.
10:23Wasn't that your grandpa's chair?
10:25Oh, so you probably want to keep that one, Daisy?
10:27Yeah, I think probably.
10:28Looks like grandpa sat in a lot of chairs, and none of them are going to auction.
10:33But this is a situation Angus knows well.
10:37It's tricky for Daisy, although she sort of grew up here.
10:39She's sort of been head of the house for five years, and a huge amount of responsibility
10:44comes with that.
10:45You know, this has been in the family for 300 years.
10:46The items have been in the family for so long.
10:48So you don't know who the one.
10:49Oh, I can't believe you sold all that off.
10:51Next, Angus spots a Georgian side table with an unusual feature.
10:56So your standard tripod would have a fixed top with a square plate, and it would tilt
11:01up, so you could, like this one, stood up.
11:03Yeah.
11:03This block here is known as the birdcage, but usually you would just have this flat
11:08plate, and it would tilt up.
11:09So demonstrate this.
11:11This is a fine, fine table.
11:14I mean, the market for them is not what it was 20 years ago.
11:18So we call this a pie crust edge.
11:20So the birdcage, you can move it round.
11:22Why would you need to do that?
11:24Well, you know, why not?
11:26But Daisy gives no indication that she wants to sell it.
11:30Angus has his work cut out.
11:32It looks like he's persuaded them to tackle their first restoration project, Grandpa's
11:37Gillow's chair.
11:39But can they be persuaded to sell anything at auction to pay for it?
11:55Auctioneer Angus Ashworth is staying at historic First Call for the weekend, helping the
12:02Bell family raise cash to help restore the house and its furniture.
12:07But so far, the family are finding it hard to let anything go.
12:11Oh, oh.
12:13Oh, oh, oh.
12:14But things are looking up for military expert Angus.
12:18I like this.
12:20Military uniform, but with a family craft, so a major.
12:23That means it was a major rank.
12:24That would have been grandfather, who's Major Bell.
12:27So this is what we call a dirk.
12:29Oh, wow.
12:30Oh, my goodness.
12:31That looks pretty sharp.
12:32The dirk was a short weapon, short-sorted weapon.
12:34Wow.
12:35That is really quite nice.
12:36So he's in the Gordon Highlanders, regimen of badge there.
12:39These little side pieces are a little knife, eating knife and fork.
12:42Oh, my gosh.
12:44Daisy and Zilla's grandpa, Major Peter Bell, was in a famous Scottish regimen, the Gordon
12:50Highlanders, during World War II.
12:53This is a full-dress uniform and would have been worn on ceremonial occasions.
12:58That on its aim would probably be, it's a really good one, is that?
13:02One to two thousand.
13:03Wow.
13:04But then, it's with all the other bits as well.
13:07So, absolutely phenomenal.
13:10And to see sort of a private, crested one, as opposed to just a regimental one, is unheard
13:15of.
13:16What a find.
13:17Yeah.
13:17The uniform, with all its accessories beautifully preserved in its original box, might fetch
13:24as much as £8,000.
13:26But they don't want to sell it, and Angus needs to find something that is for sale.
13:32I keep spotting loads of things.
13:33Nice little Edwardian timber front cabinet there, nice gilt pelmets.
13:38You've got loads of nice ceramics and porcelain in that cupboard.
13:42I'll have a good root in there in a bit.
13:44The Edwardian stationary cabinet could fetch around £100, but Zilla is about to find something
13:51very special that would not have looked out of place on the Orient Express.
13:55What's in here?
13:57Well, I don't know.
13:57Open it.
13:58Oh, look at that.
14:00What is it?
14:01Well, it's a travelling case with everything you could possibly want.
14:05So this is all what we call Moroccan red leather.
14:07That would be a writing pad, so you've got all your accoutrements there for writing.
14:11Then you've got all your dressing table pieces, so your brushes, you've got a hip flask, everything
14:15you need, really, for your travels.
14:17This will all open out.
14:18Look at this.
14:19This is wonderful.
14:19Oh, that is superb.
14:23Zilla Rogan's leather trunk like a travelling case, thinking it's just a leather trunk,
14:27but no, it's beautiful.
14:29It's a little bit tired, but it's all fitted out, sort of a valley travelling case.
14:33Wonderful.
14:34All silver hallmark.
14:35That is travel at its absolute finest in the days when you travel in style.
14:40Is it worth much?
14:42Yeah.
14:44Three to five hundred.
14:46It's quite a nice thing, isn't it?
14:48As with the Gordon Highlanders uniform, the travel case belonged to Grandpa, so that will
14:54take it off the for sale list.
14:57It's probably about cherry picking the right things.
15:00Have a little think.
15:00I'm getting excited about lots of things, and I think it's, ooh, well, maybe we shouldn't
15:05sell that, and, you know, Daisy's like, oh, maybe that could go, or Bill has a different
15:09idea, and then Zilla's, Zilla's quite happy, I think, you know, sell it, but then it's,
15:14you know, so if it was Dad's, do they need to speak to Dad?
15:15And I get it, OK?
15:17Might be one of those days where, you know, maybe there's not a lot of things to sell yet.
15:22They need to call a family meeting and make some decisions.
15:25But first, Daisy and Zilla want to show Angus something very special discovered during
15:32lockdown.
15:33That's my grandmother looking very chic.
15:35Home movies, going back more than 80 years, show the house as it used to be and the people
15:42who lived in it.
15:43That's my grandfather in his, like, tailcoat.
15:45It was just probably Sunday lunch or something.
15:52Oh, this is the party.
15:55Right, so Christmas 1962.
15:57They're all smoking away, oblivious to the health effects that's having on them.
16:02Oh, we're dancing.
16:03Is that your dad?
16:04That's my dad.
16:05Busting some moves.
16:06He is doing some real moves.
16:07My word, look at that.
16:10That is quite weird.
16:11They've got fun, they're wearing really funny facial expressions.
16:15They didn't only film family events.
16:18The Bell family made their own silent movie drama.
16:21Wouldn't it be amazing to see what they're talking about?
16:23Yeah.
16:25Thank you very much for sharing that with me.
16:27It's wonderful to see, sort of, what's changed, what hasn't changed.
16:31Yeah.
16:31It's quite a special archive to have, actually.
16:34I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as we did.
16:35Yeah.
16:36So we've seen this wonderful archive footage and watching it in there.
16:41I've had a little idea.
16:42What would be wonderful is to try and bring that to life.
16:46Bring the voices of their ancestors back.
16:48Say, I've got a little idea that hopefully I can make work.
16:52We'll see.
16:55Inheriting a 300-year-old house like First Call brings huge responsibility.
17:01And though Daisy is in control, the weight of history and all those ancestors makes it nearly impossible to sell anything.
17:09The plasterwork's incredible, isn't it?
17:12Yeah, no, the plasterwork is something very special.
17:14In fact, the lady, Anne Conyers, she was the wealthy heiress that my family married into.
17:18So this is her, Anne Conyers?
17:20This is her.
17:21She was the kind of main reason that John Carve York built the wings and she commissioned, you know, this incredible plasterwork.
17:29There's so many things that jump at you straight away.
17:32One is the plasterwork, exceptional, stunning.
17:35And then you've got this huge portrait, Gainsborough.
17:38Gainsborough was the 18th century go-to portrait artist for the aristocracy.
17:44This lady is another bell ancestor, keeping her beady eye on the new generation.
17:49And though the money would help, this is an asset they intend to keep.
17:54I mean, that's lovely, isn't it?
17:56Yeah, I don't know too much about it, so maybe you can tell me.
17:59But I know that it was maybe a travelling chest, is that right?
18:02They have a very elaborate fancy name.
18:05It's a cabinet on stand.
18:06Oh!
18:07That's as good as it goes.
18:08So if we open it up, oh, I mean, look at that, that's just exquisite.
18:13Absolutely stunning.
18:15And this is what we call shinwazuri, which is a lacquer with gilt sort of highlights.
18:20And they're all these little scenes.
18:22This will be probably late 18th century.
18:24Kind of drifted out of fashion, came back again in the, sort of, round about the 1920s,
18:28and now it's really popular again.
18:30Oh!
18:31Shinwazuri emerged in the 17th century and blended Western and Chinese artistic traditions.
18:38Oh, wow.
18:42My mad, mad, great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
18:45He was actually quite an interesting chap.
18:47He was a liberal MP, and he actually set up two schools in Thirsk, which were...
18:51Oh, wow.
18:51Yeah, non-denominals.
18:53He was also a big supporter of William Wilberforce for the anti-slavery.
18:57Of course, the abolishment of slavery.
18:59And, you know, in Britain, we were the lead nation on that.
19:02And then the Royal Navy started, you know, basically defending and attacking the sort of American lines
19:07that were trying to bring slavery's in, so...
19:09I'm quite proud of that part of history.
19:13Angus heads to the small room to think on how he can help.
19:17But even here, the past is alive.
19:21Here we are in the downstairs toilet.
19:23Where's the toilet?
19:25Look at this.
19:25Just a bench seat.
19:26But no, no, look.
19:29It's also a toilet.
19:30Look at that.
19:31Classic Victorian toilet.
19:33Amazing.
19:34All hidden away.
19:36A lot of people will be familiar with Thomas Crapper, hence where that name comes from,
19:41who developed the U-Bend.
19:43Because actually what happened was the U-Bend stops the gases coming back up from the sewers.
19:49And if you went in in the night with your candle and that methane came up, sometimes kaboom.
19:54And you don't want that when you're sat on the toilet.
19:57Not that sort of kaboom.
19:59So, the U-Bend stops those gases coming back up.
20:02A great original feature that would have been put in in the Victorian period.
20:07Definitely, if you don't mind.
20:08But Angus can't linger.
20:15How many people are dining tonight?
20:17Twenty-five, I think.
20:19Because a key revenue stream for the house is arriving soon, and Zilla and Daisy need his
20:25help.
20:26Is that just, is it just for a garnish?
20:28Yeah.
20:28But also to go on the chicken.
20:29It's a tour for American visitors hoping to immerse themselves in Georgian England.
20:37And they're expecting a three-course meal provided by the owners with help from family friend Sarah.
20:44We serve them in the dining room, which is quite a typical Georgian house.
20:49The dining room is at the complete opposite end of the kitchen.
20:52So, this is sort of a good regular income stream.
20:56Yeah, it's really good income, and it, you know, helps pay some of the bills.
20:59Absolutely.
21:01Right, Kai, come three, come three.
21:04No prizes for guessing who's becoming butler for the day.
21:07Succo or something softer?
21:09Non-alcoholic.
21:10No, non-alcoholic, certainly I can sort that out for you.
21:15Another white wine?
21:17Would you like some?
21:18Are you taking three at a time?
21:19There are no domestic staff at First Call.
21:23Any vegetarian option?
21:24Though over a century ago, a butler and a couple of footmen would have done Angus's job.
21:29I'm sorry to interrupt.
21:31I hope you've had a lovely, lovely supper.
21:34Yeah, I just, I want to tell you a little bit about the house, so if you have any questions you want to ask.
21:38And they do.
21:40Fielding probing questions about the family fortune is something Daisy takes in her stride.
21:45Where did the original money when your family come?
21:49Where did it come from?
21:50My family are farmers.
21:52But I'm, and then she, she married her and she was the one that, her dad was a tax collector
21:57in Hull and so she had a lot of money.
21:59So she bought money into the, into the family.
22:02The curtains shouldn't really be here.
22:04That's not very Georgian.
22:05But the shutters are.
22:06The Victorians were really good at butchering it.
22:08The ever-knowledgeable Angus is on hand to identify tricky period details.
22:13I wonder if that, is that Victorian, maybe?
22:16Yes.
22:17Yeah.
22:17Well, no, so that's 19th century, so Victorian period, but that would be French.
22:21Possibly something like Serbs with the Guildmasters.
22:23That's very sort of French style.
22:25Okay.
22:26It's lucky we've got Angus here.
22:27As a long day comes to a close, it's time for Angus to enjoy his exclusive night in an
22:38authentic Georgian bedroom.
22:41Except there's a rumour it contains something spooky.
22:45Daisy and Zilla keep convincing me they're going to be all right in the room.
22:52It's badly haunted.
22:53I'm like, yeah, whatever.
22:54And all these stories keep coming out.
22:56Family members don't want to come to this end of the house.
22:58Apparently stuff gets moved, doors opened.
23:00I mean, it does look, literally, the graveyard's just there.
23:04Quite an old graveyard.
23:06But I was born on Friday the 13th, so I kind of think that makes me exempt from all that
23:09sort of stuff.
23:11In theory.
23:11With luck, the Bell family ancestors won't trouble Angus.
23:17He's got other things on his mind, like persuading the younger generation to part with a few
23:22things at auction.
23:24It's a new day at first call on Angus' trickiest mission yet, as the Bell family still can't decide
23:46what to sell at auction.
23:47However, he has managed to get a good night's sleep, despite a silent presence in his bedroom.
23:55I absolutely love these.
23:56You don't see them very often, although they've had a bit of a resurgence.
23:59So this is what we call a dummy board.
24:01And they date back to the early 17th century.
24:03They think to have originated in Holland.
24:05They have a handle, weighted base, and the floor's not very even here, but you can imagine
24:10you could move these round and set them in a room setting.
24:13Lost his arm there, sadly, but he's ugly.
24:15Very decorative.
24:16I mean, I'm sure Daisy wouldn't want him to leave the house.
24:19I mean, he's part and parcel, isn't he?
24:20A genuine Victorian dummy board, also known as a silent companion, can fetch as much as
24:26a thousand pounds.
24:29Breakfast is in the kitchen, like it is for most people, though a hundred years ago, a
24:34team of servants would have served it in the morning room.
24:37Were you trying to wind me up, saying it's really haunted?
24:39Because I mean, I've got this sense off everybody that it's, you know, it's quite a serious thing.
24:43There was just, um, voices.
24:46People would be woken up in the night.
24:47There'd be some tugging of the sheets.
24:49There's a lady called Caroline.
24:51You didn't get any of that?
24:52No Caroline tugged on my sheets last night.
24:55Good.
24:55I'm glad to hear it.
25:00It's day two of Angus's so-far fruitless search for something to sell.
25:07Here's something a bit more modern, and very local.
25:11Ah.
25:12Is that the Mouse Man?
25:14Beaver Man.
25:15Beaver Man?
25:16Yes.
25:17Oh, yeah.
25:17So, Beaver Man, you're true.
25:18Where's the Mouse?
25:19From just up the road.
25:20So, it's what we call the Yorkshire Critters.
25:22There's Mousemen in the Yorkshire Critters.
25:24Yorkshire Oaks.
25:25Oh, really?
25:26So, it used to just be popular around here.
25:28Now, it goes to America, everywhere.
25:30Robert Thompson made Mouse Man benches and trained a generation of Yorkshire furniture makers who copied his rustic style, but marked their work by carving a different animal.
25:42Nice little stool like that.
25:43Nice little stool like that, probably 4 to 600, 5 to 8 on a good day, but nice thing.
25:48Yeah.
25:49Fix the Gillow's chair off the back of it.
25:51Yeah, I think that's probably something we could consider.
25:54Yeah.
25:54Well, that's a possibility.
25:55You know, he clears a little bit of space out.
25:57Gets the Gillow's chair.
25:58A very little bit of space.
26:00Things are looking up.
26:01Could Angus be getting closer to a decision on what to sell?
26:05You've got a nice pair of chairs here.
26:09There's two of them.
26:10Sadly, you know, can't see it's gone.
26:12They don't look that sturdy.
26:13Is that kind of...
26:14Yeah, no, they're not.
26:15But, you know, they're fixable.
26:17I mean, as a pair, they're nice, but they'd sell as a...
26:20more as a decorative piece than somebody using that as a dinner table.
26:23And how much would it be to restore maybe, like, the seat bit of that?
26:26To get them re-cain, it's probably, you know, a few hundred quid there.
26:32There's loads of lovely things in here.
26:34Have a little think.
26:35And Daisy does have a think.
26:36In fact, the wheels are rapidly going round
26:39as she asks a surprising question.
26:42Just out of interest, Angus, what...
26:44What are you thinking, ballpark figure?
26:48For the lot?
26:49No, we wouldn't, but, yeah, I'm just interested.
26:51No, I know.
26:52Yes, she means everything in the room.
26:55But if we came and just emptied the room,
26:57what do you think I could raise?
26:58Yeah.
27:01Well, I mean, that would mean taking the Gillow's chair,
27:03but, I don't know, um, I don't know, 20 to 40?
27:08Oh, my God.
27:0920,000 to 40,000 pounds would certainly fix a few holes in the roof.
27:14I can see that Angus is excited by a number of different things,
27:19but there's a level of responsibility I have,
27:21so I've just got to be a little bit cautious about what I sort of hand over.
27:24While Daisy considers her options, Angus understands it's far from easy.
27:29It'd be lovely to say that, yeah, send a van to clear the room,
27:32but they've got to have a bit of a family meeting and decide, you know, what's safe to go.
27:36That's the way you go some days.
27:37But this is, we're here for the long term.
27:40You know, they're local to us.
27:41I'm always here when they need me.
27:43I'll be here in a flash.
27:46Outside, Bill and Daisy, who both work in the art world,
27:50have created something they hope will generate an income
27:53to avoid selling off family heirlooms.
27:57It's a fantastic space.
27:58I mean, how did this all come about?
28:01Well, it was really when we moved up here in lockdown,
28:03and we were looking to replicate what I was doing in London,
28:06so that was the main point.
28:08You just didn't have a canvas like this in London.
28:10Exactly, yeah.
28:11I mean, we were always going to be working in art,
28:13and sculpture's my kind of area,
28:15but to do large-scale sculptures on this kind of, yeah,
28:17monumental scale in the landscape is kind of a dream.
28:21We've come out of the house, and it's amazing.
28:23It's sort of parkland, gardens.
28:25What Daisy and her husband, Bill, have done
28:27is create this amazing sculpture park,
28:29and it's unusual, you know, you've got this ancient backdrop of the house
28:32with this very contemporary feel,
28:34but do you know what? It works.
28:36They've created this space, and you walk around this, and it's lovely.
28:39A lot of people have lived in Thirst for years and years,
28:42but no-one's ever really been into the garden
28:44because it's never been open to the public,
28:46so being able to open it up
28:48not only allows people to come and see the sculpture,
28:49but it also lets them to have this access
28:51to this incredible space behind.
28:53They've got this house, and they've got to upkeep.
28:56You know, it is competitive,
28:57and actually what they've created here
28:58is something a little bit different.
28:59It's a different way of doing it,
29:01and I quite like that.
29:03Another different way of doing things
29:05is Thirst Call's beer and pizza night.
29:10OK, so we need to move all the chairs out,
29:12we need to get the deck chairs out,
29:14we need to move kegs.
29:15So are these tables, you want them spread out,
29:17or is this like a dance floor?
29:18We probably have a bit of space here in front of the band,
29:22and then we want to put out some deck chairs,
29:23because, I mean, hello!
29:24They've pre-sold 160 tickets,
29:29but on such a sunny day,
29:31there'll be plenty of walking trade from the town.
29:34Do you want to pull this, and I'll push it?
29:36OK.
29:38I love the trolley. It's brilliant.
29:40Proper, a steak trolley, isn't it?
29:43Yeah.
29:4460 years ago, only the Bell family and their staff
29:47would have been allowed into the garden.
29:49Today, it's open house to anyone who'll pay.
29:53I think if we go and do the umbrellas...
29:56..these, I think, are quite complicated to put in.
30:00..but doing everything yourself isn't easy.
30:04Why would this be this short?
30:08Is yours long enough?
30:09..which is where Angus comes in.
30:12You open the bottom bit, and it comes out.
30:14I don't know, it feels like there isn't anything in here.
30:19Um, I'm going to give up on that.
30:23Oh, well, I seem to manage how to put them up.
30:29Just the wind, we kind of need a load of weights
30:32for all the bases, which we haven't got time to do.
30:35So, you know, executive decision.
30:40No umbrellas.
30:41They'll be fine. They've come for the sunshine.
30:43With time running out, it's more important to get the bar sorted.
30:50So we just need to move the kegs there.
30:52It's a great concept, and it's bringing a different audience
30:55into First Call, an audience that are going to go,
30:57hang on a minute, what's all this?
30:59What's all this sculpture out there?
31:00And it's that soft cross-marketing.
31:02You come to one event, you see something else.
31:04So, clever, I think it's going to be a great night.
31:06The doors are open, and the fun begins.
31:12Got lots of people coming in.
31:14The sky is blue, the sun is out.
31:17Lots of pizzas, lots of pipes being pulled.
31:19I think that Angus has had a go at doing it.
31:22Um, and, yeah, I think we're set up for a really good evening.
31:25So, do you want to take the ticket?
31:26Yeah.
31:28It's just such a lovely venue here.
31:30You've got the historic house behind you,
31:31the sculpture park in front of you.
31:33Everyone's sat down in that huge sort of formal garden.
31:35And it's just a real nice informal event.
31:37And it's Daisy and Bill's home, and it feels like a home.
31:41There's no way of knowing how the Bell family ghosts feel
31:44about a beer and pizza party on their lawn,
31:47but it's been a success.
31:49With the weekend now over, it's time for Angus to head out.
31:58Disappointingly, though, he's leaving empty-handed.
32:01Well, it's been an absolutely wonderful weekend.
32:05Because Daisy and Scylla still can't decide what to send to auction.
32:09Thank you so much for coming.
32:11Well, thank you for having me.
32:12Thanks so much for all your hard work, and as well, yeah.
32:15Brilliant.
32:15Bye.
32:16See you later.
32:16And have a safe flight.
32:17I will, hopefully, yeah.
32:19Weather looks good, so thanks.
32:21Bye.
32:21Cheers.
32:36A week has passed,
32:38and Angus is unexpectedly heading back to Thur's call to see Daisy.
32:43She's given me a call, she's ready,
32:45and I think there's a few bits that they've decided as a family can be let go and sold
32:49and pay for that restoration.
32:50If the family can let a few things go to auction,
32:53there's a chance the broken Gillow's chair could be repaired.
32:57Since you were last here, I've had a good chat with my dad
33:00about kind of what's important that we're quite keen to keep in the house,
33:04and then also about there's other things we quite want to keep.
33:08Well, that'll sell fine, so we'll get that in the sale.
33:10They're saying goodbye to a Beaverman Yorkshire oak stool.
33:14And also going to auction is the Edwardian stationary cupboard,
33:18as well as something else Angus hasn't seen.
33:20So we found this in a cupboard downstairs, actually,
33:22so I don't know if that was of interest for you.
33:25Yeah, yeah, certainly.
33:26That's nice, that's quite...
33:27It's quite heavy.
33:28Good paperweight.
33:29Murder in the library.
33:31Yeah, no, nice sort of gilded bronze,
33:33nice little sort of bust there on marble.
33:35That's a nice duct tape piece.
33:37Very nice bits.
33:38Well, I'll get these loaded up.
33:40We'll get these into the sale coming up.
33:42And obviously, I'll bring you the chair back when it's all done.
33:45Great.
33:46You know, this job's all about long-term relationships
33:48and being there when the client needs you,
33:50whether it's now, five years, ten years down the line.
33:53And those three bits that I've got,
33:55including the bust, which I didn't know about,
33:57are really nice things, really good bits.
34:00They're going to sell well at auction.
34:01They're going to cover the cost of restoring that lovely chair.
34:04So I'm happy.
34:05With decisions made at last,
34:08Angus can get these items priced up and listed to sell
34:11in his upcoming country house auction.
34:14And Grandpa's Gillow's chair will be restored.
34:23It's the day of Angus's country house sale,
34:39and the lots found at Thirsk Hall are ready to be sold.
34:43Thirsk, they've got some items to say.
34:45Three lots, small selection, but quality.
34:48You know, lovely bust, obviously the Yorkshire Oak, always popular.
34:51And actually, that tambour cabinet, that little station cabinet,
34:54so that's lovely.
34:55Final warning, then, at 660.
34:58660.
34:59Not an awful lot from first to sell,
35:01but if we can do all right with what we're selling,
35:03that should raise enough money to get that wonderful Gillow's chair
35:07restored and put back in the house.
35:10We're in the market, then, at 660.
35:11680 anywhere?
35:12Angus has a special country house auction only four times a year.
35:17It draws in customers from all over the world.
35:20We're now on to Thirsk Hall.
35:23There we are, it's a grade two listed three-story manor house
35:25in the centre of Thirsk, built in 1723,
35:28and extended by John Carr.
35:29It's been in the Bell family for over 300 years.
35:32First up is the Oak Bench,
35:34made by one of the Yorkshire Critters, Beaverman.
35:37The first of the Yorkshire Critters today,
35:39there we are, the Beaverman, the stool,
35:41and a lot of interest in this.
35:42We can start it at £300.
35:44At £300, I bid for it, thank you, at £300.
35:47At £300 for the stool, £320, thank you, £340, £360.
35:50It's a good stool, this, good stool.
35:52And at £360, £380 anywhere?
35:53At £360, then, the gavel rising.
35:55Final warning, then, at £360.
35:56£60, and that is £172,60, thank you.
36:01That's a great start.
36:02A big price for a modest piece of furniture
36:05that is now very popular.
36:07£75.
36:08At £75, I bid for it, thank you.
36:10Just a lovely little desk piece, Edwardian piece.
36:13At £85, at £85, £90, thank you.
36:15At £90, at £90.
36:16That's about right.
36:17£81, £20, I told him, so...
36:20At £95 into the room.
36:21Cut my word to Daisy.
36:23£110, keep your letters in.
36:25£110, thank you, sir.
36:26I have £120, I have £130.
36:27At £130, gentlemen's bid, I shall sell, then.
36:30At £130, £130, £130, thank you.
36:33£130, and you are, sir.
36:34This was a surprise find from the drawing room.
36:37Is this a lovely little bus that was in the drawing room?
36:41Didn't see it when I was first there,
36:42it was when I was picking up.
36:43At £180, now, you're all short.
36:45At £180, now, at £180, then.
36:47Don't mistake it, then, at £180.
36:48Gavel rising, then, final warning, then,
36:50if you don't get on, then, at £180.
36:52£180.
36:53All three lots from Thirsk Hall have sold well,
36:57and the money will soon be used
36:59to finance the restoration
37:00of a very important family heirloom.
37:04Thirsk Hall didn't have a lot of items in.
37:06You know, the Beaverman, uh, stool, Yorkshire,
37:08we always do well with that.
37:10It was always going to sell, so that's gone.
37:12And the little tambour cabinet, I love that.
37:13I told them 80 to 120 on the day,
37:15it's just done a bit over that,
37:16so good result on that.
37:17And, you know, a reasonable sum
37:19that can go towards the restoration
37:20of that lovely chair.
37:21So, yeah, I know, I'm pretty pleased.
37:25Angus has sent Grandpa's Gillow's chair
37:28to the workshop of furniture restorer Tim
37:31in Ilkley.
37:33All these joints,
37:34they'd all become rather loose.
37:36A lot of people bring their furniture to us
37:39and they think,
37:40oh, it's beyond repair.
37:41But no, it's not.
37:42We've taken the frame apart
37:45and we've discovered that
37:47the arms and the back
37:49and the leg frame
37:50are all made in separate sections.
37:53This is the, uh,
37:55the leg that was, uh,
37:56slightly cracked down its length,
38:01so I'm just taking the mortise and tenon joint out.
38:05What I have to do is scrape off
38:07the old animal glue
38:08so that the new glue sticks to the wood
38:12rather than the glue that's already on there.
38:15The leather upholstery
38:17only needs a conditioner
38:18to make it supple again.
38:20It'll look a lot brighter.
38:22The leather work will look a lot less tired,
38:25um, so it'll have a good colour back to it
38:28and, uh, and it'll,
38:29it'll feel a lot better as well.
38:31That's the good thing about, uh, antique furniture.
38:34It's so well made.
38:36You've got proper joints
38:37and, uh, they're able to be, um,
38:40taken apart, repaired,
38:42and put back together again.
38:43With Grandpa's Gillow's chair repaired,
38:55it can now return to First Call.
39:00I'm really excited, actually,
39:02because I've got the chair,
39:03that beautiful Gillow's library chair,
39:06and it's been restored.
39:07It's going to go back in where it should be
39:09and it's, it's got a twin in the house as well,
39:12so, uh, they're going to be reunited.
39:15Hey!
39:16How are we doing?
39:16You all right?
39:17It's not good.
39:18How are you?
39:18Yeah, all right.
39:19All right.
39:21Yeah, how's things at First Call?
39:23Busy, as ever.
39:24Yes.
39:25Yeah.
39:25We really missed you, though,
39:26because you didn't have the heavy,
39:28you know, helping us with, uh, the lifting.
39:30Well, we've been busy on the other side,
39:32so we took a few things for auction.
39:34I think it was £670,
39:35so...
39:35Oh, wow.
39:36...good restoration pot.
39:37Amazing!
39:38Restoration-wise,
39:40we've, uh, we've got the chair covered, so...
39:42Oh, brilliant.
39:43While £670 is not a huge amount,
39:47it's still money they didn't have before,
39:49and it's been put to good use.
39:52Here we have the chair.
39:53Oh, really looking forward to this.
39:55Yeah.
39:56And I'd like you to cast your mind's back.
39:59I mean, the leg was really, truly ripped off.
40:02Yeah, yeah, yeah.
40:02And there was a tear in the leather.
40:06Oh, wow.
40:06Oh, my gosh.
40:07And I think they've done a brilliant job of that,
40:09because actually, I thought you'd still see
40:11a little scar mark, you know, where they'd...
40:13Literally can't see.
40:14So it's this leg here,
40:15and you can actually see just...
40:17You can see how bad it's broken,
40:19because the break goes all the way up there,
40:21and then up there.
40:22That's incredible.
40:23So they've reconstructed all that, put it in.
40:25Yeah, happy with it?
40:26Really happy.
40:27It's incredible.
40:28You know, if ever, you know,
40:30you haven't got space for the pair,
40:31I mean, the pair's always really good.
40:33I mean, they'll do well at auction, you know.
40:35Nice try, Angus.
40:36I mean, to be fair, this house is famous
40:39for its good loads of furniture, isn't it?
40:41Yeah, I think this is definitely one
40:42that will probably stay here.
40:44Well, glad you're happy with that.
40:46And now, I've got a little surprise for you.
40:48Oh.
40:49Yeah, cool.
40:51So, I've set something up for you.
40:53So exciting.
40:54Have a seat.
40:55Perfect.
40:56When I was here before,
41:00well, you showed me some wonderful footage.
41:03Yeah.
41:03Of all the family and everything else,
41:05and I think a little bit of amateur dramatics
41:07was going on at one point.
41:08Yeah.
41:09Got a lip reader.
41:10Are you joking?
41:11No.
41:12And we've recreated
41:13one of the sort of scenes there we're doing,
41:16which was very sort of amdram,
41:17but, yeah, see what you think.
41:20It's priceless, I believe.
41:27But I deserve it.
41:29Oh, I deserve it.
41:32Yes.
41:33Oh, it's lovely.
41:35Could I borrow it, perhaps?
41:36Well, I'm keeping it for Christmas.
41:38It will be wonderful.
41:40Yes, yes, it's divine, divine.
41:47It really is charming.
41:48It really is rare.
41:51It's what I deserve.
41:54It's what I deserve.
41:56So, yeah, that's the voiceover then as it goes on.
41:58So we managed to recreate some of it.
42:02This was...
42:03We're going back to the grandparents.
42:04Yeah, the lady wearing the necklace is my...
42:06It's our grandmother.
42:07Yeah.
42:07Wow.
42:08So good, I can't believe it.
42:10So there we go.
42:12You're very welcome.
42:18Well, it's been wonderful to come back and see how things have progressed
42:21and delighted that you're happy with the chair.
42:24Thank you once again for that.
42:25It was amazing.
42:26It's great to bring it to life.
42:28It's been wonderful to come back to see Daisy and Zilla
42:31and bring the chair back.
42:33I'm really excited.
42:34I'm really pleased with how they feel about it.
42:37They're really happy.
42:38Probably their next challenge is the upstairs of the house.
42:41I mean, I think that's where the work is needed
42:43and it's a big job.
42:46But, you know, it's getting all these other things going
42:48to help contribute towards that.
42:50So I wish them all the best.
42:53Angus's mission is complete.
42:55The roof still leaks,
42:57but one of Thirst Call's relics has been rescued.
43:01And he's optimistic that one day he'll be back
43:04to clear all that historic clutter.
43:07And he'll be back to the house.
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