‘Proper’ antiques auction fetches close to £500,000

More than 480 lots from the Beaucamp de Haut estate went under the hammer at the Martel Maides auction rooms in Cornet Street.

Manager Jason Yendell said they had expected the sales to total around £350,000.

‘However, the total sale was around £475,000 with an 87% sale rate, which is incredible. The sale total exceeded our expectations,’ he said.

‘Compared to a normal fine art sale, it was definitely more of an even split between bidders in the auction house and bidders from both the internet sites and on the telephone.

‘We had up to seven telephones in use at once on several lots.

‘The feedback was that it felt like a proper auction. It went on until 6.30/6.45pm and there was strong bidding throughout the entire day.’

The highest selling price was £22,000, which is what it took one determined bidder to take home a 1:16 scale model of a railway locomotive.

Another memorable item was a 19th-century painting by John Henry Moore called the Rivals, which sold for £20,000.

‘It is a classic Victorian scene of two women who had fallen out with each other with a man in the background, very much in the pre-Raphaelite vein,’ said Mr Yendell.

The contents of the house were put up for sale after its occupant died and relatives decided to auction most of the belongings.

Mr Yendell said these kinds of sale had become rarer over the years. However, there had been a recent resurgence.

‘We have done five in the last six years, but before that it had been 10 years since our last one.

‘When people see them, it makes people think that it might be the answer for them for a big family home.’

And allowing potential bidders to view the contents of the estate in their natural environment had increased interest, Mr Yendell said.

‘You can see things in their natural state in a lovely house and put together by someone with an eye for it.’