Antiques Roadshow comes to York

For most though, it was a chance to learn the history of treasured family heirlooms as the Antiques Roadshow set up stall in York for the first time since 2003.

Back then, items included a masonic collection of porcelain and glass valued at £18,000 as well as a book signed by Beatrix Potter which was worth £5,000.

Yesterday, some of Britain’s leading antiques and fine arts specialists were in a scorching Museum Gardens offering free advice and valuations to hundreds of visitors who had raided their attics hoping to find their own household treasures.

For many, of course, there was the agony and ecstasy of the ‘what’s it worth’ moment.

Pat Shaw, from Monk Fryston, had a pleasant surprise with her postcard from George Bernard Shaw. Her father was named after the great man and her grandfather, an avid fan, wrote to ask George if that would be alright.

“He sent this card back which said it was a ‘shocking outrage on a defenceless infant’. They valued it at £400 which came as a bit of a shock. I just never thought about it really. The card lives on a mantlepiece at the moment, but I think it will have to go somewhere more secure now.”

Among the highlights was Nestlé’s iconic marketing character, Mr York of York, Yorks, which expert Hilary Kay valued at £5,000, while Cynthia Snioch, of Ripon, struggled with her print of World Religions.

She knew nothing about it, and like everyone else had to queue four hours in the sun to find out.

But fans hoping to see Fiona Bruce were as disappointed as the punters who discovered their “Georgian” chair was only worth a fiver. The show’s host had to pull out at the last minute due to a family illness.

Few, if any, experienced a life- changing moment courtesy of the antique experts, but at least someone will be able to tell their granny once and for all that her painting is more likely to come from the town called Gainsborough, than the artist.