Significant finds at Antiques Roadshow

BBC Antiques Roadshow producers found some rare finds during filming at Gregynog Hall, it has emerged - but we won't find out what they are until the programme is broadcast.

Last week’s visit by BBC One Antiques Roadshow to Gregynog Hall, near Newtown, attracted around 1,500 people, and has been declared a big success for the historic conference and events venue.

Karen Armstrong, Gregynog Hall’s director, said everything about the event had gone according to plan. “It was a fantastic event and I can’t wait to see the two programmes. It’s wonderful exposure for Gregynog Hall to be seen by millions of viewers not only in the UK but around the world.”

Olwen Gillespie, public liaison officer for the Antiques Roadshow, said it was hoped to make two programmes from the visit.

She would not divulge all the treasures discovered by the team of experts but did say that they had seen a sapphire ring worth £20,000, a French onyx clock worth £15,000 and a collection of Welsh porcelain valued at around £4,000.

“We were all delighted to visit Gregynog Hall,” she added. “Everybody thought the place was wonderful and the staff there were so helpful.”

Presenter Fiona Bruce revealed that she is a frequent visitor to north Powys, as she has friends in the Welshpool area and loves Gregynog Hall and surrounding area. She expressed her admiration for spinster sisters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, who lived at Gregynog Hall and established it as a centre for music and the arts.

Advert

The sisters collected work by Rodin, Renoir, Monet, Cezanne and others on a Grand Tour of Europe in the early 20th century and gifted their collection to the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff 1951 and ‘63.

“They were extraordinary women,” said the Antiques Roadshow presenter. “They mixed with aristocrats, artists, musicians and writers and were among the wealthiest women in Britain.

“Gregynog Hall is one of the most fascinating places in the whole of Wales. I have filmed a show here in the past and as soon as I was asked for ideas where I would like to go to film the new series, I jumped at the chance to come back.”

Several items linked to the sisters were brought along on the day and Gregynog Hall also produced paintings and furniture for the experts to appraise.

Fiona Bruce and art expert Philip Mould were reunited for filming following their BBC One series ‘Fake or Fortune', which turned the spotlight on paintings owned by the Davies sisters. They proved that three oil paintings in the sisters’ collection by landscape artist J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851), which were discounted as fakes in 1956, were in fact genuine works and worth millions of pounds.