Many thanks to all those who attended the Dulverton Antiques Valuation Day in Dulverton Town Hall on Saturday 23 March.  A steady flow of people clutching antique items kept the expert valuers from Adam Partridge Auctioneers busy throughout the day.  Paintings, vases, watches, jewellery, military items, toys, crockery, silverware…. and much much more.

“What a lovely, friendly event” commented Mrs J from Brushford, “filled with Dulverton’s unique community spirit.”

‘Guess the Antique Item’ Competition

And so to the popular free competition: ‘Guess the Antique Item’.  Many visitors had a go at guessing the original intended use of three antique items that had been brought along by Adam Partridge Auctioneers.

Item 1 – A late 18th Century yew wood wig powderer

Item 2 – An ice cream dispenser (to put between two wafers)

Item 3 – An exceptionally rare cattle horn trainer (to make the horns grow evenly)

Great fun was had by all the entrants amid lots of head scratching!

Only one person correctly guessed Item 1 – other suggestions included a hair curler, a beauty spot applicator, a device to pull lace stays and even an 18th Century ping pong game!

Nine people guessed Item 2 correctly – one interesting suggestion was that it was used for tying fish hooks!

Five people guessed that Item 3 was connected with the horns of an animal, though rams and billy goats were mentioned instead of cattle. Other suggestions included an udder teat cover, a seed spacer, a hobble and weights for a jockey!

The Winning Entries…

No-one guessed all three items correctly, but three people guessed two out of three and their names were put into a hat to draw the winner.  These were:

Jane Erith

Chris Kelly

Mr J Wilkins

And The Winner is…

Chris Kelly

Congratulations to him!  A bottle of wine is heading his way, generously donated by Town Mills B&B in Dulverton.

Thanks also to Dulverton’s Oggies Music Shop and Tim Venning’s ‘From Tim’s Workshop’ for bringing along their array of fascinating upcycled and repurposed items for the home – from musical instruments to agricultural machinery!

Finally, particular thanks to all the Visit Dulverton volunteers for baking cakes, serving refreshments and welcoming the visitors with big smiles!

Following the success of the two 2023 Dulverton Antiques Valuation Days, Adam Partridge Auctioneers are returning to the beautiful Exmoor market town of Dulverton on Saturday 23 March to join the volunteers from Visit Dulverton for another valuation event – and a fun competition for all to enter!  Adam is well known as a regular face on television programmes such as Flog It!, Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt, and is delighted to be assisting Visit Dulverton again with this friendly event.

What’s Happening?

On Saturday 23 March from 10.30am to 3.30pm, the experts from Adam Partridge Auctioneers will be found in Dulverton’s historic Town Hall for another Dulverton Antiques Valuation Day.  Visitors will be invited to bring along their antiques, jewellery, fine art & collectors’ items.  For a small donation the specialists on hand will give a valuation and history of the items that are brought along.  The donation is to be £5 for a maximum of three portable items per person (that are small enough to carry!). No pre-booking required, just a first come, first served simple ticketed system on the day. For those wishing to sell items, the auctioneers will be able to accept pieces on the day for future specialist auctions.

There will also be a fun free competition at the event, when visitors will be asked to guess “What is the antique item?”  Three unique and unusual antique items will be displayed and competitors will be invited to write down what they believe the item to be and what was its original intended use.  The first person to guess all three correctly will win a bottle of wine donated by Town Mills B&B in Dulverton.  Thinking caps on!

There will also be stalls from Dulverton’s Oggies Music Shop and Tim Venning’s ‘From Tim’s Workshop’. Both businesses create fascinating upcycled and repurposed items for the home – from musical instruments to agricultural machinery!

Refreshments will be available.

Visit the event page to learn more.