A Kawasaki GP500 motocrosser, ridden by the legendary Georges Jobe in 1985 is to be sold by Charterhouse at the Carole Nash Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show on Sunday 3rd February.
“I remember seeing Georges Jobe riding his green Kawasaki’s at various race events as a teenager.” Commented Charterhouse motorcycle expert Matthew Whitney. “I never thought I would see one of his racing Kawasaki’s again and it is a great privilege to handle this sale.”
A Jaguar E-Type roadster has been entered into the Charterhouse specialist auction of classic and vintage cars at Sherborne Castle on Sunday 15th July.
“The Jaguar E-Type is in every car collector’s top 10 list of iconic cars.” Commented Matthew Whitney. “With beauty, high performance and competitive pricing they were an instant success for Jaguar in 1961 and just recently we have seen the E-Type feature in the press again at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle which the newly married couple drove off from the wedding in.”
A collection of maritime pictures by modern day Cornish artist Terry Bailey are going under the Charterhouse hammer on Friday 27th July.
“The pictures, which come from a Somerset deceased estate, were collected over a number of years by a retired Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm officer who had a huge love of the sea and sailing ships.” Commented Richard Bromell. “The pictures will no doubt tempt buyers to bid who enjoy the sea, Cornwall, sailing ships and wonderful draughtsmanship.”
Terry Bailey is best known for his paintings of yachting scenes, both historical and contemporary. Born in Manchester in 1941 he moved to the West Country in 1970.
A 1951 Rolls-Royce, which carried members of the Royal Family, is going under the Charterhouse hammer in their auction of classic and vintage cars on Sunday 15th July.
“Rarely do you come across a car with such interesting history.” Commented Matthew Whitney. “The car has survived quite well over the past over the past 68 years although the blue leather seats have suffered over the decades but this was probably down to the heat of Africa rather than the bottoms of Royalty!”
The 1951 Rolls-Royce, a Silver Dawn, was transported shortly after to Kenya aboard the SS Dunotter Castle. Arriving in Mombasa the car would have been used for the visit of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh had not King George VI not passed away during the royal couple’s tour cutting their visit short with them having to return to Britain.
June is a busy month for Charterhouse Auctioneers as they have two auctions with a slant toward mantiques.
First up there is the Charterhouse auction of classic car and motorcycles on Sunday 17th June at The Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. Included in the auction are nearly 30 classic motorcycles which have been dragged out of a rural Somerset barn.
“All the bikes from the barn are covered in layers of dust which has accumulated on them over the past 30 years or so.” Commented Matthew Whitney. “The owner, a serial motorcycle owner, has decided he will never get around to restoring these bikes and to let someone else dust them off and enjoy them.”
There is a broad range of classic motorcycles from the barn including a 1977 Yamaha FS1E, a 1965 Matchless, a 1960’s Cougar Cotton, a circa 1964 Triumph Tiger Cub Trials Special and a late 1970’s Honda 400 Four. Estimates on the motorcycles range from £200 up to £1,500.
This auction is then closely followed by the Charterhouse two day auction on 21st & 22nd June.
A trio of World War One medals, awarded to The Reverend Nathaniel George Railton who served in the Army Chaplains Department, are going under the charterhouse hammer in Sherborne in their 21st & 22nd June collectors’ auction.
“The medals come to Charterhouse for a distant family relation and have never been on the open market before.” Commented Richard Bromell. “Over the years I have sold hundreds of these trios but what makes this group really interesting is not only are the medals awarded to a military chaplain, but he was also the brother of Reverend David Railton who had the idea of The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.”
Reverend David Railton conceived the idea for The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, also known as the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, when in France during 1916. He was serving as a Chaplain on the Western Front and had seen a grave marked with a rough cross which bore the pencil written legend “An Unknown British Soldier”.
After the war, in 1920, he wrote to the Duke of Westminster proposing that an unidentified British soldier from the battlefields in France be buried with due ceremony in Westminster Abbey “among the kings” to represent the many hundreds of thousands of Empire dead.
The idea was strongly supported by the Dean and David Lloyd George, the Prime Minister. Plans were made and the body of an unknown soldier from the battlefields of France was chosen at random.
On the morning of 11th November 1920, the casket was place on a gun carriage from the Royal Horse Artillery. Drawn by a team of six horses the casket was taken to Westminster Abbey passing a vast and silent crowd.
The cortege was followed by The King, members of The Royal Family and ministers of state to Westminster Abbey. It was placed in the West Nave of the Abbey flanked by a guard of honour of over 100 recipients of the Victoria Cross.
Today, this is the only grave in Westminster Abbey which it is forbidden to walk on.
Charterhouse are now accepting further entries for their 21st & 22nd June specialist auction of coins, medals, stamps, clocks and collector’s items including a single owner lifetime collection of model cars and automobilia and for their 17th June auction of classic and vintage cars.
For further information regarding these auctions please contact Richard Bromell at Charterhouse, The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne 01935 812277 or via email info@charterhouse-auction.com
Captions:
Richard Bromell with the trio of First World War medals awarded to Rev N G Railton ACD £150-250*
*Plus 25.2% buyers premium (inc VAT)
**** Post auction update**** We had 100% sold rate with this collection, totalling over £14,000 –
The Charterhouse auction of classic motorcycles and cars on Sunday 17th June includes a single owner collection of barn stored motorcycles.
“The collection certainly puts a slant on the term barn fresh!” Commented Matthew Whitney. “The owner has over the past few decades bought, rode and then put in the barn dozens of motorcycles and has decided it is now the time to have a sort out and free up some more space.”
There are nearly 30 motorcycles being sold from this collection which is expected to sell for up to £20,000. Needing restoration they are all under decades of dust and will offer a great opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts to choose a project to keep them busy over the winter months.
Motorcycles in the collection include a Yamaha FS1E £800-1,200, a Honda SS50 £400-600*, a Cotton Cougar trials £800-1,200*, a Greeves Griffin £1,500-1,800*, a Honda 400 Four £1,400-1,600*, a 
Matchless 250cc £500-700*, and a Triumph Tiger Cub trials special £800-1,200*.
The auction on Sunday 17th June is being held in conjunction with The Footman James Bristol Classic Car Show which attracts huge numbers of enthusiasts, collectors and dealers running on Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th June at The Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet.
For further information regarding this auction, or enter a classic or vintage motorcycle into the Netley Marsh Motorcycle Auction on 1st September, contact Matthew Whitney or Naomi Grabham at Charterhouse, The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne 01935 812277 or via email mw@charterhouse-auction.com
*plus 13.2% buyer’s premium (inc VAT)
The huge Charterhouse May two day auction on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th has a vast array of lots estimated to sell from £50 up to £10,000.
On Thursday 24th May there are 600 lots of silver, jewellery and watches. In the jewellery there is a diamond necklace with about 10ct of diamonds estimated at £8,500-10,000*, a large three stone diamond ring £6,500-7,500*, a large pair of diamond stud earrings £5,000-6,000* and an early 20th century diamond pendant brooch £2,500-3,500*.
In the silver section there is a Regency silver claret jug £700-1,000*, a large early 19th century silver ewer £1,000-1,500* and a Victorian silver gilt and glass Cellini pattern claret jug at £4,000-5,000*.
In the watch department there are both ladies and gentlemen’s Rolex, Longines, Omega, Jaeger-Le Coultre and International Watch Company with estimates up to £1,500*.
A Mini, dating from the early swinging sixties, is entered into the Charterhouse classic car auction on Sunday 17th June.
“Mini cars are motoring icons and every time I see an early model it put a smile on my face.” Commented Matthew Whitney. “With excellent parts availability, simple mechanics, their diminutive size, bags of character and fun to drive Mini’s appeal to classic cars enthusiasts of all ages.”
The Mini first made an appearance in 1959. Designed by Sir Alec Issigonis it was revolutionary with its space saving transverse engine front wheel drive layout and was so popular it carried on in production until 2000 with sales of over 5 million Mini’s.
The Charterhouse auction of classic and vintage cars on Wednesday 11th April has a group of MG’s dating from 1930 up to 1974.
“MG, the initials for Morris Garage, as a marque has been in the heart of this nation since its formation in the early 1920’s.” Commented Matthew Whitney. “Production in the early years was all about two seater sports cars and in our auction we have pulled together a fabulous selection of MG’s from several collections from across the West Country representing some 44 years of British sports car production.”
The earliest MG in the auction is a 1930 MG M-Type Double Twelve. Finished in British racing green, this pretty looking vintage MG has been lovingly and painstakingly restored by its owner over the past decade. In all probability now being in a better than new condition, this early MG is estimated at £38,000-42,000*.