Auction of The Shambles Victorian museum

21 May – A treasure trove of Victorian fixtures and fittings from The Shambles in Newent will be auctioned by Simon Chorley Art & Antiques in a four day sale this spring.

The entire contents of The Shambles, the former popular museum of Victorian life in the Forest of Dean, is set to be auctioned in a four-day sale held by Gloucestershire auctioneers Simon Chorley Art & Antiques.

Taking place at The Shambles on Church Street in Newent, from Monday 18 to Thursday 21 May 2009 with viewing from Thursday 14 May 2009, antique collectors and bargain hunters alike will be spoilt for choice with more than an acre of collectibles to bid on.

Everything from the original shop facades and their shelf-stacked interiors to agricultural corn merchants and the police station manned by its Bobby are offered in the 2,300-lot sale – with lots estimated to fetch anywhere between £5 to more than £1,000.

Organisers say: ‘The Shambles began as a pipe-dream for owners Jim and Holly Chapman in 1986 when they bought 20 Church Street in Newent, before it first opened to the public in March 1988. Since then it has grown and grown in size and, before finally closing its doors in November 2008, it was attracting up to 40,000 visitors a year.’

The Shambles includes a doctor’s dispensary, bakery with delivery bikes parked outside, basket maker, tin chapel, row of cottages and workshops housing the builder, the plumber, the glazier, the printer and the farm manager, as well as a photographer’s studio housing a collection of early equipment.

There’s stuffed animals in the taxidermist’s workshop, a pub brimming with beer bottles and barrels, a music shop with gramophones and musical boxes, a tailors overflowing with pairs of scissors, not to mention the lamp man, pawnbroker, post office, butcher and wheelwright – all with collections going under the hammer.

Powders, potions and pills – an even a glass eye – line the shelves of the pharmacy, mountains of tins are stacked in the grocer’s shop, the washer woman’s white smocks hang alongside the hats and gloves from the glover and milliner, the cobbler shop is bulging with leather shoes, while the tobacconist is full of vesta cases and pipe accoutrements.

The Shambles houses one of the largest collections of everyday Victoriana in the country, and while it is a shame to finally lose such a popular Gloucestershire attraction, the four day sale from local auctioneers Simon Chorley Art & Antiques is a fantastic way for members of the public to own a piece of living history.

Event: The Shambles auction
Venue: The Shambles, Church Street, Newent
Dates: Viewing days are between Thursday 14 and Sunday 17 May 2009. Sales days are Monday 18 to Thursday 21 May 2009
Times: The Shambles will be open from 10am to 4pm on viewing days, with sales starting at 10.30am each sale day.
Tickets: Admission to the viewing days and auction is by printed catalogue only, which costs £15 and admits two. Contact Simon Chorley Art & Antiques on (01452) 344499 and visit simonchorley.com for more information and for a fully illustrated online catalogue.

SoGlos.com
28 April 2009

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