A BRONZE sculpture bought in the 1960s as a door stop for 10 shillings could be worth around £1,000.

 

The piece of art, by the 19th century French sculptor Jean Louis Gregoire, was one of the hidden treasures unearthed during an antiques valuation day in Cricklade by experts from Cirencester-based Moore Allen & Innocent auctioneers.

 

Antiques owners paid £3 per item for expert Philip Allwood –  familiar to many as an expert on TV shows including Bargain Hunt, Flog It and Dickinson's Real Deal – and his colleague David Greatwood to cast an eye over their heirlooms.

 

Philip valued the Gregoire sculpture depicting Venus with a dolphin at her feet – which its owner had bought “for about 10 bob” to prop open a creaking door – at £800 to £1,200. 

 

“It was one of those 'oh really?' moments, said Philip. The owner had no idea of its true value and was very pleased.”

 

Other discoveries included a Royal Doulton vase decorated with deer and fawns by the celebrated Victorian ceramics designer Hannah Barlow, which was valued at £600 to £1,000; a Japanese Meiji period okimono in ivory of a young mother and three children, which was valued at £500 to £800; and an Art Deco Lalique Oleron glass vase with swirling fish design, standing at just four inches tall, also valued at between £500 and £800.

 

Saturday's antiques valuation event was held in aid of the Jenner Hall's Raise the Roof Appeal. In December the trustees of the 359-year-old Jenner Hall launched a £165,000 appeal to pay for urgent repairs to the roofs of the building. 

 

Its rare Grade II* listed status means specialist conservation architects must be involved in the project, which experts estimate will take three months, and tiles have to be replaced with expensive Cotswold stone slates. 

 

The Jenner Hall was built in 1652 with a legacy left by Robert Jenner, a London goldsmith and the MP for Cricklade between 1628 and his death in 1651.

 

Jenner intended the building to be a school for the boys of the town, and when it opened it was one of the first free schools in England.

 

During its long history it served as a brewery and a workhouse for the poor before re-opening as a school from 1840 until 1959, when St Sampson's primary school was built. 

 

It now serves as a meeting space, with the Cricklade Open Door Club for the elderly using the centre three days a week, community groups hiring the hall during the week and at weekends. St Sampson's Church Sunday School and the youth club also meet there.

 

Fundraiser Vicky McIntosh said: “It was a great event. People were queueing throughout the day to have their antiques valued, and it raised over £1,300.”

 

Philip Allwood said: “It was non-stop; very busy but really enjoyable.  We were delighted to be able to support the Jenner Hall, which is both of historical significance and great importance to the community.”

 

For more information about the Raise the Roof appeal, log on to www.crickladejennerhall.org.uk or contact Vicky McIntosh on 01793 759338, Liz Sherman on 01793 752246 or Kate Crow on 01793 751386.

 

To find out more about buying and selling at auction log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk or call 01285 646050.