Hammer set to fall on historic Bridgnorth auction house
It has been a mainstay in a Shropshire town for more than 170 years.
But now the hammer is set to fall at Perry & Phillips in Bridgnorth for the last time – with next week’s auction the last one planned.
The auction house will close after its October sale following two centuries in the business.
However, its sister company The Old Mill Antiques Centre, housed in the same building in Mill Street, Low Town, will continue trading as usual.
There will be almost 500 lots in the final sale, ranging from a collection of vintage silver cigarette cases to a pair of unusual pistols and a piece of lava rock inlaid with bronze statues.
Superb
More than 40 cigarette cases will go under the hammer, ranging in estimated price each from £30 to £150.
The pair of percussion cap pistols are estimated to sell for between £500 and £800 and the carved piece of lava rock inlaid with five statues of individual buddhas should make between £1,000 and £1,500.
“This final Perry and Phillips sale will undoubtedly be one of our best ever, with a large number of superb items set to be sold,” said owner John Ridgway.
“This will be the end of an era for the Perry & Phillips sales rooms and the team and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers for their support over many enjoyable years.
“The saleroom and its storage space took up a great deal of valuable space within our building and we will be able to utilise this once the auctions cease. The antiques centre is hugely popular, we get customers here from all over the country and overseas so it makes sense to concentrate on this area of our business in the future.
“We will be moving into the extra rooms with more antiques stands and cabinets so the centre – already on four floors – will be considerably bigger.
“It’s very exciting and we wouldn’t have been able to do this without closing the auction house.
“It is time to move on and for myself and our team to concentrate fully on the antiques centre.
Inundated
“We have been inundated by calls from people who are a little confused in thinking that the Old Mill is closing along with Perry & Phillips – but no, it is most definitely not.
“The antiques centre will continue to grow and flourish and we look forward to seeing existing and new customers for many years to come.” Other items of note in the catalogue include an Art Deco Bakelite inkstand, a hall-marked silver model of a hunter horse, a three-piece silver tea set, a ruby glass and silver-mounted claret jug, two framed photographs of Marilyn Monroe featuring pieces of fabric cut from her stockings plus a 1950s yacht table lamp.
The sale on Tuesday begins at 10.30am and viewing is this weekend and on Monday.
Catalogues are available from the saleroom or online at perryandphillips.co.uk
