'Stunning' 280-Year-Old Chest Of Drawers Has Fantastic Secret Inside | Antiques Roadshow

All valuations were correct at the time of broadcast. When this gentleman bought an antique chest of drawers he was concerned as it appeared they were made out of recycled pieces of timber. However, it is revealed that the drawer linings are delightfully carved pieces that are either Tudor or early Elizabethan! Hugh Scully and the experts from Antiques Roadshow take a look at some fantastic antiques and the history and stories surrounding them. This clip was filmed in Reading in 2000.
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[@coreygrua3271]

An old woodworker gets real joy from this story. Bravo. It is sometimes wonderful when things aren’t as they seem.

[@brmam1385]

Stunning!!!

[@johnbell-yn5xe]

Try selling something of that quality now to a younger generation Where do they go F****** IKEA 😁😁😁👎👎👎

[@iMadrid11]

⁠@@johnbell-yn5xe TBF the younger generation can’t afford to buy real hardwood furnitures. Since they are very expensive. So they have to settle with affordable IKEA furnitures.

[@johnbell-yn5xe]

I would agree but I have purchased Ikea and it csn be expensive Good quality second hand is worth looking for but most modern apartments are too small , Ikea flat pack is easier to transport and put together in situ

[@biowerks]

A couple/few generations of carpenters working in the same shop supplying just one large estate, making a dresser for the house, and using its old Tudor era paneling for drawer bottoms. It really is a fun story for a carpenter.

[@TheMyeloman]

As they pulled the second drawer out there’s a brief moment where it’s tilted back and the outside of the drawer back is visible. It too is carved. As a furniture maker myself I’d LOVE to have some good quality photos of all these carvings. Just… WOW!!

[@trixVK]

I went back and saw it. I wish they had stopped and shown it as well. It is beautiful also. Thank you.

[@juniorsanchez7441]

Yes i noticed that right away!! I was expecting them to talk about it or at least show it but they didn’t 😔

[@John-ou4rm]

Normally were hear of furniture at most in the 1700s. When he talks of painted furniture of the 1500s and carved panels of the period.... Just wow.

[@jonniiinferno9098]

i was wondering if anybody else noticed that !! Thanks for speaking up !!

[@rickyates9511]

Yes, me too, and the panels are out of order and one is upside down.

[@lazygardens]

That's amazing ... and the maker even matched the pattern layout even though no one would see it.

[@MoMoMyPup10]

He said it was originally used for wall paneling

[@lazygardens]

@@MoMoMyPup10 I know, but taking the bit extra time to put the panels in an attractive layout with the fancier ones in the middle is impressive. As is the workshop that has 150 year old scrap piles.

[@JCS1964-i7w]

They were true artisans

[@Yvolve]

You see the bottom of the drawer when you look into it, which has the lines where the wood panels meets up. The maker chose to use the wider panels in the middle, flanked by two narrower ones to make it look nice. You don't see the pattern as that was old fashioned by the time the chest of drawers was made.

[@jarvisfamily3837]

@@JCS1964-i7w The distinction between artisan and pack rat is sometimes a small matter of shading. 🙂

[@jpbaley2016]

And my Dad got excited when he was able to use a piece of wood he’s been saving in his workshop for 20 yrs. I can just imagine an estate carpenter happily shouting “Finally, I get to use that paneling that’s been in here since before my grandad!”

[@jenette16]

How true, my father was the same.

[@haplessasshole9615]

I have a friend who builds dulcimers. A couple of years ago, he finally got an opportunity to use a nifty hunk of tree he had been storing for about a decade. He was so delighted, and documented the process of building the instrument for his followers. It was a treat.

[@ks-eq3yx]

It's that old scenario, " it'll come in handy one day,".

[@nevillemason6791]

Maybe the panels had been dismantled from lining a room because they were out of fashion and stored just in case they came in handy. Many Tudor or Elizabethan country houses were remodelled by their wealthy owners in the 18th century. Often new brick facades were erected enclosing an older timber building.

[@haplessasshole9615]

@@nevillemason6791 Similar adding-on processes happened here in the US. My cousins' _other_ grandparents (my mother's sister's in-laws) had a house like that. The original log cabin (not kidding) was built around with a frame house, which was later built up with brick. It was weird to go from the kitchen, with its modern fixtures and 10 ft. ceiling, into the "cool room" where they kept their garden's produce, which had a 6 ft. ceiling. With all the insulation of various builds around it and a well-packed clay floor (North Carolina clay is near impermeable), it stayed cool even in August. The walls were painted white, but it was clear they were horizontal rough logs with chinking between.

[@robertafierro5592]

"Show your friends when they come around.." that was so cute!

[@davidmt23]

"Like the day it was painted"...... Got to love the enthusiasm!!. Lovely clip, interesting stuff

[@cyborg266]

Yeah, hardly. The color freshly painted would cause him to go into a coma at that rate.

[@LaLadybug2011]

As an American I can truthfully say, the BBC never, ever lets me down when I watch these shows. They are my absolute favorite! Our history in America is brand new compared to the rest of the world.

[@melissasaint3283]

Right? Although our "stone age" history is much, much more recent.

[@trytellingthetruth.2068]

Obviously depending on your ethnicity, if it's English or partly English, then this piece of furniture represents part of your history.

[@watts18269]

I’m from Scotland and there’s a pub just down the road from my house that was built in 1360. It’s a lovely pub as well, does a good pint. I guess in Europe we tend to forget the age of things when we grow up around and amongst them.

[@Mr-Mr66]

I live on a council estate in England that wraps around a castle. Mary Queen of scots was held prisoner inside its walls at one point in time, It was built in the early 1500s. I Drive past it's remains daily. I think you're right about our history being overlooked because we have so much of it. I found a medicine bottle from 1890 just layed on the top of the soil on my garden for example.

[@janewood8665]

I’m an Australian our history is very new (200-300 years?) I am so jealous of the history you have in the UK.

[@csnide6702]

LOVE it when a guest gets an unexpected bit of GOOD news on the Roadshow !

[@cyborg266]

I love the rare disappointments. What I hate is the very common faces of disgust when they find out their "heirloom" is only worth $5,000 and not the $33,000,000 they thought it was worth all this time. Pompous greed at its finest.

[@MeatSim9]

This is why I love Antiques Roadshow. People find a thing that to them just seems a bit quirky, and the appraiser is just in awe of it.

[@glennwilliamson889]

I like how he’s a little disappointed at first, and thinks it’s not what he thought it was, and then he slowly changes as he hears just what he has.

[@MK-re6sf]

I got the vibes from him that he was going to use this to go after the seller, the way he was almost desperate to show the expert each drawer, then moment he realised it was worth more than he paid and not the other way around yeah his attitude changed, but it wasn't a pleasant thing, he was ready to go after someone.

[@csnide6702]

that is the beauty of this show !

[@jimbo236]

Yeah he seemed to scoff at the very idea of "recycled wood" kinda snooty really.@@MK-re6sf

[@L_Martin]

@@MK-re6sf It's so bizarre how people project intentions and emotions onto other people based on almost nothing... 0:23 he's interested by the drawers, not "ready to go after someone" 🙄 goodness me.

[@RustyPetterson]

@@L_Martin That was an extremely weird comment, wasn't it? What the hell lol.

[@pvtglarson1]

i love when experts get excited because they ramble and that rambling isnt filtered for the layman

[@neiljohnson9686]

But don’t forget when they get too excited like that guy with the wax recording cylinder…*crack*….oh fuuu….oh shit…😅 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hF7Id2V8nNx1fKssi=H6er7S4Uz-poVpGa

[@stephenrice4554]

Magnificent find . The enthusiasm of the expert and the grin of the owner.

[@FPOAK]

This is why I watch the BBC version. UK Roadshow has Elizabethan furniture while US Roadshow is like a Green Bay Packers jersey from 1989

[@RussellTurner]

😂😂😂

[@CroneLife1]

True. The oldest building in America is a pulling infant next to the oldest building in England. Yet, if it's from before 1950 in America, they consider it an venerable ancient.

[@osc630]

A Majkowski jersey in good shape though...

[@isotropisch82]

The US version does have some good stuff though, particularly from the descendants of gilded age eccentrics and whatnot who went off to god knows where and just "loved collecting". I'm British, but there is decent stuff in the US version - although obviously far too much sports memorabilia

[@suzannejenkins3896]

yep...my sentiments exactly...

[@TheFiown]

I bought an old chest of drawers in a junk shop and the insides of the drawers had exotic wood inlay. It had been made from other old furniture cobbled together.

[@brmam1385]

Enjoy your find.👍♥

[@tastx3142]

You can get just a brief glimpse of the back of the second drawer as he lifts it out and it appears carved as well. What a great find.

[@artistchristos]

Thanks, yes I see it. I expect they had a thorough going over the entire surfaces after this segment, shown here.

[@Andy-1234]

How neat that dresser is that old! A friend of a friend is a cabinet/furniture maker and it takes many years to learn properly. We live in such a throw away society that anything hand made I appreciate. So satisfying to build something or fix an old machine. We all will be better off when we realize sitting on computers is sapping our creativity and soul.

[@JeanBray-cj3lu]

WOW!!! THE APPRAISER REALLY KNOWS HIS STUFF!!! AM SO THRILLED FOR BOTH OF THEM.

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

John Bly was always a favourite on Antiques Roadshow. Such a charming gentleman and was a true expert on wooden furniture. Still alive at 84, he's also a jazz historian and drummer!

[@TransoceanicOutreach]

They are the best in the business, unlike the US version where half the time they don't seem to know what they are talking about.

[@kasplat5874]

@@TransoceanicOutreach As a US PBS viewer I never liked Antiques Road Show and then I saw the original and real show and wondered how we managed to muck it up so bad. The UK version almost always has a couple of interesting bits and an interesting location to boot.

[@MrShanester117]

You are thrilled for them?

[@cyborg266]

@@MrShanester117 Jean Bray doesn't get out much.

[@wapperjaw8282]

To find out what is not seen is worth more than what is seen ... made his day!

[@markbajek2541]

Now he can afford a razor to trim some of that chest hair

[@wapperjaw8282]

@@markbajek2541 LOL ... Save the money ... just button the top button ...

[@nomore2863]

Love the gentleman kneeling down like he knows what he's looking at - British manners at its finest

[@JohnnieAshton]

John Bly, and his knowledge was and still is, (although long retired) encyclopaedic, but also his enthusiasm, was always so magnetic.

[@ValkyrieTiara]

Or he's, you know, kneeling down to get a better view of what the expert is showing him. So that he can begin to understand what he's looking at.

[@BelloBudo007]

I'm pleased that this gent has landed himself such a beautiful set of drawers with a very interesting history.

[@tessahall797]

How could the owner not love these. He said he was disappointed when he saw them. How could he? I’d be excited. They’re so unique and beautiful

[@katieandkevinsears7724]

He didn't know the builder had used old scraps that were just laying around to build the furniture. Those old scraps turned out to be just as amazing.

[@chrischarman8707]

I think you really misunderstand British understatement. He said the second drawer is “even more interesting” and he’s dragged this to antiques roadshow so I’d say he is the opposite of disappointed.

[@SiXiam]

Likely bought it hoping to flip it.

[@ThePolypam]

​@@SiXiam A proper Englishman wouldn't desecarate antique furniture by "flipping" it. Not to mention that was not a trend in th 90s.

[@SiXiam]

@@ThePolypam It has long since been a trend to find things worth money in second hand stores and sell them.

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

As soon as I saw the drawers I started bouncing up and down and saying in it’s Tudor art! So beautiful. Must have been extraordinary in an entire room. In a way it’s very sad they are hidden. I’d have to take them out and have them properly framed to hang. Then I’d sit staring at them for hours!

[@yugandali]

Staring at them, letting your mind roam back to the time somebody got out a chisel and started carving those, cut by cut. Think of the years of practice required to make those with the tools available then. That is certainly worth ruminating on!

[@Art-zs6sl]

Isn't the fact they were hidden the reason we can enjoy them now?

[@allenatkins2263]

Contain yourself, woman!

[@DavidKnowles0]

One of the reasons they were this well preserve is because they have been hidden from the sunshine.

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

@@DavidKnowles0 yup…very important.

[@wdwtx2.0]

That's why I love the British Antiques Roadshow.

[@justdoingitjim7095]

I bought an insert for an English Secretaire desk at an auction for $7 dollars. No one wanted it because it was only one part of a piece of furniture and no one knew where the rest of it was. I knew it had value because it had hand cut dovetailed drawers and an elaborately gold foiled leather insert on the desk part. I got it home and researched it and found it was most likely made just outside London around 1796 to 1799. I also found it had a secret hidden compartment like you usually find in older roll top desks! I sold it on eBay for $300 plus shipping!

[@229glock]

We came here for your story.

[@justdoingitjim7095]

@@229glock 😊

[@AthelstanEngland]

Great when the expert gets so excited... clearly it is about so much more than money for them. Real passion when he was looking at the paint.

[@mizzwitty1042]

It was so interesting to watch the guy turning from "disappointed-angry" to "surprised-understanding-proud" ❤😊 What a stunning, precious and beautiful gem he got by chance! 😮👌

[@danielogrady6449]

Beautiful furniture, beautiful woodwork and fantastic lesson. Additional bonus… I believe I now know where Kelsey Grammer developed his Frazier character from. 👍👍

[@wholeNwon]

Handsome young fellow getting a big surprise. Always look at the undersides of drawers or other parts that are usually unseen. Surprises often await.

[@scloftin8861]

Mouth dropping open in awe. Absolutely beautiful and I learned something.

[@tonyhewlett4527]

My wife inherited a grand father clock that we couldn't find the origin of. Turns out it was remade from bits of timber when the original case was destroyed during the bombings in Britain during ww2. Has a 1922 date stamp though.

[@wordreet]

I've never seen anything like that! Absolutely wonderful!!!!!!

[@kierielong975]

Even if it wasn’t an antique, it is a beautiful piece of furniture!

[@rodmact6548]

That is so cool! Wonderful discovery!

[@sebastianbonnet1492]

What a stunning piece

[@hewi1352]

Yes he is 🙂

[@vervor]

Incredibly well preserved chunks of history, art, and craftsmanship like this are priceless if you ask me. That would hang proudly on my wall and I'd use it as an excuse to become quite the expert about that period of art and craftsmanship and carpentry!

[@brmam1385]

This was amazing! I’d have been sorely tempted to find a niche, out of sunlight, where I could have displayed the beautiful drawer bottoms!

[@tauIrrydah]

Oh I do hope it ends up in a museum.

[@staceyjenkins8956]

What a wonderful find! Beautiful carvings

[@faithlesshound5621]

I had no idea that Elizabethan houses had coloured wainscotting. Those painted Elizabethan wainscot panels have survived intact BECAUSE they were hidden away in the dark for more than 400 years. If the drawers are kept out to display them, or repeatedly removed and replaced to show them off, they will fade over the coming years and thus slowly LOSE the value they had silently gained.

[@thekarmafarmer608]

Antiques Roadshow is my favourite British Institution.

[@sheriffbart616]

The history in that piece! Mind boggling! Magnificent!

[@torreyintahoe]

This made me smile.

[@StephenB-c9b]

I wonder if anyone checked the inside backing of the actual chest for the drawers. But wow, what a lucky bloke.

[@wisteela]

Absolutely amazing

[@penngwinn]

That's amazing. I love when the experts get really excited.

[@petetrundell5454]

I can't believe he just put that drawer on the polished top!

[@Jim-e2k5s]

All of the wood is finished , nothing gets scratched.

[@ktinxx]

He put it on top of the brass handles, so the polish would not have been touched. What bothers me more is that the back of the drawer was obviously also carved, as some have remarked (pause at 0:33) so the brass handles could have scratched those carvings...

[@andrea22213]

How lovely, and the great John Bly enthusing.

[@Querencia7779]

This is priceless! Museum piece!

[@CoolCoyote]

one of those quality pieces that has a soul.

[@juliemcleod1119]

Did they look at the Back of the draw, that too was carved!!! At 0.33 if you stop film, you can see the carved back piece.

[@mangoman9290]

well spotted!

[@justinfarnell2284]

0:33

[@piccalillipit9211]

*NEEDS TO BE IN THE V&A* really - its so interesting.

[@onenote6619]

If they took the panels out and put them on display, the colour would likely fade from exposure to sunlight. Being kept in the dark all that time protected the colour.

[@piperj4978]

wow, from the 1500s, that is incredible!

[@jaykayzed5213]

Stunning! Simply STUNNING!!

[@hinas_for_life]

Really fabulous that the chap looked all over the chest after he purchased the chest.

[@KC-rt4hp]

I always get a hoot from the difference between Antiques Roadshow America and the UK. The English are exicitededly reserved while the Americans fall all over themselves when they have a find. Neither one is bad, but you can see in the cultures how different we are.

[@redceltnet]

*The British, FFS.

[@BebeesHuman]

To display the best part of the chest, the owner won't be able to store things in it. What a wonderful surprise. I'm happy for him. It's beautiful work.

[@unclestubs8377]

I just like seeing things that have survived for all these years, if only they could talk.

[@SKF358]

I'm addicted to wood in furniture and home decoration. Bars, Bar poles. I love wood.

[@sharonb537]

I love how the buyers obvious irritation in his facial expression thinking he'd been bamboozled gradually transforms to satisfaction as he realizes the chest is worth more than he paid. Money, the great pacifier.

[@chetbreitwieser3210]

A very insightful, interesting and engaging appraisal Kevin !

[@fayhart6355]

Fabulous to see John again 🙏👏👏👏👏👏

[@id10t98]

In the USA, we call anything older than 40 years of age an "antique". I lived in Switzerland and had furniture made in the 1600's we used every day.

[@Viper42104]

Prove that one. Prove the US calls ANYTHING older than 40 years is an antique. You sound like a foreigner who knows nothing. By US standards, anything older than 100 years is declared an antique.

[@Valkyrie11609]

​@@Viper42104 leave ol 98 alone. It makes him feel smart to say things like this. You know the current commercial running where the lass turns in the cafe after correcting the spelling of "cwosain" and loudly proclaims to no one in particular "I just returned from Europe". Yeah. That person.

[@jarvisfamily3837]

@@Viper42104 - damn, buddy - who butt-hurt you? 😥

[@id10t98]

@@Viper42104 Travel around to small towns in the USA and see the shops labeled "Antiques" and take a look inside to see what they are selling. I can guarantee you there is grandma's oak kitchen table from 1968, perhaps a poster bed from 1955 and more 'chest of drawers' from the 1960's and 1970's than you can haul away on a 10 foot flatbed trailer.

[@piccalillipit9211]

My sister's house in the UK is older than the USA.

[@susanheath5467]

Love Mr Bly's enthusiasm!

[@susanheath5467]

And that a young chap like that has such interest in old furniture

[@pattyneff4624]

It’s just so beautiful!🥺

[@lynnblack6493]

That's so perfect! Second hand wood- but Tudor paneling. Lucky guy!

[@Loupdelou-ly1ve]

I love the excitement - I feel it whenever I find something myself. I was waiting for the inevitable Antiques Roadshow comment by the owner at the end "well, I'm never going to sell it".... 🤣

[@jayrobertson232]

Absolutely wonderful!! Thank you

[@Zombie-Tog]

Gotta love You Tube recommendations...another Channel rabbit hole to go down!

[@CD-oq8em]

it is interesting to learn that in the 1700's wood paneling over 200 years old was viewed as rubbish.

[@bumblebeebob]

What l find amazing is that those panels laid around for ~150 years without someone scrapping them. Or throwing them in a fire. Nowadays we can those people "hoarders." 😅

[@fortissimoX]

@@bumblebeebob Lol, true. Although, I guess at that time any piece of wood that has already been cut, curved etc. had more value than today, and therefore they were keeping them because, as we can see, you never know where you can use them!

[@victorhopper6774]

@@fortissimoX exactly, a ton of work went into making a board in those days. circuelar saws were invented after 1800. on the plus side they had the best wood to work with. i lived in a log home probably built around 1840-1860 and the roof sheathing was oak boards 4 feet wide and 5/8 of a inch thick. i doubt that there is a oak that big in the county now. sadly that home burned about 10 years ago.

[@faithlesshound5621]

Interior designs go into and out of fashion. In the 1950's and 60's people were tearing out Victorian and Edwardian panelling. Panelled hardwood doors were replaced by plain sheets of plywood. In this case, after a century and a half the woodworkers were certain that wainscotting like that was never going onto a wall again, so they felt free to reuse the boards where the old-fashioned pattern would not be seen.

[@gretchenrobinson825]

The British respect age and workmanship. I like this so much more than in the USA where lack this heritage and knowledge.

[@MrDastardly]

Stunning craftwork and a magnificent expert evaluating. 👏👏👏🤣

[@elsiebert2273]

That is fabulous!😊❤

[@margreetanceaux3906]

Probably watched this (I’m from the Netherlands) about when it was aired on the BBC. And always gave John Bly a little cheer; great storyteller!

[@semperfipar1299]

My father called himself a wood butcher but he use to make the nicest little pieces of furniture out of scrap hardwood. I remember him bringing home a bunch of pallets that came from Brazil because they were made out of Mahogany. He tuned them into small tables and some nice bar tops.

[@rosehobbs6051]

I would be very excited to find something like this.

[@pjsplace5665]

Amazing … what an awesome suprise.

[@JohnnyLingle-zw4hi]

Love ❤antique s roadshow

[@roymarsh8077]

Who cares about the value, the sheer discovery is so wonderful

[@neilbedford5082]

I guess that the way these panels have been used has preserved them from the Sun, scrapes etc - what a great find

[@Slider_84]

The understated “it’s very exciting” 😂

[@IrishAnnie]

I feared up when he said it was Tudor period. Imagine having that surprise in an innocent purchase. Unbelievable>

[@jonniiinferno9098]

that is awesome - and if you noticed the back panel of the drawers also had the carvings...

[@ronrogers7743]

...am I going to go down a UK Antiques Roadshow rabbit hole now? Beacuse this was fascinating.

[@ki-adimundi8695]

John Bly, simply the best!

[@patriciajrs46]

Veey nicely crafted. Wow! The year 1740 crafts are spectacular.

[@omikronweapon]

I never considered that a wood shop would just use any old 'scrap' of wood in a drawer, let alone a decorated one. But it totally makes sense. So interesting to realise that these waste bits are now more valued than the antique dresser itself.

[@makeitsonumberone1358]

The guys thinking "But how much is it worth!!!!"

[@RuudJH]

Somehow it seems this guy already knew it was special, the way he introduced the drawers. Makes me think he's there just to get it on national tv to get more attention from potential buyers.

[@juliedobson3039]

He went from pissed off …to smiling 😂

[@t0dd000]

Just awesome, these little discoveries.

[@KlingonGamerYT]

pretty cool Id buy it

[@napalmholocaust9093]

I have a book case made by flipping the boards on a large egg incubator a hundred years ago. The painted panel is intact inside. I didn't notice for years. I wouldn't take it to a show. I went to one and it was a disappointment, they went to ebay on their phones for something near unique and just made-up a low b.s. number that was 300 when I sold it for 4,800.

[@brmam1385]

Good for you! Hope it wasn’t an Antiques Road Show, either UK or US variety!

[@MAGAEATSBOOGERS1]

I put those panels in around 1986, they came off a crate used to haul beer from the early 70s.

[@BelovedChatter]

The idea of my scrap pile of odds and ends sticking around for 150 years is fascinating.

[@stevenallen2530]

I'm a big fan of the road show..

[@betweenworlds620]

Gorgeous surprise ✨♥️✨

[@chesterthawkins7510]

wonderful find!!

[@gtlfb]

It is surprising that so often the back of a magnificent piece of antique furniture will be made of bits and pieces of scrap wood. I guess it is what shows that matters.

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

Most Lovely, with a very interesting features...