Antiques Roadshow expert left 'tingling' over 'extraordinary' item worth thousands

An Antiques Roadshow expert could barely contain her excitement over an "extraordinary" item with major historical significance.

Expert Hilary Kay, while filming at Belton House in Lincolnshire, was thrilled by a woman's unique artifact in the shape of Oliver Cromwell's personal standard.

Kay expressed: "Sheltering from a passing shower, and sheltering with an object which is, I feel almost radioactive with power.

"It's a very interesting phenomenon to be this close to something that is really quite important. I'm recognising, immediately, the personal standard of Oliver Cromwell.

"It's a name we all know but let's just put him into his place in history, he was one of the signatories to the death warrant for instance to Charles I.

"Very much involved with the regicide, killing of the king and then he became in 1653 what was known as the Lord Protector of England.

"It was after the Civil War and he ran the country essentially from 1653 to 1658 and that is his importance in English history and why this object has such resonance."

Upon learning how the guest came upon such a remarkable heirloom, she recounted: "It was in a collection about seven years ago.

"My father actually bought the collection of militaria. We now own it as a family, it's actually kept in one of our spare rooms and, as you say, it's one of those objects that make you tingle."

The expert agreed: "It does make you tingle, because this is the standard that was part of the funeral procession of Cromwell's on November 23, 1658, and this was extraordinary.

"Here was the non king being revered really as a king with a royal crown. It is an extraordinary image that we have here which was totally against everything that he stood for."

Revealing its adventurous history, the guest narrated how the artifact had been "stolen from the hearse by a young boy that was in the funeral crowd" citing the inscription boasting a similar tale.

"Snatched from the funeral hearse! At that moment too, it's just brilliant," Kay observed enthusiastically during the show.

The guest shared: "My whole family's been into history for generations and my maternal grandparents are actually founding members of The Sealed Knot, the re-enactment society for the Civil War."

Kay expressed amazement at the serendipity: "Which is amazing, what a coincidence! It was meant to end up with you."

The guest emotionally replied: "Absolutely, I believe so. Because we're the kind of people who really want to look after it and preserve it and make sure it's seen by everyone it should be seen by for generations, I guess.

"It's a real treasure, it's a pleasure to own."

Kay went on to state that it's been "beautifully restored" yet still in need of careful preservation.

She then lightly quipped: "It does and however great your spare room is and I'm sure it has almost museum like qualities, I do think, even if it went on loan somewhere, I think it deserves to be looked after."

Turning her attention to the appraisal, Kay sahred: "And as far as value's concerned, this is about the trickiest thing I've ever had to value.

She then dropped a bombshell, estimating: "It is certain to fetch £25,000 but how much more would it go?"

The guest was stunned at the valuation, and expert Kay couldn't hide her own excitement: "It's going to take me a little while to come down from this."

Kay humorously confessed her need to decompress: "It'll take a couple of bars of chocolate and a cup of tea but this has been a really special moment with a really extraordinary object, don't you agree?".

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.