Antiques Roadshow guest shocked by the value of his grisly family heirloom – but he believes selling the collection would be a ‘travesty’

An Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned to discover his gruesome family heirloom was worth a staggering five-figure sum.

During Sunday’s show set at Sefton Park in Liverpool, the repeat episode from last summer, unearthed some shocking antiques – including a collection of items previously belonging to an executed Earl.

The life of James Stanley, the 7th Earl of Derby, came to a grisly end after he was accused of treason following the Battle of Worcester.

Despite support from Oliver Cromwell in his appeal to Parliament, he was later beheaded in Churchgate, Bolton on October 15, 1651.

Even though the collection of items relating to the Earl’s gruesome end was estimated to be worth between £18,000 and £22,000, the owner believed selling the items would be a ‘travesty’.

An Antiques Roadshow guest (pictured) was left shocked after he discovered his gruesome family heirloom was worth a five-figure sum

The collection of items from the execution of, the 7th Earl of Derby, was inherited by the man via his ancestor William Prescott (pictured)

The antiques were brought onto the popular daytime show by a descendant of William Prescott – a man who was present at the Earl’s execution.

Explaining his ancestor’s connection to James Stanley, the guest said: ‘William was a great friend of the 7th Earl of Derby and served in the army with him.

‘And then in 1651, the 7th Earl by decree of Parliament for high treason was executed. So [William] went to the scaffold with him.’

Expert Adam asked the guest if he had received the items as a ‘keepsake’ to which he replied: ‘Exactly that.

‘He handed everything over and he asked [William] to put his foot on him to make sure he didn’t wriggle at the execution.’

Looking at the late Earl’s belongings, which included a skull cap, suede gloves and a portrait attributed to Cornelius Johnson, Adam described the antiques as ‘powerful’.

He added: ‘It’s an amazing little archive of things. And the fact you can marry your ancestor to these things just makes it particularly potent.

‘And the actual execution took place not 20 miles from here in Bolton. So a really powerful local story involving local men.’

James Stanley (pictured) handed everything to his belongings to William Prescott who was even ordered to place his foot on him so the Earl wouldn’t wriggle during the execution process

Antiques expert Adam (right) described the late Earl’s belongings, which included a skull cap, suede gloves and a portrait attributed to Cornelius Johnson as ‘powerful’

The antiques were brought onto the popular daytime show by a descendant of William Prescott – a man who was present at the Earl’s execution

Although the guest was shocked by the worth of his items, he said it would be a ‘travesty’ to sell them (pictured: miniature portrait of James Stanley)

Without a full attribution to artist Cornelius Johnson, antiques pro Adam estimated the portrait of the guest’s ancestor William Prescott was worth anywhere between £10,000 and £15,000.

The smaller portrait was valued at slightly less, raking up a predicted worth £2,000 to £3,000.

The collection of grisly items at auction could fetch anywhere between an eye-watering £18,000 and £22,000, according to Adam.

Although the guest was seemingly blown away by the estimated value of his family heirloom, he was steadfast in not putting the collection up for sale.

He said: ‘I think it’d be a travesty to sell them,’ with the antiques expert firmly agreeing.

This comes shortly after one Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless after discover the value of two 60-year-old drawings he made for The Beatles.

The Beatles returned to the BBC on Sunday evening, at least in a manner of speaking, after the original pencil drawing of their first band logo made an appearance on Antiques Roadshow.

Expert Mark Hill was visibly stunned upon discovering the drawings had been created for one of Ringo Starr’s drums in 1962, shortly before band became one the biggest and most successful groups of all time.

Filming Sunday’s episode from Sefton Park House in Liverpool, the band’s home city, Hill was given a potted history of the artwork from their owner, a retired signwriter who knew band-members John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison before they signed their first record deal.

‘The Beatles approached me and wanted a logo for the drum,’ he explained. ‘I was quite close [to The Beatles] and they were all at my 21st. I’m a signwriter and shopfitter.’

Despite creating a distinctive logo, complete with two insect antenna atop a flourishing capital B, it was ultimately rejected by then-newly appointed drummer Starr in favour of what would become their definitive logo, with its famous dropped T, designed by Ivor Arbiter.

A retired signwriter was speechless on Sunday evening’s Antiques Roadshow after discovering two 60-year old pencil drawing designs of The Beatles’ original logo were worth £15,000

The drawings were been created for one of Ringo Starr ‘s drums in 1962, shortly before band became one the biggest and most successful groups of all time

The designs were ultimately rejected by then-newly appointed drummer Starr in favour of what would become their definitive logo, with its famous dropped T, designed by Ivor Arbiter

Noticing a series of doodles alongside the completed drawings, Hill remarked: ‘It’s interesting to note here, that by these little antennae of this bug logo… you’ve got little pencil drawings here, was this you?’

‘No, that was either John or Paul,’ their owner admitted. ‘They had to do their bit, didn’t they?’

While the logo would be turned down by Starr because he feared it would ‘interfere with his recording,’ their creator insisted he held no hard feelings towards the band as they began their ascent with the release of debut single Love Me Do – despite not being paid for his work.

‘I was unbelievably busy,’ he recalled. ‘I was an unbelievably busy lad. It was just another job. We were good mates at the time and they didn’t pay me, I might add.’

However he was given some positive news by Hill, who assured him the humble drawings would be a hit at auction.

‘So what we’re effectively looking at here are the very earliest logos ever produced for The Beatles with their band name on it… it’s quite a pair of objects,’ he said.

‘My feeling is if these went up for auction, they’d probably fetch somewhere around £15,000? So sixty years later, you finally get paid!’

‘I don’t particularly want to sell them at the moment,’ their owner replied. ‘But who knows?’

Expert Mark Hill was visibly stunned after being presented with the drawings during Sunday evening’s show, filmed at Sefton Park House in Liverpool – The Beatles’ home city

The expert pointed out a series of curious doodles alongside the completed drawings, and asked if their owner was responsible for them

‘No, that was either John or Paul,’ their owner admitted. ‘They had to do their bit, didn’t they?’

He was given some positive news by Hill, who assured him the humble drawings would be a hit at auction with a potential £15,000 worth

Antiques Roadshow is proving invaluable to the BBC in the ratings war – pulling in more viewers than soap operas and Ant and Dec.

In the week from March 18, the 45-year-old roadshow was Britain’s fifth most popular programme, with 4.9 million viewers.

That beat every soap and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

A Coronation Street episode was sixth with 4.5 million viewers, the best soap showing of the week. Ant and Dec were ninth on 4.4 million.

Author Kathy Lette put the Sunday night roadshow’s success down to ‘no fast car chases, no butchering, no brutality, no swearing, no psychos, no sci-fi monsters. Just people being kind, curious, knowledgeable and calm’.

The viewing figures from Barb Audience include those who watch live and on catch-up. In the week from March 11 the roadshow also came fifth, being narrowly beaten by a Coronation Street episode.

Last night roadshow host Fiona Bruce said she was thrilled with the audience figures. She said: ‘Even humble items from a car boot sale can turn out to be precious, such as the vase bought for £1 that was revealed to be a Lalique treasure that sold for £32,000.

‘But the programme is about so much more than monetary value, it’s also a window into our common history, into human stories we can all share in. It’s a joy to work on.’