Bangor Castle 1

The roadshow visits Bangor Castle in County Down, Northern Ireland, where finds include an unnervingly lifelike grasshopper vase, chairs that may have been destined for the Titanic and rare Japanese woodblock prints.

Lisa Lloyd is fascinated by a book demonstrating the different needlepoint skills honed by a young girl in the 1800s, including miniature fold-out booties and tie-on pockets, while Susan Rumfitt is dazzled by a characterful gold dachshund brooch.

Will Farmer is delighted to find an art deco opalescent glass vase and dish, while Mark Smith is moved to discover postcards from World War I battlefields, hand painted by a teenage soldier who never returned.

Ceramics expert Serhat Ahmet hears how a ceramic vase in the shape of a giant grasshopper sat for decades in the front window at Grandma’s House in Dublin. Elsewhere, clocks and watches specialist Richard Price is stopped in his tracks by an impressive marble mantle clock that had lived on a bedroom floor.

Furniture specialist Lennox Cato sees a pair of skilfully crafted chairs produced for Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff that may have been destined for the Titanic. Lee Young is impressed by a collection of 25 Japanese woodblock prints of Mount Fuji, bought in 1860 by the present owner’s great-grandfather.

Fiona Bruce learns about the remarkable wartime achievements of one of the members of the family who once lived in the house, Commander Barry Bingham VC, while miscellaneous expert Marc Allum challenges Fiona to correctly identify the function of three mystery objects from his own personal collection.