Stately hunt for hidden treasure in Shropshire

Lord Gavin Hamilton of The Apley Estate, between Shifnal and Bridgnorth, and Lucinda Parish of Walcot Hall, near Lydbury North, both feature in the new ten-part fourth series of Salvage Hunters, which returns to our TV screens tonight.

Modern-day treasure hunter Drew is one of the UK's top decorative antique dealers. Always on the hunt for that elusive gem, he travels the length and breadth of the country in search of weird and wonderful objects.

His visit to Shropshire, recorded last autumn, saw Drew and his sidekick John Tee touring outbuildings packed to the rafters with items at Walcot Hall, the home of Clive of India which is now run as an events and holiday accommodation venue. They were accompanied by the lady of the manor while her 'dyed-in-the-wool collector' husband Robin was away on business.

The team finally went away after a haggling session with Lucinda, armed with a dilapidated English library chair believed to date back to the 1830s, an early 20th century meat hanging rack and an early 20th century fishing sign.

Lucinda also gave the duo a tour of her husband's office, which was again packed with items, before Drew decided it was best to leave Robin's 'man cave' alone, realising the objects were close to her husband's heart.

In the programme Lucinda describes the outbuildings as 'so daunting' and 'my hell'. After negotiations are complete she says: "It's been a great thing because Drew is so knowledgeable. I wish Robin had been here to meet him. However, we may have to keep Robin away from his shop!"

Lord Hamilton will feature in episode five. He told how his estates office was approached by researchers from Cineflix Productions, who were scouting for venues to film in. He explains why he agreed to do it: "We do have a fair amount of furniture in store and with the farm shop and the holiday cottages, it was a good opportunity to get some publicity for them. Filming took most of the day really."

Gavin, the fifth Lord Hamilton of Dalzell, who is married to Harriett, adds: "Drew came along and we looked at two different stores and I showed him round the estate, the cottages and the farm shop, where he particularly enjoyed a slice of cake."

Once again negotiations saw Lord Hamilton getting Drew to increase his offer for an early 19th century mirror and a late 19th century cupboard.

"Obviously, over the years, the family has acquired items," he said.

"It was a large mirror and a nice mirror, but we didn't have use for it. The cupboard was quite interesting. It was painted black and gold. It was a cupboard which we didn't really like."

So any regrets on letting the items go?

"The mirror, I might have eventually found a use for, the cupboard we would probably have just repainted. I got the price up a bit as I'd had a look online first."

Drew's a difficult man to pin down, but we managed a quick word with him en route to his next magical mystery tour. He says one of the beauties of the job is he never knows who he is going to meet during filming.

"I never research the people. I don't like to know about the people beforehand, so it's fresh – an honest portrayal.

"I remember Lucinda was very nice to deal with. We had fun on the day and she enjoyed it. She was really up for it and happy to let us look at things.

"With Lord Hamilton, he had an amazing collection of paintings. He had a wonderful room he called the junk room, with 200-year-old items."

Drew has been working with antiques since he was a child and he and his wife Rebecca still live in the village he grew up in, Glan Conway, near Conway.

Asked how he got involved with the programme, he said: "It was just by chance really. The TV company put an advert in the antiques trade paper saying 'Are you a man with a van finding things in sheds and junk shops? Please call this number'.

"I saw it and thought I can do that. I didn't do anything about it for six weeks and then my friend said 'You should really ring that number'."

Now, four years on, did Drew think he would still be presenting the programme?

"No. I did do a tiny bit of television around ten years ago and I thought it was quite fun. I get the feeling it is now becoming a smash hit. It has got one of the highest ever viewing figures on the network!"

Salvage Hunters begins at 9pm tonight on Quest (Freeview channel 38, Sky 167, or Virgin 172).