Portsmouth

Following an extraordinary 20 minutes of bidding, a pair of Chinese vases now hold the house record at Portsmouth firm Nesbits Auctions.

The National Museum of the Royal Navy is launching a fundraising plan to buy a flag from polar explorer Captain Henry Kellett (1806-75).

A group of hand-drawn Armada maps depicting a key moment in England’s history have been saved after a fundraising campaign by the Royal Navy museum.

This George III neoclassical style mahogany serving table was entered for sale at Nesbits in Southsea from a church in Portsea to raise funds for repairs. It is thought the table was given to them to replace the altar table destroyed by bomb damage.

EASTER weekend saw the opening of The Antiques Storehouse at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Portsmouth are just hanging on in the Premiership at present, but they too have had their glory days, and in a December 10 sale held by Nesbits of neighbouring Southsea, this programme (right) for the last pre-war FA Cup Final of 1939, in which they beat Wolves 4-1, was sold for £400 (a ticket for that game made £135) and another for the 1934 final, in which they had been beaten 2-1 by Manchester City, was bid to £450.