"Priceless" ledgers for Lowe's at The Antiques Roadshow
One of the UK’s oldest jewellers which is based in Chester presented ledgers dating back to the eighteenth century, which were described as “priceless” by an expert on The Antiques Roadshow.
General Manager of Lowe & Sons, Kevin Parry, took ledgers dating back to 1792 which detail inventories at the Bridge Street Row based shop and the silver expert on The Antiques Roadshow, Ian Pickford, said they were “the best things I’ve seen all day.” Mr Parry also took a silver dish to the event, held at Chester Cathedral, which was one of the last items to have the Chester hallmark, dating from 1962, when the assay office closed in Chester.
On the show, which is due to be aired before Christmas and was the first of the 2008 season with new presenter Fiona Bruce, Kevin described how he had joined Lowe & Sons, the third oldest jewellers in the country, when he left school. Kevin Parry said: “At 16, one of my first jobs at Lowe & Sons was to burn old invoices and ledgers. It took me more than a week to burn boxes and boxes full, but fortunately these remain. I did not question this at the time. It was standard practice to burn old documents, as, more than 30 years ago, their value wasn’t realised and we needed the space. Ian Pickford explained how rare they are, because almost all of these ledgers across the country have been destroyed. There are amazing stories within these ledgers detailing Lords’ and Ladies’ purchases and repairs that were carried out.
It was fantastic to be involved in The Antiques Roadshow. After years of watching the programme, it was great to see behind the scenes.”
The Lowe family dominated the story of Chester silver throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. A large collection of Lowe’s silver is on display at the Ridgway Silver Gallery at The Grosvenor Museum, Grosvenor Street, Chester. Also on display is the last piece of silver hallmarked at the Chester Assay Office before its closure in 1962 and a new bowl, commissioned by the previous owners of Lowe & Sons, to celebrate the opening of the gallery in 1992.
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Lowe & Sons was established by George Lowe in 1770 and has been at Bridge Street Row since 1804. Lowe’s has close links with Royalty, the Grosvenors, Chester City Council, local businesses and Chester Race Company.
The Victorian shop interior has remained the same since 1890. Lowe’s have been supplying the Chester Cup to Chester Racecourse since 1804, more than 200 years ago.
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Company Contact: Richard Hogben General Manager of Waltons of Chester 45, Eastgate Street Chester CH1 1LR Tel: 01244 325972 Website: www.waltonsofchester.co.uk
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