At Biddle & Webb, much of what we do concerns deceased estates – our probate services are a great source of pride for us, but they are also the source of some of our most incredible items. A crucial part of our work with probate cases is our house clearing service: before every clearance, our experienced valuers will examine the house for objects of interest, but it is often not until the clearance itself that all manner of previously unnoticed hidden treasures are revealed.

In our last few weeks alone, we have been privileged to evaluate and bring to auction a variety of unique and intriguing finds. Our latest monthly auction saw a wealth of valuable collections from deceased estates, including a significant amount of designer apparel: an array of Chanel Boutique items, ranging from several stunning woven jackets to a beautiful black clutch; and a selection of boxed ladies’ designer shoes, from labels such as Ralph Lauren and Bologna & Figli. We have also been able to value a number of extensive and specialist stamp collections, with the expertise of the former President of the Birmingham Philatelic Society, who we are honoured to have as a member of our team.

Beyond the merely valuable, however, there are always surprises to be found on our probate properties. Our team recently uncovered a collection of militaria, comprising of First World War medals of service, and a variety of international medals from the Second World War, including German military memorabilia. In another clearance, our team found a hidden reserve of £422.50 in cash, which was securely held in the Biddle & Webb bank account, and returned to the estate.

Though our probate services are some of our most widely used, no two house clearances we have performed have been the same, and we hope we can continue to discover more unique stories behind each of our probate estates.