A FELLOW of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and an auctioneer of almost five decades, Howard Whitaker has seen his fair share of unusual lots.

SLIDESHOW:  Victoria Park Hotel nostalgia gallery

But even for a man with 49 years of experience, a 465-strong collection including a full-sized gazebo, a corner full of Christmas decorations and matching ladies and gents toilet signs will make for an interesting auction.


The Victoria Park Hotel in Barrow, the building is to be converted to houses. MILTON HAWORTH Mr Whitaker is to sell the entire contents of Barrow’s historic Victoria Park Hotel, from the cutlery to the carpets, as plans progress to transform the listed building into 18 flats.

He has known the site’s new owners for most of his life and has agreed to chair the auction despite being semi-retired.

“I only really do one-offs or if they’re unusual,” he said.

“I can’t really think of another like this for a long time. I remember 35 or 40 years ago I sold the contents of the Beech Hill Hotel on the premises, but it is unusual.”

The Victoria Park is particularly interesting, Mr Whitaker says, due to it being one of the first hotels to be built in Barrow.
Veteran auctioneer Howard Whittaker from Ulverston gets ready to auction fixtures and fittings at The Victoria Park Hotel, the building is to be converted to houses. MILTON HAWORTH

He thinks some of the lots will have been on the premises for more than 100 years.

A large 1930s glass Guinness sign which would once have stood backlit behind a bar is one of numerous interesting items to have caught his eye.

Another is a frame holding pages of a 1902 minute book for the Victoria Park Bowling Club which, Mr Whitaker explains, played in what is now the hotel car park.

“It’s a bit of old Barrow and there probably won’t be another one like this in existence,” he says of the document, which awaits sale next to a classic decorative telephone, a sewing machine, and a copper kettle with an intricately patterned handle.

Other lots include several stunning chandeliers and numerous smaller light fittings, as well as hundreds of glasses, boxes full of cutlery and countless sets of crockery.

The hotel’s linens have been stacked ready for auction and rows of chairs will be sold in lots of 10.

Given the wealth of practical items on offer, combined with the quirky individuality of other lots, Mr Whitaker expects to see hotel and guesthouse owners attend the auction alongside antiques collectors and those in search of a piece of the town’s history.

“It’s a bit of a nostalgic place for many people,” he says.

“For example, my mother met my father here at a dinner dance in the ballroom in the 1930s.

“There will be a lot of people who met here in times gone by because, in its heyday, it was probably the best hotel in Barrow. It was a very notable place.

“There are some lovely things and some very good-quality things, some of which would be very expensive now.

“There are lots of interesting bits and pieces and a lot of people will want a memento.”

The auction at the Victoria Park Hotel will take place from noon until 5pm on Saturday November 7, with viewing from 8am until noon as well as from 10am until 5pm the previous day.