Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Episode 17

Jay Blades and the team restore a musical jewellery box, a Victorian railway lamp, three agricultural trophies and a Brownie toadstool.

Jay Blades and the team bring more treasured items, and the memories they hold, back to life.

First, a story of love, loss and survival. Woodwork expert Will Kirk is enchanted by a musical jewellery box that miraculously survived a devastating house fire. Pamela Lamb from Devon cherishes the box, which once belonged to her elder sister Vera, who died as a teenager. The box is one of the few reminders Pam has of Vera, but a few years ago she almost lost it in a devasting fire that destroyed most of her possessions. The jewellery box miraculously survived but now carries the scars of the fire - the painted exterior has suffered, and the musical mechanism no longer works. While Will works on the wooden components, musical box master Stephen Kember attempts to get the mechanism playing again.

Another team effort is called for to restore the next arrival, a piece of Victorian railway history. Alan Norley鈥檚 lamp was used by his grandfather and his father on the railways, and for him signifies a childhood growing up in a family of proud railwaymen. Alan is hoping horologist Steve Fletcher and the team can get it shining brightly once more, restoring all those happy memories. But decades of service have left the lamp looking the worse for wear, and Steve must call on Dominic Chinea to help with the metal work and glass specialist Matt Nichols to replace the missing glass, using a technique dating back to Roman times.

Finally, Liz McMordie and her brother Sam from Northern Ireland hope silversmith Brenton West can preserve a link to their family鈥檚 rich farming heritage. The three gold-plated trophies were awarded to their father who, in the 1950s, won the World Ploughing Championships three times in a row, a feat still unparalleled in the history of the competition. But after half a century, the miniature replica ploughs are missing details, most of the gold plating has worn away, and their wooden plinths are scratched and chipped. Brenton gets to work recreating the tiny missing parts, while Will refreshes the wooden bases.

57 minutes

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:11

    Eric Chevalier

    Bright Emotion

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jay Blades
Narrator Bill Paterson
Executive Producer Hannah Lamb
Executive Producer Rob Butterfield
Series Producer Helen Page
Series Producer Tanveer Bari
Production Company Ricochet Limited

Broadcast

Take Part

If you have a treasured possession that needs restoring, please get in touch.