Here in West Dorset, people have been bringing their treasures to Duke’s of Dorchester for more than two centuries – and in that time the auction house has seen some staggering finds go for some truly eye-watering prices.

For many who grew up in the 1980s, including myself, the Antiques Roadshow was Sunday nights, followed of course by That’s Life.

Everyone dreamed they had a long-forgotten treasure in their attic.

Maybe it’s just me, but the items brought to current roadshows just don’t seem to have the wow factor in their estimated value any more – who can forget the £100,000 painting brought to the show in 1986? Blimey – that’s 40 years ago now.

That glimmer of hope that there might be a thing of value lurking in an unexpected corner has come true many times for Duke’s of Dorchester, which was established in 1823.

In 2007, a Fra Angelico masterpiece was discovered behind a bedroom door in Oxford – two panels from the altarpiece sold for £2 million, attracting global attention for Duke’s.

Another surprise awaited valuers who examined a marble panel that had been propping open a shed door in Weymouth in the 1980s.

Senior auctioneer and partner Gary Batt said: “The renaissance panel turned out to be an Antonio Lombardi and sold for £250,000, which was a life-changing sum for the vendors.”

Over the centuries, Duke’s of Dorchester has sold everything from straw to Stradivarius, and the excitement of never knowing what will appear on his desk is what gets Gary out of bed in the morning.

He said: “I love it still. I love seeing the objects that come in – you can be sitting there handling museum-quality pieces with no gloves, not behind glass. Every day is a learning experience – there are whole areas you don’t know anything about. We are meant to know about everything made since Roman times in Dorset, but there’s always more to learn.”

Duke’s of Dorchester started life as Hy Duke and Son. It has always been based in the county town, however it held its first auction in Weymouth.

Over the years it has handled the sale of many significant estates, including Thomas Hardy’s Max Gate, Melplash Court, Athelhampton House, and Sandford Orcas Manor. Most recently a sale was held at Bridehead.

Gary said: “The event that brings everyone out is a country house sale – people love to visit the house and have a mooch round and view items with provenance, things that have been there for 200 years, items that are completely honest. We sold the contents of the Bridehead estate last year, which raisedaround £1million. The dining table – an 18th century Bullock – went for £80k. Only three were made – one went to Napoleon in Elba.”

Duke’s is still a family business – Gary’s son William also works there as a valuer, auctioneer and head of the quarterly auctions and Asian art.

Partner Sarah Gordon Wild’s daughter Victoria also works at Duke’s of Dorchester as head of marketing and operations.

Yorkshireman Gary came to Dorchester 40 years ago, aged 30, having fallen in love with the antiques trade.

He said: “I did a law degree but I didn’t want to be a lawyer and didn’t know what I wanted to do. I loved old houses.

“I went to an auction in Wakefield and thought, that’s what I want to do. There’s an element of theatre to being an auctioneer, and I am a bit of a show-off. I wrote to a very old-fashioned firm in the city square, as that’s what you did in those days, and after a chat with the senior auctioneer Ivor Applegarth I started my new job as an auctioneer’s assistant on £2,000 a year. He shared all his knowledge with me and infused me with a lifelong passion.

“There wasn’t an opportunity to move up, so I began to look around and a saleroom manager position came up in Dorset – I had to look up where Dorset was.

“I came down from cold, grey Yorkshire and stayed in the Casterbridge Hotel. My wife and I sat on the beach at Durdle Door and had to keep shedding layers it was so hot – it was like the south of France.”

Gary worked his way up and eventually had the opportunity to buy Duke’s of Dorchester. Key to the longevity of the business has been adapting to the many changes in buying habits, tastes and style of living.

What sells well at Duke’s of Dorchester?

Gary said: “There has been a change in tastes from antiques to modern antiques, with a shift towards 20th century collectables and British art such as David Hockney and the Newlyn artists – kitchen sink stuff.

“What I call Hackney antiques and Scandi stuff are now more collectable than Georgian furniture.

“Part of the reason is that our whole habit of hosting dinner parties in the dining room has gone – we all tend to gather around the kitchen table, around the Aga. I remember collecting a kitchen cabinet that we once would have sent to the tip – that sold for £300.

“Vinyl records are also very saleable.”

In between running the salerooms – Duke’s has a general saleroom in the market and a fine art saleroom near Dorchester South station – Gary likes to give back to the community… principally to swerve Satan’s embrace.

He said: “I do a lot of talks and charity auctions. It’s a good thing to do – on the basis that it’s harder for an auctioneer to enter the gates of heaven than a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, this is my chance to get to the Pearly Gates.”

There has been a seismic shift in the way salerooms operate over the past 20 years.

Gary said: “When I started it was not unusual to have 200 people in the room. There was a frisson, a rapport, lots of banter. But now if there are ten people in the room that’s quite a lot. You are multi-tasking, with bids coming in from all over the world on the internet and by telephone. I would say 90% of our sales are online.”

But Duke’s has always evolved, and is in safe hands for the future.

Gary said: “We employ a lot of younger people and we have the younger generations of our own families involved, so I hope that Duke’s of Dorchester will continue to evolve and grow while maintaining our core values of offering proper service to our customers.”