Curiosity bought the Calthorpe
Curiosity got the better of a Yorkshire couple when they visited a local auction.
Gillian Caldicott and Michael Clarke from near Goole fell in love with the 1922 Calthorpe 10.4hp tourer at Dee Atkinson & Harrison’s auction at Sledmere House, Driffield, East Yorkshire on Saturday 4 March and ending up paying £17.5k for it.
‘ They only came for a day out but fell in love with it and bought it on a whim!’ says auctioneer Andrew Spicer.
Gillian and Michael were in the market for some automobilia but not a car – but all that changed when they saw the Calthorpe. ‘We saw the guide price and decided to have a go,’ says Gillian. ‘ There were other bidders but it was still within our limits when the hammer fell. When we were successful the auctioneer said “Sold to the lady” and 100 males faces turned around to look at me! I’m really looking forward to driving it.’
The low mileage Calthorpe was first registered in Gateshead on 7 April 1922 and stored from 1928. The partially dismantled car was discovered by David Naylor, who started its restoration in 1986/87. It passed its first MoT in February 1998, when the odometer read 9197 miles. The vendor/third owner bought it in 2010 and had it recommissioned – the odometer at the time of the sale still only read 9590 miles.
Also sold at Sledmere House was a 1925 Crossley 15/30 V-screen that sold to a collector from York for £31,200. David Brown
www.dee-atkinson-harrison.co.uk