The business commenced in the early 1920s when Rowland
Gorringe opened offices in Lewes, the county town of East
Sussex, as an estate agent and auctioneer.
He held many sales in properties in Lewes
and it's environs, most famously being instructed to
sell the contents of Lewes House, a collection built
by the American art connoisseur and collector Edward
Percy Warren.This sale created international interest
as, in addition to a remarkable collection of early
furniture and works of art, it included the major works
- Auguste Rodin's 'The Kiss' ('Le Baiser') and 'The
Portrayal of Adam and Eve' by Lucas Cranach The Elder.
This sale was certainly the talk of the county and was
followed by a series of instructions to sell country
house contents.
In 1945, Rowland Gorringe was instructed
to sell a country house and contents, north of Lewes,
known as Roeheath. After the successful sale and with
the property unsold, he received the instructions to
sell several property contents which were brought together
for a collective sale again at Roeheath.
Up until this time, collective sales had
been regularly held at Wallands House in Lewes, the
last sale there taking place in September 1945. Just
after the war in 1946 Gorringes moved to its current
site at 15 North Street in Lewes.
Gorringes acquires Fryer's Auction Galleries in Bexhill-on-Sea.
The impressive former railway station premises isideal
for the auction gallery business and the saleroom is
now established also as a valuations office and long
term storage facility, serving Bexhill-on-Sea,
Hastings, Rye and villages to the north and east.
As the number of vendors increases with every sale we
commission the building of a new gallery at our North
Street saleroom to display the antiques in a more decorative
fashion, enabling our many purchasers to view them in
a less crowded environment.
December sees the completion of the refurbishment
of our new premises at 15, The Pantiles, where our bookshop
- which opened on 4th January 1999 - carries an extensive
stock of reference works on fine and applied art, collectables
and antiques. The bookshop is open Monday to Friday,
9.00am to 5.00pm and Saturdays, 9.30am to 5.00pm.
A new picture gallery opens in time for our January
sale. With its excellent lighting it has proved extremely
popular with our clients at our North Street saleroom
for the viewing of both pictures and jewellery.
Gorringes Incorporating Julian Dawson formed by a merger
with Lewes Auction Rooms, the other established auction
rooms in Lewes. The new partnership operates from 2
salerooms with regular Antiques and Fine Art catalogued
auctions at North Street and weekly Antiques, Collectables
and Household auctions at Garden Street. Julian Dawson
continues as a partner and continues to play an active
role, exercising his considerable auctioneering talents
on the rostrum every Monday. This merger enables Gorringes
Incorporating Julian Dawson to offer clients a complete
clearance service.
are pronounced the winners of the prestigious B.A.C.A. Award for the Best Provincial Auction Rooms
Gorringes In Association With Michael Jones & Co.
formed as a separate company, establishing a saleroom
in West Sussex. Trading began Ist May 2003 at 44/46
High Street, Worthing following the retirement of Ken
Ellis of R H Ellis & Sons. The association with
Michael Jones & Company, Wothing's leading independant
estate agents provides an attractive proposition for
executors and owners of property and chattels to deal
under one umbrella with experienced professionals.
The 4 salerooms now handle over 70,000
lots a year which attracting tens of thousands of viewers
in person or over the Internet. These lots are gathered
from all over the south east of England and London and
with a turnover surpassing £9,000.000 in 2005 we
are now positioned as the leading provincial auctioneers
in the UK.
Gorringes
pioneer internet selling on Ebay with all catalogued sales
listed and illustrated on the internet as well as being
hosted on the Ebay.com website which can be accessed by
up to 192 million internet users worldwide. Clients are
able to bid live over the internet on these sales. In
the saleroom all lots are shown on screen showing the
internet activity.
Gorringes convert
to a Limited Liability Partnership.
Gorringes announce plans to build a regional auction centre at Cooksbridge, near Lewes. More details to follow.
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