As one of the most respected auctioneers outside London, Mallams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers goes way back – 236 years in fact, when the business started life on Oxford’s Gloucester Green. It’s still got a sales room and offices in the heart of the city – now at the architect-designed Bocardo House on St Michael’s Street.

A second Oxfordshire office is based in a bucolic spot near Abingdon town centre, with plenty of parking if you need to unload that wieldy stone urn/dresser/champagne flute collection. The third office is just over the Glos border in Cheltenham. All three are available for valuations, viewings, collections and deliveries – by appointment only, naturally.

Mallams loads its sales catalogue online (we can’t deny it makes for a delightful 15-minute scroll over a coffee to check out the gems in Mallams’ upcoming sales). But if you want to take a closer look at what’s going under the hammer, or head over with an heirloom you’d like some info about (oh, it’s a Turner you say?) you can always make an appointment and pop in for a valuation or a tour.

Everything from paintings to rugs and taxidermy has been through the Mallams doors – the company has a team of specialist and general valuers who are experts in many fields, including Paintings and Sculpture; Ceramics and Glass; Modern and Post-War Art; 20th Century Design; Silver and Jewellery; Furniture and Garden Statuary; Chinese, Japanese and Islamic Art; Clocks and Barometers; Books and Manuscripts; and Collectables.

In the recent House & Garden sale at Abingdon, over 1,200 lots were up for sale and the auction house was packed with bidders, both elbow-to-elbow in the sale room and joining online from around the world. Modern furniture, pictures, garden ornaments, and decorative objects went like hotcakes, while at the Mallams Country House sale in Cheltenham, Lot 310, a decorative porcelain ewer from the Meissen porcelain factory netted the owner £9,500 after they took it to one of Mallams’ valuation days in Henley, despite not being in mint condition.

Yes – there’s hope for your knick-knacks, even if they’re not looking their best. Mallams director Henry Cooke, Head of House & Garden Sales, Sculptures & Works of Art, recently gave Muddy the down-low on the hidden value of heirlooms and furniture in your home, from textiles with history to chairs that just look like classics.

Intrigued? Whether you’re looking to browse the upcoming sales or get something valued, the Mallams website is a good place to start banking that potential cash in your attic.