Ronnie Barker's Chipping Norton antique shop sign goes to auction

An online auction for the sign of Ronnie Barker's antique shop starts at 12:00 BST today.

Mr Barker, who was passionate about antiques and collectables, opened The Emporium in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, in 1989 with his wife Joy.

The sign was previously sold in a hotel auction in the 1990s.

Auctioneer and partner at Ewbank's, Andrew Ewbank, said it was "a unique opportunity" to own something connected with the comedy star.

The family of the late comedian moved to Oxford from Bedford and bought a house at 23 Church Cowley Road in 1935 when he was five.

The Porridge and Two Ronnies star's first job after leaving school in the city was as a clerk at the Westminster Bank in Cowley.

In 1981 he returned to Oxfordshire, buying a country retreat at Dean.

Mr Ewbank said that despite Ronnie Barker's "hugely successful TV career in the 70s and 80s", his "personal passion was for antiques".

"He had a huge collection of around 50,000 antique postcards, and he later published books about these," he said.

After his retirement from showbusiness in 1987, the comedian opened The Emporium on Chipping Norton's High Street, in a unit now occupied by health shop Oats.

The main shop sign, which is 330cm (130in) x 38cm (15in) in size, had been previously sold to the current owner in an auction at an Oxfordshire hotel.

"It was in the late 1990s and it has been with the buyer ever since," Mr Ewbank said.

"The previous sale was before online bidding was the norm, so it didn't attract as much attention at the time."

In the current sale, Ewbank's has valued it between £500 - £1000.

"This is a unique opportunity to own something connected with the late, great, Ronnie Barker," Mr Ewbank said.

The auctioneers expect the sale to be completed by about 15:30 BST.

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