Victorian pharmacist's shop sold for almost £17k

The pharmacist's shop attracted interest from more than a hundred bidders

A Victorian pharmacist's shop has sold for £16,950 at an auction in Gloucestershire.

The shop, which dates back to the 1880s, was split into 10 separate lots and sold to a mixture of private collectors and institutions at Cotswold Auction Company in Cirencester on Wednesday.

A total of more than 100 items were sold from Darrin Baines' collection of Georgian and Victorian apothecary items, described as one of the largest in the UK.

"There was lots of interest from people in the room, on the telephone and online bids were very busy - and not just in the UK, but internationally too," said Cotswold Auction Company auctioneer Niall Fry.

"There was a good buzz in the room," he added.

Auctioneer, Niall Fry, said there was a "good buzz" in the room

Mr Fry said some of the smaller glass items and advertising signs also did well, and seller Mr Baines was "very pleased" with the results.

"It's just really fascinating and a privilege to handle [the collection]," said Mr Fry.

"We get quite a lot of large collections, but to get such niche items in large quantities is quite rare."

'Ceiling fell on us'

Mr Baines, a professor of health economics, amassed the sizable collection over the past 25 years.

He bought and relocated the Victorian pharmacist's shop to his house in Leominster in Herefordshire from Norfolk.

"I found [it] in Upwell in the Fens. It had been in the same family for 150 years," he said.

"I went with a carpenter and a friend and dismantled the shop myself, and when we took one of the really big cabinets out, the ceiling fell on us because it was holding the ceiling up."

Mr Baines said he decided to get rid of the collection after selling his house and downsizing.

His passion had previously taken up two floors of his home, in what he described as a "museum".