Teapot collection to go under auctioneer's hammer

The Blayze family began their teapot collection in 1983 and now have more than 8,000 of them

A collection of more than 8,000 teapots is going up for auction to help fund a Kent couple's retirement.

The items have been on display at the Teapot Island Museum, near Yalding, and will be sold as one lot by Hansons Auctioneers on 13 October.

Keith and Sue Blayze began their collection in 1983 when Mrs Blayze's mother gave them one as a gift.

Mr Blayze said: "We started buying teapots from wherever we went on holiday, charity shops, car boot sales and antique dealers - now we want to use that money to help us retire."

Sue and Keith Blayze from Yalding hope the teapot collection makes enough money for them to retire

The 8,450 teapots have been on public display since the couple opened the Teapot Island Cafe and Museum in 2004.

The items depict many well known figures such as King Charles III, Sir Paul McCartney, Princess Diana and Saddam Hussein.

However, the couple closed the business last year and said a new operator would re-open the popular cafe in summer 2026.

'Seven miles of bubble wrap'

Mr and Mrs Blayze are hopeful the collection will remain in the UK, but advised potential buyers to plan transportation.

Mr Blayze said: "When we moved our collection in here, we used seven miles of bubble wrap, and at that point we only had 3,000 teapots.

"There's two and a half times that now so whoever buys them will have to be prepared to do a lot of careful packing!"

The couple are hoping their teapot collection will remain in the UK on public display

Mrs Blayze said: "My dream is that they all stay together and that they remain in England so people can see them for years to come."

Mr Blayze added: "We've really enjoyed changing people's opinions of teapots.

"The number of men who start the tour of the museum saying they're not interested, with a long face, soon changes when they've seen our collection.

"Usually they are amazed at the variety."