From the Wylye Valley Life magazine, Issue No.9, Friday 7 September 1984:
Tomorrow (Saturday) sees the first auction at Heytesbury House, near Warminster. Businessman Mr. Michael Farey who runs Oakferry Ltd., (a company who specialise in the reclaiming and supply of building materials and sundries), at the Heytesbury site, has teamed up with local auctioneer Mr. John Bingham and they hope that their new joint venture will eventually become a regular fortnightly occasion at Heytesbury. They have decided to hold their auctions on Saturdays to cater for the private individual buyer as well as the more commercial bidder.
Tomorrow’s sale, which begins at 10 a.m., includes some 300 lots ranging from antiques, paintings, Chinese items and Victoriana, to modern furniture and effects; and if you’re looking for a wrought iron spiral staircase there’s one of those too!
Mr. Farey confesses to a life-long passion for antiques and when Mr. Bingham suggested the idea for auctions, he readily agreed, knowing there was an opening for such a venture in the area. He says “One of the things John and I had in common was that we were both ex-RAF, so we got on really well together to start with. Mr Bingham is semi-retired but wanted to pursue his interest and he has, of course, many contacts in the area. Plus, we have all the facilities here to hold large auctions and there is good access to the public.”
Talking about the possibility of regular auctions, Mr. Farey added “We’ll see what happens on Saturday and we’ll take it from there.”