TREASURED ceramics and jewellery were among the pieces taken to a restored baroque mansion as part of a fundraising valuation day.

Sotheby's and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) held the well-attended event at Duncombe Park, in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, to raise money for the RHS's Wild Wood Appeal.

Visitors took a variety of objects to be valued in turn for making a donation to the appeal.

By lunchtime, Sotheby's director Mark Newstead said he had seen a number of interesting items, including a Dutch Delft dish and a collectable 1920s Moorcroft vase.

The RHS was also on hand with a number of stands within the house to offer any kind of gardening advice to members and visitors.

Alison Higgs, RHS regional development executive, said the purpose of the joint event was to raise money to create a woodland habitat for wildlife at one of the RHS's gardens at Hyde Hall, Essex.

Other valuation days will be taking place throughout the summer at venues across the country, including Cholmondeley Castle, in Cheshire, and Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire.