JIMMY BLANCHE'S BARN.

A Classic 'Barn Find'.

Barn finds seem to make the news these days. The beginning of 2009 saw a 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante make the headlines when it was found in a Tyneside Garage and now the contents of one Jinny Blanche's barn in Norfolk has been attracting attention. Whilst both the the property market and the stock market are bouncing along the bottom and saving rates are at historic lows it is probably not surprising that alternative places to invest are starting to make the news and cars fit the bill nicely especially if you can drive around in your investment.

Keys, the auctioneers in Aylsham near Norwich, are auctioning the cars and parts of cars found at a cottage in Norfolk on Saturday 4 April 2009.

The cottage in Long Stratton was the home of Jimmy Blanche a former mechanic and bodywork repairer who died at the age of 80 earlier this year. In the grounds of the cottage there were the remains of 30 old cars covered in undergrowth and hidden in derelict sheds. None of the cars had turned a wheel since the 1950s and some of them featured trees growing through them.

It apparently took a team of eight men two weeks to clear the yard and buildings of cars using a fork lift truck to prise some of the more firmly embedded vehicles free. One of the more memorable images in the TV coverage was the impression of a starting handle in the side of a tree that had grown into the front of a car.

1933/34 RN Saloon

There were a number of Marques found including Austins, Rileys and Singers, a vintage Daimler a Lee Francis a Sunbeam and a rare 1930s Morris Minor convertible.

IThe Austins found include a 1929 Heavy 12-4 Open Tourer and a 1939 Austin Seven RN Saloon sporting  registration number ALH 537 both in a poor state. Many of the cars, including the Austins, are reduced to piles of spare parts so this auction would be a good source of original wheels and radiators.

Circa 1930 Austin Seven Saloon

Other Austins in the sale are a circa 1930 Austin Seven Saloon rand a red Austin Seven Tourer registration number AGD 868 which, as it is described as being in good, running condition obviously wasn't part of the barn find.

Austin Seven Tourer

Guy Snelling, the auctioneer for the sale, described the find as "unprecedented". "Some are in a pretty poor state but they are largely complete and most can be restored – one man's wreck is another man's restoration project," he said. "While some might make a few hundred, others could go for several thousand pounds."

The Auction takes place on Saturday 4 April at the Keys Auction Rooms in Aylsham, Norfolk. For more details go to their website HERE