Gorringes

15 North Street
Lewes, East Sussex
United Kingdom  BN7 2PD

Telephone : +44 (0)1273 472503
Fax : +44 (0)1273 479559
Website : http://www.gorringes.co.uk/
Email : clientservices@gorringes.co.uk

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About Us

The business commenced in the early 1920's when Rowland Gorringe opened offices in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, as an estate agent and auctioneer.

He held many sales in properties in Lewes and it's environs, most famously being instructed to sell the contents of Lewes House, a collection built by the American art connoisseur and collector Edward Percy Warren.This sale created international interest as, in addition to a remarkable collection of early furniture and works of art, it included the major works - Auguste Rodin's " The Kiss" (" Le Baiser") and The Portrayal of Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach The Elder. This sale was certainly the talk of the county and was followed by a series of instructions to sell country house contents.

In 1945, Rowland Gorringe was instructed to sell a country house and contents, North of Lewes known as Roeheath. After the successful sale and with the property unsold, he received the instructions to sell several property contents which were brought together for a collective sale again at Roeheath.

Up until this time, collective sales had been regularly held at Wallands House in Lewes, the last sale there taking place in September 1945. Just after the war in 1946 Gorringes Auction Galleries moved to its current site at 15 North Street in Lewes, East Sussex.

1994 Bexhill. Gorringes acquired Fryer's Auction Galleries in Bexhill-on-Sea. The impressive former Railway Station premises being ideal for the auction gallery business.The saleroom is now established as a Valuations Office and long term Storage Facility. Serving Bexhill-on-Sea, Hastings, Rye and villages to the North and East.


1998 Lewes. As the number of vendors increases with every sale we commissioned the building of a new gallery to display the antiques in a more decorative fashion, enabling our many purchasers to view them in a less crowded environment.


1998 Tunbridge Wells. December saw the completion of the refurbishment of our new premises at 15, The Pantiles where our bookshop - which opened on 4th January 1999 - carries an extensive stock of reference works on fine and applied art, collectables and antiques.


The bookshop is open Monday to Friday 9.00am To 5.00pm and Saturdays 9.30am to 5.00pm.


1999 Lewes. Our new picture gallery opened in time for our January sale and has proved extremely popular with our clients for the natural daylight viewing of both the pictures and the jewellery.


2001 Lewes. Gorringes Incorporating Julian Dawson is formed by a merger with Lewes Auction Rooms, the other established auction rooms in Lewes. The new partnership operates from the two salerooms with regular Antiques and Fine Art catalogued auctions at North Street and weekly Antiques, Collectables and Household auctions at Garden Street. Julian Dawson continues as a partner and will continue to play an active role, exercising his considerable auctioneering talents on the rostrum every Monday. This merger enables Gorringes Incorporating Julian Dawson to offer clients a complete clearance service.


2002 Gorringes are pronounced the winners of the prestigious B.A.C.A. Award for the Best Provincial Auction Rooms


2003 Worthing Gorringes In Association With Michael Jones & Co. is formed as a separate company, establishing a saleroom in West Sussex. Trading began Ist May 2003 at 44/46 High Street, Worthing following the retirement of Ken Ellis of R H Ellis & Sons. The association with Michael Jones & Company, Wothing's leading independant estate agents provides an attractive proposition for executors and owners of property and chattels to deal under one umbrella with experienced professionals.


The 4 salerooms now handle over 70,000 lots a year which attract 1,000's of viewers in person or over the Internet. These lots are gathered from all over the south east of England and London and with a turnover surpassing £8,000,000 in 2005 we are now positioned as the leading provincial auctioneers in the U.K.


March 2005 Gorringes pioneers internet selling on Ebay with all catalogued sales listed and illustrated on the internet as well as being hosted on the Ebay.com website which can be accessed by up to 192 million internet users worldwide. Clients are able to bid live over the internet on these sales. In the saleroom all lots are shown on screen showing the internet activity.


April 2006 Gorringes converts to a Limited Liability Partnership.


2006 Gorringes announce plans to build a regional auction centre at Cooksbridge, near Lewes. More details to follow.