Railtons

Biography

Railtons has its origins as cattle and land auctioneers on the Welsh Marches back in the late eighteenth century. The current incarnation dates back to 1993, when Jim Railton held his first sale at Chillingham Castle. Having founded and run Phillips North East (now Bonhams) from St Mary’s Church by the Tyne Bridge, Jim Railton held sales peripatetically for over 20 years in prestige venues like Brancepeth Castle, Kelso’s Springfield Park, Newcastle Racecourse, etc. He also became well known, as he still is, for his “in situ” landmark sales at country houses such as Roddam Hall, Lemmington Hall, Lady Tankerville’s estate auction and recently at Eden Hall just over the Scottish border. Another memorable on-site event was the sale of the contents of La Sagesse School in Jesmond. Having taken over the local market town auction rooms in Alnwick for a few years, Mr Railton then had the opportunity, in 2010, to purchase an old bus depot in Northumberland with parking for 50 cars. Now known as The Northern Auction Centre, monthly sales are held in these premises, gathering chattels from clients from all over the UK.

Run by a small friendly team, Railtons has a reputation for personal service and achieving high prices for clients’ treasures. They handle complete house clearances with instructions from lawyers throughout the region. As England’s most northerly auction house, they pride themselves on their hands-on approach, whilst also being very competitive when it comes to costs and commissions.

“London prices, with none of the costs” – jewellery, paintings, furniture, ceramics and glass, silver, works of art, medals and militaria, toys, watches and clocks, coins, etc are all handled by Railtons, with a team of consultant specialists at hand.