About us

Smiths Auction Rooms were established in 1975 in the attractive market town of Newent near Gloucester. We have built up an excellent record as a small provincial saleroom offering regular high quality sales of antiques and collectables. We strive to offer a friendly and welcoming approach to all our customers combined with a reputation for an efficient and professional service.

Smiths may be a traditional country saleroom, but we always like to keep up to date with the latest technology. We produce excellent illustrated online catalogues and now host two online bidding platforms which attract a worldwide audience of many hundreds of bidders.

Our experienced and knowledgeable valuers are backed up by a team of expert consultants and specialists which means clients can feel that they are receiving the best service possible for their sales and purchases. All our sales offer a full range of Antiques and Collectables including Furniture, Ceramics, Glass, Paintings, Silver, Gold & Jewellery. We also offer specialist sales for Watches, Coins, Postcards, Medals & Militaria, Jewellery, Gold, Silver and Toys. 

The saleroom is highly organised with a systematic approach to administration which results in an exceptionally efficient and smooth-running auction of which we are extremely proud. However, one of our greatest talents lies in our determination to provide an attentive personal service to suit the individual needs of all our customers.

Smiths are members of the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers.

Smiths Team

Rita Kearsey ASFAV - Senior Valuer

Rita has been involved in auctions all her professional life since studying for three years on the renowned Southampton ISVA/RICS course for auctioneers and valuers. On leaving she gained employment at a busy auction rooms in Kingston Upon Thames and found herself on the rostrum selling her first lots within two weeks!  Having worked her way up to Auction Manager she ran a team of ten staff holding weekly sales of antiques and general items. Rita then decided to combine her career with motherhood by running her own valuations business working for solicitors and banks over an extensive area of South London. This later developed into additional consultancy work for several local salerooms. On moving to Herefordshire with her husband in 2005 she took over the management of the saleroom at Newent and used her antiques knowledge and saleroom experience to build on it’s reputation and improve consignment values. Recently she has stepped back from her management role in order to concentrate her skills on the valuations side and have more time for her garden!

Chris Budding - Auction Manager and Valuer

Chris has now taken on the day to day management of the saleroom as well as being part of the team of valuers and auctioneers. Chris is particularly interested in the collectables side of the market and has taken on the valuation of the Coins and Notes sales with huge success. He is also very keen on other collectables such as watches, toys and vintage collectables. With his youthful take on life and wicked sense of humour he has been developing the social media side of the business with regular interesting and amusing posts on Smiths Facebook page.

Zoe Holland - Valuer

Zoe is the latest addition to our valuations team but she has a wealth of knowledge and experience having worked in the auction industry for over ten years. Zoe is interested in a wide range of traditional antiques and is also a very useful addition to the photography team as she has a degree in wildlife photography. 

Sally Harry

Sally has worked at Smiths in a variety of roles over the years. She now runs the office using her ‘razor sharp’ admin skills as well as helping with our online bidding. She is the only online bidding operator who can clerk the sale and text on her phone at the same time!  Sally has the talent to combine both efficiency and charm when helping customers and is a very popular member of the team. 

Tim Payne

Tim has been working for Smiths Auctions for over ten years and provides assistance with a wide variety of tasks including online bidding, cataloguing and photography. His thoughtful approach and considered advice has proved invaluable over the years. Tim also manages the laying out of the saleroom and without his talent for fitting over a thousand lots so beautifully into our tiny saleroom we would be lost! 

Clive Wilson

Clive also has a number of different 'hats' he wears when working at Smiths. His job title can vary from Postal Manager to Viewing Assistant to Online Bidding operator. He seems to be able to turn his hand to a variety of tasks and has become a great asset to the Smiths team.

Rachael Payne

Rachael provides valuable assistance as and when required, including photography week, and packing and postage week. Rachael is always full of joy and happiness and she also makes a lovely cup of tea.

Barry Meade – Owner and Auctioneer

Barry is the owner of the Smiths Auctions and Estate Agents as well as Davis Meade Estate Agents and Agricultural Agents in Marshfield near Bath. Although Barry spends the majority of his time running the agricultural agency side of the business, he absolutely loves his stint on the rostrum at the monthly antiques auctions in Newent.