A NEW auction house is to open in Taunton - just as another one announces its departure.

Items will go under the hammer for the first time at Antiques on High, in Silver Street, on Wednesday, January 17.

Owners Vincent Page and Lesley White say they are set to "turn the auction market upside down" after establishing their new auction company Aloysuis Fortescue and Smythe (AFS).

Fees will be set at 10 per cent for the buyer and 10 per cent for the seller, plus a £1 listing fee which will be waived for any dealers currently in any one of the five Antiques on High stores around the country, including in Taunton.

The couple say other auction houses charge "considerably more, usually around 35 per cent".

In a joint statement they added: "We wanted to provide an affordable alternative to the options that are out there at the moment and keep things as simple as possible.

"We have tied up a deal with online platform Easy-live Auctions, which will make it easy for clients to bid online.

"With the first auction scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, free parking is available.

“We will be operating from the same building and re-structuring a partition wall to section off the auction from the market, providing clients with a comfortable environment in which to do their bidding using traditional bidding paddles.

"Not only that, but our onsite café will be open providing refreshments and hot snacks to make the experience a little more enjoyable coupled with the fact that customers wishing to sell items will be able to drop off seven days a week as they will be able to bring items into Antiques on High.”

It is anticipated clients will be able to take in items for the first auction from December 1.

READ MORE: Busy weekend in Dunster and Taunton for antiques expert David Harper.

Meanwhile, BBC Antiques Road Trip presenter David Harper is going to be busy this weekend.

He will be at Dunster Tithe Barn on Sunday (October 29) for filming at the Antiques on High antiques, vintage and collectables fayre.

H will then make his third visit this year to Antiques on High, in Silver Street, Taunton, to chat to Vincent and Lesley about their new venture, which follows the announcement that Greenslade Taylor Hunt’s antiques team is relocating to new premises at Sedgemoor Auction Centre, at Junction 24, in December.