Antiques Roadshow expert left ‘trembling’ over incredible find worth fortune

Antiques Roadshow expert Matthey Haley was left "trembling" after discovering a 17th-century Shakespearean notebook of "enormous scholarly value". Described as one of the most remarkable finds in the BBC show’s history, the tiny pad contains "scientific scholarly notes" penned during Shakespeare’s lifetime. It is then thought to have been passed down through the family, with the guest finding it in his own mother's belongings.

The precious notebook, which emerged from the collection of 18th-century antiquarian John Loveday of Caversham, was unearthed by Loveday’s five-times great-grandson among his mother's belongings. The discovery was made at Caversham Park in Berkshire, where Haley took a look at the unique item. "There is so much research that can be done on this item," Haley commented, hinting at the notebook's potential to unlock new insights into Shakespearean studies.

Haley gushed over the item, saying: "It's amazing, it's almost completely illegible, but you can pick out the odd word, and you can pick out phrases that appear in Shakespeare." His excitement was palpable as he described the item as "one of the best things" he has encountered on the program, admitting it surprised him "by a fairly good stretch."

“It's absolutely extraordinary. My hands are trembling now, just looking at it." Haley admitted his emotional reaction left him totally overwhelmed: "I was completely knocked for six. Sometimes the best things come in small packages. My goodness is this a good thing," he said.

He went on to explain that because the scholarship's value was so enormous, its commercial value also had to be great, eventually predicting that the tiny pad would fetch more than £30,000 at auction.

Haley believes the document, which is currently being transcribed, might well prove that Shakespeare's plays weren't completely written by the Bard himself.

It's also remarkable that anyone was editing his work at this time. He said: “Nobody started to edit Shakespeare’s works in an academic way or comparing texts until the 18th century.

"Shakespeare was known as the national playwright and the national poet, he’d acquired some sort of mythological status by that point, but people weren’t looking at him in an academic, analytical way. But maybe this note-taker was.”

The BBC show first aired in 1979 and is currently presented by Fiona Bruce

For more than four decades, Antiques Roadshow has been travelling the country so people can bring their heirlooms to be valued by the team of experts.

The most valuable item to have ever been brought to the team was a maquette of the Antony Gormley's Angel of the North sculpture, which was valued at a massive £1 million.