A portrait of a man who witnessed an execution in Bolton in the aftermath of the English Civil War has been revealed to be of a high value.

The Earl of Derby was executed in the town in the aftermath of the final battle in 1648.

He was found to have committed treason and was killed outside the Old Man and Scythe in the centre of the town in 1651.

And now a guest on the Antiques Roadshow brought a portrait of William Prescott, his ancestor, onto the show and it was found to be of high value.

The portrait was accessed by Adam Schoon.

He said: “We are looking at a portrait of William Prescott who was on the execution scaffold of the seventh earl of Derby in 1651.

“It’s quite a dramatic story, tell us about it.”

The guest said: “William was a great friend of the seventh Earl of Derby, and served in the army with him, then in 1651 the seventh earl, by a decree of parliament for high treason was executed so he went to the scaffold with him.”

They also looked at items which had been passed to William Prescott as keepsakes.

These included personal items such as a leather skull cap, a pair of suede gloves in good condition with stitching intact as well as a small picture in a locket which appeared to be the seventh earl.

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Mr Schoon attributed both paintings to Cornelius Johnson who worked in London and was a portrait painter.

The larger painting seemed to have been done in 1631.

The roadshow took place in Sefton Park in Liverpool and Mr Schoon pointed out the execution took place in Bolton.

He valued the painting at £10,000 to £15,000 and the miniature at £2,000 to £3,000.

He said as a group the items were worth between £18,000 to £22,000.

The guest said: “I think it would be a travesty to sell them.”

The episode of the Antiques Roadshow was a repeat from last year.