Auctioneer Richard Edmonds has turned historian for his next sale on Saturday.

While carrying out a clearance in Biddestone, he and his team came across a collection of photos, documents and press cuttings of village life dating back to 1917.

The clearance was of two cottages that had been turned into the village post office, which closed in 1962.

It was run by Agnes Smith who had lived there with her daughter, Sylvia Hamilton, a teacher at Castle Combe. She died on Christmas day.

The pictures include a postcard showing the Green and the pub in 1917. One shows a man, believed to be Mrs Hamilton’s father, working on a bicycle in a shed next to the post office in the 1930s.

“The house apart from several rooms had remained untouched for up to 40 years,” said Mr Edmonds. “There were cobwebs from floor to ceiling. There are pictures of schoolchildren dating to 1924, documents showing the education of Mrs Hamilton and her training to be a teacher and we have a press cutting of Mrs Smith from 1971 enjoying a cuppa at a district post office party where she was the oldest guest at 88.

“It is a staggering look back at local history. It is incredible how this has all survived. The house was in a bit of a state but there are some very nice pieces for sale.”

The auctioneers had to cut down a tree blocking the entrance to one of the outbuildings. Here they found the Biddestone post office sign featured in a lot of the pictures.

The items for sale are in 40 lots and the sale is at Chippenham Auction Rooms.