Philip Taylor Retires
When Clifford Lansberry approached me to mark Philip Taylor’s forthcoming retirement as a partner in Gorringe’s, I had no hesitation in accepting. I have known Philip for more than 40 years, firstly as a colleague and then, more importantly, as a friend, and I am delighted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to his time as managing partner.
Philip arrived in Lewes from the Cotswolds with his wife, Sally, and their two young children, Helen and Tim, in 1981. He had accepted a partnership in Gorringe’s Auction Galleries, as it was then known, and was to take over from Wallace (Wally) Stuart who had managed the saleroom since shortly after he had been demobbed from the RAF at the end of the Second World War. From the outset, Philip felt there was great potential for making an already successful business even more successful.
He had three great attributes: an extensive knowledge of all aspects of the business; a real and abiding passion for the the items he was required to value and sell; and seemingly boundless energy. He would start the working day early, often very early, and frequently still be visiting clients late into the evening. His enthusiasm for his subject was infectious and this did much to endear him to people who might have been unsure about taking their first steps into selling at auction with Gorringe’s.
The two day pre-sale view had become established as a must attend social occasions under Wally Stuart, and Philip (and Sally) carried on the tradition by almost always being there to meet and greet both established and new attendees, often resulting in some serious networking and consequent new business. In those days, Gorringe’s held a collected sale every six weeks, with the largest taking place in the early 1980s and comprising a mere 3850 lots which were sold over four days. This monumental undertaking was a tribute in itself to Philip’s ability as an auctioneer. He was always quick, friendly to the nervous first-time buyer and frequently witty. He was also able to deal with the occasional disgruntled bidder. On one occasion I recall a red-faced man complaining that Philip had brought down the hammer before he had time to bid. Philip looked at him with a tired expression and said, incredulously, “What? You could have got married in the time I gave you to bid…in fact, now I come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I did”.
Like any of us who started our auctioneering careers in the late 1960s, Philip entered a profession that conducted business in a way with which auctioneers from the 19th and even 18th century would have been largely familiar. However, during his 43 years at Gorringe’s he has worked through a period of unprecedented change in the industry. In the beginning came the buyers’ premium (still much despised by ‘the trade’). For the first time catalogues began carrying printed estimates against each lot and eventually became fully illustrated. Then considerable additional regulation arrived: auction law was revised to be very similar to retail law; tight restrictions on cash transactions were imposed; the requirement to obtain Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species certification on anything from teak furniture to taxidermy was instituted; a ban was imposed on the sale of ivory and much more. Philip and his staff took all these extra responsibilities in their stride and then, in 2020, Covid and lockdown brought a seismic change in the auction world. The switch to bidding online rather than in person, coupled with a surge of buyers sitting bored at home, new to auctions but fascinated by the entertainment value of the experience, revolutionised the business. No longer does an auctioneer look out from the rostrum at a sea of faces, now he might only have three or four people in the room but he has potentially hundreds, perhaps even thousands, watching him on their computer screens via various bidding platforms. I am sure Philip would be the first to acknowledge that navigating these extraordinary changes successfully has been made possible only with the input and commitment of his fellow partners, Clifford Lansberry and Sally and an extraordinarily hard-working and dedicated staff.
It should come as no surprise to any who know him that Philip intends to resist the immediate high dive into full retirement. Instead, he will remain attached to Gorringe’s as a consultant for some years to come. However, with his stepping down from his full-time role, Sally’s retirement and Clifford’s departure for the sunnier climes of Andalucia, there is no doubt that an important chapter in the almost 100 year history of Gorringe’s is coming to a close.
Leslie Gillham
