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Kilshaw’s Auctioneers closes doors after 70 years

After 70 years in business Kilshaw’s Auctioneers is going, going gone. The auction house, which moved to a downtown location in 2016 after 67 years on upper Fort Street, appears to closed its doors after a final auction Thursday evening.
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Kilshaw's Auctioneers Ltd. on Langley Street in Victoria.

After 70 years in business Kilshaw’s Auctioneers is going, going gone.

The auction house, which moved to a downtown location in 2016 after 67 years on upper Fort Street, appears to closed its doors after a final auction Thursday evening.

“I am thankful to the Victoria community for decades of support, the buyers and sellers have been part of an incredible community and the staff at Kilshaw’s have been my family for many years,” said Alison Ross, owner of Kilshaw’s Auctioneers.

Ross said in a statement that she plans to take an extended break before choosing her next career path.

Kilshaw’s Auctioneers held their last regularly scheduled auction last Thursday evening. A simple note on the front doors at 1007 Langley St. said Kilshaw’s is closed. The company’s website last week started warning clients that it would not be accepting consignment items and that all items bought at Thursday‘s auction would have to be paid for and removed by end of business Friday.

By Monday morning, the auction house floor was dark and the business looked as though it had packed up its things.

Ross has owned Kilshaw’s for more than a decade and had 15 staff.

The origins of Kilshaw’s Auctioneers can be traced back to Kendal, England where William Kilshaw started it all in 1790. During the reign of George III, a Kilshaw was pairing buyers with sellers of home furnishings, real estate, farm implements, and cattle. The Kilshaw’s have been selling in Canada since 1908, starting in Winnipeg.

In 1949, Gradwell Kilshaw opened the doors at the first Victoria location on Fort Street. Gradwell’s son Frank and then his grandson Don continued in the family’s long, fine tradition. In January 2006, long-time employee Ross bought Kilshaw’s Auctioneers.

Kilshaw’s handled $2 million in sales annually.