Howkins King Street building in Great Yarmouth is up for auction

The former David Howkins Museum of Memories on King Street will go under the hammer with Auction House East Anglia on July 26 with a guide price of £175,000 to £200,000.

The Grade II-listed building was also previously used as a gas company showroom and an antique shop emporium.

Inside the David Howkins Museum of Memories on King Street. Picture - Auction House East Anglia (Image: Auction House East Anglia)

As a museum, the building was home to curios and circus artefacts collected by the late Valerie Howkins. The collection, which also included a revered stamp collection, weaved together Mrs Howkins' family and local history. 

Opening in 2008, the museum marked the culmination of a 20-year dream for Mrs Howkins, which she saw as a loving legacy to her son, David, who died aged 18 from undiagnosed pneumonia in 1979.

The late Valerie Howkins inside the museum. Picture - Newsquest (Image: Archant)

The objects inside were said to unite a range of characters from Mrs Howkins's own colourful life story arriving barefoot in Yarmouth in the 1950s. Among them was the acrobat Albert Shaffer, a contemporary of her father who, when injured, would spend his time meticulously covering furniture with postage stamps as therapy.

The museum closed following Mrs Howkins' death in 2016, with occasional showroom openings to the public. Last year, much of the museum's collection was sold off in a clearance sale.

The upstairs tier of the King Street museum of memories included a room filled with furniture covered in thousands of postage stamps created by Albert Schafer. Picture - Newsquest (Image: Archant Norfolk © 2014)

The three-storey property spans King Street to Deneside and has a large basement. It is currently arranged over three floors to provide a main showroom, office and cloakroom. 

The ground floor showroom and rear workshops measure approximately 206sq/m, while the first floor, which contains four rooms and a cloakroom, spans 166sq/m.

The basement of the former David Howkins Museum of Memories on King Street. Picture - Auction House East Anglia (Image: Auction House East Anglia)

The second-floor measures 143sq/m and has six rooms, while the basement is 95sq/m.

Auction House East Anglia described the property as "a substantial three storey building" with "potential for a wide range of uses including residential (subject to planning)".

For more information, visit www.auctionhouse.co.uk/eastanglia/

Many period features remain inside the former King Street museum. Picture - Auction House East Anglia (Image: Auction House East Anglia)