Charles Dickens' pocket watch up for auction in Chichester

A pocket watch once owned by Charles Dickens is being auctioned off in Chichester.

The time piece dates from 1836 and was gifted to the Portsmouth-born author for his editorship of the magazine Bentleys Miscellany.

The open-faced key-wind watch is going under the hammer along with a desk set after both items came from Dickens' descendants.

Barnaby Chiari of Stride & Son Auctioneers said: "Both items are of national importance.

"The watch would appear to be unprecedented in terms of historical Dickens' memorabilia, both as a talisman of the author’s early literary career and a unique object, the like of which we can find no comparison.

"Both lots have come from a deceased estate, originating from the Portsmouth area."

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