A FANTASTIC collection of 1,200 teapots built up by a man who never drank tea in his life are to be sold at auction.

Architect Philip Miller, from Berwick-upon-Tweed, began the collection, the largest owned by a single collector ever to be sold at auction, in the 1970s with an early 19th Century teapot bought for £1.

He went on to amass a collection of 1,200 mainly British pieces, some dating back to the early 18th Century and became a renowned expert on the subject, publishing two books on teapots.

Now his lifetime’s collection is to be sold at Newcastle-based auctioneers Anderson and Garland at a sale on September 28.

His widow Patricia Miller said: “I am sorry to have to sell his beloved teapots, but I am moving to a smaller property and simply don’t have room for them anymore.

“I hope that others will enjoy them as much as we have.

“The most ironic thing is that Philip didn’t like tea, he actually never drank a drop.”

She added: “My late husband’s collection of over 1,200 teapots was brought together to include the work of as many different English factories as possible.

“He started collecting in the early 1970s when he bought an early 19th Century teapot for £1.”

Mr Miller collected so many over the years that he donated a number to go on display at the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, where they are displayed in The Twining Teapot Gallery.

Specialist Fred Wyrley-Birch, from Anderson and Garland auction house, said: “The majority of the teapots are British, but some of the more unusual ones come from Africa and China.

“Famous makers’ names include Clarice Cliff, Caughley, Worcester, Derby and Lowestoft.”

Among the most unusual items in the sale are a teapot by famed ceramic artist Clarice Cliff, dating from around 1936 and valued at up to £250; an 1875 porcelain piece by Royal Worcester, believed to be the oldest English brand still in existence today; a 1775 blue and white teapot made in Liverpool and a Newhall Porcelain teapot valued at up to £700.