They were deemed naff 30 years ago, but now wall ornaments could be making a valuable comeback...

FROM the 1930s to around the 1960s, it was popular in households all over the country to have sets of pottery birds hung on the living room wall.

Indeed, the most famous exponent of this was one-time Coronation Street character Hilda Ogden, played by Jean Alexander, whose famous flying ducks were familiar to millions of viewers.

But flying ducks and indeed other birds and animals you could hang on the wall did go rather out of favour from the 60s onwards -- though they are making quite a comeback today.

And, of course, there are many other kinds of decorative pottery items meant to be hung on the wall, in the form of human faces and figures, posies of flowers, even ships.

All have some sort of collecting following but there's no doubt that the Staffordshire-based firm of Beswick turned out the widest range, and today collectors seek out different examples from the company's output, and prices are rising fast.

Sold individually and in sets of three, usually in varying sizes, these wall mounted decorative items are now enjoying new popularity thanks to the penchant for renovating inter-war houses in the period style.

The Beswick range of bird wall figures began in the late 1930s, and featured species such as Mallard, Pheasant, Seagull, Kingfisher, Swallow, Humming Birds, Woodpeckers, Teal and Blue Tits.

The value of individual birds can start at about £40, with some of the larger ones sometimes 10 to 12 inches in height, fetching up to a £100 or so.

And sets of three of varying sizes can make as much as £200 depending on model.

Particularly rare is the Beswick Flamingo, which was all of 15 inches long, prone to breakage, and thus surviving examples are scarce. Current value is around £250!

In the late 1950s, Beswick also produced a series of Butterfly wall plaques, which seem to have been produced in fairly small numbers as they are so hard to find. Featuring butterflies such as the Red Admiral, the Clouded Yellow, and the Swallowtail, examples now fetch between £200 and £300 each.

The company also made a series of wall plaques in the form of dogs' heads, with prices mostly varying between £75 and £150.

Its human face wall plaques included a Jester, a Genie, and a Native American Indian, plus a series of girls with hats. Many of these are now in the £200 to £400 price category.

One of the reasons for the higher prices of some of these items is that they were often manufactured in much smaller numbers than more standard domestic pottery such as vases and jugs, and also because of the precarious nature of hanging any breakable item on a wall -- over the years many have fallen off and been smashed.