Roger served a six year apprenticeship at the prestigious printers and lithographers WS Cowells in Ipswich, before changing careers and moving to St Ives in Cornwall, where he developed skills as a leather craftsman, exhibiting at the inaugural exhibition of the highly regarded Cornwall Crafts Association, where his artistic skills were put to good use.

Roger went on to have a successful career selling his craft work all over the World. While in St Ives, he developed a keen interest in the St Ives School of Artists and befriended a number of the artists. He has built up a large library of reference books relating to them over the years.

Roger became the book consultant at our predecessor firm of Hampton & Littlewood in 2002, where he was responsible for the sale of a number of important collections, including the Ron Morris Optical Toy and Moveable Image Collection, the Janet Hill Collection of Costume and Fashion Books and the Eileen Oates Collection of Cornish Books to name a few.

Since the formation of Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, he has helped to build one of the few dedicated specialist auction book departments in the West Country, capable of handling all printed materials, books, maps, manuscripts and early photography.

Roger now enjoys the solitude of Dartmoor, where he now lives, in the heart of the Moor and he is still to be found walking the Moors near his home, with his dog Reg.