All under one roof
Discover the world of antiques centres – home to an eclectic array of dealers, these one-stop shops offer a unique buying experience, says Emma Longstaff
While online shopping has boomed during the pandemic, it does tend to be a process. Britain’s rather soulless antiques centres offer an alternative, one-of-a-kind experience – the antidote to online monotony. The big appeal of antiques centres is the incredible variety of stock, all under one roof. Found across the UK, in towns and cities large and small, on the high street as well as in former stations, mills, and even air bases. Most are gloriously eclectic –a cabinet of Egyptian antiquities might sit alongside a collection of vintage toy cars or antique silver.
The concept of the antiques centre is simple: individual dealers rent a cabinet or floor space, usually paying a fixed fee each month and a small commission on everything they sell. Some, like Alfies and Grays in London, operate more like department stores, where the dealers man their own pitches and interact with customers directly. But most antiques centres handle all the sales for the dealers. This means sellers can rent space in multiple locations, or trade antiques alongside a full-time job, visiting to tidy and refresh their inventory. ‘For dealers, it’s like having a little shop, but without all the responsibilities,’ explains Michael Dunseath, co-owner of The Old Flight House, an antiques centre in Oxfordshire. The pandemic forced antiques centres to close for months, but business has been booming since reopening: ‘We’ve broken all records,’ adds Michael.
From hidden gems to huge warehouses, we’ve selected some of Britain’s most characterful. Come with a plan or with a totally open mind, ready to stumble upon the antique you never knew existed…
Hemswell Antique Centres
Hemswell, in Lincolnshire, is Europe’s biggest antiques centre, with over 68,000 square feet spread across four large buildings. This equates to an incredible 266 floor pitches, 388 cabinets, and tens of thousands of items for sale. Hemswell’s two cafes serve around 73,000 cups of tea and coffee to the quarter-of-a-million visitors who pass through their doors each year. Their stock encompasses everything from Roman coins to collectable Star Wars toys, and vintage buttons priced at a few pence to high-class jewellery worth thousands. In a weekend’s visit, you could conceivably furnish an entire house, from wardrobes down to vintage wooden spoons. Or go for something wackier – like a taxidermy squirrel.
Founders Rex and Nepi Miller bought RAF Hemswell as a derelict site in the mid 80s. They opened the first Hemswell Antiques Centre in a former airmen’s dormitory in 1986. In 1999, when his father passed away, Robert Miller stepped up to the role of managing director and has continued to develop the business. Most recently, after extensive renovation and the addition of an impressive galleried first floor, he opened Hemswell’s fourth building –a former guardroom at the entrance to the site.
Hemswell’s 400 dealers live all over the UK, explains Robert, from the Isle of Wight to north of Aberdeen, and even come from Europe, America and Australia. Some treat selling antiques more as a hobby, while for others it’s a full-time job that pays the mortgage. A small floor area starts at £125 a month to rent, and a cabinet is £100. Hemswell takes 6.5 per cent commission on sales. ‘Today, our customers cover a huge range,’ says Robert. ‘We have buyers fly in from all over the world, from as far away as Texas or Taiwan. Sometimes they fill a shipping container. But we also have people coming to find a birthday present, or collectors hunting for something really niche. We deal with a lot of commercial buyers, too, like film production companies looking for props, or hoteliers fitting out a castle. They might want 20 or 30 different beds or chests of drawers. It might take us a few months to find everything they need – but we can do it.’
The profile of customers is also changing: ‘We’re seeing a lot more young people – often they’re attracted by things they’ve seen on social media. They want something unique that their friends don’t have. But they’re also realising that antiques are much better quality and value – they’ve lasted for a hundred or so years, and they’ll still be here in a hundred more.’
Like other retailers, Hemswell closed its doors when the country went into lockdown. Fortunately, they had already developed a website that enabled dealers to upload and sell their own stock online, and Hemswell’s staff were on hand to help less tech-savvy dealers with listings. The number of online transactions promptly doubled.
The pandemic made them find other new ways of doing business, reflects Robert: ‘When we had to close, professional buyers, like interior designers, still needed to source stock, so we introduced one-to-one virtual video tours. Sometimes a customer might want to look in detail at some really small items – recently I was helping someone choose vesta cases – or they want to tour the whole building. It’s an innovation that we plan to continue, like the one-way system that helps people to find their way round the site. In lots of ways, the pandemic has made us stronger.’
near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire hemswell-antiques.com
Scottish Antique and Arts Centre
In the mid 1990s, antiques dealers Elaine and Bob Templeman founded two centres – one in the village of Abernyte (off the road between Perth and Dundee), and another in Doune (closer to Glasgow). Surrounded by breathtaking moors, forest and hills, they possibly have the most stunning location of any antiques business in the UK. Alongside antiques, the centres include an interesting mix of contemporary homewares, fashion, and deli goodies. Their 100 dealers cover the full gamut of antiques and collectables, including a strong selection of Scottish antiques – framed local maps, books by Scottish authors, and handsome Scottish furniture. Dealers Malcolm Innes and Iona MacKinnon stock Scottish landscape and sporting pictures. Other sellers focus on Scottish silver and jewellery. If you’re lucky, you might find a Celtic revival brooch by Alexander Ritchie, who trained at the pioneering Glasgow School of Art and opened a small workshop on Iona in 1899. Or for the full Scottish immersive experience, how about a vintage kilt and sporran?
Abernyte, Perthshire and Doune, Stirlingshire, Scotland scottish-antiques.com
Red House Antique Centre
Yards from the Minster, striking Red House was once home to York’s Lord Mayor. When his term of office ended, he liked it so much he refused to move, laughs owner Tim Hogarth. You might similarly find it hard to tear yourself away from the well-curated cabinets and small rooms, covering everything from vintage tools to Victorian jewellery. The Roman and other antiquities are especially popular with visitors wanting a souvenir of historic York, says Tim. And after a day’s busy sightseeing, the tick-tocking of ‘The Clock Room’, with its exceptional display of Northern longcases, is surprisingly calming.
York, North Yorkshire redhouseantiquesyork.com
Preston Antique Centre
Horrocks was once one of the largest cotton manufacturers in the world, and the pride of Lancashire. One of their few remaining mill buildings is now occupied by Preston Antique Centre. At over 50,000 square feet, it’s the biggest in the North West, filling three huge floors where in decades past the spinning machines clattered away. Its size lends itself well to displays of larger furniture, spanning everything from Georgian mahogany bookcases to 1960s sideboards. Some of the stock is wonderfully eccentric – one dealer focuses on old painted pub signs and brewing paraphernalia. David Siddall, who has one of the biggest collections of Mouseman and Arts and Crafts oak furniture in the UK, also has a showroom here.
Preston, Lancashire prestonantiquecentre.co.uk
Grays and Alfies Antiques
London’s premier antiques centres – Grays and Alfies – were both founded by Bennie Gray in the mid 1970s. Alfies, which fills a former Deco department store in Marylebone, is named after his father, a jazz musician. Alfies features more than 80 dealers, who specialise in everything from Middle Eastern antiquities to vintage costume jewellery. There’s also a handy onsite picture framer, an upholsterer, a working jeweller and a clockmaker. A mile and a half away, just a stone’s throw from Selfridges and the upmarket boutiques of Bond Street, Grays has the UK’s largest selection of fine antique jewellery, as well as silver, watches and other luxuries.
Central London graysantiques.com; alfiesantiques.com
The Old Flight House
Ten years ago, Sally and Michael Dunseath opened The Old Flight House in a 6,000-square-foot former RAF building. They’ve worked hard to make it light, airy and welcoming. ‘We want people to be able to imagine exactly how things will look in their own homes,’ explains Michael. Their 75 dealers aim for a high standard, setting up their pitches as elegant room sets and making their cabinets sparkle. The emphasis is on decorative antiques and furniture, often in chalky tones, with a French country style – think statement mirrors, stone urns, and farmhouse tables.
near Bicester, Oxfordshire theoldflighthouse.co.uk
Station Mill Antiques Centre
On the edge of Chipping Norton, this busy Cotswolds centre is popular with discerning locals and out-of-town visitors who come to mooch the well-styled space. Across the two floors and 10,000 or so square feet, there’s an enormous range of styles and periods, but the main focus is on pieces that will fit effortlessly with modern interiors – Art Deco leather club chairs, bright cushions, old French linen and enamelware, and cheerful 20th-century oil paintings.
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire stationmill.com
Petworth Antiques Market
Petworth is an antiques and foodie hotspot, filled with interesting independent shops, says Kathryn Mandry, manager of the Petworth Antiques Market, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022. As well as a mix of high-quality traditional antiques, their 38 dealers encompass some quirky specialisms – rocking horses, so-called ‘mantiques’ (things like hip flasks and cufflinks), and walking sticks. ‘A lot of our customers are creatives, and so they are very open-minded in what they are looking for – unusual, one-off statement pieces or colourful accents. Some customers may well have come from their Petworth House tour and not been able to touch stuff, but with us they can actually take it home!’ says Kathryn.
Petworth, West Sussex petworthantiquesmarket.com
Dairy House Antiques and Interiors
A few miles outside Shaftesbury, the appropriately named Dairy House is based in a former milk depot. Handily on the same site as two auction houses, and another antiques business, it’s become a destination for shoppers looking for something they wouldn’t find on the typical high street. Owner Debbie Jeffery tries to make the centre friendly and unintimidating, so everyone feels welcome. The mainly country-style stock ranges from pretty pine chests of drawers and wicker hampers, to blue-and-white china, galvanised planters and vintage kitchenware. Their 30 dealers also include specialists in glass, silver and dolls’ house furniture.
near Shaftesbury, Dorset dairyhouseantiques.com
The Malthouse Antiques, Arts and Artifacts
This atmospheric antiques centre fills two floors of a former malthouse – unusually for the local area it’s built from granite blocks, probably salvaged from the ruins of nearby Narberth Castle. Some of the 30-plus dealers celebrate Welsh heritage, with vibrant tapestry blankets and pottery from Portmeirion, Ewenny or Gwili, however you’re equally likely to find a sumptuous Oriental rug or Art Deco cocktail cabinet. Outside at the back are garden antiques including vintage tools, galvanised wash tubs and watering cans – plus a pretty selection of herbaceous plants and perennials, all grown in an environmentally friendly way.
Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Wales malthouseantiqueswales.co.uk
