Eltham Palace, SE9, is synonymous with the sleek lines of Deco having been built by Virginia and Stephen Courtauld in the 1930s and it retains many of the original fixtures and fittings.
The Palace is administered by the Government agency English Heritage who came up with the inspired idea of an Art Deco fair on the premises. This will take place this Sunday, September 14 with some 14 specialist dealers, all with large spaces.
Among those taking part are Caswell’s 20th Century Furniture from Yorkshire, The Design Gallery 1850-1950 from Kent with furniture and sculpture and local boy Eltham Collectables, trading in Bakelite objects and jewellery.
Although the house is a Deco shrine, it also cleverly incorporates a medieval Great Hall – all that remains of Henry VIII’s boyhood home – and this is where the dealers will set up shop. A sliding screen separates the hall from the Deco mansion.
Admission to the fair is £8, which includes entry to the whole house and its gardens.
English Heritage look after about 14 historic properties around the country and such fairs seem a good way of raising funds – a spokesman told me last week that this Eltham fair could well become a regular fixture.
Palace place for Deco
DECO continues to be very much the field in favour and, while it is making its presence felt at fairs at all levels, you will be hard-pressed to find a location more in sympathy with the style than Eltham Palace in South London.
