Penman Fairs

An Oxfordshire antiques dealer will offer a rare and unusual piece of political satire at the upcoming Chester Antiques Show (October 12-15).

A painting coming to The Chelsea Antiques, Art & Design Fair is the earliest representation of the Dandie Dinmont, a small breed of Scottish terrier.

A WEEK before she launches her West London Art & Antiques Fair, Caroline Penman has announced another new summer event, The Towcester Antiques Fair which will take place at Towcester Racecourse in Northamptonshire from June 25 to 27.

AFTER 31 years Caroline Penman has axed her original London fixture, the West London Antiques Fair, which has been held at Kensington Town Hall every January since 1976.

ESTABLISHED in 1976, the annual West London Antiques Fair is traditionally the first quality fair of the year and a sure sign that the trade is well and truly back in harness after the seasonal break.

NEXT spring Caroline Penman launches a new fair at Chelsea Old Town Hall in King’s Road, London SW3. It will be called The King’s Road Antiques Fair and will run from March 11 to 13.

SUSSEX-based Caroline Penman, that doyenne of fair organisers, moved into Uckfield last year and it has not taken her long to stamp her identity on the small market town.

NOW well established, the twice-yearly Petersfield Antiques Fair, organised by Caroline Penman at the Hampshire town’s Festival Hall, is a traditional fair which usually ticks over to the general satisfaction of its 43 or so exhibitors.

NOW well established, the twice-yearly Petersfield Antiques Fair, organised by Caroline Penman at the Hampshire town’s Festival Hall, is a traditional fair which usually ticks over to the general satisfaction of its 43 or so exhibitors.

A DEALER from Melbourne, Australia was one of the first through the doors, and certainly the most welcome visitor at Caroline Penman’s first Bury St. Edmunds Antiques Fair, held at the Athenaeum in the Suffolk market town from September 3 to 5.

HAVING reported on trade expansion, it is equally encouraging to see seasoned organisers such as Robert Bailey and Caroline Penman in a similarly upbeat mood.

LONG-TIME readers may recall that I used to wonder why East Anglia, such a fertile ground for everything from agriculture to antiques shops, remained something of a wasteland in terms of fairs. What, I asked, held organisers back? The place may be a little off the beaten track but it is rich in artistic heritage from Cotman and Constable to Munnings, it has history from Hereward to Nelson and there has always been money from medieval wool days through to the present acres of wheatfields.

FEW fair organisers are bolder than Caroline Penman who, for decades, has been putting together such respected and traditional fixtures as the Chelsea and West London Antique Fairs. Not every Penman endeavour succeeds, but Caroline keeps coming up with new ideas and venues and, from September 3 to 5, she moves to East Anglia to launch the Bury St. Edmunds Antiques Fair at The Athenaeum in the Suffolk town’s Angel Square.

MANY were as intrigued as myself at Caroline Penman’s Tythe Barn Experience which took place from May 21 to 23.

AS if there are not enough fairs in June in London, busy Sussex organiser Caroline Penman has decided to launch another, but at least this is far from the centre of town and does not tread on the toes of any of the established events.

ATTENDANCE figures of 4243 at The 9th Annual Chelsea Art Fair, a Caroline Penman event at Chelsea Old Town Hall, were slightly up on last year, as were items sold (435), with many of the 45 exhibitors reporting reasonable sales.