Showground Fairs

ATG takes a visit to one of the largest fairs in the south of England where buyers come out in force

“All things considered, it’s been a pretty good year and we have high hopes of 2023 being a cracker”, enthused Richard Burgoin, director of Arthur Swallow Fairs as he looked back at its fairs and markets in 2022.

Some lucky youngsters were among the attendees at IACF’s Shepton Mallet Antiques Fair earlier this month.

“After a very busy Easter event which was spectacular, our Shepton Flea is back in full force with our next flea on Sunday, July 17”, says Sue Ede.

The largest showground fairs are so extensive that it would be impossible to browse items on all the stands in one day. IACF’s Newark Antiques Fair, for example, is held on an 84-acre site with up to 2500 stands.

Stall-holders report brisk trade during the latest staging of the huge West Sussex event

Snapshot of the successful Sunbury event that has been around for over 40 years

IACF Ardingly in January had a very enthusiastic thumbsup Tweet from Worthing dealer Henry Nicholls.

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Dealers will be heading to Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire this month with three days of buying beckoning from the two ‘biggies’.

Sunbury Antiques Market, better known simply as Kempton due to its Surrey racecourse location, last week became the first open-air fair to return after the most recent lockdown.

The art and antiques sector breathed a sigh of relief with the news that shops and centres, auction houses, markets and some fairs can reopen in England from December 2.

The buying crowd at IACF Ardingly was more local than usual but no less enthusiastic

Top tips from IACF’s Ardingly International Antiques & Collectors Fair.

International Antiques and Collectors Fairs (IACF) kicked off its return to business with its first event after lockdown.

The appetite people have for the return of fairs and markets is summed up by Alice Roberton from Arthur Swallow Fairs talking about the specially adapted, fully outdoor Covid-19 antiques and salvage market on Saturday, June 27.

“I’ve sold Jesus Christ… could I interest you in St Patrick?” So asked Martyn Watson of Penrith, Cumbria, stalling out in the Epic Centre and keen to shift his statue of Ireland’s patron saint.

Condensing a two-day event into one and moving to a new weekday slot are no mean feats – just ask Arthur Swallow Fairs, which has just launched a new streamlined format. ATG went along to the first edition to view the results.

Arthur Swallow Fairs’ Antiques & Home show may not have the moniker ‘international’ attached but the event attracts a strong overseas group of buyers who comb the fair, clutching sheets of shipping firm stickers to identify purchases for collection.