Fairs, Markets, Shops and Centres

New event unveiled which could become biannual if the launch is a success

Stately homes make for enticing backdrops to antiques fairs and the Grade II-Listed Himley Hall, near Dudley in Staffordshire, is no exception.

Oxford on High has been presented with the antiques retailer of the year award for Oxfordshire by Corporate LiveWire, a quarterly magazine for business professionals and the corporate finance sector.

Renovations at hotel venue mean Etc Fairs will have a smaller space but only for a short while.

“From our dealers’ viewpoint the important factor is that the kind of people now attracted to our antiques fair are serious collectors and it’s rare that anyone leaves without making some significant purchases.”

Stephanie Castell and Ben Cooper of Two Cs Antiques Fairs organise events in Oxfordshire and Worcestershire as well as their long-running event at Ludlow Racecourse.

Organiser Colin Caygill’s antiques and vintage fairs portfolio, established in 1981, now covers an impressive list running regularly at 12 long-standing venues across Northumberland, Durham, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire and Cumbria.

As an alternative to shopping in the high-street chains, a group of independents have set up a hub at 53 Bo’ Grove in Grove Road, Harrogate, with 20 traders selling art, antiques, decorative salvage and Mid-century pieces.

Michaela Millard of Rafael Fairs launched a monthly vintage and retro fleamarket at Chepstow Racecourse in Monmouthshire in August, and the next is on Sunday, October 20.

Under the Discover Vintage banner, Keeley Rosendale’s vintage home shows in Manchester and the Midlands continue to demonstrate the popularity of well-priced Mid-century furniture.

Judy Berger of Judy’s Vintage Fairs runs three regular vintage furniture fleas held in Leeds and London.

Donny Mann of Love Fairs, who organises regular antiques, collectables and vintage events at Lingfield Racecourse in Surrey and Brighton Racecourse in East Sussex, tells ATG that all the events are busy with lots of bookings.

For the first Peterborough Festival of Antiques under IACF ownership, continuity was the order of the day. In future, however, the fair organiser will look to extend the appeal of this public-oriented event.

Taiwanese couple Haiwei Shao (left) and Daniel Hong travel regularly to the UK to buy antique jewellery at fairs and auctions as stock for their business in the South China Sea island state. The pair sell period jewellery online, at a local Taiwanese fair and by appointment.

Malvern event organisers have fully booked halls and hope for more exhibitors outside.

Timing is important. Talking about her September Bath Vintage and Antiques Market, held every month in Bath’s old Green Park Station, Naomi Knight said: “Although we have lost some space over the years, we were fully booked with 45 high-quality dealers and there was a great atmosphere."

Carol and Robert Pugh of Towy Events are expecting a good turn-out of up to 200 standholders inside and out at their antiques and flea market at the Carmarthen Showground on Sunday, October 20.

The Lostwithiel Antique Fair was started by Lynne and Richard Bonehill (the late actor and sabre champion). The current organisers Anne and Nigel Allen will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the monthly fair on Sunday, October 13, in the town’s community centre.

Built in the 1960s, the family-owned Bedruthan Hotel at Mawgan Porth, near Newquay on the north Cornish coast, is set in a dramatic clifftop location overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

The 19-acre former South Crofty tin and copper mine in the village of Pool, near Redruth in west Cornwall, closed as recently as 1996 and is now part of a local mining landscape World Heritage Site.