Collectors and some of the 200-stong members of the club gather to buy and sell vintage stainless steel tableware manufactured en masse by J&J Wiggin – it was the wedding present of choice for many in the 1960s and ‘70s.
Some of the most sought-after pieces of Old Hall are the Alveston and Campden streamlined tableware ranges designed for Wiggin by Robert Welch, which has plenty of admirers among collectors of work by the best mid-century designers.
The term Old Hall is derived from a Salvation Army Mission Hall, known as The Old Hall. The company moved there in 1904 when the stable at the rear of the Wiggin family home became too small for the expanding business set up in 1893 by James Thomas Wiggin and his eldest son James Enoch (hence the name J&J Wiggin).
According to the club website: “William Wiggin made what is believed to be the world’s first item of stainless steel tableware (apart from cutlery) in 1928, which was a simple four-section toast rack. This was followed in 1930 by what is thought to be the world’s first stainless steel teapot.” The fair is at the Haling Dene Centre in Cannock Road, Penkridge.
