As has been announced in ATG, just for this year the revamped event replaces the SALVO fair and will take place at her home of Fawley Hill, Henley-on-Thames, on June 1-3.
SALVO organiser Thornton Kay – who is taking a year off – asked Lady McAlpine to change the name of the event to avoid confusion with his SALVO website. The name of Décor-Architectural was chosen “to ensure that both trade and public realised that this was still a primary source of architectural salvage”.
Lady McAlpine is conscious of having lost months of work on the event while her husband was in intensive care but is now more determined than ever to make it a success for his sake.
“This just has to be the best yet: and it will be dedicated to his memory,” she says. A ‘Sir William McAlpine’ award will be given to the best architectural salvage stand at the show, with another, probably chosen by the public, for the most attractive stand.
Dealers who have not yet booked are asked to call Lady McAlpine or book online as soon as possible so that she can ensure everyone has an appropriate pitch and can send out a plan by early May.
Special events
Trade day is Friday, June 1: there is a private view party that evening raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Care and the event is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday with the extra attraction of the Fawley Hill steam train running. It looks likely that, in honour of Sir William, there will be several traction engines and a gathering of vintage vehicles.
A memorial service will be held at his museum on Sunday, May 13, and Lady McAlpine asks that those wishing to attend let her know so she can gauge numbers. The museum will not be open for viewing that day but the train will run from 11am.
