Holden said just before the latest reopening: “It was going great guns from then until October and then again in the couple of weeks in December. We sold as much in those weeks as we had in any of the previous months.”
He added: “Fortunately we’ve retained almost all our dealers by giving 85% rent reductions made possible by the help we’ve received from the government by way of grants.
“In January we upgraded our website to include a stock gallery of hundreds of items, but still only a fraction of the total stock. It has led to a few good sales, and we had items sold out of the window to various local customers. We are looking forward to the future.”
Armed and ready
This is a page from a c.1870 military album priced at £345 with West Street Antiques which contains 70 carte de visite photographs of mostly Scottish officers and their families plus photographs of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The officer pictured is wearing the uniform of the Queen’s Own Scottish Borderers.
Philip Spooner, managing partner of arms and armour specialist West Street Antiques in Dorking, which has reopened by appointment, advises that the shop will fully reopen from the second week in May.
A regular exhibitor at arms fairs across the UK, Spooner said: “We have outdoor fairs at the monthly Kempton Vintage & Classic Arms Fair starting on May 2 through to September and indoor fairs when we are allowed.”
Dovehouse date confirmed
Jane Alexander of Dovehouse Fine Antiques Fairs has confirmed a date of Saturday, May 23, for her antiques and decorative arts fair in Dorking at the Dorking Halls.
