Keen on Fleas
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KEEN on
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ROMANTIC HOMES • romantichomes.com
Where and when to find the best antiques for the best prices across England. BY ELAINE K. PHILLIPS P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S A N D Y P R I C E A N D E M I LY L A X E R
RH_1308-100-102-PAGES2 5/31/13 3:35 AM Page 101
I
t’s no surprise: After
1,500 years of history, England has an overabundance of antiques, displayed in prestigious museums, treasured in university collections and tucked away in private homes. The trick is finding antiques for sale—and Sandy Price lets you in on the secret. Her book, The Vintage & Antiques Fairs of England, is a curated directory of the nation’s best flea markets, carefully researched and beautifully photographed. During your next trip across the pond, check out these five fleas she earmarks as among England’s best.
LONDON & VICINITY Old Spitalfields Antique & Vintage Flea Market Commercial Street, London Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oldspitalfieldsmarket.com
What you’ll find: High-end and shabby antique furnishings, World War II paraphernalia, mid-century-modern house wares, industrial salvage and collectibles.
Why you’ll love it: A centuries-old neighborhood, Spitalfields birthed the ground-roots restoration movement that swept through London in the 1970s. Today, the ambience at the fair remains friendly and passionate; as Price notes, specialist vendors choose to sell here because they enjoy “the positive atmosphere and the camaraderie they have with other sellers.”
The Vintage & Antiques Fairs of England by
Sandy Price, Frances Lincoln Limited Publishers © 2013; franceslincoln.com.
THE EAST & SOUTHEAST
furniture, militaria and other collectibles of virtually every era and price range.
The Peterborough Festival of Antiques
Why you’ll love it:
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire Twice a year, in spring and fall. Bobevansfairs.co.uk
What you’ll find: Antique and vintage ceramics, jewelry,
With its low entrance fee, easy accessibility and 1,700 vendors, the Peterborough Festival is “the ideal fair,” Price writes. It also offers an unforgettable lunch break: Don a festival re-entrance wristband and head to the city’s 12thcentury Norman cathedral. AUGUST 2013
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RH_1308-100-102-PAGES2 5/31/13 3:35 AM Page 102
pages THE MIDLANDS The Bakewell Antiques and Collectibles Fair Bakewell Showground, Derbyshire Five Tuesdays a year. Blueskyeantiquesfairs.com
What you’ll find: Rustic and primitive items, such as antique furniture, brass and copper hardware, and well-worn linens.
Why you’ll love it: Small and intimate, this fair boasts a picturesque setting in the midst of Peak District National Park—a draw for Jane Austen devotees worldwide. During the height of the August tourist season, the fair is at its largest, and the “charming” nearby town buzzes with visitors keen to taste the tearooms’ world-famous Bakewell pudding.
THE SOUTHWEST The International Westpoint Antiques & Collectors Fair Exeter, Devon Three weekends a year Continuityfairs.co.uk
What you’ll find: High-end antiques, such as fine china, mahogany furniture, Tiffany diamond jewelry and coveted Welsh wool blankets.
Why you’ll love it: The fair offers a well-organized experience for professional dealers. Feel free to ask the expert vendors for more information about their clearly labeled wares, and be sure to spend your lunch break enjoying the cathedral café’s cream tea and stained-glass windows.
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THE NORTH The Great Wetherby Racecourse Antiques Fair Wetherby, West Yorkshire Seven or eight weekends a year Jaguarfairs.com
What you’ll find: Reasonably priced vintage and rustic items, such as clock pieces, Depression glass, railway collectibles, pewter kitchenware and worn luggage.
ROMANTIC HOMES • romantichomes.com
Why you’ll love it: “Though it is hard to explain, you feel that you have experienced something different in coming here—maybe a sense that you are interacting with a local scene that is in harmony with its surroundings,” Price writes. I know what she means: West Yorkshire is my favorite part of England, with its open moors and dales, warm culture and spectacular York Minster.
pages
KEEN on
Fleas
100
ROMANTIC HOMES • romantichomes.com
Where and when to find the best antiques for the best prices across England. BY ELAINE K. PHILLIPS P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S A N D Y P R I C E A N D E M I LY L A X E R
RH_1308-100-102-PAGES2 5/31/13 3:35 AM Page 101
I
t’s no surprise: After
1,500 years of history, England has an overabundance of antiques, displayed in prestigious museums, treasured in university collections and tucked away in private homes. The trick is finding antiques for sale—and Sandy Price lets you in on the secret. Her book, The Vintage & Antiques Fairs of England, is a curated directory of the nation’s best flea markets, carefully researched and beautifully photographed. During your next trip across the pond, check out these five fleas she earmarks as among England’s best.
LONDON & VICINITY Old Spitalfields Antique & Vintage Flea Market Commercial Street, London Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oldspitalfieldsmarket.com
What you’ll find: High-end and shabby antique furnishings, World War II paraphernalia, mid-century-modern house wares, industrial salvage and collectibles.
Why you’ll love it: A centuries-old neighborhood, Spitalfields birthed the ground-roots restoration movement that swept through London in the 1970s. Today, the ambience at the fair remains friendly and passionate; as Price notes, specialist vendors choose to sell here because they enjoy “the positive atmosphere and the camaraderie they have with other sellers.”
The Vintage & Antiques Fairs of England by
Sandy Price, Frances Lincoln Limited Publishers © 2013; franceslincoln.com.
THE EAST & SOUTHEAST
furniture, militaria and other collectibles of virtually every era and price range.
The Peterborough Festival of Antiques
Why you’ll love it:
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire Twice a year, in spring and fall. Bobevansfairs.co.uk
What you’ll find: Antique and vintage ceramics, jewelry,
With its low entrance fee, easy accessibility and 1,700 vendors, the Peterborough Festival is “the ideal fair,” Price writes. It also offers an unforgettable lunch break: Don a festival re-entrance wristband and head to the city’s 12thcentury Norman cathedral. AUGUST 2013
101
RH_1308-100-102-PAGES2 5/31/13 3:35 AM Page 102
pages THE MIDLANDS The Bakewell Antiques and Collectibles Fair Bakewell Showground, Derbyshire Five Tuesdays a year. Blueskyeantiquesfairs.com
What you’ll find: Rustic and primitive items, such as antique furniture, brass and copper hardware, and well-worn linens.
Why you’ll love it: Small and intimate, this fair boasts a picturesque setting in the midst of Peak District National Park—a draw for Jane Austen devotees worldwide. During the height of the August tourist season, the fair is at its largest, and the “charming” nearby town buzzes with visitors keen to taste the tearooms’ world-famous Bakewell pudding.
THE SOUTHWEST The International Westpoint Antiques & Collectors Fair Exeter, Devon Three weekends a year Continuityfairs.co.uk
What you’ll find: High-end antiques, such as fine china, mahogany furniture, Tiffany diamond jewelry and coveted Welsh wool blankets.
Why you’ll love it: The fair offers a well-organized experience for professional dealers. Feel free to ask the expert vendors for more information about their clearly labeled wares, and be sure to spend your lunch break enjoying the cathedral café’s cream tea and stained-glass windows.
102
THE NORTH The Great Wetherby Racecourse Antiques Fair Wetherby, West Yorkshire Seven or eight weekends a year Jaguarfairs.com
What you’ll find: Reasonably priced vintage and rustic items, such as clock pieces, Depression glass, railway collectibles, pewter kitchenware and worn luggage.
ROMANTIC HOMES • romantichomes.com
Why you’ll love it: “Though it is hard to explain, you feel that you have experienced something different in coming here—maybe a sense that you are interacting with a local scene that is in harmony with its surroundings,” Price writes. I know what she means: West Yorkshire is my favorite part of England, with its open moors and dales, warm culture and spectacular York Minster.
