TRAVEL: FESTIVE ANTIQUES SHOPS
From vintage decorations to antiques and curios, these eight fantastically festive antiques shops – pu ing their own unique spin on Christmas – are day-out destinations worth travelling for
Our pick of shops that are guaranteed to get you into the Christmas spirit this December
1.LASSCO ROPEWALK Bermondsey, London
Reclamation specialist LASSCO – The London Architectural Salvage and Supply Company – always embraces the festive season with gusto. This year, the main activities outside its Bermondsey ooring and salvage showrooms at Ropewalk are centred on the annual
Maltby Street Christmas Market, famed as much for its award-winning traders and food stalls, as for its impressive Victorian railway arches. Taking place from 22nd November to 20th December
(Friday nights, 6pm to 9.30pm), the market will be decked out in twinkly lights, with carollers from local schools and churches, festive traders, mulled wine and Christmas cocktails. And there will be plenty of opportunity to buy festive gi s and reclaimed relics, both from LASSCO, and from a new range of pop-up homeware, interiors, lifestyle and plant concessions by the likes of Labour and Wait, Forest London and Mark Lewis Interior Design.
If you want to make a real weekend of it, LASSCO’s landmark Brunswick
House restaurant and bar in Vauxhall – set inside a Georgian mansion, with an ever-changing stock of characterful architectural salvage for sale – is taking Christmas bookings. Don’t hang about… lassco.co.uk
Maltby Street Christmas Market is famed as much for its award-winning traders as for its Victorian arches.
2. THE BOULE-IN Bildeston, Su olk
Located in the charming village of Bildeston, Boule-in is a ourishing French antiques business that o ers something a li le di erent. Started in 2011 by Peter and Cathy Bullen, it hosts four seasonal, French-style
‘fêtes’ each year, including a popular Christmas fair (Fête de Noël), which runs from 16th to 24th November,
10am to 6pm (late-night shopping on 21st November until 8.30pm).
Designed to encourage gi shopping and inspire visitors with decorative styling ideas for the home, the fair showcases all manner of authentic French antiques, vintage
and design-led pieces, mid-century furniture and objets d’art. These are sourced directly by Peter and Cathy from brocantes, markets and dealers in Provence, and displayed in specially curated interior and garden spaces at the High Street premises.
You’ll likely be greeted with grape vines twisted with fairy lights, traditional French Christmas carols,
and a co ee (or mulled wine!) to nurse as you browse the eclectic range of stock. The focus is very much on
‘a ordable gi ing’ – many of the pieces are beautifully presented in ribboned, vintage-style boxes, inspiring shoppers to give antiques as original and thoughtful presents. This year, there’s even an original 40-piece antique French nativity scene, sure to charm children and adults alike. boule-in.co.uk
3. DOMESTIC SCIENCE Tetbury and Nailsworth, Glos
Whether you choose to visit Domestic Science in Tetbury or Nailsworth – residing in a multi-storey Georgian townhouse and an old textile mill respectively – this curated home, vintage and lifestyle store is worth a trip. Proprietor Libs Lewis prides herself on the original, quirky and o beat stock with new products nestling alongside old.
As well as an impressive selection of contemporary home and kitchenware, sourced from around the world, antiques are an integral part of her o ering. The shop is chock-full of unique items, with displays incorporating vintage nds, from a handsome French bed to a gnarly Balinese teak bench. Additional fare for Christmas includes stocking llers, nostalgic curiosities, and toys for children, plus decorations, candles and votives. Both stores will also be hosting a Christmas shopping
evening in November (keep an eye on the website for details), with their respective in-house cafes serving plenty of treats and artisan co ee in the run-up to Christmas. With Nailsworth and Tetbury in particular both renowned for their proliferation of antiques shops, it’s a great excuse for a day’s mooching. domesticsciencehome.co.uk
4.THE ANTIQUES CENTRE York, North Yorkshire
York is o en voted one of the best places to live in the UK, and with good reason, considering its Roman and Viking past, thriving independent shops, and proximity to the glorious North York Moors. Its antiques o ering is impressive, too: located right in the heart of the city, York Antiques Centre is the largest in the region, with a notable
community of over 120 dealers selling a dizzying array of antiques, jewellery and collectables over three oors, from medieval antiquities and vintage toys to Georgian silver and Christmas vases, brooches and decorations.
While the Centre is promising an immersive festive experience this year, decking out its space from top to bo om, York itself always goes big on yuletide celebrations. The famous York
Christmas Festival comes to town on 14th November and runs until 22nd December. Expect swag upon swag of
magical lights draped like a spider’s web across the main shopping area, Parliament Street, as you wend your way to the tune of carollers towards the Made
in Yorkshire Yuletide Village. Just a stone’s throw from The Shambles (where the buildings lean in so close you could almost hold hands with your neighbour across the street from the top oor) you’ll be able to sample festive victuals and pick up locally made gi s from artisan designer-makers. theantiquescentreyork.co.uk
5. RE Corbridge, Northumberland
Situated in the quaint village of Corbridge, RE is a cavernous and inviting space. Step inside the old industrial unit and you’ll discover a wealth of home and gardenware, restored and
recycled pieces, gorgeous decorations, and interesting found and vintage objects picked up by owners Simon Young and Jenny Vaughan. It’s a veritable emporium, teeming with pa erns, colours, wonderful fragrances and unexpected nds around every corner. From ornate old German
bierkrugs, pa erned Romanian textiles and enamelled French water pitchers to RE’s own products designed by Jenny and Simon – baroqueinspired bone china, printed cushions, rusted ornaments and more – you’ll be awed by the warm splashes of colour.
The entire village is open for the annual late-night Christmas shopping event, which this year takes place on
2nd December, with shops serving festive tipples, market stalls, and a Christmas choir. RE is well-known for its impressive Christmas displays and it promises another striking seasonal o ering this year, featuring festive stock. If last year’s centrepiece display of fans and snow akes suspended from the ra ers is anything to go by, it’ll be suitably dramatic – even REmarkable, you might say. re-foundobjects.com
6. CATESBYS Exton, Rutland
At this time of year, the Georgian home (pictured) of Neil Honor and Jonathon Pegg – co-owners of online interiors, home accessories and antiques shop Catesbys – becomes a shrine to Christmas. Using their barn as a pop-up home store, they’re open for special events, including their
Christmas Fair on 9th November (10am to 4pm), with a marquee, stalls throughout the house and even a pop-up cafe in the kitchen. The barn itself is then open at weekends in the run-up to Christmas, and is well worth a visit (do check the website for opening hours before travelling).
Inside, you’ll nd an array of charming and unique antique and vintage pieces, mostly picked up by Neil and Jonathon on their travels. In addition, they intend to sell both old and new delights for Christmas, from antique glasses, ice buckets and silver-plate trays, to original and unique
decorations, including an exclusive range of vintage decorations, handmade by German artisans using 100-year-old moulds and time-honoured techniques. With the promise of warming res, carols and festive refreshments, you’ll be ge ing in the Christmas spirit before you know it. catesbys.co.uk
RE is well-known for its seasonal displays and promises another striking o ering this year.
7. TOBIAS & THE ANGEL Mortlake, London
Antiques shops don’t get more Christmassy or quirky than Tobias and the Angel. It’s a true one-o . Since opening in 1986, owner Angel Hughes has transformed her homely shop in London’s Mortlake into a go-to treasure trove of
covetable antiques, curios, hand-blockprinted fabrics, custom-built furniture, stationery and more. But the shop really comes into its own from around midNovember onwards, when Angel and her team fastidiously transform it into a magical Christmas wonderland, thronged with all manner of trinkets and musthaves – row upon row of handembroidered (and highly collectable) angels and fairies; all manner of beautiful vintage and glass baubles and decorations;
enormous witch balls hanging from the ceiling; intricate garlands and Christmas trees; ornate antique stars made from old cloths and ribbons; dainty Turkish slippers fashioned from 18th and 19th-century materials; plus hand-printed wrapping
paper, candles glowing, and fragrant pot pourri, oranges and cloves… Almost like a beguiling fairy tale come to life, it feels – and smells – like the best Christmas ever. tobiasandtheangel.com
8. HORNER ANTIQUES
Marylebone, London
Trading for over 40 years, Al es Antique Market is one of London’s largest indoor antiques destinations. Its art deco building hosts a panoply of established dealers selling antiques, art, jewellery, fashion and collectables. One of its most popular dealers at this time of year is Horner Antiques, with a Christmas
extravaganza of multi-hued and intriguing decorations, dating from c1900-1970. The range includes glass pieces from the former Soviet Union,
Japan, the United States, Poland and pre-First World War Germany, which form the basis of a festive gro o in Michael’s unit and window. It also features beautiful glass and oriental porcelain and promises to be a real crowd-pleaser. Al es usually has a Christmas party and late-night
shopping evenings too, due to be announced shortly.
While you’re there, it would be a shame not to explore the eastern half of Church Street, with more antiques shops such as Young & Son, Vincenzo Ca arella and Victoria Harvey. It’s considered one of the best antiques enclaves in London and is as much of a tourist a raction as Al es itself. alfiesantiques.com