On my doorstep
T he Shropshire borders have been home to me all of my life. It seems to be a ‘ Shropshire thing’ to be incredibly modest and so the county maintains that wonderful undiscovered feel, despite having an awful lot to shout about. It also has unspoilt villages and a real sense of the past. The Ironbridge Gorge This is a fantastic place to visit – you could spend weeks and not cover the whole thing. Other than the plethora of museums, it’s lovely just to take a stroll around Ironbridge, visit the antiques centre and walk over the bridge itself. * ironbridge.org.uk Check the website for details as conservation work is due to start on the historic bridge from April 2017 Shrewsbury You could take a stroll around the town and marvel at the beautiful architecture or along the river to The Quarry gardens, indulge in a spot of shopping or visit the antiques shops. My favourites are: Rosie’s Emporium, run by the gloriously bohemian Rosie and Bill (rosiesemporium.co.uk) and Memory Lane Antiques and Vintage (01743 236053), a family-run antiques centre. Whitchurch Whitchurch Antiques Centre is a regular haunt of mine where I source bits and pieces for my home. Don’t forget to stop by at one of our monthly auctions too. The town’s annual food, drink and vintage festival takes place from 20th–21st May. * whitchurchantiques.co.uk Glorious gardens A favourite place to get my spring fix is the bluebell walk at Combermere Abbey. Hodnet Hall and Dudmaston also hold bluebell walks. * combermereabbey.co.uk, hodnethallgardens.org, nationaltrust.org.uk/ dudmaston What to buy… My auction house is based in the turret clock factory vacated by JB Joyce & Co, a world-famous clockmakers, whose work includes the clocks within Shanghai Customs House and Worcester Cathedral. Between 1698 and 1886, 45 clockmakers are listed as working in Whitchurch alone. As a result, we see many clock-related lots within our auctions. Longcase clocks were extensively made in this area and are relatively under-appreciated. They’re not going to get much cheaper, so now is the time to buy, buy, buy!
Next month: we travel to Bordeaux for a spot of antiques hunting