Homes & Antiques

STYLE & DECORATING| FAIRS & AUCTIONS | EXPERT ADVICE | EXHIBITIONS STYLISH & SUSTAINABLE Young hearts & minds At your fingertips Fostering a love of heritage in the next Antiquing online, and the websites generation to bookmark TRAVEL PLUS ROOMS FOR THE JOY OF WELSH LOVE ROMANCE + SPOONS SIX OF THE BEST DECORATING CHOCOLATIERS WITH STRIPES Layered A BUYER’S GUIDE TO TRADITIONAL living MARRIAGE CHESTS Four welcoming homes with a relaxed approach to mixing old and new

AUCTION 25 JANUARY 2023 LIVE ONLINE | EDINBURGH A wonderfully considered private collection featuring works from the Arts & Crafts movement right through to mid-century design to Modern & Contemporary art. For more information please visit our website or contact Philip Smith | 0207 930 9115 | [email protected] EDINBURGH 0131 557 8844 | LONDON | GLASGOW | Viewing info, Catalogue & free online bidding at www.lyonandturnbull.com

86 Page 28 16 30 Get 3 issues for £5 when you subscribe to H&A 44 CONTENTS HOMES 14 IN THE SPOTLIGHT The artist Thomas Gainsborough’s 36 PERFECTLY PROPORTIONED A neglected house reopens to the public Georgian townhouse has been transformed into a haven of understated style 16 STYLE NOW Love tokens, decorating with stripes, and Francesca Rowan-Plowden talks 44 COASTAL COOL Caroline Briggs has to us about her shop, Ferry Road Store used antique, vintage and reclaimed finds to furnish her seaside Edwardian home ANTIQUES & COLLECTING 52 RESTORING GLORY A careful renovation of a hall in North Wales has revealed original 72 FABRIC OF LIFE Celia Rufey explores features including an impressive fireplace the origins of Make Do and Mend and discovers new followers who possess both 60 MEETING OF MINDS A couple with a fashionable eye and social conscience seemingly disparate tastes met in the middle to create a harmonious place to live together 75 OPEN ALL HOURS We take a look at the world of online antiques portals and explain NEWS & SHOPPING why they’re a brilliant and safe way to shop 8 THE MONTH Antiques with snowdrop 80 TO HAVE AND TO HOLD A buyer’s guide to motifs, a major Vermeer exhibition in ornately carved and painted marriage chests Amsterdam, folk costume, and more February 2023 Homes & Antiques 3

Contents 52 72 8 89 84 WORCESTER TAKES FLIGHT (& BARR) 30 CAPTURING YOUNG HEARTS & MINDS Willa Latham takes us on a history tour of The heritage projects engaging young people the company that would eventually become the great Royal Worcester factory 94 RESTORE & RENOVATE Caring for and repairing period cornicing 86 WHY I COLLECT Jonathon and Yvonne Holder of Welsh Vernacular Antiques share 98 ROOMS FOR ROMANCE Gorgeous places their love for Welsh love spoons to stay with your beloved this Valentine’s Day 89 STAR SALES Choice lots from recent 104 SIX OF THE BEST CHOCOLATE SHOPS auctions, selected by Caroline Wheater Rhiannon Batten finds the sweet spots 92 ASK AN EXPERT Your questions answered 114 PORTRAIT OF AN ANTIQUE by this month’s experts, Katherine Wright Elizabeth Hay’s ironstone jug collection and Steven Moore REGULARS FEATURES 7 EDITOR’S LETTER 107 FAIRS & AUCTIONS 26 BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUM 28 SUBSCRIPTIONS ON THE COVER Laura Bauld, the project curator at The 70 COMING NEXT ISSUE Burrell Collection in Glasgow, takes us on a tour of the museum 4 Homes & Antiques February 2023



ALSO AVAILABLE Our Media Ltd (an Immediate Group Company), ON YOUR SCREEN Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST Homes & Antiques is Editorial [email protected] also available on your Advertising 0117 300 8805 Subscriptions 0333 016 2117 smartphone or tablet – visit buysubscriptions.com/ Editorial homesandantiques on your digital device, and choose the Editor Charlotte Packer ‘Digital Edition’ tab. You can Senior Production Editor Rachel Nott buy single issues or take out a subscription so you always Senior Features Editor Katie Pike have H&A to hand. Digital & Editorial Assistant Molly Malsom COVER PHOTO Antiques Writer Caroline Wheater Jody Stewart Design Subscribe Today! Art Director Christianne Raymer Get 3 issues for £5 when you take Deputy Art Editor Kirsty Lyons out a subscription to H&A, p28 Advertising Romantic hotel Group Advertising Manager Laura Jones escapes, p100. Advertising Manager Heather Golden Business Development Managers Rebecca Thornbury Castle Janyshiwskyj, Phil Wallington, Sophie Keenan Brand Sales Executives Kelly Warden, James Beckett Advertising Designer Camilla Owen Marketing & Production Subscriptions Director Jacky Perales-Morris Senior Direct Marketing Manager Aimee Rhymer Director of Licensing and Syndication Tim Hudson Syndication Manager Richard Bentley Production Director Sarah Powell Production Coordinator Lauren Morris PR Manager Emma Cooney Publishing Managing Director Our Media Homes and Gardens Marie Davies Head of Brand Marketing Rosa Sher wood Group Managing Director Our Media Andy Marshall CEO Tom Bureau © Our Media Ltd (an Immediate Group Company), 2023, member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Unsolicited manuscripts and transparencies are accepted on the understanding that the publisher incurs no liability for their storage or return. The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced without permission. All prices are correct at the time of going to press. The publisher, editor and authors accept no responsibility in respect of any products, goods or services which may be advertised or referred to in this issue or for any errors, omissions, misstatements or mistakes in any such advertisements or references. Homes & Antiques (ISSN 0968-1485) February 2023, issue 368 is published monthly with an extra issue in September by Our Media Ltd (an Immediate Group Company), Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST, UK. Standard subscription rates: UK £71.50 per annum; EIRE and Europe £90.87 for 13 issues; rest of the world £110.63 for 13 issues. Subscription records are maintained at Our Media Ltd (an Immediate Group Company), Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST, UK. Every effort has been made to secure permission for copyright material. In the event of any material being used inadvertently, or where it proved impossible to trace the copyright owner, acknowledgement will be made in a future issue. The Immediate Media Company Limited is working to ensure that all of its paper is sourced from well-managed forests. This magazine can be recycled. We abide by IPSO’s rules and regulations. To give feedback about our magazines, please visit immediate.co.uk, email [email protected] or write to Katherine Conlon, Immediate Media Co, Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London, W6 7BT. Talking H&A For information on an accessible version of Homes & Antiques for blind or partially sighted people, please call RNIB Newsagent on 0303 123 9999. If enquiring on someone’s behalf, please consult them first. 6 Homes & Antiques February 2023

Editor’s Letter elcome to the Tell us what February issue inspires you in this of H&A! From issue of H&A. Tag uplifting interiors @homes_antiques on to in-depth buying Instagram or use the guides, we’ve got every aspect of email address, left living with antiques covered. guide to the leading portals Turn to Style Now (p16) for the latest for buying antiques online. interiors news and Kiera Buckley-Jones’ Caroline Wheater has done the pick of this season’s stripes – perfect for (virtual) legwork, so all you need to do curtains or revamping an old sofa. is set aside a little time to browse. On page 30, Rhiannon Batten meets But, if you are itching to get out and the curators and craftsmen and women about, keen to see and buy antiques in the encouraging the next generation to enter flesh, our regular listings are at the back the worlds of antiques and traditional of the magazine with all the dates you crafts – these young people will be looking need. Happy hunting! after our heritage in the future. Although different in style, this Charlotte Packer, Editor month’s homes clearly demonstrate their owners’ love of antiques. In all four, a deft approach to layering pieces from different eras has resulted in rooms that feel fresh and inviting, as well as unique and intriguing. And if you are inspired by what you see, and feel tempted to seek out similar ceramics, textiles and decorative items, turn to page 75, where you will find our 1 Portrait: Beatrice Berger 2 PIECES THAT Fabric: Harbour Stripe merino wool in rose, £120 per m, Tori Murphy 3 CAUGHT MY EYE 1. As a statement piece, an elaborately painted marriage chest is hard to beat p80 2. Glorious in their quirky variety, the appeal of Welsh love spoons never wanes, and they remain hugely collectable p86 3. Proof, if it were needed, that there’s more to Spode than its Blue Italian transferware p89 February 2023 Homes & Antiques 7

Eighteenth-century travel writers, masterpieces by Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, a fine porcelain auction and lots more… EDITED BY CAROLINE WHEATER & RACHEL NOTT CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE A modern Cairncross of Perth snowdrop brooch, set with Scottish freshwater pearls in 18 carat gold, sold for £1,890 at Lyon & Turnbull; an early 20th-century Pilkington Royal Lancastrian lustre bowl features a repeating snowdrop design created by pottery artist William Mycock, and sold for £338 at Sworders; a tubeline decorated ‘Snowdrop and Bee’ charger by Sally Tuffin for Dennis Chinaworks, c2000, sold for £260 at Woolley & Wallis. THE ANTIQUE Snowdrop Motifs Midwinter is here but, even during the coldest months, decorate pewter trinket boxes made in the Art Nouveau snowdrops are pushing up through the frosty earth, style. Snowdrops are found adorning textile samplers, brooches, bowls and plates, even lighting as evidenced bringing elegance to our gardens, parks and woodlands, by Gallé’s rare ‘Corolla’ electric lamps, featuring veined and the promise of spring. As such, snowdrops are viewed snowdrop petals as lampshades. as a symbol of hope and regeneration and have found Closer to our own times, designer Sally Tuffin’s ‘Snowdrop their way onto many an antique piece, from vases and plates to jewellery, metalwares, textiles and wallpaper. and Bee’ limited-edition charger for Dennis Chinaworks For example, their pretty nodding heads can be found on celebrates everything we love about these prettiest late 19th-century art glass by French makers Émile Gallé of plants, and is a motif she returned to in other and the Daum Brothers, and on enamel panels used to ceramic designs. 8 Homes & Antiques February 2023

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The Month The Morgan Stanley Rijksmuseum; Joseph Coscia Jr; Fergus Carmichael; © Jonathan Cherry and The Simple Things; Courtesy of Boss Morris Exhibition: Peter Doig © Ben Edge; Courtesy Chawton House; Courtesy of Wolverhampton Art Gallery THE EXHIBITIONS 10th February – 29th May Vermeer The Courtauld Gallery, London 10th February – 4th June Scottish artist Peter Doig is widely regarded as one of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam world’s leading artists. In the 1990s he gained a reputation One of the reasons many people visit Amsterdam’s for his large-scale, immersive landscapes, which exist Rijksmuseum is to see up close the masterful somewhere between real and imagined places. A rich array of influences are layered into his works, from film scenes to everyday scenes painted by Johannes Vermeer. And in this new exhibition you can do just that, in what album covers. In 2002 Doig moved to Trinidad, a place – is being touted as the largest Vermeer exhibition along with the UK and Canada – that has many resonances ever staged. This amazing selection of 28 paintings from the artist’s very small oeuvre has been loaned in his paintings. He moved back to London in 2021 and from museums and collections across Europe, set up a new studio, where paintings that were begun in the United States and Japan. In an extraordinary Trinidad and New York have been worked up alongside gesture, The Frick Collection is lending all three of fresh creations. This exhibition at The Courtauld will include its Vermeer masterpieces: Girl Interrupted at Her works that explore Doig’s creative experience of transition Music, Officer and Laughing Girl, and Mistress through a variety of places, people, memories and ways and Maid – the first time the trio have been shown of painting. ‘We are excited to unveil this new exhibition of works by Peter Doig, the first since his return to London,’ together outside New York since they were acquired says Ernst Vegelin van Claerbergen, head of The Courtauld over a century ago. Excitingly, recent research into Gallery. ‘The Courtauld’s great Impressionist collection is a The Milkmaid has brought to light two objects on touchstone for many artists. It offers the perfect context to the artist’s world-famous canvas: a jug holder and experience how Doig’s work resonates strongly with the art a fire basket, which the artist later painted over. of the past whilst charting new directions.’ The most recent scans have also revealed what is courtauld.ac.uk clearly an underpainting. ’Vermeer’s technique has always had something of a mystery,’ says Gregor ABOVE & BELOW The artist Peter Doig in his studio. J.M. Weber, co-curator of the exhibition. ‘With the discovery of a first sketch in black paint, we get a much better picture of his working method.’ rijksmuseum.nl ABOVE Mistress and Maid, c1665 –67, The Frick Collection. LEFT The Milkmaid, 1658–59, Rijksmuseum, purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt. 10 Homes & Antiques February 2023

Making Mischief: Folk ABOVE & RIGHT Boss Costume in Britain Morris performers – an all-female Morris 11th February – 11th June Dancing side, originating in the five Compton Verney valleys surrounding Stroud, Gloucestershire. The recent pandemic had a major impact on in-person events. And while many communities adapted by putting their events online, nothing could truly replicate the collective joy of Hastings’ Jack in the Green festival, or the raucous Haxey Hood game in north Lincolnshire. As these traditional activities begin to re-emerge, ‘Making Mischief’ explores the shared creativity, resilience, identity and communality of British folk cultures and the vital role that dress plays within them. Thanks to a £250,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, over 40 costumes – all made, customised and worn by people participating in local, seasonal customs – will be on display. As the exhibition shows, certain themes recur throughout the various events and festivals – notably horses, music and dance. The child-focused Festival of the Horse on Orkney is characterised by girls dressing as highly decorated horses, with shiny, jangling costumes that have been handed down through generations. While the boys of South Ronaldsay island congregate on the Sands o’Wright beach and use miniature ploughs to draw lines in the sand, learning the craft of the finely tilled furrow. comptonverney.org.uk ABOVE Chile – Street of LAST CHANCE TO SEE San Domingo Santiago De Chile, 18th September 1822, Trailblazers: women Maria Graham. travel writers and LEFT Seated Lady (The the exchange of Traveller), artist unknown, knowledge 1800–1899. Until 26th February Chawton House, Hampshire In this exhibition, you’ll read some of the captivating stories of adventurous women who travelled the world in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Through books, documents and artworks, ‘Trailblazers’ will showcase the extent of women’s travel writing, when the rights of women were still heavily contested. Starting with early examples of passports, visas and luggage, the exhibition highlights the lives and writings of five pioneering women: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762), Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97), Helen Maria Williams (1759–1827), Lady Hester Stanhope (1776–1839) and Maria Graham (1785–1842), the first professional female travel writer. chawtonhouse.org February 2023 Homes & Antiques 11

The Month THE AUCTION The Buckingham Collection 21st February, Woolley & Wallis Included in the first of this year’s Fine Pottery & Porcelain sales produced between c1752 and c1780, and estimates for at Woolley & Wallis – the leading regional auction house the 100 lots start at £100. Specialist Clare Durham says: outside London for English and European porcelain – the ‘Collections of this type are rare in both size and scope and present an incredible opportunity to study changes in style John Buckingham Collection of figures is a masterclass in the and production. John Buckingham put a lot of love and effort genre. It was assembled over several decades and the prolific into assembling his collection and it is an honour for us to be factories of Derby, Chelsea and Bow are all well represented, given the task of rehoming the figures that he has cherished along with rarer potteries such as Longton Hall. During for so long.’ woolleyandwallis.co.uk his lifetime, John sourced some of the earliest examples, ABOVE, FROM LEFT An early Bow figure of Charity, c1752–55 (est £700–£1,000); a Bow figure of a cellist, c1760 (est £250–£350); a Chelsea figure of a female musician, c1760 (est £400–£600); a rare Longton Hall ‘Snowman’ figure, c1753 (est £500–£700). THE FAIR Catford Vintage Fair 11th – 12th February Mid-century ceramics, tables, sideboards, chairs, lighting, art, and the odd curious piece will fill two historic halls at St Dunstan’s College as more than 50 traders converge for the Catford Vintage Fair from 11th–12th February. Run by fair organiser Alan Old of So Last Century, the event attracts vintage lovers from across London to shop the well-priced pieces and also enjoy street food, coffee and, on occasion, live music. Catford Vintage Fair, St Dunstan’s College, Stanstead Road, London, SE6 4TY. solastcenturyfair.co.uk 12 Homes & Antiques February 2023

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In the Spotlight GAINSBOROUGH’S HOUSE IN SUFFOLK OPENS TO THE PUBLIC In a landmark development, the childhood home portraits and landscapes; learn about his love of of Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), one of music as a listener, performer and artist; and Britain’s most important artists, has been observe his greatest work in a special gallery lined reimagined as an international centre for his work, with Sudbury silk damask. and the largest gallery in Suffolk. The ambitious transformation comprises a new three-storey With views across Suffolk, the setting provides ‘a magical place for visitors to enjoy in the very building, as well as careful restoration of the Grade I-listed medieval, Georgian and Regency landscape Gainsborough painted and grew up in, townhouse where he was born. providing a special destination in this beautiful part of the country,’ says Eilish McGuinness, chief Via a series of rooms and galleries, visitors can executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund. explore Gainsborough’s early life through family gainsborough.org 14 Homes & Antiques February 2023

News ©Hufton+Crow The new Gainsborough Gallery brings together 20 portraits and landscapes made throughout Gainsborough’s career. February 2023 Homes & Antiques 15

STYLE NOW Our monthly guide to DECORATIVE accessories, unique ANTIQUES and beautiful textiles that will add CHARACTER and colour to your home EDITED BY KIERA BUCKLEY-JONES & CAROLINE WHEATER Amazing Archive 1838 Wallcoverings was given the opportunity to delve into the extensive V&A archive to look for inspiration for its latest collection. Decorative wallpapers, fabrics, watercolour illustrations and even an embroidered kimono were selected to form the basis of nine different wallpaper designs, in a total of over 30 colourways. Macaw (pictured) is taken from a 1908 wallpaper design by Walter Crane. The V&A Decorative Papers Collection by 1838 Wallcoverings, from £84 per roll. 1838wallcoverings.com 16 Homes & Antiques February 2023

Woven ALL IN THE Wonders DETAIL Amy Kent’s rug collection The right hardware can elevate is now available online, kitchen cupboards, internal doors and any upcycling project. With Matilda where you will find Amy’s own designs alongside those Goad’s new hardware collection of by other designers, such as 25, featuring knobs, pulls, handles and Rapture & Wright, whose brass plates in a multitude of sizes, hand-woven rug, Moorish, is you can achieve just that. The various styles range from the traditional to the shown here. From £995. vintage-inspired. Priced from £12. amykent.co.uk matildagoad.com Antiques Housekeeping Antique jewellery Where possible, keep antique jewellery in its original box because mixing pieces together in a larger box can cause damage to materials and loosen gemstones Fabulous Floristry Florist Kitten Grayson has collaborated on a collection of floral prints with artist Chiara Perano of Ciao Chiara. Kitten provided the wild seasonal blooms which she grows in Somerset, while Chiara provided the paint. The results are four acrylics-on-canvas artworks which you can buy as prints for £150, exclusively at Glassette. glassette.com February 2023 Homes & Antiques 17

BED HEAD New at The Headboard Workshop is Sarah Hardaker’s Roussillon Stripe fabric. This fine ticking comes in a choice of six vintage- inspired colours including olive, pictured. Roussillon Stripe, from £70 per m, Barra headboard, from £926. theheadboardworkshop.co.uk Ruffle Time Daydress, Gabby Deeming’s successful line of wearable dresses in block-print fabrics, has expanded its offerings to wallpaper and rugs. And a collaboration with British lighting brand Beauvamp Studio has resulted in a collection of pretty ruffle lampshades, too. Four limited-edition designs feature the dress fabric. The cotton shades are made to order and are priced at £395 each. beauvamp.com What to Buy Now SUSSEX SEATS BY MORRIS & CO John Black, Sworders In 1861, William Morris the architect Philip Webb, who co- ABOVE FROM LEFT This and his collaborators set up the home created Red House in Bexleyheath Sussex armchair made furnishings company Morris, Marshall, with and for William Morris. The £390; armchair from a Faulkner & Co, creating furniture and Sussex range has ebonised beech parcel lot which sold for decor in what was to become known as frames and rush seats and comprised £455 at Sworders. the Arts and Crafts style. Sussex seated side chairs, armchairs, settles, furniture was one of the most popular corner chairs and even children’s ranges, introduced in the 1860s and chairs. At auction they start at very produced well into the 1920s. It was affordable prices; recently we sold a originally inspired by a Georgian chair Sussex armchair for £390, while a found in Sussex, hence the name, and parcel lot of an armchair and a side the designer is thought to have been chair made £455. sworder.co.uk 18 Homes & Antiques February 2023

123 456 789 WISHLIST Love Tokens Show someone you care or just treat yourself on Valentine’s Day 1 Always In My Heart journal, £35, Noble Macmillan 2 Porcelain double egg cup, £8, Distinctly Living 3 Love match box by Archivist Gallery, £7, The Design Yard 4 Heart tin glaze dish, £28, The Shop Floor Project 5 You Make the World Better card, £3.75, Papermash 6 Women’s red heart print bamboo socks, £7.95, Hyde and Seek 7 Red bone inlay box, the interior is unlined, wood, painted black, £130, ibbi 8 Red heart glass, £35, Daylesford Organic 9 Set of four border napkins in red/blue linen, £65, OKA February 2023 Homes & Antiques 19

PARALLEL LINES Iconic stripes, both narrow and wide, can be used as a ‘neutral’ for a calm and classic decorating scheme Fabric 1 234 1 Eston in French Blue, available in 18 colourways, £42.50 per m, Romo 2 Selune Stripe in brown, £141 per m, GP & J Baker 3 Harbour Stripe merino wool in rose, available in 14 colourways, £120 per m, Tori Murphy 4 Rialto Stripe in F7203-04, £89 per m, Osborne & Little Wallpaper 5678 5 Sporty Stripes in blue, £168 per roll, Ottoline at The Fabric Collective 6 Flamant les Rayures large stripe wallpaper, available in eight colourways, £136 per roll, Arte 7 Surat Stripe wallpaper in indigo, £246 per roll, Madeaux 8 Signature Stripe wallpaper in Jazz Night, £105 per roll, Sanderson Archive 20 Homes & Antiques February 2023

9 Sofa, loose cover in Seville Stripe, £78 per m; stool in Marlow in Petrol Blue, £78 per m; cushions (left to right): Roxam in Aqua, £50 per m, Emile velvet in Indigo, £65 per m, Pico Stripe in Aqua, £56 per m, all Jane Churchill.

2 4 1 5 3 8 6 Walk the 7 LINE 9 Add carnival vibes, from mugs to lampshades 10 11 1 Striped dinner plate, £25, Designers Guild 2 Azure & Blush Broken Stripe cushion cover, £65, Amuse La Bouche 3 Dunnock chandelier in white with 16cm empire shades in scarlet tapers hand-painted card, £706, Pooky 4 Stripes rug, £275, Nordic Knots 5 Presley yellow stripe glass lamp, £185, Oliver Bonas 6 Amphora vase in indigo and lilac, £95, Vaisselle 7 Tangier Stripe tissue box cover, £35, Alice Palmer & Co 8 Stripe Dreams mugs, £42 each, Harlie Brown Studio 9 Camelot Stripe Jacquard Parkholme sofa in Garnet & Petrol, £5,795, House of Hackney 10 Carlotta ottoman in Sonia Stripe Ginger, £1,535, Ceraudo 11 Tarma armchair in Soft Charcoal, £1,695, OKA 22 Homes & Antiques February 2023

Talking Shop FERRY ROAD STORE Francesca Rowan-Plowden and Amy Eastall, co-founders of Ferry Road Store, speak to Molly Malsom about a shared love of antiques-hunting, beautiful fabrics and interiors ABOVE Francesca: I grew up in a home that we have a combination of was a mix of old and new, and was skills that allows us to deliver FROM LEFT often taken to antiques markets and the best experience to our The exterior shops by my parents. It’s a habit that customers. We also both have of Ferry Road I’ve taken into my own work as an lots of experience of working Store in Rye; interior designer (at Rowan Plowden at and visiting antiques fairs inside the shop, Design), and I feel it creates an and markets, so over the years a display of eclectic, layered, characterful look. we’ve been able to learn what beautiful block- people are buying and what printed clothing Amy: I came to antiques later in life, to look out for. by Daydress. after forming an online business with a friend in 2017, selling vintage We source antiques from BELOW pieces – I did the business side, but France and the UK, from Copper Kettle, gradually found myself loving and large pieces such as armoires, learning about antiques. I have taken benches and club armchairs, Geraniums & that passion into Ferry Road Store. to Provençal oil paintings, Fruit Still Life, mid-century ceramics, 1972, signed, Ferry Road Store is an eclectic Venetian mirrors and emporium in Rye, East Sussex – like Victorian glassware. Our £155. a mini Liberty-on-sea! We opened quirky finds are fabulous the shop in July 2022, selling a mix talking points when customers of antiques, interiors, fashion and are in store. For our opening, we ABOVE sourced an incredible 1930s cocktail lifestyle pieces. bar with all its original pieces – it FROM TOP We love meeting sold very quickly! From our current Amy Eastall our customers, stock, we love the 19th-century and Francesca from the locals Transylvanian folk-art wardrobe, Rowan- who drop in which has a lovebird design and may Plowden, regularly to the originally have been a wedding gift. who opened holiday-makers Ferry Road exploring our Our bespoke cushions are made Store together beautiful town, from antique textiles and salvaged last year; this which is home to fabric, and sold exclusively in limited- 1970s glass- many creatives. edition runs. The fabrics include topped table iconic designs from Colefax & Fowler, with a wooden With backgrounds Sanderson and Jean Monro. We spiral base in interior design love the idea of giving these vintage came from an and as a private fabrics a new lease of life as cushions ex-pat�s house assistant in that can be treasured for years to in Singapore, the offices of come. ferryroadstore.com £595. Kensington Palace, February 2023 Homes & Antiques 23

Circus Skills What to Sell Now Who says you shouldn’t have a painted bath? Mural artist FOOTBALL MATCH Nancy Daniell was challenged by Drummonds to paint two PROGRAMMES freestanding bathtubs in its London showroom. The process taking four days for each, Shoal features small fish against a David Convery, dark blue background, while Vintage Circus (pictured) draws Graham Budd Auctions on nostalgic imagery of exotic animals, trapeze artists and If you’re clearing cupboards contortionists. £POA. this winter, keep an eye out for drummonds-uk.com football ephemera. Old football programmes, in particular, can BOTANY BOOST be highly collectable, especially those relating to tours or friendly At the Grand matches. Given a pre-sale estimate Tour’s height, it of £600–£800, a much-fancied was common to official souvenir programme preserve relics in from Manchester United’s 1952 plaster. Scottish Canadian tour match against artist Katy Eccles Montreal All Stars at Delorimier has revived the Stadium, Quebec on 13th May, process, using made £7,190. While a Belfast Celtic flowers and foliage. v Glasgow Celtic programme for Prices from £20, she a game played in Belfast on 27th also takes commissions. April, 1925, made £2,970 against an estimate of £650–£750. imprintcasts.com grahambuddauctions.co.uk 24 Homes & Antiques February 2023 BELOW FROM LEFT A programme from Manchester United’s 1952 match against Montreal All Stars made £7,190 and a Belfast Celtic v Glasgow Celtic programme, 1925, made £2,970.

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A recently conserved and newly displayed piece in The Burrell Collection, this 18th-century glass epergne is notable for both its sparkling beauty and its links to sugar consumption and slavery. 26 Homes & Antiques February 2023

Behind the Scenes AT THE MUSEUM Laura Bauld, Project Curator at The Burrell Collection in Glasgow, talks to Poppy Benner about the refurbished museum’s extraordinary collection, including a beautiful piece of glass with a complex history © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums and Libraries Collections I joined The Burrell Renaissance ABOVE FROM LEFT Worcester porcelain plate and Project in 2016 as an assistant Bow porcelain figure, 18th century, The Burrell Collection. project curator, and in 2018 I became a project curator. My role repair previous damage to the fragile glass. This has involved researching the epergne was used as a luxurious and dramatic collection and helping to create centrepiece for dinner entertainment. Succulent and develop the new galleries sweetmeats, candied fruits and sugared nuts would and displays of objects for the have been displayed within the glass hanging refurbished museum, which reopened in March. baskets, for guests to help themselves to during the Now the collection has opened to the public, I am meal. It is the first time it has been on display for a focused on European Decorative Art from 1603–1850, generation and is paired with colourful 18th-century including silver, ceramics, glass and furniture. English porcelain plates and figures that would have One of the greatest challenges during The Burrell added pops of colour to the dining table. Cut with a Renaissance Project was connecting local audiences diamond faceted surface, it would have sparkled in to a collection of over 9,000 objects that come from the table candlelight. Now it gets its chance to shine all around the world and span six millennia. Glasgow in the new redisplay. Life Museums are for everyone, so we wanted Glaswegians to take pride in this internationally The epergne also brings into focus complexities renowned collection that was right on their doorstep. of how and why objects like this were produced. The To do this, the project worked in partnership with consumption of sugar grew in Britain during the local communities, to make the museum engaging 1700s, with sugar being produced in the British and accessible to all. Across the museum we now plantations of the Caribbean and Americas by have 15 displays that were created in collaboration enslaved African people. The increased demand for with local groups. I worked in close partnership with sugar led to more elaborate and exuberant dessert different LGBT communities in Glasgow to represent courses, served in glass dishes. Without this global LGBT histories in the redisplay. This has been one of transatlantic slave trade, dessert glassware, like this my favourite parts of working for Burrell; it’s been a epergne, would probably not have been considered joy to get to know these amazing individuals, listen a fashionable commodity. Glasgow Museums has to their lived experiences, and see them find pride in made a commitment to address the legacies of slavery the museum. and empire within its collections. We will be Our current exhibition explores the lives of continuing to explore our objects and the Victorian shipping magnate Sir William Burrell, roles they may have played in these histories. and his wife Constance, Lady Burrell, who helped to ‘The Burrells’ Legacy: A Great Gift to Glasgow’ establish The Burrell Collection museum. In 1944, the is on until 16th April. burrellcollection.com Burrells donated their extraordinary art collection to the city of Glasgow. The exhibition celebrates their achievements as collectors, with highlights including medieval tapestries, stained glass, Chinese ceramics, Islamic textiles and 19th-century French art. I have been researching the Burrells’ collection of table glass – around 410 pieces including wine goblets, cordial glasses, tumblers, candlesticks and sweetmeat dishes, dating from 1680–1760 and showcasing the stylistic development of English table glass throughout this period. On display in the new galleries is an 18th-century glass epergne, which recently underwent intricate conservation work to February 2023 Homes & Antiques 27

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INSTRPEOCDOIAUFLCFETRORY FIRST 3 ISSUES FOR ONLY £5* when you subscribe to Homes & Antiques magazine SAVE 40% ON THE SHOP PRICE Call 0333 016 2117† and quote HAP368 or visit buysubscriptions.com/HAP368 † UK calls will cost the same as other standard fixed line numbers (starting 01 or 02) and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances (if offered by your phone tariff). Outside of free call packages call charges from mobile phones will cost between 3p and 55p per minute. Lines are open Mon to Fri 8am – 6pm and Sat 9am – 1pm. February 2023 Homes & Antiques 29

Children in the Kitchen at Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire, which has been reimagined as the National Trust’s Children’s Country House. ‘Children are going to be the future of these spaces, so we need to be building relationships with them and creating life-long connections with heritage’ 30 Homes & Antiques February 2023

Heritage Capturing YOUNG HEARTS & MINDS Rhiannon Batten discovers how the heritage sector is engaging the next generation, with a more hands-on approach than ever before ©National Trust Images/Chris LaceyForget dragging a audience member then the campaigns such as Takeover Day, reluctant child around likelihood is they’re going to when young people temporarily a museum. We’re in the continue connecting with heritage take over adult heritage roles, and long gallery at Sudbury in some way.’ by running its annual Family Hall, a 17th-century Friendly Museum Award. country house in Visiting soon after the opening, Derbyshire known for its lavish in October 2022, my nine- and One visitor attraction surely Jacobean interiors, and a small 10-year-olds were happiest in the aiming to be in the running for the army of pre-schoolers is running site’s Museum of Childhood – a latter’s large museum category later up and down chasing a troop of separate attraction in the Hall’s this year is Young V&A, the V&A’s push-along toys. Downstairs, the former servants’ wing. Here, the revamped Museum of Childhood in building’s former kitchen is full of hits of the day were an immersive Bethnal Green, which reopens this children shaping blobs of clay into Victorian classroom, complete summer. For now, details of the slightly smaller blobs, while a neon with role-playing teacher, and an museum’s £13m upgrade are sign in the saloon invites young interactive display about the lives under wraps, but Helen Charman, visitors to ‘party like it’s 1699’. of Victorian chimneysweeps. The director of Young V&A’s Learning Sudbury has become the National Hall itself is, perhaps, more suited and National Programme, says the Trust’s Children’s Country House; to families with very young attraction aims to be ‘the world’s a radical reworking of the stately children; we were left wondering if most joyful museum’. home that pitches it as a kind of there was more that older children grandiose Wendy House. Rather could learn about the people who As at Sudbury, Young V&A has than simply being made family- once lived or worked here. paired children with architects, friendly, the entire site has been designers and artists to develop redesigned around young visitors. It’s hard to knock the project’s themes and experiences across ‘We wanted to create a new ambition, however. In a 2019 three permanent galleries and a experience where families could survey of heritage attractions by suite of workshops. ‘Our biggest feel they belonged and could engage the specialist insurance group challenge is to create a museum with history in fun, creative ways,’ Ecclesiastical, 90 per cent of that places the young at the centre, says Jodie Lees, Sudbury Hall’s parents said they visited museums rather than as additional to core general manager. As well as with their children but 39 per content,’ says Charman. The idea practicalities – the car park has cent reported having at least one is ‘to take full advantage of how extra-large spaces – they’ve also negative experience during those children learn: through doing and removed almost all ropes inside the visits; lack of play provision and playing’. To that end, there will house and added props, toys and being made to feel unwelcome were be spaces dedicated to displaying books related to the historic use two common complaints. various making processes, and to of each room. trying many of them out. ‘Children are going to be the The sector has certainly listened. future of these spaces, so we need It would be rare these days to The latter is an approach to be building relationships experience an episode like the one Ironbridge’s Craven Dunnill with them and creating life-long that prompted Dea Birkett to set up Jackfield has been practising for connections with heritage,’ says Kids In Museums: on a 2003 visit years. The company’s decorative Lees, adding that the changes have to the Royal Academy, the family tiles are still hand-dipped and been made with the help of a team was asked to leave when Birkett’s hand-glazed the way they have of child ambassadors. ‘If we can two-year-old son shouted at a been since 1872. So strongly does it make a connection with any statue. The charity now works believe in craftsmanship, and the with museums, heritage sites and passing on of those skills, that it cultural organisations to make is in the rare position of having an them more welcoming through education facility at its factory. February 2023 Homes & Antiques 31

Hosted at Jackfield Tile Museum what she sees as a disconnect in – now part of the Ironbridge Gorge craft higher education. Her aim is Museum Trust – the most popular to make young people aware of experience is tube-lining. A what is possible and how to achieve hand-decorating process dating it. ‘While extra-curricular courses back to Victorian times, this and networks support and nurture involves highly coloured glazes, talent in music or sport, there is no explains Jennifer Kelleher, Craven equivalent for crafts,’ she says, and Dunnill Jackfield’s education yet ‘precise hand-eye coordination manager. ‘There’s a high contrast and the ability to understand and between the ‘before’ and the ‘after’, construct three-dimensional which people really like.’ shapes – core skills learnt from crafts – are essential for anyone Joining one of the company’s considering a career in architecture, workshops not only increases design, surgery or the engineering public appreciation of the skills and construction industries. that go into the manufacture and decoration of its tiles, but also ‘Our workshops are taught helps foster the next generation by craft specialists who are of tile-makers. Nor can you acknowledged leaders in their underestimate the transferable professions,’ she explains. ‘These skills, says Kelleher, explaining are not kids’ art courses – the that Craven Dunnill Jackfield goal is to learn, experiment, gain has recently been speaking to The confidence, take inspiration from Creative Dimension Trust (TCDT) the best, and have exposure to – a charity focused on developing career opportunities.’ Over the past teenagers’ and young adults’ fine seven years, the Trust has taught hand skills in partnership with over 80 different skills, from craft specialists. ‘That person Architectural Drawing to Stained may not become a wood-turner or Glass and Weaving. stone-carver in the future, but those skills will feed into everything else It is clear that offering a hands-on they do in life, including their experience is not only the key to confidence,’ she says. ensuring the survival of these skills, but also to engendering Although crafts contribute a huge a lifelong appreciation of them. amount to the UK economy, there is To this end, as well as offering a ‘pipeline problem in the supply of workshops, the team at Jackfield new talent’, says Penny Bendall, Tile Museum actively encourage who founded TCDT in response to children to touch exhibits, for 32 Homes & Antiques February 2023

©National Trust Images/Robert Morris; Craven Dunnill Jackfield; Allan Hartley/Alamy Stock Photo; The Creative Dimension Trust example, ‘to feel the difference Heritage between wall and floor tiles,’ says Kelleher. More Information Of course, the fortunate few get to The Children’s Country experience heritage in the ultimate House hands-on way: in their own homes. This was the case for interior nationaltrust.org.uk designer, furniture maker and The Creative Dimension Trust antiques dealer Max Rollitt, who grew up with an antiques-dealing thecreativedimension.org mother. ‘I was never forced into it,’ Kids In Museums he says. ‘It all went in very gently. kidsinmuseums.org.uk Antique pieces have lived a life Young V&A that’s far longer than ours. They’ve vam.ac.uk/young lived in a smoky room or a pub or a grand house. They’ve had a journey. Craven Dunnill Jackfield We carry pieces with us, from our ironbridge.org.uk (more info) parents and grandparents, but we eventbrite.co.uk (tile decorating also bring in other stuff. That sort of layering of older things – be it in a workshops) country house or a museum – gives you a feeling of history by building February 2023 Homes & Antiques 33 a physical picture of it.’ Rollitt’s advice for fostering that engagement is that ‘it all happens subliminally – try and be as underhand as you can!’ FROM TOP The Creative Dimension Trust aims to develop fine hand skills through crafts such as stone carving; students designed silhouettes to form part of a window display at Fortnum & Mason; a lesson in architectural gilding. FACING PAGE FROM TOP The Children’s Country House, Sudbury Hall; Craven Dunnill Jackfield believes in passing on craftsmanship and skills; workshops are held at Jackfield Tile Museum.

CALLING ALL Homes Antiques READERS Share your thoughts and earn amazing rewards! As a valued reader of Homes & Antiques magazine we’d love you to be part of Our Insiders – an exclusive online community that rewards you for sharing your feedback about the magazine, as well as other topics. You’ll be entered into our monthly prize draw for each survey you complete, and you’ll also gain access to other special offers and rewards! TO GET STARTED, VISIT OURINSIDERS.COM 34 Homes & Antiques May 2022

Jody Stewart LIVING WITH ANTIQUES Four period homes, from a 17th-century hall in North Wales featuring a bold mix of old and new, to a refined Georgian townhouse in London Collector Rune Wold’s home is layered with vintage fabrics, mid-century furniture and pieces with patina and history. Find out more from page 60 February 2023 Homes & Antiques 35

36 Homes & Antiques February 2023

Perfect ly PROPORTIONED Clare and Stephen Pardy have lovingly transformed a neglected Georgian townhouse into a haven of understated style and serenity FEATURE JANET MCMEEKIN PHOTOGRAPHS ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL ABOVE The drawing room walls and fireplace are painted in a calming, neutral shade. ‘A small house can be made to seem larger by using the same wall colour throughout, so that each space becomes part of a larger whole,’ says Stephen. The upholstered armchairs are Stephen’s designs. FACING PAGE When they bought the house, the front was post-war brick with concrete lintels. The Pardys had it rendered to match adjoining houses and installed sash windows, a redesigned fanlight and a glazed door to pull light into the hallway. February 2023 Homes & Antiques 37

ABOVE FROM TOP The scullery area has a large Belfast sink, flanked by two period aluminium draining boards. Opposite, a Regency pine side table and more open shelving house preserving jars and cookbooks; on the shelves of the 18th-century dresser from South Wales are 19th-century china beer mugs, 18th-century English delft, an early Staffordshire slipware dish, 19th-century Wemyss Ware from Fife, and an oak box for candles. ‘For me, being Welsh, the dresser is definitely the pièce de résistance,’ says Clare. 38 Homes & Antiques February 2023

Undeniably grim and, in fact, began with the removal of heavy 1950s casement rather primitive in parts,’ windows, which were replaced with elegant says Stephen Pardy, sashes. Next, the original wooden floorboards recalling his not entirely were repaired, and steadily all traces of the unhappy assessment of the property’s unsympathetic 1970s incarnation 18th-century townhouse he were discarded. and his wife Clare now call home. Despite this unpromising description, the house was exactly Paying homage to the building’s history, the sort of renovation project the couple were Stephen painstakingly designed and installed looking for: architecturally intact but in need cabinets, bookcases, panelling, window shutters, of work, and on the quiet, leafy square they had fire surrounds and architraves. When it came to set their sights on. choosing colours, subtle shades of cream, grey However, it was only by pure chance that and white were specially mixed by Papers and the project was theirs to complete. In fact, having Paints, to create an atmospheric background explained their requirements to a local estate against which the couple’s pictures, ceramics agent, the couple were absorbing the news that and sculptures are now thoughtfully displayed. the house of their dreams had just been sold, when a colleague interrupted with the news that Stephen and Clare – who is an art historian the property was available once more, the buyer and arranges specialist insurance for collectors having had second thoughts. of fine art and antiques at Hallett Independent – Wasting no time, Stephen and Clare went have relished furnishing the house, sourcing to take a look around and were delighted by paintings, furniture and decorative objects from what they found. ‘Rather than dwelling on dealers, fairs and at auction. ‘Since we have a the negatives, we could only see positive certain aesthetic, oddly enough, things from opportunities,’ says Stephen, explaining that the completely different periods tend to work well ‘so-called issues’, such as the avocado bathroom together,’ says Clare. ‘Most of what we have suite, bricked up fireplaces, or an earthen floor bought isn’t of enormous value but, instead, they in the cellar, were not going to deter them. They are beautiful pieces that speak to us. I guess you focused instead on the wealth of beautiful period could call it controlled eclecticism.’ features lying beneath the nondescript paint, wood-chip wallpaper and other aberrations from In 2016, the couple decided it was high time the unimaginative Seventies makeover. that they converted their cellar. ‘In years gone ‘In years gone by, the property, which was by, the two rooms of the cellar were only ever built in 1794 and spans just four metres in width, used as a coal hole, washhouse and, briefly, an would have been extremely overcrowded,’ says air raid shelter,’ Stephen says. Frustrated by Stephen. ‘In fact, records show that, in 1851, nine their small galley kitchen, Clare set Stephen people were shoehorned into what was regarded the challenge of transforming the cellar into a as a ‘fourth-rate’ house’. But with the needs of light-filled kitchen. Bringing the couple’s vision just two occupants to consider, Stephen cast his for a farmhouse-style space to fruition has been impeccable eye for design over every inch of no mean feat, requiring major structural works the four-storey house before their sensitive that included underpinning the whole building, renovation began. removing the dividing cellar wall and dropping Taking inspiration from Cambridge’s intimate the floor level by 30cm. A window and lightwell Kettle’s Yard house and gallery, Stephen and have been enlarged, and French windows Clare’s vision was to create a harmonious, installed. ‘The space, with its large table, works welcoming home with simple, almost Shaker- incredibly well and has changed the way we like, interiors. ‘I believe the secret to restoring live and how we use our whole home,’ says a period property is to give a sense of the Clare. ‘These days, entertaining is informal passage of time, rather than trying to recreate a and spontaneous.’ particular era,’ Stephen explains. ‘It’s a question of layering characteristic details from the past to Clare and Stephen have turned their evoke the spirit of a bygone era, without turning serendipitous find into a fascinating home that a home into a museum piece.’ reflects their passions, personalities and shared The couple were mindful of this philosophy memories; every object has a story to tell. ‘A lot throughout the year-long building project. Work of thought has gone into each decision,’ says Stephen. ‘Clare and I have taken it gently and feel that, by doing so, we’ve created a home we adore; one that echoes the past but is also perfect for modern-day living.’ February 2023 Homes & Antiques 39

A favourite of Clare’s, bought on her 50th birthday in Bologna, the Mario Marini lithograph above the drinks tray in the book room is called Rider (1955). The Regency centre table came from a Suffolk antiques dealer.

February 2023 Homes & Antiques 41

The guest bedroom originally had a large corner fireplace, which has been adapted to form bookshelves and angled window shutters. A 1962 etching by Islwyn Watkins and a 1983 Conté crayon landscape by Adrian Hemming adorn the walls. 42 Homes & Antiques February 2023

23 1 4 5 6 7 GET THE LOOK EASY ELEGANCE Pared-back antique furniture and rustic materials are offset by splashes of bold colour 8 11 9 13 10 12 1 19th-century two-stage Welsh oak pot board dresser, £2,550, Penderyn Antiques 2 White glass Hay Coolie extra-large pendant light, £255, Fritz Fryer 3 Jenson border jute runner in grey, £99, Cult Furniture 4 Dutch 18th-century cockerel weathervane, Lorfords Antiques 5 18th-century hand-painted Dutch Delft plate, £140, SC Interiors at Vinterior 6 Real dried hydrangea bunch, £30, JackalBerry at Etsy 7 Handblown recycled glass vase, medium, £30, Rose & Grey 8 Cavalier lithograph by Marino Marini, 1967, £204.68 plus shipping, AbeBooks 9 Wooden whiskey barrel planter, from £24.99, Gardenesque 10 Bristol Blue Glass handblown decanter with trailed neck ring, c1790, £645, 1st Dibs 11 Cadogan check throw in navy, £260, Tori Murphy 12 Large antique brass hexagonal candlesticks, £585 for the pair, Haes Antiques 13 Mitzi armchair, £529, Atkin and Thyme February 2023 Homes & Antiques 43

Coastal CO O L FEATURE ALICE ROBERTON PHOTOGRAPHS TAMSYN MORGANS As more of a treasure hunter than a conscious collector, Caroline Briggs has used meaningful antique, vintage and reclaimed finds to add layers of narrative to her Edwardian seaside home

One half of the open-plan kitchen-diner features freestanding furniture, much of which Caroline found on eBay, including the bank of blue drawers that had been hidden away in a garage for the best part of 50 years. The parquet floor came from the local school. February 2023 Homes & Antiques 45

L ooking along the elevated her rather than seeking something out, she seafront of Northumberland’s explains. ‘If nothing else catches my eye when Whitley Bay, the eye is drawn I’m visiting flea markets and auctions then to the curious architectural maybe, just maybe, I’ll find something to add mix, which ranges from the to one of my collections.’ late 1800s to the present day. The terrace includes three double-fronted houses, Caroline enjoys the feeling of falling in love one of which is home to radio reporter and with an object, recalling a four-year obsession producer, freelance photographer, and sometime with the pocket-sized Observer’s Books. ‘I kept a filmmaker, Caroline Briggs, her husband, Dan, list of all the titles and ticked them off as I found and their two young children. each one. I felt both elated and sad when my Having left London for Newcastle, the couple parents gave me the last title and the display felt the sea beckoning and it was agreed that, cabinet was full – I definitely enjoy the thrill of if they were to live on the coast, a sea view was the chase and the small private pleasure of an essential. A pin was dropped in Whitley Bay and unexpected find.’ Reflecting both her passion for the search began; it didn’t take long. ‘I clearly photography and her career as a photographer, remember firing up my computer and there she Caroline also collects vintage cameras and was. I shouted to Dan that I had found ‘our’ delights in the fact that she has used all of house,’ recalls Caroline. ‘We knew she was right them at least once. ‘There is an honesty in this the second we saw her – her wonderful bone- collection, as cameras are fundamental to who structure and elegance, like that of an Edwardian I am and what I do. Displaying them acts as a lady, won our hearts.’ Wowed by the Minton signpost to an important part of my life and floors, grand fireplaces, ceiling roses and far- creativity. All my collections are to be enjoyed, reaching views of the bay, they made an offer. not hidden away, which is perhaps why I have ‘We owe a lot to the previous owner, who was several display cabinets – you could say I collect an interior designer,’ says Caroline. She had these too!’ Caroline also collects vintage maps, lifted carpets to reveal the original floor tiles, though a personal rule dictates that she must returned ceilings to their former heights and have some connection to the place. reinstated beautiful marble fireplaces – vast in size, they overshoot the chimney breasts and As a journalist and photographer, storytelling took seven men to carry into the house. Missing is everything to Caroline, from an object’s history ceiling roses were replaced and cast-iron through to the tale of its search and rescue. radiators were fitted. ‘Although she had a very ‘While doing the extension I spent a depressing different taste in decor to me, everything she did hour at IKEA trying to work with a kitchen made me want to live here,’ says Caroline. ‘Every designer, until it dawned on me that my inability time I sink into the Victorian roll-top bath she to decide was due to it not being ‘true’ to my installed I thank her.’ heart.’ An original Victorian kitchen – an Once settled in, the couple decided to open up extraordinary chance find made by her sister the higgledy-piggledy rooms at the back of the – was the game-changer here. ‘For £1,500 I had property and extend into the small backyard beauty, functionality and inspiration.’ Once it had to create a large family-orientated kitchen-diner. been designed into the space, alongside the sink They designed the space themselves, using and drawers the couple had saved from their old salvaged materials throughout, which reflects kitchen, with the addition of a reclaimed timber the way they have chosen to furnish the rest island, Caroline had a one-off kitchen ‘with bags of the house. of narrative’. Although Caroline doesn’t consider herself a collector in the classic sense, she does concede Even the flooring came with a story. ‘It was that she is something of a treasure hunter and it from my children’s school and has been walked was her late grandfather who introduced her to on by hundreds of children over several decades the joy of chance discoveries. ‘He used to help me and now, as a family, we walk on it daily,’ she collect stamps as a child, so I think this is where says. Whether it’s the huge bank of blue drawers it started,’ she says. ‘As I got older my love of ‘old in the kitchen, which had been hidden away in things’ kind of crept up on me – my twin sister a garage for 50 years, or the reclaimed parquet shares my passion, so perhaps it’s genetic.’ It’s the flooring, these evolving and involving stories are serendipitous nature of collecting that appeals to clearly important to Caroline: ‘I feel a sense of responsibility when it comes to the provenance of an item and take great pride in adding to its story.’ @edwardian_seaside_home 46 Homes & Antiques February 2023

ABOVE & ABOVE RIGHT The Victorian kitchen cost just £1,500 and came from Fern Avenue Antiques Centre in Newcastle, one of Caroline’s favourite haunts. She commissioned her joiner to reconfigure it from a corner design into a linear layout. The sink unit and drawers are from the house’s old kitchen, and the ‘new’ island was constructed from reclaimed timber. RIGHT Caroline at her kitchen table in the new extension. FAR RIGHT Natural wood is the ‘golden thread’ that weaves from room to room and the hall, complete with original Minton floors, is no exception. As a long-term project, Caroline is hand- stripping the staircase with a view to returning it to its original glory. February 2023 Homes & Antiques 47

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE The double-fronted house has two sitting rooms at the front, either side of the entrance hall. Both light-filled rooms are home to Caroline’s many treasured collections, from paintings to vintage maps; passionate about display, Caroline uses glazed cabinets – something she inadvertently collects – and glass cloches to show off her flea- market finds; the impressive marble fireplaces were reinstated by the previous owner and are among the many striking period features that drew Caroline and her husband to the property. FACING PAGE A full set of pocket-sized Observer’s Books, amassed over many years, fill a glazed cabinet in one alcove. Lighting is a mix of antique and vintage, as is the furniture. 48 Homes & Antiques February 2023



CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE A pretty Art Nouveau fireplace, with original tiles, is the focal point in the main bedroom; with its spectacular views of the sea, Caroline decided to keep the bedroom decor simple and furnished the room with vintage cupboards and a classic cast-iron bed; the Victorian roll- top bath was installed by the previous owner, but Caroline has added her own touches with clean white metro tiles and Minton-style floor tiles, to create a modern bathroom that is in tune with the Edwardian property. 50 Homes & Antiques February 2023