As you may have gathered, I like finding new places to visit in my search for vintage. So I was happy to follow a tip from a work colleague about an antique centre north of Lincoln.

Hemswell Antique Centre is housed on one of the many redundant air force bases left in Lincolnshire after the war. The military buildings have been repurposed into a series of antiques showrooms with a variety of sellers.

Astra Antiques

The stock varies from pure antique to vintage, with a side-order of more modern collectables. I spent most of my first visit in Astra Antiques, which took up most of the day.

Biscuit Tin

There was plenty of kitchenalia to keep me happy. This biscuit tin was a bit too battered for me however.

Basketware Pram

A toy pram made from woven material, a bit like a Lloyd Loom chair, but I couldn’t find any label to confirm my suspicion that they made it.

Basket Pile

There was a huge pile of baskets at the bottom of the stairs,

Pile of Baskets

How would you choose which one to take home?

Sewing Baskets

Lovely vintage sewing baskets.

Cake Plates

A lovely collection of glass cake stands.

,I’m used to seeing one or two items of Hornsea pottery but this is one of the biggest groups I’ve seen for a long time.

Vintage Packing Boxes

You might need a box to take your finds home with you – how about one of these?

Scales

Classic kitchen scales (although they do look as if they need recalibrating!)

Ice cream Box

I’ve not seen an ice cream box before.

Lights

I really liked the display of lights over the stairwell. I have one like the one in the centre at home, and I love it!

Enamelware

These enamel containers, for coffee, milk and lunch look to have come from France.

Kitchenware

And finally, a full matching set of kitchen containers.

This was only one building, and I was shopped out by the time I left. I’ll be back to explore the other buildings in the near future. In the meantime, I’d recommend having a look round yourself.