A Visit to Hemswell Antique Centre

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

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

Biscuit Tin

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

Basketware Pram

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

Basket Pile

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

Pile of Baskets

Pile of Baskets

How would you choose which one to take home?

Sewing Baskets

Sewing Baskets

Lovely vintage sewing baskets.

Cake Plates

Cake Plates

A lovely collection of glass cake stands.

Astra8

,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

Vintage Packing Boxes

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

Scales

Scales

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

Ice cream Box

Ice cream Box

I’ve not seen an ice cream box before.

Lights

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

Enamelware

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

Kitchenware

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.

Exploring Close to Home

I’ve been so busy exploring the area around my new hometown I have neglected to look for the vintage opportunities closer to home.

Newark does well for antique shops – which may be something to do with the famous Antiques Fair I blogged about here – but it’s not so easy to find vintage. Anyway, as I didn’t want to stray too far from home in this gorgeous weather, I decided to stay close and explore what Newark had to offer.

Tucked around the back of a tattoo parlour, I found a decommissioned church which is now home to the Newark Antiques Centre. This varied centre rents a series of ‘booths’ to independent traders, guaranteeing a wide range of items over the two floors.

Here are a few of the vintage items I found:

Tin tubs

Tin tubs

A nice collection of galvanised tin washtubs.

 

Painted Sledge

Painted Sledge

 

Completely the wrong subject for our current baking hot weather, but I love the painted detail on this sledge. Because of the steering mechanism and the painting, I am guessing that this is probably from Austria.

Shelving Unit

Shelving Unit

 

I really liked this idea of a shelving unit made from vintage wooden boxes. Just the thing to display your vintage treasures – although maybe not these novelty corn cob vases!

Corn cob vases

Corn cob vases

 

I liked these enamel jugs – I could have a serious enamel habit if my purse was deep enough, and I thought that the set of drawers (made of cardboard covered with vintage wallpaper) were also cute.

 

Enamel jugs

Enamel jugs

This lovely child’s rocking chair has seen a lot of use:

Childs rocking chair

Childs rocking chair

I like the contrast of the metal jelly mould on an old set of wooden steps.

Jelly mould

Jelly mould

It would be fair to say that although there wasn’t any dedicated vintage stands, there was enough vintage items spread across the stalls to make a vintage visit worthwhile. There is also an interesting looking café that I didn’t have time to explore, so now I have found it, I shall certainly be back to visit on a regular basis.