Spotlight on salvage: Rescue Mission

The crenellated gothic roofline of Knebworth House in Hertfordshire is a fitting backdrop for Europe’s largest salvage fair, Salvo, with its array of eccentric, unusual and historic finds. Every year, at the end of June, over 60 yards and dealers gather in a small village of tents and marquees to meet the public and to renew old friendships.

For the few days before, a steady stream of articulated lorries and vans bring in thousands of items to buy, from milk pails and jelly moulds, to stained glass and Art Deco radiators, to flagstones and Victorian bricks. The astounding variety that is available imbues the show with a sense of pleasant surprise and genuine delight in the fact that materials of all kinds are being saved from landfill and ‘upcycled’ back into people’s homes.

ABOVE (clockwise from left): A stone statue oversees the bargaining; old terracotta flowerpots are thoughtful gifts for gardeners; vintage buckets are decorative and useful; the extravagant backdrop to the Salvo Fair – the gothic turrets of Knebworth House, Hertfordshire.

Bizarre and beautiful

‘Some customers are amazed at what we manage to display,’ says Peter Watson, of Cox’s Architectural Salvage Yard, based in the Cotswolds. Last year, Cox’s centrepiece was a pair of stone columns weighing a ton each and some immense manor house front doors two metres high.

‘They are attention grabbers,’ says Peter, ‘but at the same time Salvo visitors tend to have terrific imaginations – I’m always intrigued at what they do with the things we sell when I see them in situ afterwards. Generally, the people who come here are knowledgeable and want to buy things either of the right period or that will make a statement in a big refurbishment.’

This year Peter and his team will be filling their stand with more temptations. At the centre of the stand will be a 1930s painted fairground stall that came from the north of England (£2,500 for anyone who has always wanted to run away to the circus). There will be doors galore, of all periods, from £25 to £3,500, reconditioned and ready to hang, and one of the yard staff will be demonstrating carpentry skills by showing how to make a new door from old timber boards. The most popular area will be the “help-yourself” boxes, explains Peter, where Salvo Fair visitors can rummage to their hearts’ content for that elusive door knob or hinge (prices will be from £2).

The star exhibit at last year’s show was a canal boat salvaged by Ronson Reclaim. ‘We won’t be bringing something like that again,’ says owner, Ron Jones, who remembers only too well the nothing-short-of-miraculous feat of getting the boat from his Gloucestershire yard to the stand at Knebworth.

This year the sprinkle of Ronson glitter will be provided by the presence of a somewhat lighter set of wrought iron gates, which were salvaged from Twickenham Rugby Stadium a few years ago. ‘They were made in the 1920s and saved from being melted down in the war. I bought eight sets of them when the south stand was redeveloped,’ explains Ron.

A rugby fanatic would have to fork out several thousand pounds to take them off his hands, but along with those gates there will be plenty of ‘portable’ pre-1950s items, such as windows, stone ornaments and chimney pots. And, alongside the big yards, there are numerous smaller outfits to browse over, too.

ABOVE (clockwise from left): Fun to pore over, here are doorknobs galore; the hunt is decidedly part of the thrill of finding a bargain for the crowds of period home enthusiasts at the fair; vintage Hungarian embroidered tea towels for sale; one find is itself ideal for transporting more finds to come.

Fit for connoisseurs

The textiles dealer Angela Rose collects vintage and antique lace, quilts and blankets. A wide assortment of fabric treasures lies several layers deep on trestle tables, while delicate items such as lace, samplers and eiderdowns are on display in a horsebox that Angela uses as portable storage. ‘People who come to Salvo generally tend to be connoisseurs – they appreciate what they are looking at,’ she says. ‘I always have Durham quilts made between 1850 and the 1940s, which were rectangular and hand stitched. And a good supply of Welsh quilts that are heavy and square. I like Honiton, Maltese and Point de Gaze lace, and generally carry a collection of buttons and Victorian babies’ bonnets and gowns.’

Ottoman Street, an antique ceramics shop based in Shaftesbury in Dorset, is another arresting stand. Owner Russell Tottman is passionate about giant antique terracotta pots and vessels, which he sources in Turkey. There are huge olive oil jars that are 100 years old and were buried in the earth to preserve the oil (£1,250 plus), as well as smaller household jars and tekne bowls for mixing dough (from £45). People use the pots indoors, in conservatories and in the garden as focal points.

A handful of quality reproduction pieces are also on sale at Salvo. Period House Hardware is a Derby-based company run by father and son, Wally and Richard Hubner. They source original door furniture from antiques fairs and car boot sales, and have it hand-forged by skilled craftsmen into perfect copies. ‘This will be our 25th anniversary of being in business and our third year at Salvo,’ says Richard. ‘Visitors often say they didn’t know the things we offer were still available.’

Their stand will have a wide selection of well priced knobs, hooks and latches in brass and cast iron. ‘One of our most popular items, a form of Suffolk latch, was saved from a garden gate that had been thrown into a skip. We sawed off the latch and had it remade – it’s the genuine detail and the finish that make it so appealing.’

Find out more about buying antique church furnishings at the Salvo Fair...
Find out more about buying imported rugs and linen at the Salvo Fair...

FEATURE CAROLINE WHEATER PHOTOGRAPHS YUKI SUGIURA
Featured in the June 2010 issue of Period Living