Why has Petworth become and continues to be the antiques hub that it is? Of course it is a historic market town with lots of attractive period buildings, in it’s medieval streets, and it has an important House and estate at it’s heart, so the environment or should I say the habitat attracts Antiquarians, art lovers, collectors and people with an historic bent.
But why did it become this place where antique dealers collected together to trade? Some of them, by the way with fierce reputations such as old Mr Boss in Lombard street. where you had to prove that you were a knowledgable dealer or he would shut the door on you!! In the past there were many towns and villages that had a cluster of antique and secondhand shops, such as Billingshurst, Midhurst, Petersfield, Winchester, Stockbridge, Salisbury Warminster etc . As a young dealer in my 20’s I used to set out along the A272 from Brighton on a buying trip West, as far as Plymouth in a day, and would stop in many towns along the way. Petworth was always a must stop. Other towns have all lost there antique shops gradually over the years, but Petworth continues, it has it’s peaks and troughs, shops come and go but it always seems to come back, and is even enjoying a little renaissance at the moment!
The Beeching cuts in the 60s helped by taking away the railway, so that Petworth was not so attractive to the developers and house builders, the Leconfield estate, being the major land owner also helped, in keeping Petworth largely true to it’s historical architectural identity. Bigger towns and cities pulled general retail shopping away, so that rents and overheads stayed lower in Petworth.
In the 19th century, I don’t think there were many Antique shops. Second hand goods and chattels were sold, often from the premises by auctioneers and valuers such as the extraordinary and aptly named William Death of Petworth and Haslemere auctioneer and valuer (in the late 19th century)
Some years ago I had the experience of being offered an 18th century Oak dresser, by a resident of Petworth. This piece of furniture was bought by their parents from a shop in the town with the proceeds from a compensation payment for being a prisoner in the second world war, at the value of £49.6 shillings. So there was an antique shop in Petworth in 1945!
I think the growth of Petworth’s antiques shops really took place in the 1960’s and 70’s and thrived in the boom years of the 1980’s.The antique market opened in the early 70’s and the town became a destination for the
American trade. Prices went up and up and everyone thought buying antiques was such a good investment! How wrong they were!
Another factor is that Petworth is an easy and compact place to shop and to get around, parking is not prohibitively expensive.
The great thing about the antique shops and galleries of Petworth is that they give the town an added layer of interest which distinguishes it from other towns. It is the antique centre of the South and nationally well known, as a result it draws customers from all over the country and from around the world.
So long may it continue, I think the antique shops make Petworth a pretty unique and unusual attraction!
By John Bird – Owner of John Bird Antiques