TV antique expert coming to Harrogate

A star of the antiques world will be in Harrogate next week, signing copies of his book, Romp with the Georgians. 

David Harper, who has been a resident expert on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt, will be spending the day on Montpellier Mews, filming in Antiques on High and interviewing some of the dealers who have cabinets or space within the store.

He has previously made promotional videos at the company’s other antique centres in Oxford, Sidmouth, Taunton and Bowness-on-Windermere. 

Vincent Page, director of Antiques on High, said: 

“I had an idea a while ago that we should try and find someone almost like a social media influencer to help us promote the brand, and David’s unique brand of fly-on-the-wall ‘film it as it is’ style of documentary works very well for us. He has such a relaxed way about him that just about anyone will talk to him, which all makes for very real, honest videos.” 

Antiques on High opened in June, after it took over Montpellier Mews Antiques Market. It rents display cabinets to antiques traders, who must commit to working in the centre for three days a month. But they may also rent an additional cabinet in any of the company’s other centres for £10 a month, plus an extra day’s work. The business will transport their stock to whichever centre it is to be sold in.

Mr Page added:

“As the centre is set to expand its stock list, a watch dealer moves in later this month and confirmed dealers taking up cabinets include a coin dealer, model car dealer and book dealer, with more to follow. The opportunity to have their stock transported to any one of the four other stores within the company, including the popular Bowness-on-Windermere store, at subsidised rates only goes to reinforce the potential for dealers.”

David Harper’s book, Romp with the Georgians, takes a lighthearted look at the Georgians, unearthing some weird and wonderful facts about the period, which started in 1714 and ended in 1837.

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Harrogate antiques centre taken over by ‘largest player in the market’

A chain of antiques markets that claims to be the biggest in the UK has taken over premises in Harrogate’s Montpellier Quarter. 

Montpellier Mews Antiques Market was sold when its owner retired, and has been bought by Antiques on High, which already has centres in Oxford, Sidmouth, Taunton and Bowness-on-Windermere. 

Vincent Page, who co-owns the business with partner Lesley White, said: 

“Harrogate is a beautiful place and suits our trade very well. Our initial goal is to bring some new dealers in from the locality, and indeed many from our other stores have already shown an interest, so I don’t think it will take too long.” 

Antiques on High operates an unusual business model, which, said Mr Page, works “tremendously well”. Antiques traders can rent a display cabinet in one of its centres for as little as £50 in Taunton or as much as £160 in Oxford, and as part of the deal they must commit to working in the centre for three days a month. 

But they may also rent an additional cabinet in any of the company’s other centres for just £10 a month, plus an extra day’s work in their local shop. The business will transport their stock to whichever centre it is to be sold in.

Photo showing a customer buying a piece of porcelain from an antiques dealer at Antiques on High in Harrogate.

To rent a cabinet at the antiques centre, dealers must pay a monthly fee and work there three days a month.

Mr Page said: 

“We offer dealers something they can’t get anywhere else in the UK, if not Europe. Convincing them can be tricky because typically, they are very protective of their stock, so the idea of us taking it around the country to our different antiques centres can seem bizarre. But the model works; we’ve opened five shops in six years – and that’s with two years out for covid.” 

Harrogate has long been known in the trade as the “antiques capital of the north”, and the antiques market at 11 Montpellier Street has contributed to that reputation. It is currently home to 27 dealers, but Mr Page, who only picked up the keys to the premises on Tuesday, reckons he could accommodate up to 50 if better use was made of the available space. 

Photo of porcelain items in a glass cabinet at Antiques on High in Harrogate.

There are currently 27 dealers with cabinets at Antiques on High, but co-owner Vincent Page says it could accommodate up to 50.

Ultimately, he says he’d like to bring more younger people into the antiques trade. He said: 

“Traditionally, this business attracts people over the age of 50, and they tend to operate on a one-man, one-shop basis. But there might be loads of people, say, in their 30s who might have been made redundant and have always had an interest in antiques. They could work in the shop for just 10 or 12 days a month and earn a full-time living.

“The antiques business is very unusual. How many sectors do you know where five shops make you the largest high-street retailer in the market?”

Antiques on High has opened five new centres in just six years. Last year in Taunton, Somerset, it opened a 4,000 sq ft shop with an 11,000 sq ft area to host a Monday antiques market, creating what Mr Page claims is Britain’s largest antiques centre.

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