The Wimbledon Homes & Antiques Fair is targeting both trade and private buyers from across London with an antiques, homes and interiors angle and as such is a companion event to both the Kempton event and Sandown Antiques Home & Interiors Fair.
“Sandown is currently mainly an indoor event and we wanted to move the next few dates outside to comply with government Covid-19 rules on events,” said Edward Cruttenden who runs Sunbury Antiques with partner Jennie.
However, changing government rules on events encouraged Sunbury Antiques to explore other options for a large outdoor venue for the months of August and September.
“Our dealers need certainty so we’re pleased we can offer this exciting new venue,” Cruttenden said. “We feel London is missing a large outdoor event such as this and the SW19 location is an excellent catchment area.”
He added that Sandown “will absolutely continue – it’s a superb venue for an event we’ve worked hard to re-establish”.
The next Sandown fair is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, when rules on attendance at indoor events are expected to be relaxed.
Sports field venue
The Wimbledon fair will be held in Prince George’s Playing Fields on the A298 Bushey Road, a feeder road to the A3.
“We’ve got two dates this year to understand how the Wimbledon venue is going to work,” said Cruttenden.
Two Sunday dates for Wimbledon are August 30 and September 13. The fairs will start at 10am with a £1 entry fee for adults (children free) and free parking.
‘Family festival’
Sunbury Antiques was fast out of the stocks after the government relaxed Covid-19 lockdown rules for open air events, hosting a total of three fairs at Kempton Park Racecourse in July.
If the Wimbledon experiment works, it could become a permanent fixture alongside Sandown and Kempton, Cruttenden said.
The firm has launched a new website, www.SW19antiques.com, for information on the event and a dedicated email address of info@sw19antiques.com for stall bookings.
Edward Cruttenden (right), owner of Sunbury Antiques Market with business partner Tim Hodgson, who runs on-site delivery for Sunbury events. They unveiled their Wimbledon plans to stall holders and buyers at Kempton on Tuesday, July 21.
Cruttenden was keen to stress that “we’re not changing anything about Kempton. But there’s an option now to look at other venues and Wimbledon is such a great catchment area.
“We could do half a dozen there over the summer next year and ultimately aim for it to become a family festival with food and entertainment, as well as antiques.”
Partnering in the venture is Tim Hodgson – a school friend and colleague of Cruttenden’s who runs Van Butler, a removal company that does on-site delivery at antiques fairs including Kempton.
“Prince George’s Playing Fields is large enough to host the full family pitch of entertainment and food as being well as a great antiques fair,” said Hodgson.
Introductory offer
For the debut Wimbledon fair on 30 August, traders are being offer discounted stand prices:
Van pitch: £50
Car pitch: £35
Trailers: £20 (depending on size; larger trailers will be charged the car pitch fee)
The park has no buildings, but secure gazebos and awnings can be erected with table hire available on the day.
Kempton dates
The next Sunbury Antiques dates at Kempton are confirmed as Tuesday August 4 and August 25.
Cruttenden praised The Jockey Club for “exceptional support and communication” during the Covid-19 lockdown and thanked the team at Kempton Park “for enabling us to get Sunbury Antiques back up and running, despite the testing restrictions placed upon them by the British Racing Authority”.
Sunbury Antiques Market was founded by Sue Cruttenden in 1979 and is now run by her son Edward and partner Jennie.
A selection of photos from the latest Kempton Park Racecourse fair on July 21 appears below.
For more information visit Sunburyantiques.com
