Antiques
We know dealers, collectors, shops, markets, fairs and auctions throughout Devon and Cornwall and we’ll be delighted to guide you around the most interesting. There is a huge variety of antiques available and several different ways to see them:
| Weekly trade markets where the dealers buy their stock |
| Towns with a dedicated antiques “quarter” |
| Specialist dealers for those with particular interests such as Japanese prints, Exeter silver, buttons, fabrics etc etc |
| Unique private collections from Early English oak furniture to the extraordinary collection of over 1,000 horse brasses. We know an awful lot of felllow collectors you might like to meet. |
| Antique fairs in the West Country come in many shapes and sizes from small village halls to the glory of Powderham Castle and we can offer guidance to help sort the wheat from the chaff. |
| Auctions also come in all shapes and sizes, from the very smart salerooms with beautiful objects beautifully displayed to the huge fun of a farm disposal sale where the contents of the barns are sold alongside the contents of the parlour. In between are both catalogued and uncatalogued more informal sales where real bargains can be found. |
History & Houses
We know the castles, houses and churches, the moorlands and coasts, and the villages and towns of the West Country and can make sense of this varied and dramatic landscape. History here is woven into the fabric of both the built and the natural environment:
| Why are the hedges so wide and the roads so deep? |
| Why did Francis Drake’s family live in a redundant monastery? |
| Who put up all the crosses at intersections and on Dartmoor? |
| Why are all the really old houses and villages away from the coast? |
| Why is that church built in a field? |
| Why was that house rebuilt in the 1750s? |
The answers to these simple questions take you into the heart of how, where, when and why people lived the way they did and in the places that they did for the last 2,000 years. We take the landscape that you can see and transform it into the history that you cannot see.
You tell us your interests and we will find the best examples to go and explore. If your passion is for medieval castles, ancient vernacular buildings, Tudor manor houses or Georgian mansions we can satisfy it. Do you adore old parish churches? We do too and will take you to the most interesting and beautifully situated ones. Above all, we love this area and its history and we want to share it with you.
Family History
Our tours can also include help and guidance if you are exploring your own family history in the West Country. This is helpful if you have done some preliminary work yourself (such as using any available online material) and would like to visit places special to your family or would like to use the record offices and other resources. Marilyn’s skills in reading documents in old English, Latin and medieval French can really be a help - especially if you are looking at the period before 1750 where the handwriting can be diabolical. You can have the fun of reading the documents yourselves but with an expert on hand to help.
We can contact, on your behalf, the appropriate local people (vicars, parish clerks, local historians) who can often provide extra information. Jane and Marilyn’s local links will be very helpful in tracking down the right people to supply the right information about your family’s past. |