A sense of anticipation

One event I look forward to every January is the Ardingly Antiques Fair, held at Ardingly's Fair ground in West Sussex.    This is one of the largest antiques and collectables fair in southern England with traders from all over Europe selling their wares.  Ardingly is a tiny village in West Sussex and the only claim to fame is the very famous Ardingly College (which lies just outside the village on 420 acres of the most beautiful countryside) founded in 1858...but school days are long gone and so I'll move on to the interesting art of antiques and collectables.

A  quintessentially English cottage in Ardingly village

Unlike last year, the day was mild and DRY and a lot warmer than last year's snowfall and as we started out early we were able to have a good look around before the crowds arrived.  

If your interests lie in the literary, you might be tempted by these letters, written in 1868 - the handwriting is exquisite!

A colourful Japanese style teapot

there was so much to feast your eyes on -

this beautiful tea set with paintings of birds looked quite unusual

metres and metres of antique lace...

baskets full of delicious french linen and sack cloth

This trader specialised in African artefacts and skulls of animals in particular.  I could have bought a stuffed alligator about 1m metre long, and I was instantly reminded of an Agatha Christie episode, where Poirot's tireless right hand man, Hastings, returns from a hunting trip in Africa with a large crocodile he apparently shot...he'd bought it back for Poirot, but it had a rather wild smell, and so after numerous days with the 'smell of the jungle' in his exquisite flat, and as tactful as ever, Poirot managed to give it back to Hastings without losing face!  Suffice to say that I was tempted to buy it, but only for a second!

I was looking for chandeliers and came across this lovely piece...simple and elegant

There were plenty of chairs too, some reproduction and some genuine antiques...these are reproductions but lovely all the same!

Now I have a bit of a thing for religious artefacts and so my eagle eye caught this beautiful wooden relic - the price indicates this is an original

I have more photos to share, but will post in a few days time.
I hope you've enjoyed the visit!