MADAM – I am mortified to find myself at the cusp of ending one of London’s oldest and favourite art and antiques fairs, unless someone would like to take it on?
The Chelsea Antiques Fair started in 1950 and for 20-plus years was as important as the flower show and second only to Grosvenor House in the hierarchy of British antiques fairs. I bought the Chelsea fair in 1983, and enjoyed the boom times of the ’80s and ’90s.
The BADA Fair’s arrival in a marquee along King’s Road knocked Chelsea sideways, but now Chelsea at the Old Town Hall in March enjoys being the more accessible, affordable alternative running at the same time as BADA at Duke of York Square.