Drapers Lane in Leominster (Image: BirminghamLive)
A stunning UK town is a major hub for independent and antiques shops. With “no airs and graces”, it attracts bargain hunters from all over the country. Leominster (pronounced “Lem-ster”) is a market town in Herefordshire that sits at the confluence of the River Lugg and the River Kenwater.
Located 12 miles north of Hereford and seven miles south of Ludlow in Shropshire, the town has long been a popular destination for antique enthusiasts, with more than 120 dealers, according to Visit Herefordshire. It also has a vast array of independent shops, where you can find everything from vintage clothes and books to warm scones and coffee. Simon Powell, who co-owns and runs gift-shop Motif, with his wife Sally, has been trading in the town for three years. Asked about what makes Leominster such a great place for small businesses, he explained it’s a “very traditional market town that’s got a huge catchment area” and is “relatively isolated”.
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The market town is known for its rich array of antique shops (Image: BirminghamLive)
Cantlows, one of the town’s many antique shops. (Image: BirminghamLive)
He said: “But if you go west from us, the next time you come to anywhere bigger than Hereford is Aberystwyth,” some 58 miles away.
Simon says the town has always drawn on this vast catchment area and believes Herefordshire, where Leominster is located, is “one of the most overlooked counties as a staycation destination”, so its a “bit of a hidden gem”.
The business owner continued: “We get quite a lot of visitors who come because they actually appreciate the fact that it isn’t busy. It’s not packed with people, there aren’t people on electric scooters or electric bikes, or this that and the other.”
He says the pace of life is a lot slower compared to London, and it “feel like you can breathe”.
“You go into shops and people will talk to you and you’ll have a conversation, and that’s whether you’re a local or a visitor or anything.”
Simon says that, in years gone by, Leominster “had a very poor reputation,” and there are some people who continue to perpetuate the narrative and ignore the town’s vibrant community.
Sarah Turton runs Station Yard Vintage, a 5,000 square foot warehouse that rents out units to individual sellers selling various types of items, from clothing to gardenalia.
They took over the business about three years ago, and get lots of visitors from dealers who buy items to sell on.
Sarah, who leases the building and sells French items herself, says that where they are in Station Yard near the train station is generally “really busy”.
Locals praised the town’s ‘down to earth’ atmosphere (Image: BirminghamLive)
Asked why the town has such a flourishing scene, Sarah said: “I think that the prices are good in Leominster,” noting that the nearby fair Malvern Flea at the Three Counties Showground is also a major pull in the area.
Additionally, Leominster also has well regarded auction houses, she said, meaning the area is well placed for the vintage trade.
Another appeal is the fact that the wares are “individual to the shop, there aren’t rows and rows of things that are all the same”. She says they offer “something for everyone”.
However, amid a challenging time for the high street with major chains shutting hundreds of stores in recent years, the warehouse is finding that “people are buying probably cheaper items at the moment”.
Likewise, Simon says the cost-of-living squeeze on a national level is having an effect. “Wherever you are, you don’t necessarily escape from the national picture, so that’s a key issue,” he said.
“At the moment, what we hear from our suppliers and other businesses is that nationwide there’s depressed retail sales, so we’re operating within that framework like every other business in the country.”
Malcolm, owner of the The Albion Emporium which sells classic hand tools, books and collectables, voiced similar sentiments, saying: “It’s all changing quite quickly now, the high street is not an easy place to trade on, there’s not as much footfall, and there’s not as much money as there used to be.
Malcolm, who did not wish to give his surname, said there’s a lot of uncertainty on the high street as well as “right through society in this country at the moment”.
Asked what he believes is driving difficulties for independent businesses, he said they all need to make profit, and shops are “not taking as much money, and chains of shops, or nationals, or multinationals, couldn’t spread the load”.
Malcolm says everybody he’s spoken to and knows working in the antiques trade in Leominster is “feeling the pinch”, and “every given individual has to take personal a choice as to whether their own view of their economic framework, turnover, is still acceptable”.
However, unlike so many small businesses, Malcolm says online shopping isn’t “hurting” The Albion Emporium , as “people who buy books and tools very much want to have them in their hand”.
Leominster Town Council has been approached for comment.
James Aitchison, is one of the owners of Stockmoor Antiques, a small family run dealership with more than two decades experience in the restoring and selling English antique furniture and effects.
James has sadly decided to close down the shop at the end of the month amid shifts in the market for their wares, but looks forward to concentrating on one of his other passions, growing cider apples.
Nevertheless, he was also effusive about the town, which he “loves” and has traded in for 30 years.
James says he likes “the sort of people that come to Leominster, I wouldn’t enjoy trading in [nearby] Ludlow as much, or the Cotswolds or somewhere”.
He added that he likes that people “come from all over the country” to “find things they like”, something which he will be “supporting”.
“It’s a very real place, its got no airs and graces, its an honest little town doing its own thing.”