Where to Buy

It depends what you’re after and how much work you’re willing to put into it yourself.If you want the easy option, Source Antiques of Bath sell a vast range of completely refurbished units either stripped back to the aluminium or powder coated. When I naively called them up to ask if they “had any English Rose Kitchen units in stock”, the very helpful guy on the other end of the phone said “We’re down to about 400 now”. They even have rare pieces such as the English Rose service trolley, which looks exactly like any other floor unit when put away in a run, but pulls out to become a trolley. Best to look at their site to see what I mean.

Prices at source start from around £400+VAT

If you place a wanted ad on SalvoWEB you may just get a reply from someone offering units, then you’ll have to negotiate a price depending on condition, so you’re on your own there. Make sure you really do ask questions about the condition. Unlike eBay there’s no seller rating so no particular incentive for sellers to be as brutally honest, although in all fairness they usually are.

Then of course there’s eBay itself. Approximately once a fortnight or so for the last couple of months lots have been appearing. They have varied in quality and mostly have just been bottom units. eBay being eBay the price you end up paying can vary wildly, but most sellers go to all ends to tell the truth to avoid getting bad ratings.

For a complete kitchen solution you really can’t do better than John Lewis of Hungerford. Among their excellent kitchen ranges is their Creme de la Creme reproduction of English Rose. They tell us that their prices are around £1,200 per unit so they ain’t cheap by any means, but they’ll do a beautiful job and their staff are among the most charming, friendly and helpful I’ve ever come across.

Finally, once we have decided which bits out of all the lots we’ve bought are actually going to be used, we will be selling on what is left over. I think it’ll be quite a lot. As a minimum we will strip it all back. We may spray it, or we may spray it to order, depending on how efficient our spraying method turns out to be. We may sell it through eBay or directly through this site. All suggestions welcomed!