ABOUT US
Our antiques fair is held at The Royal Horticultural Hall’s Lindley Hall on Vincent Square in London's Westminster, minutes away from Tate Britain and the iconic Channel 4 building. We are located here - easily accessible from Victoria, Pimlico and St James Park underground stations.
The Royal Horticultural Hall opened its doors for the first time in 1904, at the height of the Edwardian era, as a purpose built exhibition hall for the Royal Horticultural Society. Designed by Edwin J Stebbs, it is an ideal space for exhibitions with natural light flooding in through the 12 metre high barrel vaulted glass roof.
The Royal Horticultural Hall antiques fair, or “The Horti” as it's affectionately called, has been held regularly throughout the year for over 50 years. It remains an extremely popular event with the morning queue going right around the block. We strongly recommend arriving early! Buyers travel from across the world to visit us. Over 120 exhibitors join us at each event with a wide range of quality antiques.
Opening of the Lindley Hall by HM King Edward VII and HM Queen Alexandra, 22 July 1904
The Lindley Hall as it stands today
The History of Adams Antiques Fairs
Matthew Adams studied Costume & Theatre Design at Central School of Art & Design in the mid-1970s and eventually went on to work in various West End theatres as Head Fly Man at the Piccadilly Theatre and Assistant Master Carpenter at The Strand Theatre. On leaving college Matthew hitch hiked to Iran where he supplemented his meagre English teacher's income by trading watches, jewellery, bags, clothes and accessories between Tehran and Afghanistan. On returning to England in 1979 he carried on trading by selling antiques and vintage fashion at the now defunct north London Swiss Cottage Market and by the early 1980s had set up the still thriving Stables Market in London's Camden Lock (see recently discovered flyer for the very first market in 1981 below). In between dealing in antiques, textiles and vintage fashion both in London and America (including regular stands at The New York Armoury, Penman Antiques Fairs, The Decorative Fair and Olympia Fine Art & Antiques Fair throughout the 1980s), he has been running antiques, vintage fashion and retro events in London ever since. With over forty years’ experience running events, Matthew Adams is by far the most successful and enduring one-day antiques fairs organiser in London.
Matthew also runs the famous Frock Me! vintage fair, held at both Chelsea and Kensington Town Halls on dates throughout the year.
A flyer for Matthew's first market in Camden which he started in 1981. Although the Market is now known as The Stables Market it was originally called “The New Camden Antique Market” or more affectionately “Matthew’s Market”