Modern approach

HOUSED IN A FORMER RAF BASE IN THE HEART OF RURAL LINCOLNSHIRE, HEMSWELL ANTIQUES CENTRE ATTRACTS ENTHUSIASTS FROM FAR AND WIDE. RICHARD ABBEY SPOKE TO OWNER ROBERT MILLER ABOUT HOW HE’S TAKING ANTIQUES TO A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE.

Robert Miller has seen big changes at Hemswell Antique Centres over the last 24 years. And not just in the physical sense but in the types of customers stepping through its gates.

Whilst you might associate (incorrectly) antiques with collectors, enthusiasts and people of a certain age, Robert has seen a much younger customer base start to emerge, which he attributes to their dedication to social media.

“We’re seeing a lot more young people – often they’re attracted by things they’ve seen on social media,” he said. “They want something unique that their friends don’t have. But they’re also realising that antiques are much better quality and value – they’ve lasted a hundred or so years, and they’ll still be here in a hundred more.”

Amongst the 50 staff that Robert employs, he has a small team whose sole responsibility is to look after and develop Hemswell’s website and social media.

Tech is an area that he has invested in heavily – the website enables the dealers to upload and sell their own stock online – but he’s reaping the rewards, and seeing a much broader client base.

“Today, our customers cover a huge range,” said Robert. “We have buyers fly in from all over the world, from as far away as Tokyo and Texas. Sometimes they fill a shipping container. But we also have people coming to find a birthday present, or collectors hunting for something really niche.

“We deal with a lot of commercial buyers too, like film production companies looking for props, or hoteliers fitting out a new property. It might take us a few months to find everything they need but we can do it.”

Hemswell Antique Centres opened in 1986 in what was formerly RAF Hemswell, perhaps best known as being by RAF Bomber Command for 20 years between 1937 and 1957.

It was used again by Bomber Command as nuclear ballistic missile base during the Cold War and then closed to military use in 1967.

During the war years, RAF Hemswellbased Handley Page Hampdens of No. 61 Squadron RAF were the first Bomber Command aircraft to drop bombs on German soil. RAF Hemswell was also used as a substitute for nearby RAF Scampton in all the ground-based filming of the 1954 war film, The Dam Busters.

After its closure it became a temporary resettlement camp when it received

Ugandan-Asian refugees expelled from Uganda by president Idi Amin.

Founders, Rex and Nepi Miller bought it as a derelict site and opened their first showroom in what was a former airmen’s dormitory. When his father passed away in 1999, Robert stepped into the role of managing director and has continued to develop the business ever since.

Not that Robert intended to follow in his father’s footsteps. By his own admission he ‘knew nothing about antiques’ and had forged a successful career in the food industry, operating a franchise for Wiltshire Farm Foods called Links Foods Ltd. The business delivers delicious frozen meals to around 8,000 elderly people in the region – very different to running an antiques centre.

Robert didn’t see the two businesses as so different and applied a lot of what he’d learned and developed at Links Foods to Hemswell Antique Centres.

“I like to think I’ve brought a modern head into the industry,” he said. “I’m not an antique dealer so have brought a commercial approach which has helped us to grow. We now supply to over 25 countries and have made real in-roads into the Far East which is a huge market.”

Robert ran both businesses simultaneously until 2015, when he decided to solely concentrate on the antiques centre. By that point he had already opened Hemswell’s fourth building, The Guardroom, which sits at the entrance to the site.

This was totally refurbished in 2013 and as you enter you can’t help but notice the double-height ceiling and mezzanine floor, which dominates the atrium. I’m greeted by a pair of golden lions but am drawn to wooden biplanes hanging from the ceiling and gorgeous chandeliers that illuminate the entrance.

Hemswell now has almost 400 dealers spread throughout its four buildings and they come from not just the UK but also Europe, the US and Australia. Although Robert has seen a downturn in European dealers in the last few years which he puts down to added complications caused by Brexit.

As well as your average antiques enthusiast, Robert works with interior designers, hoteliers, film production companies and those looking to furnish second homes. He’s even had the odd celebrity drop by – Hollywood actor Johnny Depp landed his helicopter at Hemswell in March and left with a whole host of treasures, including vintage guitars, artwork and furniture.

“Robert gives great credit to his 50 staff, without whom he says he wouldn’t have a business, and he realises that the investment he makes in his team is the most important of all. Hemswell recently began working with the organisation

Investors in People and have proudly become accredited by The Living Wage Foundation in 2023. As the business grows, Robert understands the need to look at new ways of doing things, and during the pandemic appointed an Operations Director to assist in this growth and ease his own workload.”

“He’s the polar opposite to me but thinks of things I perhaps wouldn’t,” said Robert. “We really complement each other and it’s working really well for us.”

Having that extra help has allowed Robert to improve his work-life balance, something he admittedly says has been lacking over the last 20-or-so years. He now has much more time for his family as well as pursuing hobbies such as skiing and motorcycling – when I speak to Robert he’s recently returned from a bike trip to the Pyrenees.

Robert describes his 24 years at Hemswell Antiques Centre as a ‘rollercoaster’ and he’s learned many things along the way.

“One piece of advice my dad gave me was never judge the customer in front of you,” he said. “I’ve always taken time, and so do my staff, to speak to our customers.

Our service is what sets us apart and why people keep coming back.”

Hemswell Antiques Centre attracts around 250,000 each year and receives 60,000 visitors online each month. That’s almost a million people they’re reaching out to annually.

With four buildings of antiques and two on-site coffee shops, you can easily spend a day in this quiet corner of Lincolnshire. Just 20 minutes from both Lincoln and Retford, it’s easily accessible and don’t forget Hemswell Antiques Centre can deliver those larger items. It’s all part of the service.

To find out more, visit www.hemswellantiques.co.uk