About

Furniture Fit For Heroes… And The Modern Home? - Country Life magazine

As far as we are aware, Christopher Clarke Antiques is the only antique shops that specialises in military campaign furniture and travel related items. We have been established for over 50 years with the business founded in 1961 by Christopher and Ida Clarke. It is now run by the second generation of Simon and Sean Clarke.

We offer a friendly and reliable service and are experienced in shipping our goods to customers all over the world. We count several museums amongst our customers and have helped form a number of international private collections of campaign furniture. We have also supplied hotels, Interior Designers and Decorators as well as customers just looking for an unusual one off purchase. Added to this we also advise and offer a prop hire and sale service to film and tv.

We are researchers and writers on the subject of campaign furniture and are active in expanding the knowledge and understanding of antique furniture that was made to collapse for travel. We have also lectured on portable furniture both in England and abroad.

We have a large and varied stock of antique furniture and smaller objects from rarer 18th Century portable furniture to early 20th century pieces. This includes a selection of campaign chests. Our inventory also includes naval and marine furniture, Anglo Colonial antiques and some military pictures and artwork. A huge variety of British campaign furniture was made from folding chairs, dining tables, games tables, and four poster beds to travelling bookcases, writing slopes, cutlery and decanter sets. As you will see from our Archive Section, all of these pieces and more have passed through our hands.

Winners of two British Antiques & Collectables Awards :

Best In – House Exhibition

Best Antiques Shop In Our Area

A few quotes from the press on Christopher Clarke Antiques :

“Cotswold Towns, with their stately, well patinated architecture, could have been made for antique shops. In a crowded field, no shop, surely, is more fascinating than Christopher Clarke Antiques at Stow on the Wold, Britain’s only specialist in campaign or military furniture.”

Clive Aslett, Country Life

“Christopher Clarke’s stock is full of the unusual, and historic and because campaign furniture is flexible, metamorphic and foldaway, many of the items would fit exceptionally well in space-starved London homes.”

Katrina Burroughs, Evening Standard

“An intriguing show coming up in Sydney and Christopher Clarke Antiques seem not just to be getting new business but actively contributing to serious research on Australia’s colonial history… As regular readers will know, for some years now Sean and Simon Clarke of Christopher Clarke Antiques have rather cornered the market in their speciality, campaign furniture ”

David Moss, The Antiques Trade Gazette