Anglian Furniture

Anglian Furniture: antiques, Ercol and Old Charm in the Colne Valley

Anglian Furniture is a small family business operating from Halstead, a market town in the Colne Valley near the Essex and Suffolk border. Its activity is the buying and selling of antique, reproduction and other second-hand furniture. The company describes a dual approach to stock: restoring older pieces to what it considers their full potential, and also sourcing items that need little more than a polish.

The business states that its roots go back over a century and illustrates this with a photograph dated 1905, showing furniture being delivered to a family home at 21 Coleherne Road, Earls Court, London SW10, where pieces were restored in the basement and resold. The same account notes that the house took a direct hit from a German bomb during the Second World War, which passed through the basement without exploding.

Stock and product categories

The catalogue is organised around furniture types rather than periods alone. Listed categories include:

• Old Charm and Ercol furniture, treated as dedicated sections
• Tables, chairs, coffee, side and occasional tables, and table-and-chairs sets
• Cupboards, cabinets and storage, dressers and sideboards, bookcases and shelving
• TV, stereo and music furniture, desks and bureaus
• Chests and boxes, chest of drawers, wardrobes and armoires
• Sofas, armchairs and footstools
• Beds and bedroom furniture, mirrors and mirrored furniture, lighting
• Collectables and miscellaneous items, handles, knobs and fixings, and reclamation and salvage

Among the featured products shown on the site at the time of writing were an Old Charm Chateau granite-top occasional table in vintage condition, an Ercol Windsor display cabinet in light finish described as re-purposed, and a leather buttoned Chesterfield-style revolving easy or office chair, each listed at £387.00. The shop also indicated that offers on Ercol furniture were to be announced.

Restoration, condition and transparency

The company presents transparency as a working principle in its sales. It states that items are photographed and described honestly, with faults and blemishes explicitly highlighted rather than concealed. This applies both to pieces that have been restored and to those sold in their existing condition.

Buying furniture from customers

Beyond retail, Anglian Furniture buys furniture. The website includes a dedicated section for selling furniture to the business, alongside pages for auctions and partners, indicating that acquisitions come from private sellers as well as other sources.

Delivery and customer approach

Delivery is offered over long distances; the company states that no distance is too far and that it runs deliveries to Scotland every Monday. It also describes an advisory role, offering guidance on maintaining and preserving furniture over time. The business frames its customer service as old-fashioned in values while having moved into online selling, and says buyers deal with named people before, during and after a purchase.

Brands and sales channels

Ercol and Old Charm are presented as partner brands and occupy their own sections of the catalogue. In addition to its own online shop, the company maintains an eBay shop as a secondary sales channel.