This month sees the final chapter in the story of one of Melksham’s oldest businesses.
A&I Jaffray Antiques, which closed in July after trading for more than 70 years, will see its remaining stock auctioned as it says farewell to the town. Renowned auctioneers Gardiner Houlgate are bringing the hammer down on the iconic antiques shop, which has been part of Melksham’s heritage since it was founded by Alan and Iris Jaffray in 1954. “Gardiner Houlgate are privileged to present the Alan & Iris Jaffray Collection (Part I) to include the remaining trading stock of A&I Jaffray Antiques,” said auctioneer David Hare.
“The sale will run over two days and consists of 834 lots containing thousands of antique and decorative items.” The story of Alan and Iris Jaffray is one deeply intertwined with Melksham’s past. Alan, originally from Birmingham, was evacuated to Melksham during the blitz in 1940, and he stayed in the Labour Club, Melksham where his auntie worked, now the Market Tavern public house. Iris lived next door in the antiques shop and being just 11 and 9 years old they became friends and played together as the two families became close and spent a lot of time together.
After the war Alan and Iris stayed in contact and became romantically involved, and were married on the 31st July 1949. Following the death of Iris’s mother, Eliza Townsend in 1954, Alan and Iris took over the antiques business, F. Townsend Antiques and they gradually built A & I Jaffray Antiques with their savings of £30. The business was just in the front shop, yard and a tin shed mainly selling ‘bric-á brac’. They then bought the rear showroom in the early 1960s which used to be the function room of the Labour Club and then bought two prefabricated houses from Lowbourne when they were being demolished to form another showroom which remain today. The business developed and became an established antiques exporter.
Their daughter Sue recalls many fond memories of growing up in the business assisting with the house clearances at a very young age and later working full-time in the business during the 1980s. After a short illness, Alan passed away in April 2022 and Iris sadly passed away the 20th July 2024; her funeral was held on the 31st July 2024 which would have marked their 75th Wedding Anniversary.
The couple played an important part in the local community with Iris helping to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for local charities with the Friends of Forest and Melksham (FOFAM) group. “The sale is now online to view at https://auctions.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk/” added David Hare.
For more details, visit https://www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk/news/101/The+Alan+Jaffray+Collection or call 01225 812912.
The sale will be open for public viewing at the Gardiner Houlgate Corsham saleroom on Friday 20th September, Monday 23rd September, Tuesday 24th September and Wednesday 25th September, 9am to 5pm on each day.
