John Howard looks ahead to a treat for lovers of antiques

Antique pottery….it is in the genes. Lasered at an early age. I grew up in Warrington, with a mother from Aberystwyth in deepest Wales.

My grandparents had a farm in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity, no running water and spoke Welsh.

My earliest memory is the dresser in the living room. I loved it with its copper lustre, gaudy Welsh and blue white plates complete with Staffordshire dogs and cows.

I was enthralled with the whole farm experience, but its lasting impact was the pots on the old dresser.

I still have some of them and have never been able to sell them.

My father was a dustman – a posh one, he drove the wagon. He used to bring things home people had discarded.

I remember sword sticks, mantle clocks and jug and bowl toilet sets. I always wanted him to keep them but they were usually sold – hard times in the 1950s.

I started work when I had just turned 15 and my first week’s wages, £2 17s 6d, was spent on a copper lustre jug which winked at me every time I went past the pawn shop window in Mersey Street.

It was very similar to my grandmother’s and had a large chip on the spout. I was really pleased with myself walking out of the shop with it.

I also played guitar in a rock group in the 1960’s and always stopped the van when travelling around, my mates used to call me “second hand Joe”.

In the late1960s I got a proper job as a management consultant, having qualified in work study, management services and transport at night school and day release courses in Warrington and Manchester.

Earning a good wage we acquired a grange house, Rose Cottage, which had delft rails, stippled ceilings and my search for antiques went into overdrive.

However, my wife and I were envious of the lifestyle of antique dealers so we decided to open up a shop in Warrington.

This we did from 5pm till 8pm each week night and all day Saturday and Sunday whilst still keeping our jobs. After the success of opening the little shop my wife packed in her job and became self-employed, a big deal in the 1970s.

At my Welsh grandmother’s funeral in Aberystwyth we noticed a good looking antique shop and decided, as always, to have a look around.

We mentioned to the owner that we would love to buy a place like this one day and retire to Wales.

He promptly told us the place was up for sale. We made him an offer the following day and within three months we were located in Aberystwyth where we ran the shop for 15 years.

By this time I had specialised in ceramics and exhibited at major antique fairs such as Olympia in London and the Ceramic Fair in New York.

Collectors and other dealers were very generous imparting their knowledge and I read every reference book I could get my hands on, meaning my specialisation of 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century British pottery developed quickly.

For the past five years I have been chairman of the Cotswolds Art and Antiques Dealers’ Association (CADA) which represents almost 50 high-quality art and antique dealers throughout the Cotswolds, known for their knowledge and integrity.

I am also involved in organising the association’s fair at Blenheim Palace which is a wonderful showcase for the membership.

It is the only antiques fair to be staged at Blenheim Palace, and the setting could not be more appropriate to showcase the best art and antiques that the Cotswolds has to offer.

John Howard owns Heritage in Woodstock and is chairman of the Cotswolds Art & Antiques Dealers’ Association. The Cotswolds Art and Antiques Dealers’ Association Fair at Blenheim Palace is open from today until Sunday.