The Hampstead Antique and Craft Emporium

INDEPENDENT traders have been left stunned by a landlord’s decision to shut down a historic market in the heart of Hampstead.

The Hampstead Antique and Craft Emporium opened in 1967 and today houses 25 traders and artists in a main building reached through a quaint alcove off Heath Street.

The market’s boss told the New Journal rising costs including utility bills had forced the decision and confirmed traders had no option but to leave.

But some of the Emporium’s traders have criticised the short notice and suggested the building may be converted into expensive housing.

Leslie Wilson-Rutterford

Leslie Wilson-Rutterford, who runs Wunderbar Vintage in the main building, said she felt “gutted, powerless, totally depressed and angry”, adding: “They have told us we can stay for the Christmas period. But we will all be emptying our shops as we go up to Christmas and there will be a terrible vibe here as it closes.

“It’s been a lifeline for me and so many of us here – it’s more than a little group of shops. Hampstead people love to come and browse, to chat – to get out of the house. There are people who have been coming here for decades. It is an amazing place to work as well, with all the cafes and trees.”

She added: “It’s a little secret place, no high street malarkey. A real hidden gem and everybody is happy here. You take this out and you have just a pretty Oxford Street. Who needs more Oxford Streets?”

Ms Wilson-Rutterford, who lives in Kentish Town, said she was considering forming a “collective” with the traders who currently rent units with one-month notice contracts.

Many are concerned about what they will do with stock, furniture and tables in the units.

Another trader, who did not want to be named, said: “It is very short notice and now we have two months to liquidate all our stock. It’s sad, because it’s been there for 50 years. I suspect property developers will be on the prowl to turn it into residential property for billionaires.”

He said he hoped Camden Council could step in and use planning protections to stop the site being redeveloped into housing. Market boss Richard Jaffe told the New Journal: “The fact of the matter is we have to close the Emporium. We will be closing after Christmas. It has become no longer viable to keep trading because of ever-increasing costs, general costs. As an example, utilities bills are increasing.”

Mr Jaffe said no decision had been made about what could replace the Emporium and that he was “focused on closure”.

The Emporium opened in 1967 when the Sunday Mirror described how at the time the cobbled back street was converted so that “forty enterprising dealers” could pay low rates for space.

Mr Jaffe is director of the company Stapleline, a family business, which took charge of the Emporium in 1981.

In a recent Emporium newsletter, he commented on the difficulties of restarting business following the Covid lockdowns and praised traders for “stepping up to make sure this place is what it was before the pandemic”.