Martlets Trading

What differentiates this charity shop from others is the great selection of kitchen supplies. If I didn’t already spend money on a bedside cabinet, I would have purchased some of the mugs they had for sale here. And not just mugs, but they have cutlery, dishes, bowls and plates, and are all of decent quality as well.
But as with any charity shop I visit, I needed to peruse their selection of books. I’m just hoping to find the one rarity for £1 that I’m looking for. No go here, but they quite the solid collection of non-​fiction and history books. There were a few samples of fiction titles to choose from as well. Not the greatest selection, but it’s definitely worth it to have a flip through. And, if you can’t find the book you want, you could always just buy a tea cup instead.

Unlike most charity shops, Martlets don’t sell much in the way of clothing. I don’t know whether that is a conscious decision or just that they haven’t had clothing donated. They mostly sell crockery and china ornaments and similar items. I suppose the old lady style crockery is cool if you want to have an artfully mismatched set of floral plates and cups, but I’m not sure the ornaments will ever appeal. It was only old people that were shopping in there when I went in.

This is such a brilliant charity shop! The building has an old pebbled finish, painted black so that the shop’s entrance in white looks like the entrance to a cave– a cave happily filled with bargains! Martletts is the best charity shop for crockery and kitchen wear– they have two walls of dishes, pyrex, tea cups, plates, bowls, cutlery, mugs. I have found so many useful kitchen things here and some really lovely bowls and vases that I use all the time. This shop also has a section devoted to books– particularly hardback reference and art books– some nice pieces of furniture and some nice decorative items. The style tends to be a little old-​fashioned but all the things are good quality and could be adapted. The ladies who work here are quite matronly and chatty– it’s all a bit Jam and Jerusalem!