Allington Manor is a superb Grade II* listed property near Grantham. Like all starred properties, it boasts noteworthy internal features beyond its mullion windows – in this case, original panelling and a huge Jacobean dog-leg staircase.

Enter, the property, however, and the period features of the property are enhanced further by the majestic entrance hall’s four large suits of armour and antique weaponry from different periods, some replicas of those dating back to the Civil War, some from a little later.

“My father was a rector in Suffolk, and also ran the nearby RAF station. His father was a keen antiques collector and our home was always full of Georgian antiques.”

Garth never intended to forge a career in the antiques trade, instead becoming a landscape gardener, but the chance find of a Lancaster Rifle dating from around 1860 in a client’s garden led to an interest in the specialism of collectable and antique weaponry and militaria alongside his existing interest in general antiques and collectables, selling items like pocket watches, gramophones and gramophone records on tables at fairs. Garth’s first purchase was a Japanese sword bought for £8 and sold for over £1,500 and thus began a long career trading in militaria and weaponry.

Garth then set up the Leicester Antiques Centre, the largest of its type in the UK with one of the area’s best collections of antique weaponry, and was the UK’s first dealer at the Berlin Arms Fair in 1989 upon the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Throughout his career, Garth has moved away from specialist militaria fairs some of which can be intimidating, cliquey and tend to specialise in weapons from the Second World War. Using general antiques fairs to trade in his products, Garth finds, results in a more approachable client base, more interested in items from an earlier period.

Having moved to Lincolnshire 27 years ago, Garth was joined in the trade by son Dominic two years ago, and now operate from their Allington home, selling pistols, pikes and pole arms, swords, Japanese swords, cannons and armour. Over 70% of their trade is UK-based, with the 19th century the most common period. Typical items include Victorian swords, Cromwellian Armour, flintlock pistols and US Civil War era Colt

Revolvers, from the English Civil War period with up to the First World War. In the two years that Dominic has been working in the business he has seen some items double in value. “The scarcity of the items we trade is becoming recognised and I’ve seen most items appreciate rapidly.”

Typical values include firearms at between £500 and £600, with rarer items fetching several thousands of  pounds and items that are rarer still like a pair of cannons Garth traded, can fetch anything up to £45,000. Armour is a marginal trade, with the pair selling only five or six sets a year. However, complete suits of armour such as a 16th century Milanese style full suit (pictured right) or 19th century replica suit made for display are valued at £35,000 and £23,500 respectively.

Professional restoration is a must for any item, Garth and Dominic suggests that many of the county’s period homes could contain items of real value. “We’ve over 13,000 contacts on our database so we’re pretty good at matching items that will appeal to our existing client, so it's worth checking if you've anything of interest to us in the attic.” Whilst some items are traded internationally, with Japan, China and Europe common destinations for international trade, the US is a not a popular market for militaria, as post-9/11 shipping costs of £150, designed to stem the import of firearms have made import costs preclusive to many.

Having stocked Abercrombie & Fitch’s flagship store, shooting wear Holland & Holland’s Regent Street foyer and supplied militaria for celebrities like Michael Flatley’s Castle Hyde, trade is exceptional for Garth and Dominic, and with items appreciating in value steadily, their products make great investments and in the mean time… really enhance for Lincolnshire’s period properties.