White House Pine & Antiques

In 1979, Liz and Graham Rideal founded White House Antiques at what used to be the local pub and then the Waverton village Post Office. The date is easily remembered because the trauma of moving in hastened the birth of their second daughter who was born within a few days.

Liz, a former primary school teacher, had always had a keen interest in antiques, even from the early age of seven, so the shop was ‘a dream come true’. Initially, the shop, which specialises in antique pine furniture, operated from a single room at the front and only opened in the afternoons.

The reason was twofold, firstly there was only a limited stock, a princely £860 was all that could be afforded at the time and, secondly, time was needed to restore the furniture and china bought at auction. Graham’s main job is a research scientist so he had to juggle his time between the workshop and his laboratory.

Today The White House has expanded into one of the largest outlets for antique pine in the Northwest and has a large fully equipped workshop for restoration and the manufacture of bespoke furniture. A common comment from new customers is that they had been passing the shop for years but never knew it was so big inside and had such a comprehensive range of furniture.