Posted 24th November 2017 by
Norfolk Salvage Expert to Star in New TV Series.
An unusual Norfolk business and its owner are set to star in a new 12 part TV series following the ups and downs of the architectural salvage business.
Sam Coster, owner of Mongers of Hingham has been rescuing priceless fixtures and fittings from condemned buildings all over the country for more than a dozen years. He was chosen to be one of a handful of characters followed by cameras in the 6 hour series called The Reclaimers that airs on BBC2 from 13th January.
Sam (47) lives in a faithfully restored 15th Century Cottage in the village of Hingham, and supplies rare original architectural antiques such as fireplaces, bathrooms, garden furniture and statuary, doors and door furniture to customers all over Europe.
It is really exciting to be involved in a project like the Reclaimers, especially as it gives us the opportunity to promote reuse and reducing waste. commented Sam.
The trends in modern interior and home design dont always help our business, but there is a resurgence of interest in antiques and classic design just at the moment, and I think it will be an eye opener to see just how much of our architectural heritage is saved by people in this very specialist business, he added.
Mongers was established by Sam and his late wife Trudie at its current premises in Hingham, near Norwich in 1997. His approach to restoring pieces of salvage means that many local engineers, blacksmiths and other craftsmen have a steady flow of work.
Faithfully restoring pieces, and keeping the dying arts and crafts our heritage is built on is crucial, especially when they face competition from lesser quality reproduction copies made at the expense of exploited and poorly paid workers. Our customers would much rather pay a few pounds more for the real thing, hundreds of years old and restored by bona fide craftsmen, explains Sam.
The series of half hour episodes will also be accompanied by a book, and will run weekly at 8pm from Thursday 13th January on BBC2. Mongers Showrooms and Sam Coster feature in the second episode (aired 20th January) as well the sixth episode. The series that has been made by the producers of the recent hit series Who do You Think You Are? that followed celebrities in search of their family histories.