It is a sad day for antiques enthusiasts and collectors in Winchester. It has emerged that the antiques market in Kings Walk is to close this summer.

The city council which owns the building has told the remaining stall holders that they have to quit the building.

In a letter sent to all stall holders dated March 9 the city council said that tenancy of all stallholders would end on June 9.

The antiques market is on the ground floor of the former warehouse building in Kings Walk and the upper floor is a shop selling retro clothing, fancy dress and miscellaneous gifts.

Alternative premises have been found for the upstairs business to operate from but no premises have been found for the antiques stall holders which have been a feature of the building for over 40 years.

The building was originally designed as a furniture store for the removals firm A. W. White & Co. in 1883 by local architect and surveyor Thomas Micklam. The furniture store was erected on garden ground behind older stores to the north of Silver Hill,

Entrepreneur Alfred William White, established his furniture removal and warehousing business in Portsmouth in 1871, and opened offices in Southampton in 1878 and Winchester in 1879–80. It is thought that Winchester was chosen partly for its well-heeled residents and itinerant military population Until the early 20th century the company employed specialist horse-drawn vans known as pantechnicons.

The majority of the pre-war Silver Hill premises were demolished in the mid-20th century, and the former furniture warehouse is believed, along with The Woolstaplers Hall, to be the last surviving industrial buildings left in Winchester.

Jocelyn Young who runs one of the stalls at the market said: “We would love to see the place done up as a mixed antique, arts and crafts market. With some money spent on it, it would be great as a start-up place for young people who can’t afford much rent.”

Ann Whately has been running an antiques business at the market since 1979 and she said: "We’re very, very sad, as it has been here a long time and they are just going to leave it empty. It’s been under threat for a while now. The council consider the building unsafe. The letter we received said its not viable to do it up. They are offering other shops around here a 5 year lease. Winchester need an antique market, it needs individual businesses not big multinationals."

She added: This place just needs a new floor and central heating. They want us out and to gut it. This building has a lot of potential. It seems awful to close it. Even if we can’t stay, the building itself should never be pulled down.”

City Councillor Kim Gottlieb supports preserving the building and said: “The Antique Market is one of Winchester’s little jewels, and its proposed demolition under the now-defunct Henderson proposal was sacrilegious. Fortunately, as far as I am aware, neither the Council nor JTP now have this in mind.”

“The current tenants are also jewels of Winchester, and I am very disappointed that the Council has taken the decision to evict them, not least because JTP recommendations on how to regenerate the whole site are still at an embryonic stage. Hopefully, it will become a key feature.”

He added: “Personally, I do not believe that there is a pressing health and safety issue. The Market is perfectly functional and, with a little bit of tidying up and minor repairs, the vacant stalls could be let to make the whole place even more fun and interesting than it presently is. I, and I know other Councillors, will be trying to persuade the Council to change tack on this.”