6 Red Lion Square, Stamford · Mon to Sat 9 to 17 · Closed Sundays
01780 754166 · PE9 2AJ
Dawson of Stamford Stamford · est. 1974 Enquire by email
Collections The shop Goldsmith Visit Enquire by email
Stamford · 6 Red Lion Square · since 1974

A jeweller’s bench and an antique-dealer’s eye, under the gilded Mercury.

John Dawson set up his goldsmith’s workshop in 1974 and has been on the bench ever since. The shop has traded from 6 Red Lion Square, a Grade II* listed timber-frame building with a Georgian stone facade, since 1989. Fine and antique jewellery, bespoke commissions, antique furniture, fine art and what we have always called obscure objets. The 1.9m gilded Mercury on the roofline went back up in 2016.

See the collections  → Call 01780 754166
1974 Est. workshop Fifty-one years on the bench, same founder.
1989 6 Red Lion Square Thirty-six years at the same Stamford shopfront.
Grade II* Listed building 15th c. timber frame, 1848 shopfront. Ref 1062212.
1.9 m Gilded Mercury Reinstated 2016 with a Civic Society award.
Collections · four rooms under one roof

What 6 Red Lion Square actually holds.

Fine and antique jewellery, remodelling and bespoke commission, antique furniture and what we have always called obscure objets, and the everyday repair and valuation work the bench does between commissions. Best seen in person.

01 / Fine and antique jewellery

New 18ct and platinum on the same shelf as the antique estate.

Rings, earrings, bangles, bracelets, pendants, necklaces and gents’ pieces in 18ct gold and platinum, brought in alongside the antique and estate jewellery John Dawson has been buying for the shop since 1974. Antique-jewellery restoration was the founding craft; it is still on the bench. If you cannot find a modern setting that holds the family stones the way you remember them, that is a conversation we are set up for.

02 / Remodelling + bespoke

A single earring becomes a pendant.

If you have a piece you no longer wear, or that has outlasted the style of the day, we will sit down with you, the piece and the loose stones to discuss remounting, remodelling or commissioning anew. Bespoke commissions follow the same path: a brief on paper, drawings, wax or CAD, then the bench. The goldsmith is the same person who is taking the brief, which is the bit most jewellers no longer offer.

03 / Antiques + obscure objets

Carriage clocks, long-case clocks, silver, wood carvings.

The shop holds a standing collection of antique furniture, fine art and what the /about page calls "obscure objets": carriage clocks and long-case clocks, silverware, gilt and silver decorative animals, wood carvings, the kind of one-off piece that surfaces at country-house auctions through the year. Sold from the showroom, not online. Best seen in person.

04 / Repairs + valuations

Watch batteries by the hour. Probate and insurance.

Silver and gold repair, ring sizing, pearl and bead re-stringing, silverware repair, ring and jewellery cleaning. Watch batteries typically within the hour. Valuations for insurance, probate, loss and theft documentation, and personal records. Done by a goldsmith on site, not posted away. Walk-in for the small jobs.

The timber frame, the stone facade, the gilded Mercury

A 15th-century timber-frame house with a Georgian stone facade. A goldsmith’s shop in it for thirty-six years.

The building at 6 Red Lion Square has been standing since the 15th century, with the dressed-stone east front added in the 18th century and the current shopfront installed in 1848. In 2015 we spent seven months stripping 160 years of pink and brown paint off the stone to recover the Georgian facade underneath. In 2016 we put the 1.9m gilded Mercury back on the roofline. The original had disappeared in the late 1800s. Both moments were front-page in the Stamford Mercury.

People come into the shop specially to compliment us.

John Dawson, Stamford Mercury, 12 October 2015

15th c. The building at 6 Red Lion Square is built as a timber-framed house with two storeys, attics and cellar. Three large late-medieval chamfered recesses survive in the cellar today. Historic England list entry 1062212.
18th c. A stone front is added on the east side, the dressed Stamford-limestone facade still visible above the shopfront.
1848 The north shopfront is installed, the same opening framing the current door and window. Grade II* listed.
1974 John Dawson sets up a goldsmith and diamond-mounter workshop at the bottom of his garden, specialising in the restoration of antique jewellery and hand-made commission pieces.
1976 John opens his first retail shop in Stamford to sell jewellery alongside antique furniture, fine art and what he calls the obscure objets.
1989 Dawson of Stamford moves into 6 Red Lion Square. Thirty-six years of trading from the same shopfront begin.
2015 Seven-month restoration of the shopfront. 160 years of pink and brown paint blasted off to recover the Georgian stone underneath. £35,000 grant from South Kesteven District Council. Reported in the Stamford Mercury, 12 October.
2016 A 1.9m gilded Mercury statue is reinstated on the roofline, facing down High Street, replacing the original that disappeared in the late 1800s. Stamford Civic Society conservation award.
Today Fifty-one years in, John Dawson is still trading from 6 Red Lion Square. Open Monday to Saturday, 9 to 5. The Mercury is still on the roof.
Pieces · three from the cabinet

A necklace, a ring, a pheasant.

Three pieces that pass through the cabinet at 6 Red Lion Square. The line we have always sold has always been a mix of jewellery, silver and what the /about page calls obscure objets.

An antique pendant necklace from the Dawson of Stamford cabinet, photographed on plain ground
01 / The cabinet Antique pendant, the kind that travels in by family lot.
A gold antique ring from Dawson of Stamford, hand-mounted setting on a single stone
02 / The bench Hand-mounted setting, the founding craft of the shop.
A silver pheasant decorative object from Dawson of Stamford, an example of the obscure objets the shop holds
03 / The objets Silver pheasant. The kind of thing only some jewellers stock.
Specialism

Goldsmithing, diamond mounting, antique restoration.

John Dawson trained as a goldsmith and diamond mounter, and the antique-jewellery restoration he set up the workshop to offer in 1974 is still the bench’s daily work. Few jewellers in Lincolnshire still combine new 18ct and platinum work, antique-jewellery restoration, and a standing collection of antique furniture and silver under one roof, with the goldsmith taking the brief and doing the work. That is the line "obscure objets" on /about is gesturing at.

  • 01Diamond mounting, the trade John Dawson trained in, still done on the bench in Stamford.
  • 02Antique-jewellery restoration, the workshop’s founding offer in 1974, and still the daily work.
  • 03The goldsmith taking the brief is the goldsmith doing the work. There is no design-by-committee step.
  • 04Hand-written valuations on letterhead for insurance, probate, loss and theft. One to two weeks.
A gents jewellery and watch collection still life from Dawson of Stamford, signets, cufflinks and watches on display
Enquire

Looking for a piece, a remodel or a valuation?

Email reaches the shop directly. For a remodelling or bespoke conversation, tell us roughly what you have, what you are hoping for and the deadline if there is one; we will reply with two or three appointment slots that put John or the goldsmith on the bench when you arrive. Phone 01780 754166 for anything urgent during opening hours.

Watch battery, ring sizing, pearl re-stringing?

Walk in any time between 9 and 5, Monday to Saturday. Small jobs do not need an appointment. Watch batteries are typically within the hour.

Thank you. We have your details and will reply from dawsonofstamford@hotmail.com during opening hours, Monday to Saturday.

Visit

6 Red Lion Square, Stamford.

We are on the south side of Red Lion Square, between All Saints Church and the Paten bar, with the gilded Mercury on the roofline facing down High Street. Stamford railway station is six minutes on foot; the Sheep Market and Bath Row car parks are both under five. Stamford itself is England’s first conservation town, designated 1967, so the streets around the shop are largely the same as they were when John opened the door in 1989.

Mon 09:00 · 17:00 Open
Tue 09:00 · 17:00 Open
Wed 09:00 · 17:00 Open
Thu 09:00 · 17:00 Open
Fri 09:00 · 17:00 Open
Sat 09:00 · 17:00 Open
Sun Closed
6 Red Lion Square, Stamford PE9 2AJ · six minutes on foot from Stamford station. Open in Google Maps ↗
Frequently asked

The questions Stamford customers actually ask.

From the counter, the phone and the Birdeye reviews.

Where are you, exactly?

6 Red Lion Square, Stamford, PE9 2AJ. We are in the row on the south side of the square, between All Saints Church and the Paten bar. The shop is the Georgian-stone facade with a 1.9m gilded Mercury statue on the roofline, facing down High Street. Stamford railway station is six minutes on foot; the Sheep Market and Bath Row car parks are both under five.

What are your opening hours?

Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 17:00. Closed Sundays. Watch-battery and small-repair work is walk-in within those hours; valuations and remodelling consultations are by appointment, which is the right way to make sure the goldsmith is on the bench when you arrive.

Do you remodel old jewellery?

Yes. That is the conversation John Dawson is set up for. Bring in the piece, or the stones if it has already been broken up, and we will discuss remounting, remodelling or commissioning a new piece from scratch. A single earring becoming a pendant is the most-asked example. The goldsmith taking the brief is the goldsmith doing the work.

Will the design be signed off before any work starts?

Yes. Nothing goes to the bench until the design is signed off, the stones agreed in writing, and the price fixed. The initial consultation is free of charge; sketches, then CAD or wax where appropriate, are produced before deposit. You see the piece before the metal is committed.

I do not really know what I want yet.

Most first conversations begin that way. Bring in the inherited piece, the loose stones in an envelope, or even a photograph of a piece you remember. We will lay out options that fit the materials, your budget and the wearer. No brief, no pressure to commit on the day.

Do you handle valuations for insurance and probate?

Yes. Written valuations for insurance, probate, loss and theft documentation, and personal records, prepared on letterhead and signed by a goldsmith. Bring the pieces in by appointment. Turn-around is typically one to two weeks depending on the scope.

Can you replace my watch battery while I wait?

Usually yes, typically within the hour. We do not vacuum-seal watches to guarantee water resistance, so for divers and sea-bathers we will say so before opening the case. For everything else, walk in any time between 9 and 5, Monday to Saturday.