Dorset, UK - Drummond Shaw, a former commodity broker in the City, became interested in salvage in the 1980s while restoring Flexford House, his 1840s family home on Surrey's Hog's Back, when he needed to buy the right type of kit. Salvage fitted the bill, especially big, yes the bigger, the better, old cast iron baths. The swashbuckling derring-do of the architectural salvage trade resonated with Drummond, and in 1988, assisted by his wife Angela, Drummonds of Bramley Architectural Antiques Ltd was formed, and Birtley Farm near Guildford was acquired and turned into a reclamation yard. Tim Cooper, a former Walcot Reclamation manager, was persuaded to join up. A few years later, the company's annual sales were £1.5m, of which £500k was exported, and a 15,000 sqft oak framed barn had been built to extend the showroom space.

Appreciation of aged sanitaryware resulted in Shaw buying and restoring old cast iron baths, taps and brassware which led to his quest to find the best way of renewing the old white porcelain enamel surface of salvaged cast iron baths. In 1992 he tried wet frit enamel applied by an English enameller. The following year a company in eastern Europe using a German frit, and eventually, he decided to control the whole process and visited Sanok in eastern Poland, where he bought a former wartime factory to house the enamelling workshop. A period of trial and error ensued until Shaw perfected a technique where up to five layers of traditional dry frit were applied to a cherry red hot bath on a sled which bucked and swivelled like a slow-motion rodeo bronco to create an even 1.2mm coating of enamel on the bath. The traditional enamelled finish was described by Drummonds as 'gently undulating'. It was thicker and more resilient than prevailing antique bath resurfacing alternatives. It was also slowly cooled to reduce skin stresses, especially on areas of double curvature, such as the outlet plughole and the roll top. Shaw had a tenacious approach to quality which was recognised by his fellow sanno buffs, one of whom 'liked almost everything he made and his keenness to get it 'right", and another who admired his bath roll tops as the finest in the trade. In the mid-2000s, many letters on the topic of enamelling appeared in the pages of SalvoNEWS, more than any other topic, mainly on terminology and the merits of wet frit, dry frit, and cold sprayed finishes with or without added heating lamps. These were written by members of the antique bathroom brigade, including Drummond's employees Tony Swayne and time-served plumber, Colin Elderfield, as well as Mr Shaw himself, whose first vocation in the mid 60s, allegedly, was a plumber's mate. Most agreed that correctly applied dry frit gave the best finish. Sanok subsequently housed brass and iron foundries, kilns for firing stoneware and allied finishing workshops (see the video below).

Shaw bought Hindhead Bus Garage, 50,000 sqft of covered area just off the A3, and spent a fortune on the rebuild, opening it in February 1999 and renaming the Kirkpatrick Building after his war-hero father, who had been killed in action in 1951. "It's the eighth wonder of the world," Midlands salvage dealer Ronnie Wootton told SalvoNEWS after a guided tour of the new premises in February 1999. The vast heated showrooms held masses of stock and allowed the display of very large items. For example, a fancy Victorian two-storey curved iron and glass staircase from the old Mappin & Webb building was displayed at the opening. One large showroom was devoted to Drummonds reproductions of cast iron baths, brass door and window furniture, garden ornament, ironmongery, and Victorian conservatories. In order to finance the Kirkpatrick Building, Shaw had invited several friends to invest as shareholders, including Baron Dolf Sweerts de Landas, a nearby dealer in antique garden ornament. The company then simply became Drummonds Architectural Antiques.

The legendary rivalry between two former salvage dealers, Drummond Shaw and Simon Kirby, who were also both authenticity-obsessed traditional new sanitaryware protagonists continued unabated, deadly serious but friendly and gentlemanly, and played out in, among other locales, the various Salvo convivial evenings where members engaged in joshing banter and vituperative insults. Shaw then started trading as Drummonds Architectural Designs with a range of new brassware and cast iron baths, which after a few years, blossomed into Drummonds Bathrooms. The gladiatorial combat between these colossi of the customary comfort room evaporated like a zephyr of steam when Kirby sold Thomas Crapper & Co in 2016.

Drummonds booked stands at Salvo Fair, Decorex, Chelsea Flower Show, displays on Salvo stands at Earl's Court Ideal Home Show, Olympia Period Home Show, Listed Property Show and at R&R in Washington. The firm was also featured in home interest titles such as English Home, Homes & Gardens, House & Garden, La Maison, Sleeper, World of Interiors and Architectural Digest. Shaw opened a shop and showrooms in Pimlico, Kings Road, Notting Hill and New York.

In 2008 Drummond, who had booked a large stand at Salvo Fair, discussed some of the stock he wanted to shift and his future plans in a video interview which included thoughts on the salvage trade, his new businesses, Drummonds Flooring, some of the areas he found less profitable in architectural salvage, and plans for leaving Hindhead. (see the video https://salvonews.blogspot.com/2008/06/drummond-shaw-interviewed-by-thornton.html)

The subsequent move from Hindhead in 2013 came as the business was significantly stepping up its manufacture of the eponymous range of new bathroom fittings, door furniture, window brassware and wooden flooring. Trading in architectural antiques and reclaimed building material was reduced. The term' Architectural Antiques' was dropped from the company name in favour of 'Bathrooms' to form Drummonds Bathrooms Ltd in which Shaw's legacy lives on, now managed by Stafford Whitby and James Lentaigne, and the flooring and brassware business now managed by his son-in-law Gregory Payne.

Shaw's first job was plumber's mate, followed by six weeks comi waitering at Claridges, management trainee at Sandell Perkins, now Travis Perkins, and then a spell as a City commodity broker. His grandfather's family business (on his mother's side) had been Broads Builders Merchants, which was incorporated into Sandell Perkins, followed by Glynwed, which became the Aga group in 2001.
The Shaw family was entitled to wear the Scottish MacDonald tartan, and the maternal grandmother was an Irish belle, so Drummond Shaw was a mix of both Irish and Scottish heritage.

Drummond John Hay Shaw died peacefully at home on 28 June 2023 and will be sadly missed by his family and friends. He leaves his sister, Fleur, half-sister Charmian, step-brother David, three daughters, Ella, Scarlett, and Hayley, and four grandchildren. He was married three times. His last wife Rosie nursed him at home in Dorset with the help of his daughters. Original to the end, Drummond asked Norbert, his loyal carpenter, to make his coffin from reclaimed old flooring, and was due to be driven to the crematorium in his beloved old Volvo by Glasgow Pete. A memorial gathering is planned in his honour in late August. He requested Ronnie Wootton to let people in the trade know about Shaw's forthcoming memorial party.

Funeral service - Watching webcast live and watch-again
https://watch.obitus.com/eUWp7Z
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personal contributions
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Thornton Kay wrote: Farewell Drummond. You were a generous spirit, open hearted, a compulsive competitor. The last time we met was at a Salvo convivial held at The White Hart, Hingham, in February 2020 under the kind patronage of Sam and Louise Coster, to discuss the workings of the Truly Reclaimed standard which you supported. "Make it something for the ordinary person", you said. Before the meal, after much deliberation you chose several bottles of sumptuous wine for our end of the table where sat Ronnie Wootton (your dear friend), David Cox, Shirley Kay, Viv Newton, Sara Morel, Becky Moles and Fiona Triplow. The wine, I was assured afterwards, was delicious. As was the crate of pink champagne you kindly brought in your Maserati to my wedding in Dorset a few years ago. I remember the conversations we had about the trade, and your certainty. And the games - your versions of croquet and billiards - which seemed to involve an improbable amount of physicality. Like most of the trade, I will miss you.

James Rylands wrote: I first met Drummond with Dolf Sweerts in the late 80's. I was immediately struck by the huge disparity in physical size between them - Dolf at 6'6" and Drummond a foot shorter, but it was obvious that what Drummond lacked in physical stature, he made up for in rumbustiousness and force of character. He consigned regularly to us and I was a frequent visitor to Bramley. I remember him showing me a set of staddle stones and told him they weren't much as they were small and mean-looking and he told me they were Scottish and knowing that he was small and Scottish, I told him I rested my case! Mean he was not - being generous in spirit and with his time; he was immensely good company. Probably the best things I sold for him were the sandstone figures of Red Army soldiers from the roof of the Communist headquarters in Prague, which he had managed to buy shortly after the wall came down. What amazed me about Drummond was that he came across as a complete shambles, an Englishman born in an entirely different era, but in reality, he was a successful businessman who set up any number of profitable enterprises, from the bathroom factory in Poland to the shop on the Kings Road and subsequently after Bramley, at Hindhead, followed by his flooring business. Anybody who was fooled by the wonderfully old-fashioned dress style complemented by the holes in his sweater or frayed collar, did so at their peril. Quick story on the bathrooms: about 30 years ago he got a contract to re-enamel some of the baths in one of the royal palaces and sent them over to Poland to have them done, which due to the traditional process of heating them up to quite a high temperature before re-enamelling, meant that they were a slightly different size or shape when they arrived back to be refitted, and the good job made them look brand new so he was accused of selling off the originals with their royal provenance and substituting them with new ones!! As a favour to a mate, I conducted the auction for him when he closed down Hindhead. For someone who had started as a city trader, he had a remarkably good eye and the sheer breadth of what he bought, largely on instinct was amazing. Above all, he was fun, with a healthy disregard for authority and a taste for the finer things in life, including his own specially blended Lapsang/Darjeeling tea. Together with Dolf, we socialised with Drummond regularly, most often shooting either in Scotland or down in Dorset. In hindsight, I wish I'd accepted more invitations to go shooting with him rather than letting work get in the way. Losing someone you know well puts life into perspective, especially and ironically, as I had my prostate whipped out last year and was lucky enough to have caught it early. Sadly Drummond didn't and then went into a state of denial. The nature of our business attracts interesting people, all of whom are obsessed with the craftsmanship and artefacts of the past, and Drummond was up there with the best of them. In essence, he was an intriguing paradox: small in stature but huge in character, sartorially shabby but socially very smart, mesmerised by age and provenance but very forward looking, bumbling and seemingly unorganised in demeanour, but in reality sharp as a razor. We shan't see another like him any time soon.

Sam Coster wrote: I first met Drummond at one of the Salvo Fairs at Knebworth, when he bought a fine Excelsior WC pan from me. Many years later I bought a similar pan from him when he was having the clearance sale at Hindhead. We had many dealings over the years, and I was a frequent visitor to the Hindhead establishment. I was honoured to be given first refusal on much of the remaining stock at Hindhead. We took away van loads of Drummond’s sanitaryware spares. Drummond, a true reclaimer, was keen for everything to have a chance of reuse. He would march around the site informing me of the provenance of every item, what to do with it and, most importantly, how much I could get for it. James Walker, who at the time was working at Drummonds, assisted us in the removal and identification of all the spares. When James retired and moved to Norfolk a couple of years later, we employed him part time and we came across many items that had passed through Drummonds and James and I discussed the history of houses and baths and restoration work. I have, as a salvage dealer, always been rather suspicious of items restored by other firms, but when we have been lucky enough to acquire pieces that have come through Drummonds workshops, we know that Drummond’s attention to detail and quality is incredible. I would have loved to have been able to emulate the quality of work that came out of the Drummond’s restoration workshop but fear I have fallen very short of their standards. Drummond would phone my office often, whilst we were trying to have a deal on a crate of Deano China cisterns that James knew were left over from the Hindhead clearance, he would ask, every time we spoke, ‘how’s Walker? Very knowledgeable Walker, knows a lot’. It was due to Drummond Shaw’s knowledge, vision, and enthusiasm that we are now able to do what we do. I, for one, am very grateful for his generosity and the time spent listening and I do not begrudge at all the very expensive bottle of claret that appeared on my bill at the White Hart on a Salvo convivial evening.

James Walker wrote: Drummond was the most kind and generous eccentric I have known. I will never forget him giving me a day of his precious shooting when my mother died as he thought I needed something to take my mind off it. I worked with him for over ten years, joining to help the move from Bramley and never left. RIP Drummond.

Simon Kirby wrote: I was so sorry to hear that Drummond had died so young. Our friendly rivalry began in the late-1980s when Drummond traversed the land buying the best pieces he could find - often at full price, or so I heard - in order to populate with the finest stock, almost overnight, his soon-to-be-launched business at Bramley. He wanted to open it fully-formed as the best architectural antiques establishment in the country. Well, it was a truly splendid creation indeed; full of wonderful things. Later I asked why he did not come shopping at my place; he replied he doubted I would sell him anything. He was probably right. The sanitaryware section alone at Birtley Farm was hugely impressive and I returned home determined to do better. Initially I was saddened when he told me they were to move to some old bus station - but what an incredible place it was when it was finished. I walked around in a daze for several hours. Not only was it huge and packed with marvellous pieces; it was so stylishly done. In fact even with those who had access to similar levels of resources, there was no ‘competing’ with Drummond; what he created was undoubtedly the very finest architectural antiques business in the Kingdom; possibly anywhere. Years ago, his re-establishment of the traditional dry-frit bath enamelling process was a great achievement, and it was of course by far the best finish available, so I had him enamel some baths for my best customers when I was still restoring antique bathroom fittings. Later he began making proper, authentic reproduction baths around the same time I was developing ‘proper’ copies of basins, loos, taps &c., so for a while we stocked his baths and he stocked our sanitaryware. This arrangement worked well until he developed his own fittings, understandably enough. We had slightly different taste when it came to old sanno but I liked almost everything he made and despite the jokes, I admired him and his determination to do things properly. When I revealed to him that I had acquired Thomas Crapper & Co. and I showed him the initial range, I think that was the only time I ever managed to hit a bullseye: otherwise Drummond was always way out in front. A fond memory is a boys’ week-end at Flexford, spent doing games: croquet, pigeon-shooting, golf, bowling, billiards &c., which was very jolly and great fun. Naturally Drummond was madly competitive at each pursuit; equally naturally he was the finest and most generous of hosts. At one point whilst attacking the local sky-rats a mutual friend fired and the barrel of his gun burst out of the side, spraying shot just where my head had been seconds before. I had a narrow escape but Drummond knew that one of his pair of Purdeys would never be the same, yet he did not make a fuss about it. DJHS: insanely competitive; endlessly entertaining; hugely generous; charming, amusing and inspiring. I will miss him, as will everyone who knew him.