The British Antique Furniture Restorers' Association

Antique Woodworking Tools The British Antique Furniture Restorers' Association is the foremost national organisation of craftsmen engaged in furniture conservation and restoration and was founded in 1979 to safeguard interests of owners and buyers of antique furniture and the antique trade.

It seeks to act as a bridge between qualified conservator-restorers' and those whose love of antique furniture requires the highest standards of conservation and restoration.

All Full members have to have at least five years as a conservation-restoration professional (the average member today has 23 years experience) and pass exacting assessment on their skills, knowledge and business credentials. Our members acknowledge the importance of continuous professional development to keep abreast of advances in knowledge, skills and technical developments in the craft. Full Members are accredited by BAFRA.

There are categories of Associate membership designed to assist students and college graduates in working towards accreditation and for whom programmes of mentoring and education are arranged.

BAFRA has a thriving Friends Section for those with a love of fine furniture and allied objects, their history, conservation and restoration.

Browse this web site to find out more about us and our work, read articles on antiques and their care and see events planned in the months ahead.

Please turn to the Latest News Page to view a most important BAFRA response to West Dean College about a serious error made in the December Journal (Issue 41)

Find a BAFRA Accredited Restorer

Find BAFRA Accredited Restorers and Conservators in your region:

UK Regions

BAFRA Accredited Restorers in the UK

Become a Friend

Join BAFRA for exclusive invites to events across the UK »

Prove your skills - get accredited and become a BAFRA member »

The Antique Furniture Restoration/Conservation Guide - £7.50 inc P&P »

Upcoming Events

8 Jun 2013: Colouring and Cosmetics for Restorers

Held at London - Titian Studios, 65 Jeddo Road, London W12 9ED.

2013 Training Day No. 2

More detail about this event will be published on this site in due course

14 Sep 2013: Longcase Clocks

Held at Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Merry Lane, Sansaw Heath.

2013 Training Day No. 3

More detail will be published on this site in due course.

News & Articles

10 Mar 2013: A Message of Appreciation

I would love to publish my thanks on the net somewhere .

Grace Wyatt

14 Feb 2013: West Dean Furniture and Clock Conservation Courses

As BAFRA Members and Friends will know from receipt of an amended inside front cover page of the latest Journal, Issue No. 41, a very serious mistake was made on the Chairman's page reporting that the West Dean College Furniture and Clocks courses are closing after 40 years. BAFRA apologises very sincerely for what has since transpired as a totally untrue statement.

28 Dec 2012: Veneering and Marquetry

The latest in BAFRA's popular series of Training Days was held at the workshops of gilder and BAFRA member Rod Titian and lead by BAFRA Chairman Bruce Luckhurst with some assistance from Mike Goater who wrote this report and took the photos.

It was an intense day, but from departing remarks a valuable and much enjoyed one.

“This was the final Training Day for 2012 and new ones are being planned for 2013.

We would be most grateful for any suggestions from BAFRA Members and Members of the Public on topics they would like to see covered, both repeat subjects and new ones. Any suggestions should please be passed to Bruce woodwise1@live.co.uk or to BAFRA Head Office headoffice@bafra.org.uk . New Training Days will be emailed to all members and those who have attended any of the 2012 training events.”