A landmark, award-winning lifestyle shop in Blandford has been put up for sale.

The Hambledon Gallery, in Salisbury Street, first opened its doors in 1962 and has been a popular retail destination for more than 60 years.
The venue first opened as an artists’ meeting place, before being converted into an art gallery run by the artist Katharine Church, known as Kitty West.

The upstairs of the building was dedicated to exhibitions of artwork by local and well-known artists, including Keith Vaughn, Mary Fedden, Elizabeth Frink and Richard Batterham. Downstairs focussed on women and children’s clothes and homeware.
Wendy Suffield joined Kitty in a successful partnership. “Exhibitions ended in the 1990s and the shop as it is today largely due to the vision of Wendy,” a spokesperson for the store said.
“The shop is a beautifully curated collection of women’s wear and accessories along with children’s clothes, books and toys as well as jewellery, perfume, homewares and toiletries.
“Despite the challenges of the last few years, The Hambledon Gallery saw an increase in turnover in 2022 and a very successful run up to Christmas.
“The current owners are eager to sell the building with the business as a going concern and they strongly believe the current turnover can be increased with improvements to their already successful online shop.”

The Hambledon Gallery is for sale through property agent, Goadsby.
The listing said it was a ‘spacious, beautifully-fitted destination store arranged over two floors’, with a ‘loyal, established clientele’ and ‘substantial business goodwill’.
A one-bedroom, self-contained flat is also included, currently let.
The business transfer is listed for sale at a price of £385,000. For more details, visit goadsby.com.