Antiques expert receives British Empire Medal for charity fundraising

A WELL-KNOWN antiques dealer who lives in Randalstown has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours list.

Eleanor Wolfenden-Orr was recognised in the King’s New Year Honours for services to charitable fundraising and to the community in Northern Ireland.

A famous face in the antiques trade in Northern Ireland for 50 years, Eleanor has been in business on Portrush’s Main Street since 1996 and is set to retire in 2026.

She is also supporter of and fundraiser for the charity, Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI, after being supported by the charity when she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2017.

In 2024 she raffled a diamond pendant necklace, joining forces with Miss Northern Ireland Hannah Johns, to raise funds for the charity.

Eleanor, with the support of her husband Sam, has raised over £117,000 including more than £67,000 for LLNI through charitable dinners and auctions and a ball in Ballymena.

Speaking at the time about the fundraising raffle, Eleanor said: “Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI is a special charity and one that is very close to my heart. The research they fund, conducted right here in Northern Ireland, is world-leading and it is making a tangible difference to people, like me, who are receiving treatment for blood cancer.

“I donated this beautiful piece of jewellery with my most heartfelt blessings in the hope that the Northern Ireland public will get behind this campaign and purchase a ticket to help ensure the invaluable work this charity carries out can continue, with all the money raised funding research in NI.”

Speaking to the Guardian this week, she said: “I knew I had been nominated and accepted about a month ago and could not tell anyone, it was very humbling.

“I feel chuffed, and a bit undeserving.

“When I was receiving stem cell treatment, I agreed with my husband that if we go through this, we would give something back, and I feel very lucky that I was able to do so.

“The charity is very close to my heart and deserves lots of exposure and fundraising and hopefully this recognition will help with that.”

Eleanor will receive her award at Hillsborough Castle soon, before being invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace later in the year.

Last year, her art-deco shop and its adjoining eight-bedroom property went on the market for over £650,000, although the business is not for sale.

Prior to opening their Portrush site, which holds items dating back to the early 1800s, Ms Wolfenden-Orr and her late business partner Mr Kennedy ran their shop and auction site in Belfast from 1976 until 2003.

Their auction room was originally located on Victoria Street but moved to the Lisburn Road after a bombing in February 1980.

There was also an outlet on the Lisnevenagh Road.

Eleanor has said that highlights over the past 50 years include five world record sales for paintings by artists including Sir John Lavery at an auction in 1984.

The business operated in the summer months in Portstewart’s former Carrig-Na-Cule Hotel and later Edgewater for 20 years before finding its permanent north coast home at 86 Main Street.