Step back in time: Museum of Victorian and war-time shops complete with 100,000 collection of antiques goes on sale for nearly £600,000

• Jan and Graham Upton, both 66, are selling their museum How We Lived Then, in Eastbourne, Sussex
• Couple have been collecting antiques since they were children and have run the museum for 25 years
• They are now selling up and want the new owner of the museum to continue their legacy
• The unique museum features different sections including a chemist, a grocer, a cobblers and a sweet shop
  

By LUCY CROSSLEY

Published: 10:43 EST, 5 February 2014 | Updated: 13:04 EST, 5 February 2014

With its shelves lined with faded medicine bottles, old pop bottles and even pre-war condoms, stepping into Jan and Graham Upton's museum is like stepping back in time.

The couple, both 66, have been collecting all sorts of antiques since they were children and for the last 25 years have run the museum and gift shop ‘How We Lived Then.

However, Mr and Mrs Upton, who have amassed a 100,000-strong collection of antiques, are now selling the four-storey museum in Eastbourne, East Sussex, which houses their finds.

For sale: Having collected antiques since they were children, Jan and Graham Upton are selling their museum, including everything inside for £575,000

Treasure trove: Mr Upton and his wife, both 66, have been collecting all sorts of antiques since they were children and for the last 25 years have run the museum and gift shop How We Lived Then

Back in time: The museum is converted into different sections including a chemist, a grocer, a cobblers and a sweet shop with each filled with genuine items

The unique museum, and all of the antiques inside, is on the market for £575,000 to a new buyer who will continue to run it.

Mr and Mrs Upton have split up their treasure trove into different sections including a chemist, a grocer, a cobblers and a sweet shop with each filled with genuine items ranging from Victorian times to the 1950s.

The chemist section even features pre-war condoms marketed as featuring a ‘silver seal’ with others made by a company called Coralline.

Memorabilia: A host of souvenir cups, tea caddies, trays and newspapers commemorate royal events dating back to Queen Victoria's day is on display at the museum

Stock: The chemist section even features pre-war condoms marketed as featuring a 'silver seal' with others made by a company called Coralline

Just the tonic: A display of old medicine bottles fill the shelves of the museum's chemist

Friendly face: Jan Upton shares a moment with the museum chemist

Warm welcome: Jan gets behind the counter in the chemist to meet and greet 'customers'

For sale: The museum, and all of the antiques inside, is on the market for £575,000 to a new buyer who will continue to run it

The couple who have two children and three grandchildren met at school when they were just five years old and have now been married for 45 years.

Both began collecting items after being left ornaments and knick-knacks by their respective grandparents.

Mr Upton admits he is lucky his wife is as passionate as he is about collecting ‘otherwise you’d drive each other up the wall’.

Got a light? This matchbox collection is among the thousands of items on display in the museum

Cure all: A display of Victorian painkillers in the chemist shop

Minty fresh: This display of mints and throat lozenges dates from the Victorian era

Sorted: The museum's post office collection. Mr Upton admits he is lucky his wife is as passionate as he is about collecting 'otherwise you¿d drive each other up the wall'

Venture: The couple filled their home in Eastbourne with the treasures until in 1988, when they decided to buy a building to convert into the museum of shops

Previously the couple had filled their home in Eastbourne with their vast collection, until in 1988 they decided to buy a building to convert into the museum of shops.

Due to their age and Mr Upton’s ill-health they have decided to sell the shop, but the couple are ‘determined’ that the buyer will carry on the museum.

Mr Upton said: ‘Most of our finds come from jumble sales, car boot sales or antique shops locally.

Scary prospect: Mr Upton admitted some people find the mannequins 'creepy' and said children used to practice their piano in the music room complained that it was spooky

Haul: Most of the couple's finds come from jumble sales, car boot sales or antique shops

Popular: The museum attracts thousands of people from all over the world

‘I’m always on the look-out for something new it is amazing what people will throw out. My favourite items are from the Georgian regency period but I’ll collect anything.’

He added: ‘It will be sad to sell the shop but we are at an age now where we can’t carry it on.

‘Will I miss it? Of course I will but we have made our decision.

‘We are determined to find someone as passionate as us to take it over so it can continue.’

Legacy: Due to their age and Mr Upton's ill-health they have decided to sell the shop, but the couple are 'determined' that the buyer will carry on the museum

Regret: Mr Upton said it will be sad to sell the museum, but the couple are at an age now where they can not carry it on

The museum is decorated with mannequins thrown out by a department store from the 1920s and 1930s.

It includes a wartime kitchen with each item carefully thought out to show how people would have lived during the early 1940s.

Mr Upton admitted some people find the mannequins ‘creepy’ and said children used to practice their piano in the ‘music room’ of the museum complained it was spooky.

The museum attracts thousands of people from all over the world, Mr Upton said for older people it is nostalgia while for the younger generation it is history and seeing some things for the first time.

Past times: Mr Upton said older people enjoy the museum's nostalgia while the younger generation enjoy the history and seeing some things for the first time

Trash to treasure: Mr Upton said it was 'amazing what people will throw out'

To dye for: A display of dyes in the museum's drapers shop

Inhabitants: The museum is decorated with mannequins thrown out by a department store from the 1920s and 1930s

The museum features a royal cabinet with memorabilia dating from Queen Victoria up until the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Mrs Upton said: ‘I began by collecting Christmas ornaments.

‘Graham has always been interested in the royal memorabilia so they were two cabinets we had to have.

‘A lot of our antiques came from jumble sales, car boot sales have only become popular more recently.

Starting young: Jan (left) and Graham Upton (right) when the couple were at school together

History: Some items are hard for the couple to date as sell-by-dates have only been added to food since the 1980s

Thirsty work: A display of old drinks bottles, some which still contain their original liquid

Gifts: Some visitors to the museum donate cans of food that are 60 or 70 years old

Back in time: The museum reminds everything of a time when not everything was available at their local supermarket

‘Some things are hard to date as sell-by-dates have only been added to food since the 80s so it takes a lot of guesswork. ‘

She said: ‘I find it fascinating that things could have survived this long especially through war and bombing.

‘We have people donate cans of food to us that are 60 or 70 years old.

Got milk: A display of old milk bottles, complete with advertisements, lines the shelves in the grocers

Relics: Mrs Upton said she finds it fascinating that things could have survived this long, especially through war

Bottled up: The full display of milk bottles

‘Some people might think the museum is full of tat but it is our history.

‘Independent shops on the high streets are closing in every town.People can buy everything they need at a supermarket now so there is no need for newsagents or individual shops anymore.

‘That’s why the museum is so important.’

Tasty treat: An old bar of Fry's Five Boys milk chocolate in the museum's sweet shop

The way we were: The display includes a wartime kitchen with each item carefully thought out to show how people would have lived during the early 1940s