Nottingham, New Hampshire sits along Route 4, the stretch of highway antique hunters up and down New England know simply as Antique Alley, and R S Butlers Trading Co has staked its claim there inside two barns painted an unmistakable shade of pink. Run by Colleen and Don Pingree, this family-owned shop has built a reputation among regional pickers as one of the larger stops on the corridor, the kind of place where a single visit can turn into an afternoon because the inventory spans so many categories that no two aisles look alike.
Walk through and you will find architectural salvage and industrial fixtures alongside country primitives, decorative accessories, and vintage furniture that ranges from farmhouse tables to mid-century case pieces. Garden and farm implements sit near shelves of music memorabilia, and a dedicated section of masculine-leaning finds, think old tools, taxidermy, advertising signs, and garage curiosities, draws in shoppers looking for something with a little grit. Textiles round out the mix, from quilts to vintage linens, and because turnover is constant, regulars know that what is on the floor this month may be gone the next, replaced by a fresh haul from an estate sale or auction.
The shop describes its stock as spanning every price point, and that range is part of its draw. Casual browsers looking for an inexpensive curiosity alongside serious collectors hunting a specific architectural element or a rare piece of advertising ephemera both tend to leave with something. Staff keep the online inventory and social pages updated between visits, giving out-of-town shoppers a way to scout ahead before making the drive out to Nottingham along Route 4.
Hours run Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Tuesdays reserved for restocking and closed status observed on major holidays. The shop accepts credit cards and personal checks and can arrange shipping for buyers who cannot easily haul a large architectural salvage piece or a bulky piece of furniture home in a car, a service that matters on a route where out-of-state license plates fill the parking lot on weekends.
What sets R S Butlers apart from many single-owner antique shops is its scale combined with its family ownership. Rather than functioning as a mall of independent dealer booths, the two barns are curated and stocked under one roof by the Pingrees themselves, giving the mix a more personal, unified feel even as the categories multiply from architectural pieces to textiles to garden tools. That combination, a two-barn footprint on one of New England’s best-known antiquing routes, run directly by the family whose name is on the door, is part of what keeps regulars returning season after season to see what has changed since their last visit.
For anyone planning a day trip along Route 4’s Antique Alley, R S Butlers Trading Co is worth building a stop around, whether the goal is furnishing a farmhouse, finishing a themed collection, or simply wandering two barns full of the kind of finds that turn a weekend errand into a treasure hunt. Shoppers can reach the shop directly at 603-942-8210 to ask about current stock before visiting.
R S Butlers Trading Co in Nottingham, New Hampshire is a family-run, multi-category antiques shop housed in two pink barns on the state’s famous Antique Alley, offering everything from architectural salvage to vintage textiles at prices for every kind of collector.
