WHEN Caerleon schoolboy Stewart Lewis left school he joined a demolition company.

Not enjoying it too much, he started to take more interest in the fixtures and fittings being ripped out of the buildings his firm was attempting to demolish.

At the age of 21 he set up an architectural salvage company to act as an intermediary with demolition men and builders, buying anything that could live again.

He started on Newport's Mendalgief Road, outgrew the site and moved to Pill, buying one half of a large yard. Five years later he bought the other half, giving him over an acre of ground, plus 4,500 sq ft under cover.

The business, called The Welsh Salvage Co, has just expanded again, opening a second site at Usk Garden Centre.

"The Morris family and I thought the two businesses would complement each other, with my house and garden pieces, and their garden centre and caf.

"It makes for an interesting day out."

Now 42, Mr Lewis has spent half his life in the trade and reckons that if you showed him a piece of salvage he could tell you its value, the age of the house it came from, and the status of the property.

It's the thrill of what could be just around the corner that keeps him going.

"It frustrates me to think of the amount of stuff which was chucked into skips in the 1960s and 70s, simply because the contractors didn't have the time to recycle it.

"But there's still a surprising amount of stuff around.

"At the moment we're dealing with pieces from Llantarnam Abbey. It was stripped of its fixtures and fittings over a 40-year period, but somebody had the foresight to store everything in sheds nearby. We've got some fantastic hand-painted stained glass, and arched, gothic doors."

He has salvaged similar fittings from Rougemont Primary School, which was based at Nant Coch House, on Risca Road.

The school has moved to Cwmbran, and Nant Coch has been demolished to make way for the infamous "executive homes".

Asked what he thinks are his best-ever finds, Mr Lewis said: "About ten years ago we got some fantastic carved heads from a church. They were just under a foot square and featured Saxon kings, knights and similar figures. They were fantastic pieces and eventually went to one of our regular buyers, who is based in Canada."

Mr Lewis also remembers some elaborate chimney-pots, seven feet high, which came from (the equestrian) David Broome's old house in Crick.

Standing way above our heads was a giant cast-iron urn on a plinth, for sale at about £2,000. Its partner had been sold to a country home owner in Cirencester. "He's got 28 acres of gardens, so space shouldn't be a problem."

I particularly liked a re-enamelled claw-foot bath, which was on sale for a very reasonable £550. A new one would cost about £1,200.

Beside the blockbuster items, much of Welsh Salvage's business is based on fireplaces, flagstones, radiators, lampposts, columns, block and strip flooring, railway sleepers and gates.

"We recently acquired 400 square metres of reclaimed flagstones from a warehouse in Cardiff. "They're some of the best we've ever seen." The company has a website at www.welshsalvage.com and this has alerted house restorers and collectors from all over the world.

But Mr Lewis is bemused by the fact that the business is not particularly well known locally. "Even after 20 years I reckon 30 per cent of people have never heard of us."

Which makes it surprising that many of the pieces do not travel any further than 20 miles of Newport. "A substantial amount of our business is conducted within Gwent and Glamorgan, and I like the fact that much of the salvage is staying within the area."

Mr Lewis said one of the things which gives him greatest pleasure was revisiting a house where his company had supplied something substantial like a fireplace.

"You go back and see the fireplace and it looks as though it has been sitting in the lounge for 200 years. But we know it has only been there for 12 months!"

The Usk site is managed by Mr Lewis' brother-in-law, John Rutter. He was formerly a joiner and shop fitter. He said: "I've crossed the fence: I used to be one of the people ripping out stuff like this."

Mr Rutter's carpentry skills come in very handy for restoring pieces that reach the salvage yard looking a bit the worse for wear.

The Newport yard is run by Gary Charles and Tony Ansen.

Mr Lewis' former yard manager, Simon Morris, has departed for the bright lights of London to become a full-time actor.

"He's had a few walk-on parts in the likes of Hollyoaks."

With his staff running the yards, Mr Lewis is free to go out bidding for salvage contracts on demolition and refurbishment jobs around Wales and the West Country.

He's prepared to travel if the booty looks interesting: a few years ago he stripped an army barracks at Plymouth.

Television has obviously played a role in the current popularity of salvage yards, and Mr Lewis is no stranger to playing host to the likes of the BBC and HTV, who use his yard as a backdrop in their programmes.

The stars love a bit of salvage. A few years ago Simon Morris was in London at one of the country's top yards in a de-consecrated church in the Aldgate (East End) area.

"George Michael was in there, choosing pieces for one of his properties. It's not unusual to see items there for £40,000." All couples like to have things they can do together, and Mr Lewis is lucky that wife Angela - from Newport - also loves old houses and their architectural treasures.

In 20 years' time I can see them as regulars on Antiques Roadshow. But if Mr Lewis starts feigning surprise about how much his antique is worth, don't be taken in. He'll know the price to the penny.