What a lot of forkin' cutlery

We were out in Tenterden this afternoon and outside one of the many antique shops in the town was this table full of forks. To the left of the fork table was another table full of those bone handle style knives and piles of spoons.

Where did all this cutlery come from? Any who buys it all. I can't imagine shifting this lot quickly. Is there some sort of society or group that meets in Church Halls and Scout Huts up and down the country buying and selling bundles of cutlery? Is there a flourishing trade with the EU or the Middle East? Are they smuggled in on misty nights on the Kent Coast?

Whatever it is, it made a blip with a difference.