Last updated: August 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Holytown Antiques uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit www.holytownantiques.com.
It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which explains more generally how we collect, use and protect personal information.
1. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small pieces of information stored on your computer, tablet, mobile phone or other device when you visit a website.
Cookies can perform a variety of functions. For example, they can:
- Keep items in your shopping basket.
- Allow you to remain logged in.
- Remember website preferences.
- Help protect accounts and the website from abuse.
- Remember your cookie choices.
- Help us understand how the website is being used.
- Support optional third-party or marketing features.
Some cookies only remain for the duration of your browser session, while others may remain on your device for a longer period.
2. Similar Technologies
The rules relating to cookies can also apply to other technologies that store information on, or access information from, your device.
These may include:
- Local storage.
- Tracking pixels.
- Scripts and tags.
- Embedded content.
- Similar browser technologies.
For simplicity, we refer to these technologies as cookies throughout this policy.
The ICO confirms that UK rules apply more broadly than traditional cookies and include technologies such as scripts, tags, pixels and web storage.
3. How We Use Cookies
Holytown Antiques may use cookies to operate features including:
- Our online shop.
- Shopping baskets and checkout.
- Customer accounts.
- The Holytown Antiques Community.
- Website and account security.
- Forms and enquiries.
- Cookie preference management.
- Website performance and analytics where enabled.
- Optional third-party services.
Cookies are divided into categories depending on their purpose.
4. Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are required for the website or a service specifically requested by you to work correctly.
They may be used for purposes such as:
- Maintaining your shopping basket.
- Processing checkout steps.
- Keeping you logged into your account.
- Maintaining Community sessions.
- Protecting forms and accounts against misuse.
- Website security.
- Remembering privacy and cookie choices.
- Maintaining essential website functionality.
Because these cookies are necessary to provide the website or a service you have requested, they generally do not require consent.
For example, the ICO specifically recognises that authentication/session cookies and cookies used solely to remember cookie preferences can qualify for an exemption in appropriate circumstances.
Strictly necessary cookies cannot normally be disabled through our cookie preference controls.
You may still be able to block them using your browser, but doing so may prevent parts of the website from functioning correctly.
5. Functional Cookies
Functional cookies may help provide additional features or remember choices you have made.
They could, for example, remember:
- Display preferences.
- Optional website settings.
- Certain user choices.
- Features you have specifically requested.
Where a functional cookie is not covered by a legal exception, we will request your permission before using it.
6. Analytics Cookies
Analytics technologies can help us understand how visitors use the website.
Depending on the analytics service in use, information may include:
- Which pages are visited.
- How visitors move through the website.
- Approximate visit duration.
- Device or browser information.
- General website performance.
- Errors or technical problems.
- How visitors arrived at the website.
We use this type of information to understand and improve the website rather than to identify individual visitors wherever reasonably possible.
Analytics cookies requiring consent will remain disabled unless you choose to allow them.
UK rules now include limited exceptions for some low-risk statistical uses, subject to specific requirements. Unless Holytown Antiques deliberately implements analytics that satisfy those requirements, our preferred approach is to treat analytics as requiring consent.
7. Marketing Cookies
Marketing technologies may be used to measure or personalise advertising or to understand the effectiveness of promotional activity.
They may be set by us or by third-party services where those services are enabled.
Possible purposes include:
- Measuring advertising performance.
- Understanding whether a visitor arrived through an advertisement.
- Providing more relevant advertising.
- Measuring conversions.
- Limiting repeated advertising.
Marketing cookies will not be activated unless you have given the required permission.
Rejecting marketing cookies will not prevent you from using the Holytown Antiques website or making a purchase.
8. Third-Party Cookies and Services
Some website functionality may involve services supplied by third parties.
A third party may set or access cookies when its service is used, for example in connection with:
- Payment processing.
- Embedded media.
- Security services.
- Analytics.
- Advertising.
- Social media functionality.
- Other website integrations.
Where a third-party service requires cookie consent, it should not be loaded until the appropriate permission has been given.
Our cookie preference system should display the current third parties and cookies detected on the website where appropriate.
Third-party providers may process information according to their own privacy and cookie policies.
9. Payments
Payment providers may use cookies or similar technologies where necessary to:
- Process transactions.
- Prevent fraud.
- Authenticate payments.
- Maintain payment security.
Some payment technologies may be necessary to provide a payment method requested by the customer.
Where a payment provider uses technologies for additional purposes that require consent, those technologies should be handled through the appropriate consent controls.
10. WooCommerce and Shopping Cookies
Our website uses online shopping functionality.
Essential cookies or similar technologies may therefore be used to:
- Remember products placed in your basket.
- Keep your basket consistent between pages.
- Support checkout.
- Maintain customer sessions.
- Determine whether basket contents have changed.
- Provide other functionality required to purchase from us.
These are generally treated as necessary where they are used solely to provide the shopping service you have requested.
The live Holytown Antiques website currently provides shopping baskets and WooCommerce-style online purchasing functionality.
11. Customer Accounts and Community
If you log into a customer account or the Holytown Antiques Community, cookies may be used to:
- Authenticate you.
- Keep you logged in.
- Maintain your session.
- Protect your account.
- Remember essential account preferences.
- Prevent misuse or automated activity.
Some Community features may not function correctly if essential cookies are blocked.
12. Security and Spam Protection
Cookies and similar technologies may be used to help:
- Detect suspicious activity.
- Prevent automated spam.
- Protect login areas.
- Prevent fraud.
- Protect forms.
- Maintain website security.
Where these technologies are strictly necessary to protect the website and provide its services, consent may not be required.
13. Your Cookie Choices
When you first visit the website, you should be given a choice about non-essential cookies.
You can choose to:
Accept all cookies
Allows optional cookies as well as necessary cookies.
Reject non-essential cookies
Only cookies that are necessary or otherwise lawfully exempt will be used.
Manage preferences
Allows you to choose which optional categories you wish to enable.
Rejecting optional cookies should be as easy as accepting them.
The ICO has specifically focused its enforcement work on whether websites offer an equally accessible way to reject non-essential cookies and whether advertising cookies are prevented from being set before consent.
14. Changing Your Mind
You can change or withdraw your cookie choices at any time.
A Cookie Settings link should remain available in the footer of our website so that you can reopen the cookie controls.
Withdrawing consent will prevent future use of the relevant optional cookies but does not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn.
15. Browser Controls
Most web browsers also allow you to:
- View cookies.
- Delete cookies.
- Block particular websites from using cookies.
- Block all cookies.
- Delete cookies when the browser closes.
Please remember that blocking all cookies may prevent important parts of the Holytown Antiques website from working correctly, including shopping baskets, accounts or Community features.
16. How Long Cookies Remain
Different cookies remain for different lengths of time.
Session cookies are normally removed when you close your browser.
Persistent cookies can remain for a specified period or until you delete them.
Our consent-management system should provide further information about the duration of individual cookies where this information is available.
We aim to ensure that cookies are not retained for longer than reasonably necessary for their purpose.
17. Our Cookie Preference Cookie
When you make a cookie choice, we may store a necessary cookie or similar record to remember that decision.
This avoids repeatedly asking you to make the same choice on every page.
The ICO specifically recognises that a technology used only for remembering a visitor’s consent preference can qualify for an exemption.
18. Updates to This Cookie Policy
The cookies and technologies used by our website may change as:
- Website features are added or removed.
- Plugins are updated.
- Service providers change.
- Our Community develops.
- Legal requirements or regulatory guidance changes.
We will update this Cookie Policy where appropriate and show the date of the latest revision at the top of the page.
19. Contact Us
If you have questions about our use of cookies or privacy, please contact:
Holytown Antiques
42 Main Street
Holytown
Motherwell
ML1 4TA
Email: info@holytownantiques.com
You can also read our Privacy Policy for further information about how we use personal information.