TV antiques experts Christina Trevanion and Timothy Medhurst visit Durrants Village retirement community to give free antiques valuations

On Tuesday 30 October, BBC TV presenters, valuers and auctioneers Christina Trevanion and Timothy Medhurst will be paying a special visit to Durrants Village, the later living community in Faygate, West Sussex, to offer free valuations of antiques for residents of the village and the local public. Christina, known for her appearances on the BBC antiques programmes Bargain Hunt, Flog It!, Antiques Road Trip and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, and Timothy, a regular on Antiques Road Trip, will be at the village from 10am to 2pm on 30 October. The occasion is the first in a new series of events by Inspired Villages, the company behind Durrants Village, called The Grand Antiques Tour, which will visit other Inspired Villages communities across the country.

Many of us are the owners of intriguing antiques, curious hand-me-downs or quirky finds over the years, and residents of Durrants Village and the surrounding area will have the opportunity to learn if they are the owners of a secret fortune. Guests will be offered an appointment with Christina or Tim for a free valuation of their item in Durrants Village’s glorious central clubhouse. Of particular interest are artefacts from the local area.

Christina and Tim will kick off the event with a short talk about their experience of working with antiques and filming the BBC’s popular antiques programmes, giving some behind-the-scenes insight. Guests can also enjoy complimentary refreshments whilst perusing and listening to the stories of the fascinating antiques that others have brought along.

Durrants Village is set amongst 30 acres of idyllic parkland in the hamlet of Faygate and close to the market town of Horsham. The village offers a total of 171 retirement properties, comprising a mixture of two bedroom apartments and two and three bedroom cottages. Surrounded by beautiful West Sussex countryside, but also within easy reach of London, Durrants Village offers the best of both worlds for over 55s looking to make a smart downsizing move.

The homes at Durrants Village centre around an on-site clubhouse that provides a range of country club-style facilities including a restaurant, bar, lounge, swimming pool, gym and library. Within the landscaped grounds there is also a croquet lawn, a lake complete with duck houses and a lake house for residents to enjoy. The latest phase of cottages at the village overlook the idyllic lake and each comes with a garden room that leads outdoors to a garden terrace with views over the lake. There are currently two and three bedroom cottages available at Durrants Village with prices starting from £448,950. 

Christina Trevanion is a familiar face of daytime television and also co-runs her own auction house in Shropshire, Trevanion & Dean. After studying Fine Arts Valuation at Southampton University, Christina worked for some of the UK’s most renowned auction houses and she is a member of the National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers, at which she was awarded a Fellow grade in 2018, which is only awarded to the most highly qualified and experienced auctioneers in the country. Christina’s valuation specialisms are in jewellery, silver, ceramics, glass and pictures. She is also a member of the prestigious Society of Jewellery Historians and the Arts Society.

Timothy Medhurst is a freelance consultant and auctioneer. He worked in the auction industry for ten years before setting up his own company selling coins and antiquities, Timothy Medhurst Coins And Antiquities, which is based in Dorset. Tim features as an expert on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, often alongside Christina, scouring the countryside for interesting antiques. He is also often heard on BBC Radio Solent talking antiques and collectables alongside live valuations. Tim’s valuation specialisms are in coins, commemorative medals, English and European ceramics, glass and miscellaneous antiques. In 2013, Tim was named “Antiques Young Gun” of the year by the antique industry.

Rebecca Parker, Group Events Manager at Inspired Villages Group, said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming people to Durrants Village to meet Christina and Tim and have their items valued. So many of us have curious items and antiques that we’ve inherited over the years. We are giving people the opportunity to come and see if they could be sitting on a secret fortune, and hope in particular we may uncover some items that might tell us more about the history of the local area or our country’s past.”