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 visited Durrants Village, a later living community in Faygate, West Sussex, to give free antiques valuations 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, were at the village from 10am until 2pm. The occasion was the first in a new series of events by Inspired Villages, the company behind Durrants Village, called The Grand Antiques Tour, which also visited the later living provider’s Bramshott Place in Hampshire the following day. The tour will continue across the other Inspired Villages communities next year.

Many of us are the owners of intriguing antiques and curious hand-me-downs or have collected quirky finds over the years. Residents of Durrants Village and the surrounding area were offered an appointment with Christina or Tim for a free valuation to see if they own a secret fortune. Over 100 people turned out to Durrants Village’s glorious central clubhouse, bringing a fascinating range of items including pictures, pottery, jewellery, silver and ceramics and much more.

Christina and Tim kicked off the event with a talk about their experience of working with antiques and filming the BBC’s popular antiques programmes, giving some behind-the-scenes insight. Guests enjoyed complimentary refreshments whilst waiting for their valuation and took the opportunity to socialise with other guests and residents, sharing the stories of the items they had brought along. Guests also had the opportunity to receive a tour of the village and its show homes.

Among the most delighted guests to discover the value of their item were Durrants Village resident June Barton who found out her gold Queen Victoria coin and necklace charm is worth up to £500, Karen Acres from Horley who discovered a pastel picture she bought in a charity shop for £5 is worth up to £1,000, and Jean Lloyd from Crawley whose scrap of paper with the signatures of all of the Rolling Stones band members on,  which she acquired as a teenager in the 1960s, is worth up to £1,000 too.

June Barton, 87, commented: “I was so pleased to find out the coin and necklace charm I have owned for all these years is worth between £400-500. I thought it was only worth a few pounds so I am really glad I brought it along.”

Karen Acres said: “I was astonished to learn the pastel portrait I picked up in a charity shop during a holiday in Alderney for only £5 is actually worth between £800-£1,000. Christina told me it is an original by artist W. Mason and I’m planning to hold onto it rather than sell in case its value increases even more.”

Jean Lloyd said: “It is lovely to feel something I enthusiastically applied for aged fourteen is now of so much value; I still keep the signatures in the stamped addressed envelope I sent to the Rolling Stones fan club in the sixties. I had no idea it was worth anything but for me it’s not just the money that makes it valuable but the sentimental memories.”

Rebecca Parker-Barabich, Group Events Manager at Inspired Villages Group, said: “It was great to see such a crowd of people come along to our antiques event at Durrants Village. I was fascinated by all the different pieces and quality of items that people have collected and it was wonderful to see their reactions to their valuations. Christina and Tim were absolutely fantastic and we can’t wait to take the tour to our other Inspired Villages communities across the country next year.”