Simon Chorley Art & Antiques (trading as Chorley's) is an art
auctioneer and art
valuation company, based in
Gloucester,
England. The company was founded in 1862, and conducts auction sales and carries out valuation services for private
clients for insurance purposes,
probate
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
,
family division and sale.
The firm provides
expert witnesses to police investigations and to the
Crown Prosecution Service, as well as valuation work for identifying and quantifying fine art and antiques seized under the
Proceeds of Crime Act. This work is carried out in conjunction with specialist fraud teams and the
Serious Organised Crime Agency.
The company is a member of the Society of Fine Art and Antique Auctioneers and Valuers, and the Association of Accredited Auctioneers, and observes these Societies' codes of
due diligence
Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care.
It can be a l ...
for antique valuation as well as sale of chattels.
History
The company was formerly the art and
antiques division of Bruton Knowles.
In 2006 this became Simon Chorley Art & Antiques Ltd, when the entire division moved to its current saleroom and offices at
Prinknash Abbey Park.
Prinknash Abbey Park is owned by the
Benedictine Community who have their Monastery at St Peter's Grange, a 17th-century country home previously owned by the Bridgeman family. The saleroom and offices are converted from the monks' old pottery. and were refurbished for the new firm's first sale in January 2007.
Notable auctions
As Bruton Knowles Art & Antiques:
* The Summerfield Sale (1995, the largest fine art and antique sale ever conducted)
* Rous Lench Sale
* John Parry Sale
* Kenulf Gallery sale
*
Spetchley Park
Spetchley Park is a country mansion standing in 4500 acres of gardens and parkland in the hamlet of Spetchley, near Worcester, England. The house and park are separately Grade II* listed.
The house is built in two storeys of Bath stone with a ...
sale
*
Highnam Court sale
As Chorley's:
* Shambles Museum Sale 2009
* Sale including 17th-century
Flemish Cabinet 2008
* Sale including 19th-century Irish bench seat 2008
* Sale including
Francis Frith book of original photographs 2007
* Sale including items from the
Prinknash Abbey Collection 2008
Community work
Auctioneers from Simon Chorley Art & Antiques regularly attend careers events in local schools and colleges and offer work experience and student placements. The firm is involved in the charity, cultural tourism and educational fields in the local
Cotswold
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Juras ...
and wider three counties communities. For example, in 2007 Simon Chorley Art & Antiques, with Stroud Valleys Craftsmen, organized and hosted an exhibition of local arts and crafts made from 1894 onwards; all proceeds went to charity.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chorley, Simon, Art and Antiques
British auction houses
Retail companies established in 1862
Companies based in Gloucester
Antiques
1862 establishments in England