Antiques dealer David Steel, who runs the website Tree of Ages with business partner Owain Hayman, says: “Our inaugural fair will be at the Robert Denholm House in Nutfield, as we did not believe there is a quality antiques fair in the Redhill and Reigate area.
“Should it be successful we will look to continue the event quarterly next year. There will be a wide variety of antiques for sale, including Art Deco pieces, copper ware, furniture and interesting collectables.”
Steel runs the antiques side of Tree of Ages and Hayman looks after the bespoke furniture focus.
“The bespoke furniture uses reclaimed materials and we felt that the tree represented where a lot of the wood came from and is also natural,” says Steel. “The ‘ages’ part combines the furniture business with the antiques side, so we felt the name represented that we were a company which works across all spheres.”
Robert Denholm House, which offers offices, conference facilities and corporate events, is a late Victorian mansion set in parkland and on the south side of the A25 between Godstone and Redhill.
It was built in 1887 by James Hudson, who called the house
Capenor. By 1896 he owned a sand mine on the estate from which tunnels may still remain. Post-Second World War ownership included family members of Thomas Cook, of travel fame, and a Catholic monastic order.
In 1964 Capenor became the HQ of the National Sunday School Union. When the organisation’s name subsequently changed to the National Christian Education Council, the house was renamed after their wartime general secretary, Robert Denholm.
