Rupert Toovey.
Rupert Toovey, who founded the auction firm in the West Sussex village of Washington in 1995, says he is “humbled and delighted” at the appointment.
He has lived and worked in the area for his entire adult life and the appointment is recognition of his distinguished service to the community and county. In 2010 he was ordained in the Church of England and serves as a self-supporting priest in the Diocese of Chichester while still working full-time at Toovey’s.
He is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in London and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. As an art historian he has a particular interest in medieval wall paintings and Modern British artists working in Sussex.
