Specialist Antique Removals and Fine Art Transport

The cost of antique furniture removals is never a flat rate, because the honest drivers are the piece and the protection it needs, not a fixed price list. We look at the value and fragility of each item, whether it needs a bespoke crate or careful soft-wrapping, the access at both properties, from stairs and doorways to how close the van can park, and the distance to be travelled. A single insured painting across the county is a very different job from a full collection of gilt furniture and marble going up two flights. We survey the work first, by video or in person, and turn it into a fixed written quote, usually within 24 hours, that holds on the day, with nothing added once our crew arrives. Nothing is priced over the phone on guesswork.

LAPADA is the Association of Art & Antiques Dealers, the trade body for the antiques world, and a more relevant credential for this work than a general removals badge. Our Approved Service Provider status means we are recognised for handling and transporting valuable pieces to the standards dealers, collectors and estate agents expect. In practice it shapes how we work: acid-free and breathable wrapping instead of cling-plastic, made-to-measure crates for the pieces that need them, condition reports before anything is lifted, and crews who understand that a hairline knock to a period cabinet or a stretched canvas is not the same as a scuff on a flat-pack wardrobe. It is why collectors and auction houses trust us with items a standard removal would put at risk.

Every antique removal we carry out is fully insured, with goods-in-transit and public liability cover in place on every job. Because valuations matter with antiques and fine art, we talk through the declared value of your pieces before the move so the cover properly reflects what is being carried, not a standard household figure. If a piece has been recently appraised, that helps; if not, we can discuss how to establish a sensible declared value. We also record a condition report and inventory before anything is wrapped, so the state of each item is documented from the outset. That combination of real cover, honest valuation and a documented starting condition is what stands behind the service.

Not every antique needs a crate, and part of the skill is knowing which protection each piece actually calls for. Many items travel perfectly safely in acid-free tissue, breathable blankets and corner protection, edge-loaded and strapped so nothing shifts in transit. Others, such as a gilt mirror, a marble top, a fragile veneer or anything heading for export or long-term storage, genuinely need a made-to-measure crate, and for those we build one through our custom crate service, with a timber frame and foam bracing cut to the piece. We make that call at the survey, item by item, and explain the reasoning instead of defaulting everything to a crate you do not need or under-protecting something that does.

Yes — Brighton and Hove sit on the run we make east, and the city’s Regency and Victorian housing throws up exactly the pieces this service exists for: overmantel mirrors, marble tops, longcase clocks and case furniture that has to come down a period staircase never built to take it. On a Brighton job the access is usually harder than the mileage, which is why we survey the stairs and the parking before quoting rather than after. For house moves in the city more generally, see our Brighton removals page.

Yes. You do not need a whole house move to book us. A single valuable item is welcome, whether it is one oil painting, a longcase clock, a marble statue or a piece of gilt furniture going to a new home, an auction house or a family member across the country. Because a one-off job like this is all we are handling that day, the piece gets the crew’s full attention: surveyed, wrapped or crated to suit, loaded so nothing rests on it, and delivered to the room of your choice, not left at the door. Request a quote and tell us about the item, and we will tailor the handling to it.

White-glove delivery means the job does not end when the van arrives. Rather than leaving a wrapped piece by the front door, our crew carries each item, with two people to anything heavy or awkward, into the room of your choice, unwraps it, positions it where you want it and takes all the packaging away with them. For antiques and fine art it also means the careful, unhurried handling the pieces deserve: no dragging, no resting one item on another, and a final check that everything has arrived exactly as it left. It is the standard we apply to valuable pieces as a matter of course, and it is set out in full on our white-glove service page.

The most useful thing you can do is leave the handling to us and focus on the paperwork. Where pieces have recent valuations or provenance documents, gather them so we can set the right declared value for insurance; if anything is unappraised and especially precious, it can be worth arranging an appraisal before the move. Beyond that, resist the urge to wrap or dismantle things yourself, because well-meant cling film and bubble wrap can mark old finishes and trap moisture against veneer. Simply point out any known weakness, such as a loose joint, a lifting veneer or a previous repair, so we can plan around it. We handle the wrapping, crating, condition reports and inventory on the day. To begin, request a quote for your antiques move and we will arrange a survey.

Trade deliveries are a regular part of what we do. We collect from and deliver to auction houses, antiques fairs, salerooms and dealers across the South East, working to their booked timings and access requirements rather than expecting them to fit around ours. Consigned pieces are inventoried and condition-checked before they leave, so there is a clear record of how each item travelled, and we can hand over to venue porters or receiving staff at the other end. Whether it is a single lot going to a saleroom, a stand’s worth of stock heading to a fair, or a purchase coming back from a dealer to a private home, the antiques get the same insured, specialist handling throughout. As a LAPADA Approved Service Provider we know the trade’s conventions first-hand.

Yes. We are based near Pulborough in West Sussex, and antique removals across Sussex are our home ground, but our specialist antique transport reaches well beyond it, routinely into Surrey, Hampshire and Kent, and further across the UK and into Europe for the right job. A valuable piece is worth moving properly wherever it is going, so distance changes the plan and the quote, not the standard of care: the same survey, the same crating and wrapping decisions, the same insured, condition-checked handling whether the journey is across the county or across the country. If you are outside our core counties, ask anyway. Long-distance antique moves are quoted the same way, in writing, from a survey of the actual job.