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EARLY ENGLISH FURNITURE
AND WOODWORK
VOLUME
II
^J.
Ik
^r}!
î
EARLY ENGLISH
FURNITURE &
WOODWORK
VOL- II
BY
HERBERT- CE5CIN5Ky
AND
ERNEST- R- GRIBBEE
GEORGE-RDUTLEDGE -AND SONS LIMITED
BROAD^^C^^^- HOUSE- LUDGATE HlLb LONDON
MCMXXII
^di
I/.
i^r/
Printed in Great Britain at
The Mayflower Press, Plymouth.
William Brendon
&
Son, Ltd.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
II.
III.
PACK
The Development
The Progression
of the Chest and Standing Cupboard
of English
The Development
Oak Tables
of the English
Oak Chair
97
145
IV.
Walnut Chairs from
V.
English Marqueterie
249
VI.
Domestic Clocks
288
VII.
English Lacquer
1660 to 1700
210
Work
344
Index
377
vu
Chapter
The Development
HE
I.
of the Chest and Standing Cupboard.
chest or coffer was a most important article of furniture, especially
during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, both in houses and
Some
monastic establishments.
idea has already been given of the
wealth, in carved and decorated woodwork, which must have been
general even in small parish churches, until the

sixteenth century.
amount and
Enough has
persisted to our
day
must have been stored
richness which
length and breadth of England.
What
to give
in these
first
quarter of the
some vague idea
of the
churches throughout the
has not survived are the treasures in the
way
of
vestments, altar-cloths, jewels and ornaments of gold, silver and enamel, in chalice,
paten, altar candlesticks and the like, as these were the prey of the despoiler long ago.
Many
accounts have been preserved of the wholesale destruction by
ments, banners and altar-cloths.
There were
many
edicts,
fire of
copes, vest-
not only permitting, but
even authorising and commanding the burning of canonical vestments as idolatrous

In 1551 the order to demolish
trappings.
tables,
went
forth,
all
high altars, and to substitute plain wooden
and was generally obeyed. ^ Parish
of the insensate destruction
registers give
which was carried on from the middle
century, at intervals, until almost the end of the seventeenth.
church wealth became almost a profession
The
safe custody of these rare

chest,
selection of the
wood.
were a
workmen
class of
The
fabrics, jewels
huchers or huchiers,
of lower grade
The
of the sixteenth
spoliation of portable
and
and the greatest care was taken
demanded the
innumerable accounts
vessels
in its
of
gold and silver,
making, especially
who were employed
in the
in the
manufacture,
than the makers of purely architectural wood-
work, but they were under the direct control of the Master Guild, the
officials of
enacted stringent laws regarding the selection and seasoning of the timber.
which
In the
smaller churches, however, oak was not always used, deal being substituted, which,
although an inferior wood, was more highly esteemed than oak, in panellings, from
the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, deal-panelled rooms being referred to
inventories, whereas wainscotting of oak
is
in
rarely mentioned.
This explains the presence of so many late sixteenth and early seventeenth-century tables to be found
acting as altars, especially in country churches.
1
II.
Early English Furniture and JFoodwork

The
earliest chests of
which we have any knowledge date from the middle thirteenth
The tops nearly always open on
century.
pin-hinges, that
is,
on two pins fixed at the
ends of the back under-clamp of the top and socketed into the uprights of the
These are
rarely,
substituted.
Wiltshire.
manner.
marks
if
Fig. i
It
The
is
ever,
is
found
in the fourteenth century,
sides.
heavy iron clamp-hinges being
the thirteenth-century type of chest, from Great
Bedwyn
Church,.
roughly constructed, yet in a characteristically thirteenth-century
front
is
a solid board of oak of great width, roughly finished with the
left in its surface,
tenoned into heavy uprights.
are united from front to back
by two heavy
These project over the ends and
cross pieces, the tenons of
The lower one supports the bottom
through to the front.
from stout wood to carry heavy weights.
and are fixed
to the cross-pieces.
originally, the
bottom
The ironwork
at present
There
The ends
is
of the upright styles
on the chest
which are carried
of the chest,
which
are housed into the
heavy
much
of
later date.
OAK CHEST WITH DEAL TOP FROM GREAT BEDWYN CHURCH, WILTSHIRE.
ft.
2 ins.
wide by 2
ft. i in.
high by
ft.
9 ins. from back to front.
Early thirteenth century.

2
made
styles,
been carved with simple cusping.
Fig. 1.
is
no attempt at ornamentation, although,
may have
is all
saw
The Development of
The next type,
is
Fig. 2,
which
also belongs to the thirteenth century,
formed with very wide upright styles fixed flush
The tenons
chest
is
entire front
is
as
huge clamps.
As
heavy wrought-iron
fixed to the sides with
rare, for its date, in being
in chip-carving.
applied.
and acting
where the front
clamps by
pegs, which are here allowed to project, and are finished off as ornamental
The
features.
to the centre
is
of the central panel are secured in the mortises of these vertical
wooden
large
and Standing Cupboard
Chest
the
This
ornamented with roundels and geometrical devices
a rule, thirteenth-century chests are plain,
This Earl Stonham chest
nails.
is
and tracery was never
supported on large runners, kept well away from
the ends to minimise any tendencj^ to sagging of the bottom.
There
is
still
earlier
type of chest than those illustrated here, which shows the
woodworker copying the methods
of the stonemason.
several examples exist, where the chest

piece of timber.
chest which
is
is
remain for
many
is
the dug-out kind, of which
hollowed out and fashioned from one great
Verj^ few have survived, nor
likely to
This
is
this
method calculated
to
produce a
years without falling to pieces, owing to the
cracking and warping of the timber, which in this large scantling could not possibly
have been seasoned before using.
Where
the reference occurs in the parish accounts
of the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries to " item,
Great Old Ark,"
Fig. 2.
OAK
CHEST.
EARL STONHAM CHURCH, SUFFOLK.

Late thirteenth century.
3
it is
usually one
Early English Furniture and Woodwork

of these
dug-out chests which
not thirteenth century
Unfortunateh',
described.
is
the practice was
still
all
chests of this type are
followed for nearly two centuries after-
wards, and as the later copies are usually devoid of ornament of any kind,
to date
them with any accuracy.
this ark form,
impossible
Groton and Fig. 4 from Chelsworth are of
Fig. 3 from
but are constructed chests.
it is
The way
in
which both are heavily banded
with iron suggests that they were intended to contain articles of valuable and precious
The
nature.
hewn from
tops, in each case, are
wood which
are from poplar, a soft
the solid trunk.
now much
is
The wood,
The
deal.
generally,
front
is
of these chests
5, of
a crude form,
perished.
Boxford Church has one of these iron-bound chests. Fig.
made from
Both
and back are carried over the ends and spiked
to them.
about \\ inches in thickness.
All Saints' Church, at Stansfield in Suffolk, has one of these primitive oak chests,
heavy iron clamps,
Fig. 6, with
on the front and horizontal on the
vertical
has the appearance of being of the late thirteenth century, but,
The
a subsequent addition, probably from the next century.
if
This
sides.
the ironwork
so,
feet date
is
from Jacobean
times.
It is
extremely rare to find these plain chests of the fourteenth century enriched with
heraldic or other paintings.
One
of these exceptional
examples
This oak chest dates from the early fourteenth century.

length, 2
ft. I in.
in the primitive
in height
manner
strapped with iron.
and
i ft.
ins. in
of its period, of
At each end
It
is
shown
in Figs. 7
measures 6
depth from back to
front.
ft.
and
8.
ins. in
4J
It is constructed,
wide oak boards cut into solid thick ends and
are iron handles,
made with
chest could be slung between two horses or mules during
its
a double link, so that the
carriage from place to place.
These long chests were nearly always intended for monastic or ecclesiastic use, to contain
vestments, deeds or other treasures.
and on the
Both the ends and the top are
inside of the latter, in the centre,
a figure, half
man and
half leopard
is
At the extreme
representation of the English lion rampant, and at the other
is
left
and
in
four shields,
Sir
some
Henry VII was
hand
of the top
also spelt Angervile or Angervill.
The
of
County
latter
4
is
is
to the early sixteenth
unknown
Of the
resemble greyhounds.
allowance being made for the yellowing of the tinctures, one
John Daungerville or d'Aungerville
what may
the last to indulge in this
of his coats the supporters strongly
and
a gryphon, or one of those
unnamable beasts which were very popular from the fourteenth
beast,
domed,
depicted a conflict between a dragon
the figure wears a coif of the period and
be a hauberk or brigandine of chain mail.
century, as supporters in heraldry.
slightly
Leicester, temp.
the form which
is
Edward
is
I,
that of
a
name
used by Richard de
ar-
jiiW^
'
Jf^Sr
'
Jf^r
Fig. 3.
POPLAR CHEST.
4
ft.
6 ins, long
by
GROTON CHURCH, SUFFOLK.
2 ft. 5 ins. total
height by
ft.
gl ins. back to front.
Late fourteenth century.
Fig. 4.
POPLAR CHEST.
4
ft.
5 ins. long over lid
CHELSWORTH CHURCH, SUFFOLK.

by
2 ft. 3 ins.
high by
Late fourteenth century.

5
ft.
8 ins.
back to
front.

Bury, Bishop of Durham.
The coat
is
gules a cinquefoil or ermine pierced within a
bordure sable charged with bezants.
The second
pierced,
is
shield from the
left,
not an English coat at
gules a cross or between four cinquefoils ermine
may
It
all.
associated monastery, probably in France, or
That
Cathedral.
The
third
is
this chest
was once the property
be that either of the abbot of an

a
of
Durham
benefactor of
foreign
of the Cathedral
is
almost certain.
the form, novel at that date, of England quartering France, which
account for the error of the heraldic luminer
wrong quarter. This form was not adopted

age of this chest.
Fourth, gules a
which
until 1340,
There are several instances, at
emblazoning, where England
England
in placing the lions of
way fixes
in a
the
this date, of similar
may
in the
maximum
mistakes in
given the preference, in quartering, over France.
is
saltire or^ (should
be argent).
This
is
the coat of Nevill, Earl of
Westmorland.
Durham
This chest was originally either the property of
monastery
earlier
is
sufficient to indicate that
it
was made not
than 1340 and during the time when Richard de Bur}' (himself a d'Aungerville)
was Bishop.
down
The emblazoning
close by.
Cathedral or of a large
As he died on August 13th, 1345, the period
of this chest
is
narrowed
to one of five years.
Representations of
in coffers of this date.
tilting, in lists, or
Sometimes these
We
were carved on the chest-front.

'
Due
on the
field,
tilting scenes
know,
may have
were painted, but more often they
at this date, that
to the yellowing of the tinctures
by
armour
later varnishing.
Fig. 5.
DEAL CHEST.
5
ft.
long by
ft.
BOXFORD CHURCH, SUFFOLK.

6|
ins. high-
by
6
ft.
a definite significance
lo ins. front to back.
of plate
was the
The Development of
Chest
the
usual wear, not only of the knights and nobles, but often of the bishops themselves.
Odo
is
of
Bayeux, although
of earlier date,
was a good example
of a lighting bishop.
reasonable to suppose that armour, which was a highly valued possession at
may
have been kept,
contents
may have
been indicated by the
prized armour was,
vanquished
suggested that this

the lid
is
may
is
on the
tilting figures
all periods,,
significance of the
How
front.
highly
be gathered from the fact that the victor despoiled the
armour only, leaving
of his
and that the
for safe custody, in these chests,
It
his other possessions often intact.
an armour chest, as the painted scene
not properly a tilting scene at
all,
but the length
It is
not
in the centre of the inside of

is
suggestive, as armour,
if
placed in a chest, would not be thrown in carelessly, as the edges would scratch, not
only the surface, but also the damascening or the engraving.
It
would be
laid out, in
proper order, and the length of this chest would allow of the display of the complete
suit
from
sollerets
The
bassinet.
to
probably a very ornate and cumbrous
original
affair,
lock,
but
which
is
now
missing,
was-
type would indicate that the
its
contents of this chest were highly prized, and were to be secured against theft by the
best possible means.
Fig. 9
from the Victoria and Albert Museum, has the appearance
than the fifteenth century, which
is
the date given
This chest has the thirteenth-century pin-hinged
of
by the Department
although the
lid,
5 ft.
long
CHEST.
by
ft.
ALL SAINTS' CHURCH, STANSFIELD, SUFFOLK.

g ins. total height (feat 7 ios. high)
Early fourteenth century.

7
by
ft.
4 ins.
back to
of
Woodwork.
lid itself
Fig. 6.
OAK
being earlier
front.
has
the:
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11.

This type of chest persisted well beyond the
appearance of being a reconstruction.
fourteenth to the early fifteenth century, as in Mr. Smedley Aston's example. Figs. lo
and
but here the top and the uprights are scratch-moulded, a sure indication of the
II,
fifteenth century.
and with the
may
The wood here
not
rough from the saw, but
left
Although
plane, not the adze.
of early type,
it is
is
dubbed smooth,
possible that this chest
date from the very end of the century.

Fig. 12
is
a characteristic fourteenth-century chest from
fully-carved front.
It is typical only,
an example
of
of English
workmanship, whereas
of
is
an ornate chest
scroll of
front
is
highly exceptional.
it is
many
belonging strictly to
in
front,
which
is
It
is,
its
period, but as
beyond question,
epoch are
of the ornate chest-fronts of this
decorated with a winged angel holding the
Matthew (Matheus) and Marcus, Lucas and Johannas

The
others.
of this date
The
doubtful nationality.
however,
Dersingham Church, with
carved from the
solid, is
are represented in the
tenoned into wide uprights, traceried
mid-fourteenth-century manner, and above and below are bands ornamented
in the
with the rose of York centred between two birds, in a repeated pattern.
There
is
no doubt that the making
in the fourteenth century, the
separate production.
they were
to
all of
is
skill
III
was on the throne
was a regular industry
of
itself to this
evidently engaged in this work, but whether

It is difficult, at the
doubtful.
imagine the extent of the English dominions
Edward
coffer-fronts
system of solid-front construction lending
Carvers of high
English origin
and
of chest
in the years
present day, however,
from 1327 to 1376, when
The south-western part
England.
from the
of France,
north of Poictiers to the Spanish frontier, including the eastern boundary to Auvergne,
Languedoc and Touraine was
much
of this
was
lost,
in the possession of
England, and although, with Richard
Guienne and Acquitaine were
still
workmen and workmanship
at this period, therefore,
is
Paris
was more
To speak
of English
retained.
English than French until the middle of the fifteenth century.
II,
very misleading.
French artisans
intermingled with their English fellow-craftsmen to a large extent, and the wandering
Fleming and Walloon frequently settled
making
his
home and
in this
following his crafts here,
and
country in the fourteenth century,

at the
The fourteenth-century chest
influence on the development of the English huchier.
Faversham Church shows
this influence in a
same way.
in
very marked manner, and the late fifteenth
or sixteenth-century examples such as at Crediton

traditions perpetuated in the
same time exercising a powerful
and elsewhere show the French
Equally, the coffer in the Cluny Museum, from
the Gerente collection, from the very early fourteenth century,
English influence intermingled with the French.
One
of the
if
not
Knights
earlier,
in the
has the
canopied
The Development of
Chest
the
niches bears the leopards of England on his shield, and others of the twelve
influence,
if
not workmanship.
more warlike than
artistic,
show English
Although the relations between the countries were
Crecj' was
fought in 1346, the siege of Calais was
following year, and the Battle of Poictiers was only nine years later,
in the
there must
been strong reacting influences between French and English craftsmen, even
lKi\-e
if
the
education was only fostered by a study of the pieces looted from each other by the
combatants.
would be
hands
In this connection,
just the articles of
in this
wa3^
especially in the
first
The
it
is
well to note that chests, containing valuables,
woodwork which would thus be
of the two.
The lady holds
14, exhibit this foreign influence,
Here we have a knight,
in pursuit, with poised lance, of a very small

docile fashion.
and
coffer-fronts. Figs. 13
a strap-lead
the most likely to change
in
armour and on horseback,
dragon which follows a lady
which
is
in the
most
knotted round the dragon's neck.
Fig. 9.
OAK
CHEST.
Early fifteenth century.
N'ictoria
and Albert Museum.
Fig. 10.
Fig. 11.
OAK CHEST OR ARK.

3
ft.
4 ins. long
by
ft.
9 ins. high.
Fifteenth century.
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq
The Development of
At the
left of
(who has
the panel
is
Chest
the
another episode of the knight vigorously spearing the dragon
lost his neck-strap,
by the way) while the rescued maiden kneels
thanksgiving for the deliverance.
At the bottom,
and the rescued damsel. To the
left is
the meeting of the knight
right, in quaint perspective, is
shown the town beleagured
by the dragon, with the king and queen, properly crowned, looking
windows, which their heads more than
is
now regarded
prayer of
shown small animals,
at each end, are
hares or rodents, entering burrows, and above, on the
in
till.'
The legend
as an English one, but this origin
is
of St.
forth from the castle
George and the Dragon
of doubtful authenticity.
There
is
a chest at York which shows exactly the same subject as in this Victoria and Albert
Museum example,
made,
but reversed.
The two were probably by the same hand, and were
specifically, as coffer-fronts instead of as
Museum example
Fig. 14
is
cut as Fig. 13.
Wise Men
has even been
more
made up
complete chests.
doubtful
a jumble of motives are
Below
is
and not so vigorously
shown the Nativity and the
a representation of the Annunciation.
presumably those of the \Mse Men stand in
visit of
the
stiff
attitudes, with a
Three horses,
suspended crown
above them, and there are the same curious animals scurrying into burrows, as
to complete the picture.
the
of the East, with the cro waning of the Virgin in the presence of the Deity in
the right-hand top corner.
'
if
as a coffer.
in the English character, cruder in modelling
Among
It is
As an example
of coffer-front
work
in Fig. 13,
of the very close of the
similar conceit can be seen above one of the portals to the house of Jacques Coeur at Bourges.
Fig. 12.
OAK
CHEST.
DERSINGHAM CHURCH, NORFOLK.

Fourteenth century.
Fig. 13.
OAK PANEL, PROBABLY A CHEST FRONT.

4
ft.
9 ins. long
by
2 ft. ij ins. high.
Fourteenth century.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Fig. 14.
FRONT OF OAK COFFER.

Fourteenth century.
14
Victoria
and Albert'Museum.
Development of
J'he
fourteenth century, this
Chest
the
highly interesting, and undoubtedly English in design and
is
execution.
The evidence
Fig. 15,
where the front
is
the fine and elaborate front was
The top has the appearance

The roughly
work
is,
obviously, not
Fig. 16
is
Flamboyant
made
centre.
strengthened by
absurd to imagine that
It is
for the crude chest to
which
of being of seventeenth-century date,
it
by the same hand
but this
when
chests were rarely,
if
It
This was, in
all
the
same ogival tracery
Mr. Aston's cabinet.
Marked
somewhat
Both
traces of the
earlier
be an
in
strong
is
probability, a
dates from the latter part of the
ever, supported
on
Similar tracery
legs.
be noticed in the door panel. Fig. 17, the English origin of which
is
may
unmistakably foreign, French or Burgundian, although there
fifteenth century,
belongs.
as the traceried front.
credence, the legs of which have been cut down.
There
now
incised decoration of the uprights indicates no period, but this
English feeling in the traceried panels of the side doors.
will
is
typically English of the mid-fifteenth century, with perpen-
dicular tracery in low relief, and a
addition.
manufacture of coffer-fronts
for this separate
is
more
certain.
the lower fenestration as in the side doors to
are of about the
Flamboyant
still
same period.
linger in the next panel, Fig. 18,
than the preceding example.
The
central tracery
is
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY OAK CHEST WITH PANEL OF EARLIER DATE.

is
mid-fifteenth century.
IS
is
ogival, in the
Fig. 15.
The panel
which
Early English Furniture and JVoodwork

manner
which
is
marked on the next example,
so
St. Michael's
muniment
Parish Church at Coventry.
or vestment chest of large size
braced over solid

it
will
windows, and there
of the mid-fifteenth-century great
sides,
and the front with
Fig. 19, a chest
This
be noticed that the front panel only
uprights
is
no trace
from
of the cusping
Lady Chapel
tlie
is
The ends
are closely frame-
richly ornamented.
Here again,
ecclesiastical in character, the uprights
being resetted in diamond tracery with a swan or other bird in the central panel.
top
is
of
a typical late fifteenth-century Church
is
and great weight.

its
is
The
nearly two and a half inches in thickness, of straight-cut oak, with tongued clamps
The
at the ends.
iron nails.
side framings
The two
preservation.
It
longed to act as
and the hasps are bolted through with large wrought-
locks are of a later date.
one of the
is
feet,
earliest
For
its age, this
chest
is
in
wonderful
examples known where the uprights are pro-
with a shaped apron uniting them on the front.
Fig. 16.
OAK CABINET, PROBABLY FRENCH OR BURGUNDIAN.

4
ft.
3 ins.
wide by
ft.
2 ins.
high by 2
ft
Late fifteenth century.
16
o|
in.
back to
front.
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq.
The Development of
and Standing Ci4phoard
Chest
the
Before dismissing the subject of these chests of
kind but
elaborate
now
example,
illustrated in
strongly resembles
and
21
Figs.
20,
it,
together with another,

in
is
which
Crediton Church, Devonshire,
later plinth with the carved inscription
Both these chests
it.
Ipswich,
at
The Ipswich chest has not been
22.
improved by the
above
Museum
in Christchurch
Fig.
one
questionable nationality,
of
Flamboyant
the
are of
Gothic of the close of the fifteenth or the commence-
ment
of the sixteenth centuries,
and
French
of
but, possibly, from the pro\'inces which
English, in ideas
if
not in actual
cannot be suggested that these
made
in
had remained
fact, at this date.
fine chests
It
were either
Fig. 17.
England or under English supervision, although
the central panel of the Ipswich chest
English
origin,
lion.
This, however,
is
is
OUTDOOR PANEL.
carved with the
Late liflueulh cenluiv.
a later insertion, the coat
being that of the town of Ipswich.
Both examples are certainh- not
date, but at this period the Italian Renaissance
prior to 1500 in
was dominating the woodwork
of France.
They may, on the other hand, have been imported
Low
from the
Countries, which would account, in
some
measure, for the Flamboyant Gothic as late as 1500-20.

This hypothesis
is
preferable to ascribing a date in the
fifteenth centurj^
even although the Gothic character
is
more French than Flemish, both
in
design and
execution.
Another example from the Christchurch Museum,

Fig. 23,
is
typical Touraine
work
of the early sixteenth
century, but this ma^' have been, and probably was,
imported as a chest-front, only the front and the two
end panels being actual work of the period.

If it
be
difficult to
for a chest, with a
postulate a countrj' of origin
carved front strongly suggestive of
Fig. 18.
French workmanship, but where the top,
OAK PANEL.
17J
ins.
high by 13
ins.
wide.

II.
back
may have
been, and probably were,
country, there can be

17
little
sides
made
and
in this
or no doubt regarding the
Karly English Furniture and IVoodwork

fine
walnut chest illustrated
bears the arms

"
of
Henry
Donex totum impleat
II
when Dauphin
The top
orbe."
century, before described, but here
from
solid
timber as
Not only
in Fig. 24.
it
is
of
manner
in the
constructed, in
in the case of the earlier
foreign/Lbut the chest
France, together with his motto,
domed
is
wood
the
is
examples.
of the thirteenth
hewn
cooper-jointing, not
The
front
is
finely
carved in
representation of a joust or actual combat, and at each corner are carjâtid figures
modelled in the
fine
manner
the period of this chest,
of the Italian Renaissance.
which can
and cultured patron
of
its
Italian
possible, considering
is
be stated within narrow limits,
contemporaries of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
have had something to do with
It
designing, as
artists
if
we know
and craftsmen
that one of
not the master himself,

that Francis
of his
period.
the
may
was a
liberal
There
is
real
spontaneity and inspiration evident in this chest as compared with the skilful but
Fig. 19.
OAK MUNIMENT OR VESTMENT

Lady Chapel,
6
ft.
5 ins. long
by
St. Michael's
ft.
2 ins. high
by
2 ft. 3 ins.
Fifteenth century,
18
CHEST.
Church, Coventry.
back to
front.
The Development of
mannered duplication which
is
is
and
Chest
evident in
of this period, both in this country

Fig. 25
the
much
in
oi the secular
one of the small secular chests of the beginning of the sixteenth century,
the late Gothic manner.
original.
style.
It
At
frequently,
The cutting
is
The two roundels
are chip-carved in
rough, as one would expect in a secular chest
and the Gothic traditions are imperfectly comprehended.
The
probably possessed one, of well-finished ironwork, buttressed

this
it is
date, although
woodwork
fell
from
its
lock
in the
is
not
Gothic
former high standard very
rare to find poor ironwork.
The reading desk.
now
or furniture
France.
constructed of oak with a front and top of elm.
at this date,
woodwork
Fig. 26, belongs to the late fifteenth centur\', and, although
considerably restored,
still
of cusped Gothic arcading, the
has been cut down, and has
shows much
of its original condition,
with two rows
upper one finishing below with crenellated coping.
lost its original
The ambry, or small cupboard
moulded
It
base.
fixed near the altar to contain the sacramental
Fig. 20.
OAK
CHEST.
Date about 1500-20.

19
Christchurch Park Museum, Ipswich.

vessels,
is
the
first
instance of the development from the chest form, with a
cupboard with a door.

is
It
rare until about 1470.
lid,
to the
appears towards the close of the fifteenth century only, and

After that date
begins to develop rapidly, and standing
it
or livery cupboards, with doors, take the place, largely, of the former chests with lids,
although not entirely.
The cupboard merely becomes,
furnishing of the house.

for clerical use as
certain
It is
as
always rare in a church, that
it
is,
rapid and permanent.
Articles, such as goblets of metal,
cupboard, and on two or more
without
as a piece
compared with one presented or bequeathed.
advantages over chests which would cause their
accessible
were, an addition to the
one
tiers
touching
if
it
in
rise
made specifically
Cupboards possess
favour to be both
can be placed vertically in a
be provided with shelves, and each
another.
article is
Against these advantages must be set
the facts that for clothing, linen or vestments, which could be laid flat and at length,
the chest offers advantages which the cupboard does not possess, and a chest, thus
filled,
could be easily transported, whereas the cupboard could only be
difficulty, especially
Two
of these
if its
vertical position
ambry doors
of the sixteenth, are
shown
had
to be maintained.
of the close of the fifteenth century,
in Figs. 27
and
moved with
28.
In the one
is
if
not the beginning
a representation of the
Fig. 21.
OAK
CHEST.
Date about 1520.
20
Creditor! Church,
Devon.
The Development of
Virgin, in
tlie
other an acolyte Iiolding a chalice.
English carvers will be noted here.
we except some
In these
is
of
Both
are niched beneath semi-circular

of drapery treatment
among
French foldings are sharper, and more mannered,
of the figures sculptured in
ambry doors
The peculiar character
arches vaulted to spiral columns.
if
Chest
the
wood from Touraine
of the fifteenth century.
the emergence from the Gothic traditions can be remarked.
Fig. 29
a door from one of the standing buffets of the early sixteenth century, showing traces
Flamboyant Gothic without cusping.
this
In a piece of purely ecclesiastical inspiration
door might have been referred to the previous century.

Secular Gothic of the later fifteenth century
than the
clerical
is
nearly always cruder and flatter
practically chip-carving, executed with sharp clean cuts with the
V-gouge or parting
tool.
The geometrical form
of interlacing circular heads,
which
produces the pointed or lancet arch at the intersections, was a favourite detail, possibly
because
it
was
this device.
easih'
remembered and
as easily executed.
The next three examples show
Fig. 30 has chip-carved roundels in square panels at either end, with double
arcading between, and
is
designed with a place for a lock-plate, whereas in Fig. 31
the interlaced arcade runs right along the

chest-front
and the lock-plate covers the
ornament.
The change
in the decoration
below shows that a lock with covering

plate
was intended, however.
Fig. ^z from
the Strangers' Hall at Norwich, shows an
elaborated version of this interlacing of

arches, the mullions being imbricated,
and
the spaces between, cut with Gothic arcading in the Perpendicular style.
All three
chests are constructed in a similar way,
with solid
fronts
and fixed with
rebated into the ends
nails or pegs.
The next example,
Fig.
"^^f,
from the fifteenth century, but

It
is
also dates
very
has the chip roundels, forming
late.
much
the same patterns as a child would devise
with a draughtsman's compass.

of these chests
original,
On none
do the locks appear to be
and, apart from the perishable
Fig. 22.
THE END VIEW OF THE CHEST,
FIG. 21.

nature of iron there
is
also the suggestion that these locked chests
have been
in nearly every instance, a not unlikely contingency, considering the state of
rifled,
England
in the fifteenth century.
The
oak chest from the Victoria and Albert Museum, which
fine
FARES,"
is
illustrated in Figs. 34
to stand with one

tion
is
plain),
than the
but
end against a wall

it is
The
front.
and
35.
(the opposite
end
to the one
shown
carved on both sides, and the back, or hinged side,

central hole in the front shows that
were only used on very important
coffers,
inscribed " N.
This remarkable piece was obviously
it
was
one of the enormous and complicated iron locks, in height of
is
is
made
in the illustrais
more ornate
originally fitted with
full
chest-depth, which
to contain articles of great value.
a late fifteenth-century chest, and of English make, beyond question, and
only have been

that
it
made
was made
for
for
an important person or purpose.
made
it
This
could
Mr. Fred Roe's contention
an apothecary of high standing of the name
of Fares can only be
Fig. 23.
OAK CORPORATION
CHEST.
Early sixteenth century.
Christchurch Museum, Ipswich.
The Development of
due
Chest
the
to superliveliness of imagination
no apothecarj-
in the tifteenth
century would
have possessed such a chest, so massive and elaborate, and so heavily guarded.
have nothing of
tions.
sufficient value to place inside
it,
apart from other weighty considera-
There are several hypotheses which are more credible.
to an abbot or high church dignitary,
probable
still,
the
name
coupled with the Latin
" N.
name
of
It
may have been presented
and the name may be that
FARES
"
may
an abbey or
He would
of the donor, or
indicate an initial of a Christian

see, in the
same manner
as
more
name
Cantuar or
Fig. 24.
CARVED WALNUT CHEST (FRENCH).

4
ft.
3j ins. \vide by
ft.
ins.
deep by
Date about 1540.

23
ft.
4! ins. total height.
Capt. N. K. Colville. M.C.
Early English Furniture and TVoodwork

Ebor.
It
may have
that period,
name
the
made
been the strong chest of one of the powerful semi-clerical guilds of
and
to contain robes
of a place, rather
of least importance, other
which
insignia, in
"FARES" may
case,
Tudor
than to one opening the
At the carved end
rose at this date.
be
than of a person. The front of the chest was, evidently, the side
which is the
lid,
first
has two voluted leafed stalks, terminating in the Rose of York
It
still
is
monogram
the
item of significance.
;
certainly not the
" N.F."
surmounted by an
inverted and stalked acorn calyx or cup, the same device being repeated on the back
before the carving of the name.
It
would be interesting to ascertain
if
this
were not
one of the signs of the Cluniac order, which was a powerful guild even as late as
The
trailing vine-tendrils, with leaves
cance,
in a
on
a religious signifi-
rose at the top left-hand corner in Fig. 35, with a similar device repeated
6 ins. in depth and
some inches
upon
The
but has perished.
it,
ft.
coffer
5J
is
and the high quahty
importance when
it
small for
its
The
it
may have
\\ ins. long
by
ft.
ft.
6|
ins. in length,
show that
it
must have been a piece
The suggestion that
it
may have
CHIP-CARVED CHEST OF ELM AND OAK.

ft.
back
been either cut down
Fig. 25.
base, on the
The work which has been lavished
worn away.
of its execution,
was made.
appearance
but
ins. in height,
of its original base
manner.
The uprights
Similar detail probably existed on the
and carved with cusping.
side, is lunetted
ft.
first
may have
row on the band underneath, may mean more than simple ornament.
front,
or
of grapes,
this side are buttressed, in the late fifteenth-century
and
and the
and bunches
this.
\\ ins. high
by
Date about 1500.
24
ft.
if ins.
back to
front.
contained
of
relics
The Development of
may
explain
undoubtedly
cliaracter
ricli
its
clerical, either
and
Chest
the
its
small
size.
original
traditions, after the destruction of the monasteries
but theearlier guidance of the Church
decline of the line earlier Gothic
began
in 153O.
clearly absent in the
is
knowledge and
we
this period that
taste,
with the abolition of the monastic houses.
get crude Gothic
much
the forerunners of
woodwork
methods
ornament
of
the
It is at
cusped tracery, coupled with
still
these examples were
of
the
of
visible in
of these pieces,
as
after
There are
fifteenth century.
later
lingered,
woodwork produced
cruder construction, \ which might cause one to imagine that
fine
The Gothic
Such a decline can be explained by no other hypothesis than the dispersal
of the former
the
associations were
with an abbey or one of the semi-ecclesiastical guilds.
The sixteenth century witnessed the abrupt
this date.
Its
many
however, such
scratch-moulding
of
the upright styles of Fig. 36

for example,
which show that
mere crudity
no necessary
is
The con-
indication of age.
struction here
from
is
solid
boards, without framing, uprights nailed to the sides in
the
manner of
the early chests,
and the doors
one piece,
of
pierced and carved.
worker
No wood-
of the Gothic period,
however,
would
ha\-e
been
responsible for the Catherinewheel-like
pattern
of
the
tracery in the lower door of

this cupboard, nor the circular
Fig. 26.
holes above the arcading in
the upper one.
OAK READING DESK
This must be
3
ft.
regarded as an example of the
ins.
high by 2
ft.
9 J ins. wide by
ft.
gi
ins.
deep.
depraved period, from about
îctoria
-0
and Albert Museum.

1540 to 1560, when the former Gothic designers were roaming the highways or lurking
in the forests of
The
table,
as
vagabonds and outlaws.
dole cupboard, Fig. 37, said to have
Alderbury
earlier,
England
in Wiltshire,
come from Ivychurch, an old house at
but probably looted from a monastery at the Dissolution,
and better than the preceding. To begin with,
and has
central door
little
(it
is
it is
is
low, not as high as an ordinary
or none of the appearance of a cupboard cut down.
It
has the usual
to be noted that double doors shutting together do not appear, in
English furniture, until the close of the seventeenth century) pierced with geometrical
devices,
cusping.
and the broad front
The
styles or uprights are traceried in rude Gothic forms
vertical mouldings are merely gouge-channels, very different
scratched mouldings of Fig. 36.
without
from the
This dole cupboard was probably intended to stand on
a raised platform or table in the chancel, to contain gifts of the charitable, such as loaves.
Fig. 28.
Fig. 27.
15 ins. high
by loj
OAK AMBRY DOORS.

ins.
wide.
15 ins. high
by \o\
Victoria
26
ins.
wide.
and Albert Museum.
Fig. 29.
OAK DOOR FROM BUFFET.

i8J
ins.
high by 14J
ins.
wide.
27
Victoria
and Albert Museum.

to be distributed
on certain occasions.
It is significant
that doles of this kind began to
be general at the commencement of the sixteenth century

as
up to 1470 living was so cheap that
hiring of the skilled worker in
wood
it
they were unknown before,
was frequently included
or stone, as
we have seen
in the
terms of
in the earlier chapters
of this book.
Fig. 38
The
is
a standing cupboard of about 1550
an important piece for
doors, which are central, the one above the other in the usual way, are pierced in
In the upper door the crocketting
crude Gothic tracery, but the designs are of no period.

is
this date.
early fifteenth-century in character, whereas the door itself
position that the design of the piercing of

of the Prince of
brother of
two lower
rightly, rejects.
for Prince Arthur, the eldest
The device is, more probably,
a representation of a bill-hook, and Mr. Roe's contention that this device

a rebus on the
solution,
if
name
of its first
owner may be
The sup-
sixteenth.
side panels represents the feathers
Wales and that the cupboard was made
Henry VIII, Mr. Fred Roe, very
is
William
correct.
one could establish the date when the Christian
Hook
may
represent
occurs as an easy
name was
first
known by
Fig. 30.
OAK
4
ft.
5 ins.
wide by
ft.
2^
CHEST.
ins. higli
by
28
ft.
7 ins.
deep.
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq.
The Development of
its
Chest
the
The cupboard came from Burwaston
familiar diminutive.
presented to the Victoria and Albert
Museum by
and was
in Shropshire,
Mr. Robert Mond, F.S.A., in 1912.
Belonging to a type of furniture which has been extensively forged, there
is
no doubt
as to its authenticity, although the apron-pieces uniting the front legs are certainly
open to question.
The long oak
may
panel. Fig. 39, carved in open piercing with stems of
make
be introduced here to
a comparison between the fine work of the fifteenth
century and that of the si.xteenth.
and
taste, is
much
probably
earlier
of the Gothic tradition
course,
enough
of the
Gothic
which
is
with knowledge,
It
There
its fine
owes a good deal to the worker
in Surrey,
skill
shows a scholarly emancipation from

is,
Saltwood
Bloxham in Oxfordshire may be
execution,
in iron.
Kent, York Cathedral and Felping,
in
all in
Sussex, and the very
cited as representative of their period.
Fig. 31.
OAK
4
ft.
6 ins. -wide
by
2 ft.
of
century are not plentiful, for obvious reasons,
Midhurst, South Bersted, Chichester Cathedral and Buxted,

interesting chest at
is
truly remarkable for this period.
of chests of the thirteenth
but those at Stoke d'Abernon
it
it
forms of the openings, together with
to establish an approximate date.
Examples
This panel, carved as
than 1480, yet
in the
hop and oak
CHEST.
4} ins. liigh
by
29
ft. 7 ins.
deep.
W. Smedley Aston, Esq.

Fourteenth-century chests are also rare
At South Acre, Hereford,
appear to have been preserved.
rule,
Wath, Huttoft,
Derby
very
(St.
fine
pages.
Brailes, Alnwick, Brancepeth,
Hacconby, Oxford
may
(St.
Mary Magdalene),
(St.
John's)
Others have already been illustrated in preceding
be found.
Coffers of the fifteenth
Litcham,
(All Saints')
Faversham, Chevington, Rainham and Canterbury
Peter's),
examples
only those of exceptional quality, as a
and sixteenth centuries are well represented here, and
those of the seventeenth are legion.
The introduction
mencement
of
is
in
by the dead King's

in
documents
its first
England
is
for
doubtful
it
important expression
That
who
this
was commissioned
was the
in the
tomb
first real
for the
work
expression of the
the intercourse with France, although intermittent,
screen, Fig. 132, Vol.
ornament which
is
or Peter Torrisany
to be necessary for a king to introduce the
The Atherington
of the Renaissance
of the time,
son, in 1509-17.
had been too frequent

this country.
ornament dates almost from the com-
Westminster Abbey, the work of Pietro Torrigiano,
styled in the
Renaissance
but
of the sixteenth century,
Henry VII
as he
of the Italian Renaissance
is
I,
for example,
is
new
style into
an expression
probably prior to Henry VII's tomb, certainly
not long enough after to have been influenced by the new style from this source.
Figs. 40 to 43
show
this early sixteenth-century
comparison of these with the panelling from
in Fig. 274, Vol.
I,
will
Renaissance feeling at
St.
show the motive-inspiration.
its best.
Vincent at Rouen, illustrated
These panels were evidently
Fig. 32.
OAK
CHEST.
30
Leonard G. Bolingbroke, Esq.
The Development of
made
the Chest
grooved framing, as on the
for enclosing in
first
two
tlie
sight markings are
clearly visible.
fine ruffle or lace-box,
type to the preceding,

century,
sixteenth
with carvings of similar character, but somewhat later
illustrated in Fig.
is
which
The strap-work motif
44.
became such
afterwards
furniture of Elizabeth's reign, can be seen here in
form
17
of construction
by
ins.
It
5 J ins.,
is
still
adhered
to,
its
but the box
which probably dictated
this
paramount
early manner.
is
the late
of
feature
The
in
older solid
small, the front panel only
method.
must not be assumed because an improved form was not adopted that
unknown
at a particular date.
cupboards which have been
cupboard doors,
is
be noticed
It will
in all
The
principle of tenoning
it
was
the examples of chests and
illustrated, so far, that framing,
absent.
the
whether of chest-fronts^ or
and mortising
styles
and
rails
together to form a frame, rebated on the back, or grooved, for the insertion of a panel,
was well known
as early as the fifteenth century, or even before, as
work, screens and the

Hall, Coventry,
manner
shown
of a novice,
like,
demonstrate.
in a later chapter,
The
is
much
of the
church
fifteenth-century chair from St. Mary's
an instance of framing, not at
all in
the
but showing that the principle was thoroughly understood and
FJg. 33.
OAK
3
ft.
wide by
ft.
Late
CHEST.
8J ins. high by
fifteenth century.
31
ft,
3 ins. deep.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.

The method, once adopted, would prove
practised.
from a simple
by the
flat
board (with
piercing of tracery), that
therefore, that while framing
early chests, in spite of

these men, and
warp and
was known,
in
favour of
readily.
of a
To say
boards,
is
door
when weakened
We
must assume,
was not adopted by the makers
it
flat
making
crack, especially
would not be discarded
it
manifest superiority.
its
was ignored
to
its liability
so superior to the
that framing was
a hardy assumption
of these
known
it is
to
more
probable that they were not educated in the making of framing, which demands accurate
mortising and tenoning
modern cabinetmaker
matter of course.
if
the frame
is
to be perfectly flat
this is a trifle, as he constructs
Yet some may
itself,
on the bench.
It is
quite another to be able to
We
facility,
how
a frame
is
like a cradle
constructed
when
it
even when hot practised,
were of another
is
not lost so easily.
who
class to those
and researches prove
this to
be the
We
must
infer that the
6J
ins.
wide by
ft.
The huchers
or huchiers, or arkwrights
CHEST.
5^
ins.
nigh by
Late fifteenth centjry.

32,
constructed panelling, pulpits or church
fact.
OAK
ft.
makers
Fig. 34.
is
one.
cannot assume an ability which was allowed to rust from disuse, however
of chests
screens,
where tenons were not cut
frame would rock
one thing to know
make
the
and where mortises were sunk not quite
at the vertical right-angle, with the result that the

flat
To
together.
framing almost every day, as a
recollect their early efforts,
perfectly parallel with the line of the rail
placed
when put
ft.
6 ins. deep.
Victoria and Albert
Museum
The Development of
as they are
much
less
termed
documents
in
of the time,
They appear
as early as the thirteenth century,
they were
meagre
which
were a class of furniture-makers held in
have separated themselves from the carpenters
to
and
have established a Guild
to
of their
That
own.
inferior, in constructive skill, to the carpenters, until the latter part of the
sixteenth century,
;
esteem than the architectural woodworkers, or those who were responsible for
panelling and screens.
directed
Chest
the
proved by their work
is
The carpenter was nearly always church-
the hiicher rarely so.
Furniture of any description was small in variety and
amount, and the trade
of the hucher could not
in
have possessed the importance
acquired at a later date.
it
Actually, up to the close of the fifteenth century, woodworkers were divided into
three classes,
Carpenters.
under the jurisdiction,
all
makers
came the wood-sculptors or ymagers
First in order of importance
(Fr.
Flemish beeldersnyders, modern German bilderschneiders or bildhauers,
tailleurs d'images,
hewers of pictures)
literally
varying degrees, of the Guild of Master
in
The
of furniture.
secondly the carpenters, and,
latter only
the hitchers, or
lastly,
obeyed the stringent regulations
of the Guild
regarding the selection, cutting and seasoning of timber.

Chests showing this Renaissance character are not exceptionally rare, and
it
is
with them that we reach the period of framed construction, as adopted by the hucher,
as distinct
is
from the carpenter, who had framed up panels nearly a century before.
framed and panelled, with tenons secured
and
panelling.
rails
moulded on three
are
This fragment, however,
is
sides,
undoubtedly a part
panels are curious and archaic, quite in the English
represented
Adam and Eve
support a shield having on
'
How
Carpenter's
it is
manner
close.
manner
in the
the back framing.
of the period.
On
may
Vjs
paid to /geauntes for diuce tymes for restyng of stuffe
Itm paid to a/geaunte of the Mayes to areste stuffe and
same tyme
19 Henry 7.
Rec of a foreri carpenl
in
expenc the
^^^
to
haue lycens to
set
II.
'
foreign
'
carpentei:
vpp an howse w'in the
XXd
Serient in Chauncellor Lane
(A
the left
be gathered from the following extracts from the records of the
(Seizure of defective timber.)
1503.
The
In the centre, two angels
14.
4.
of
but the absence
Itiu
The
the Passion Symbols, and on the right the decoration
strict these regulations were,
Company
" 1474. Edward
very
of a chest,
beneath the Tree of Knowledge.

it
its
and chamfered below,
of lock-plate, or provision for the lock itself, suggests that
is
with wooden pins, in the
persisted throughout the seventeenth century until
manner which
styles
in their mortises
Fig. 45
was one who had not been admitted

33
to the
Company.)
Early Knglish Furniture and Woodwork

is
one of stalked grotesque heads.
The work
is
of the
Midland type usually to be met
with in Cheshire or Shropshire.

Fig. 46
is
Reformation.
a complete chest of the same archaic character, but undoubtedly postPieces of this type were frequently
no tradition, and were presented to churches.
name
of the
made by country
They were usually
The carving
donor or original owner.
huchers of
or
inscribed with the
extremely crude.
is
little
The framing
is
scratch-moulded and stop-chamfered, the inside muntins only being worked with a
The type appears
coarse ovolo section.
to be Somerset of the mid-sixteenth century.
Chests of the so-called " Nonsuch " inlaid type, similar to Fig. 47, appear towards
the end of the sixteenth century, but their nationality
really parqueterie, rather than inlay or marqueterie,^
date,
was the home
probable that
it
of this industry,
is
and although Tonbridge, at a
hence the term " Tonbridge ware,"
Nonesuch, at Cheam,
in Surrey,
was
built
by Henry VIII
with
whom
in
1555,
but some forty years later
became a favourite
it
it is
later
more
The
residence.
significance of the terms
is
it
explained in Chapter
Fig. 35.
34
It
life,
of
and was
was sold to the Earl
was repurchased by Elizabeth^
Presented
THE BACK OF THE CHEST,
The palace
in his later
regarded as one of the wonders of England at that date.
Arundel
is
copied and adopted the method from chests of this type, rather
than that the style originated in that part of Kent at this early period.
of
The work
questionable.
FIG. 34.
by Charles
of this
Volume.
II
in
167a
to
Barbara,
mistress,
his
afterwards, Duchess of Cleveland,
was demolished by
it
Hofnagle engraved a
her.
view
of the Palace in 1582,
which
shows
three
towers
it
possessing
capped
with
onion-shaped cupolas, such as

are represented in the central
HH
^^li
The
^Bi
panels
of
this
chest.
'1'
England,
peculiarity,
in
cupolas of
this
kind
of
that
admitting the accuracy of
is,
Hofnagle's engraving, which

there
is
^^ffiî
^^
i'\
i
no reason to doubt,
some evidence
is
^^^^H
the
for
English origin of these chests,

especially as they are found
some numbers
in
in
this
country. 1
Fig.
48
is
another ex-
ample, which, from

similarity,
in
its
many
strong
of
the
details of the inlay, strongly
suggests a
common origin,
for
both, not only of country or

locality,
but even of actual
maker.
It
must be remem-
bered that inlay presupposes a

master-pattern, or "pricking"
(see
Chapter V for a definition
of this
and other terms used

Fig. 36.
some
It
has been suggested, with
plausibihty, that the decoration
of these inlaid chests was copied from
one
OAK STANDING CUPBOARD.
of the buildings
ft.
2 ins. high
by
2 ft. 9 ins.
wide by
ft.
6 ins. deep.
Mid-sixteenth centurj'.
on old London
Bridge.
Victoria and Albert
35
Museum.
Ear/y English Furniture and Woodwork

by the marqueterie-cutter) from which
copies can easily be taken, whereas to reproduce
inlay from an actual piece implies both the drawing and pricking of another pattern
a tedious
and laborious
exhibit the
task.
same design
It is feasible, therefore, to
suppose that where two pieces
in inlay (not necessarily the use of the
same woods), they are
from the same hand or workshop, unless we are to suppose that patterns were made
and
" prickings " sold, as articles of
unlikely proceeding.
]\Ir.
Percy Macquoid,
commerce, to makers throughout England
Of these so-called " Nonsuch "
chests,
which are really
in his " History of Furniture," illustrates three, in
Against this must be set the fact that
towers are represented.
many
a very
coffers,
which the same
chests
and cabinets
unquestionably from the Rhine Provinces, were imported into England, in which similar
devices and methods to those in these "
are
two views
of the
of one of these
German
Nonsuch
" chests
were practised.
Figs. 49
and 50
The
fronts
cabinets of the seventeenth century.
drawers inside can be compared with the panels of Figs. 47 and 48, and
will
show
Fig. 37.
OAK DOLE CUPBOARD.

3
ft. 2 J ins.
wide by
2 ft.
J ins.
high by
Date about 1530.
36
ft.
6 ins. deep.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Fig. 38.
OAK STANDING CUPBOARD.

5
ft.
4^
ins.
high by 4
ft. 2 ins.
wide by
Mid-sLxteenth century.
37
2 ft. deep.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Fig. 39.
OAK PANEL.
3
ft.
oj
ins.
long by 7
ins. high.
%'ictoria
.
OAK PANEL.
Fig.
Fig. 40.
OAK PANEL.
I3i
ins.
high by 10
and Albert Museum.
ins.
13}
wide.
ins.
high by 10
ins.
wide.

Victoria and Albert
38
Museum.
The Development of
the
Chest
Fig. 43.
OAK PANELS.
14 ins. high
by
9 ins. wide.
Early si.xteenth century.
the probable national kinship of the three pieces.
Victoria and Albert
Chests with inlay, that
is,
Museum.
with various
coloured woods chopped into the solid ground, as distinct from marqueterie where the
inlay
is
are not
cut into veneers and both laid either with the veneering
uncommon
in
England towards the middle
Fig. 51 will be noticed one of late Charles I period,
flagged towers, in
The turned
somewhat
up the
of the seventeenth century.
where the
pilasters are inlaid
In
with
and
48.
chest of this kind would probably be fitted with a
line of the
moulding-breaks at the base.
panels and the pilasters are carved with a
Anglian manner.
or the caul,
similar fashion to the chests illustrated in Figs. 47
feet are additions.
cut-out plinth taking
hammer
flat
The arcades
veined running guilloche, in the East
Chests of this kind are frequently of uncertain nationality.
extensively imported from Holland, which was the

39
of the
home
of marqueterie
up
They were
to the later

seventeenth century.
It
must not be assumed, however, that imported marqueterie
from Holland necessarily resembles what we know here
in
England
as
Dutch
inlay.
no doubt that craftsmen in Holland made, especially for the Enghsh market,
There
is
many
of the inlaid long-case clocks of
to that current in Holland,
1690-17 lo
although quite
in
another fashion
as labels, which may be occasional^ found inside the trunk-
doors, attest.
It
may
be advisable, at this juncture, to leave the consideration of these late six-
teenth and early seventeenth-centurj- chests and to explain
how
many
general way, to assign localities of origin, as well as dates, to

illustrated in the preceding
infallible
index of origin,
is
fixed.
not tenable
in pulpits
from the
We
late fifteenth
would not be removed from the church
as a rule, these
they were
and the following pages.
it
have a
is
possible, in a
of the
fairly sure,
examples
but not an
century onwards, as we know,
for
which they were made, once
Unfortunately, the theory that these are always of local manufacture
some
from the Thames,
is
of the
Kentish woodwôrk in churches, even
in villages well
removed
not indigenous, but bears manj- indications of Essex or Suffolk
Fig. 44.
OAK BOX.
17 ins. wide
by
7 ins. high
by I2i
Mid-sixteenth century.
40
ins.
deep.
W.
Smedles' Aston, Esq.
Fig. 45.
PANEL OF OAK CHEST.

3
t.
S ins.
wide by
ft.
gi
ins.
wide.
a
ftrtf^^
-WC.
x^ v
a,.,
--X
Victoria
and Albert Museum.
Obyt^ni^^^^ LOVE 605

%
K
f|
tl
1^1
[1
1
Fig. 46.
OAK
Height, 2
ft.
li ins.
CHEST,
width, 4
ft.
in.
circa ij6o.
II.
41
depth,
ft.
7 J ins.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Ear/y English Furniture and JVoodwork

origin.
Certain districts
style, particularly in the
upon
must have been renowned
for their
woodworking
skill
Gothic period, and workmen from these places would be called
to provide such articles as pulpits, screens, benches
and the
like, if
a church con-
templated refurnishing by reason of added revenues or some unexpected bequest.
would not apply

date bears
many
to the fifteenth century,
and
indications of being of local
rivalry between neighbouring villages in the
were by no means general,

prior to 1330 are
but
it is,
known
and
before, as
make and
woodwork
in
churches of that
design, coupled with a friendly
adornment
of their parish church.
in English churches, in the fourteenth century,
to exist.
apparently, unique.
At Fulbourne
in
This
Cambridgeshire
Examples from the end
is
Pulpits
and none
one of this date,
of the fourteenth century are
Fig. 47.
OAK CHEST INLAID WITH MARQUETERIE AND PARQUETERIE OF VARIOUS WOODS.

3
ft.
\\ ins. wide
by
2 ft. i>\ ins.
high by
Late sixteenth century.
42
i ft.
Si ins. deep.
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq.
The Development of
also very rare.
There
is
Chest
the
one at Upper Winchendon
in
Bucks, and two are
known
in
Gloucester, at Evenlode and Stanton.

It
is,
however, from the beginning of the sixteenth century onwards, that pulpits
begin to have an interest, for our present purpose, in establishing local manners and
periods, as they either
copy the pattern
of the chest, coffer
time, or chests are, in turn, copied from them.

in consequence,
and cupboard-fronts
In any case a fashion
they become valuable as data.
is
inaugurated, and,
In addition, pulpits of the sixteenth
century onwards are nearly always in the secular manner of their time
remains only as a trace.
struction also varies, at the
same
very richly ornamented,
as
method
of
but
Not
con-
hewing and
the very late fifteenth-century example
in
to the properly framed and panelled manner of eastern England of this
Devonshire pulpits
later date
frequently
period, from the primitive
fashioning from the solid tree-trunk,
period.
the Gothic
Devonshire pulpits do not enter into consideration here.
only are they exceptional in design,
at Chivelstone,
of their
are, as a rule,
not only locally made, but often at a
than their style would indicate, and they rarely follow the fashions
which are current
England.
at this period in other parts of
in design
As a consequence they
Fig. 48.
OAK CHEST INLAID WITH MARQUETERIE AND PARQUETERIE OF VARIOUS WOODS.

4
ft.
ins.
wide by 2
ft.
2|
ins.
high by
43
ft.
gj
ins.
much
deep.
A.
W.
Frost, Esq.
Early English Furniture and IFoodwork.

are nearly always
mendable
as
for
more spontaneous
many
reasons, has the
would render accurate dating
criterion of periods, or
in tj'pe
drawback
an
artistic virtue,
of establishing
no
which, however comdefinite
manner such
possible, in the absence of preserved records.
methods prevalent
in their districts, these
As a
Devonshire pulpits
are useless as guides in estimating dates, or in indicating localities of manufacture.
There
useless
another reason
is
for
the
purpose
which
pulpits prior to the end of the sixteenth century are

is
intended
here.
common knowledge
They
are rarely,
if
ever,
true
that the Gothic style has, in
many
a fixed association with the Church, and any furnishings, whether of
wood
to the type of their period.

localities,
why
It is
or metal, are, in design, limited to that style.
There would be
little to
complain
of,
as a rule, were the Gothic properly understood, but, unfortunately, in nearly every
instance,
of
it is
the worst possible travesty- of the style which ignorance and the
economy can
That
commands
devise.
this practice of using the
Gothic long after the introduction of the Renaissance
Fig. 49.
OAK CABINET INLAID WITH VARIOUS WOODS.

German, early seventeenth century.
Capt. The Hon. Richard Legh.
44
The
Developfnerit
of
Chest
the
Fig. 50.
THE CABINET
had ousted
it
from general favour, even
examples as at
St. John's,
SHOWN
(FIG. 49)
OPEN.
was
in churches,
still
followed,
shown by such
is
Henley-in-Arden, Fig. 52, and Bramford, Fig. 53, where the
panel-details of tracery or linenfold are early sixteenth century in stjde, while the system
and the moulding-sections indicate almost the other end
of framing
It
is
the Renaissance pulpits which are valuable for our purpose, as data for
comparisons with secular furniture, as these pulpits were, as a

height of the fashions current at the time.
Fig. 54, of early seventeenth-century date
comparison of
this
able,
To
and East Anglian or
manner
I,
will
It is possible,
a pulpit of this elaborate kind was
state that this
made
of key-cornered mouldings surmounted
a London stvle in
locality.
If
its
expanded
in style.
I,
secular
extremely prob-
in
in fact,
London
it is
or
its
and the
neighbourhood.
taper, bosses or split-
and architectural frames or tablets
by pediments,
may
either with or without akroteria,
shows the East Anglian use
Fig. 57, and Kelsale, Figs. 58
and
and
be regarded as more exact in application.
the split baluster, in conjunction with the gadroon.
and
Home County
to include parts of Essex, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire
pulpit. Fig. 55,
familiar in chest
the
inception, can only be an error of too great a constriction of
Northern Kent, the statement
Yaxley
in
show how the
downward
of using pilasters with
balusters of bog oak or fruit-woods, applied fretwork
is
made
Nicholas Church at Ipswich has a pulpit.
Figs. 339 to 341, Vol.
examples corroborate each other.
that
St.
rule,
with the mantels from Lime Street, Figs. 332 to 335, Vol.
and those from Eltham,

clerical
of the century.
59, are all
and
Occold, Fig. 56, Earl Stonham,
East Anglian pulpits of a general style
coffer-fronts of their period or

45
of the pilastered arcade
somewhat
later.
Kelsale has a fine

pulpit,
details,
shown
in larger scale in Fig. 59,
from the dawn
which
of the Renaissance in
will
repay close examination.
England down
to the first quarter of the
seventeenth century, which are used together with charming
Great Dealings, Figs. 60 and 61, with

type, but
made from quartered oak
of the panelled
ing
and recessed panel, and
St.
Ipswich, Fig. 66, has the
make.
At
Stonham
Mary Quay,
all
Wren type
this date the classical
Aspel, Fig. 63, reminiscent
Ipswich, Fig. 65, which closes this series of
typical of their date

of pulpit
manner
in
with the chamfered mould-
which
may
and
it is
difficult to dissociate
more ornate and

borough
striking
although the design
is,
Tower
The
of this
Church,.
woodwork, which may be said to commence
many
counties into one,
the work of each by the criterion of design only.
example
in Norfolk, Fig. 67.
locality.
be of Suffolk, Essex or London
with the later years of Inigo Jones, tends to fuse the styles of
and
Witnesham, Fig. 64,
of the first Restoration years,
of the split-baluster coupled
East Anglian Stuart pulpits, are
effect.
canopy, Brandeston, Fig. 62, of plain
of choice figure,
and arcaded chests
which shows the reintroduction
its fine
There are
Wren manner
association of
in pulpits
Wren and Gibbon
An even
can be seen at Attle-
is
plainly evident here,
probably, not the work of the one nor the carving of the other.
Fig. 51.
OAK AND WALNUT INLAID

4
ft.
\\ ins. wide
by
2 ft. 2 ins.
high by
ft.
Date about 1640.

46
CHEST.
8 ins. deep,
back to
front.
John Dupuis Cobbold, Esq.
Fig. 53.
Fig. 52.
ST. JOHN'S,
BRAMFORD, SUFFOLK.
HENLEY-IN-ARDEN.
The East Anglian type
Warwickshire type of 1550.
Fig. 55.
Fig. 54.
ST.
YAXLEY, SUFFOLK.
NICHOLAS, IPSWICH.
The East Anglian baluster-and-jewel type
of 1590.
The baluster-and-jewel type
of 160010.
47
of i6io.
Fig. 56.
Fig. 57.
OCCOLD, SUFFOLK.
The East Anglian arcaded type
of 1610-20.
The Arcaded and Eossed type
of 1610.
Fig. 59.
Fig. 58.
KELSALE, SUFFOLK.
EARL STONHAM, SUFFOLK.
DETAIL OF THE PULPIT,
of 1620.
EAST ANGLIAN PULPITS OF THE EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
FIG. 58.
Fig. 62.
Fig. 60.
THE CANOPY OF THE PULPIT BELOW.
BRANDESTON, SUFFOLK.
Fig. 63.
Fig. 61.
GREAT BEALINGS, SUFFOLK.

The East AngUan arcaded type
of 1640.
of 1620.
STONHAM ASPEL, SUFFOLK.

1000.
THE SUFFOLK SEVENTEENTH CENTURY TYPE OF ARCADED PULPIT.
Fig. 65.
Fig. 64.
WITNESHAM, SUFFOLK.
of 1670.
ST.
MARY QUAY,
The reintroduction
IPSWICH.
of the spht-baluster.
c.
1680.
PfffTOFff
Fig. 67.
Fig. 66.
TOWER CHURCH,
The Wren type
of
IPSWICH.
690-1 700.
ATTLEBOROUGH CHURCH, NORFOLK.

The Wren type
of 1700-10.
LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY EAST ANGLIAN PULPITS.
Fig. 68.
TAWSTOCK, DEVON.
The Renaissance
of the
THE WREY PEW.
South-West.
SI
Atout
1550.
^^^#>)^^:
i;
M^ ^M :>^K ,^H'
Fig. 69.
Fig. 70.
ALDINGTON, KENT.
FRITTENDEN, KENT.
Gothic panel now in the back of a chair.

(Very rare in Kent.)
The Renaissance symbolical
pulpit of 1550.
Fig. 71.
Fig. 72.
BIDDENDEN, KENT.
DETAIL OF THE BIDDENDEN PULPIT.
The Kentish manner
of
c.
i6io.
KENTISH PULPIT TYPES.
Fig. 73.
Fig. 74.
ALDINGTON, KENT.
ALDINGTON, KENT.
The Kentish type
Detail of Fig. 73.
of 1660.
Fig. 75.
Fig- 76.
ALDINGTON, KENT.
ALDINGTON, KENT.
Details of Fig. 70.
Font-cover about 1640.
TYPES OF KENTISH WOODWORK.
-#>
54
The Development of
the
Chest
Fig. 81.
Fig. 82.
ALDINGTON, KENT.
ALDINGTON, KENT.
Details of the panelling, Fig. 80.
Details of the panelling. Fig. So.
KENTISH WOODWORK TYPES.

It
is
merely an example of the school of designing and carving which both helped to
found, as exemplified in
The Renaissance
is
much
of the
of the
woodwork
in St. Paul's Cathedral
South-West, whether in
and elsewhere.
clerical or in secular
nearly always richer in detail than in the East of England.
woodwork,
a rule,
It is also, as
exceedingly varied, yet possessing marked characteristics which are typical and recognisable.
Such examples as the
fine
Wrey pew
in
Tawstock Church,
Fig. 68,
may
be cited
as representative of the expression of the French Renaissance in Devonshire, examples

of which have already been illustrated in the Exeter panellings, Figs. 312 to 316, Vol.
So
closely
was the
style assimilated,
and
so fine in execution
and
full in
design are
I.
many
of these Devonshire examples, that the
hand
often been suspected, and with reason.
In spite of this foreign character, very strong
of the
French carver and designer has
in such details as the balusters supporting the tester of this rich pew, there
question as to
its
its
English origin, although French collaboration
designing.
55
may
is
no
be granted in

The Kentish and Eastern Sussex types
East AngHa, and
this
is
of pulpits are not so defined as those of
due as much to a multipUcity of influences, and even of work
imported from other countries, as to spontaneity in creation, with either no antecedent

fashions or a mere jumble of details gathered from
now
is
in the
back
of a chair at Frittenden, Fig. 69,
many
sources.
which
Thus the Gothic panel
may have
strongly permeated with influence from Northern France or the
Gothic in church woodwork
is
been a pulpit panel,
Low
Countries.
rarely local, in the strict sense of the word.
The
True, certain
forms were adopted as favourite motives in certain parts of England at particular periods,
but the influence both of the Church and of

to allow of the style
becoming
for example, to illustrate
Midland type, but

far
this
its
workmen was
too widespread before 1530
localised in definite districts.
It is
comparatively easy,
Gothic woodwork from Lancashire and to
cite this as the
can only be done by ignoring other woodwork from a county
removed which exhibits
similar designing influence.
That the Gothic woodworkers
Fig. 83.
OAK
CHEST.
56
The Development of
copied from one another
which were readily

of instances,
is
style,
obvious, and that this copying was from other examples
accessible,
in
the
same county or
district,
majority
in the great
comprehensible, but to say that a locality such as Wales or the South-
Western Counties,
own
is
Chest
the
where
the Gothic does develop on very individual lines,
meaning that there
are
no similar manifestations
of
it
elsewhere,
has
is
its
sheerly
absurd.
In
its
treatment of the Renaissance, Kent
At Biddenden,
Gothic.
Figs. 71
and
much more
individual than with the
a pulpit which shows the characteristically
is
72,
is
Kentish treatment of the strap-and- jewel ornament which was imported from the outlying districts or suburbs of London.
Aldington, Fig. 70, has a fine and boldly carved pulpit, with the representation
of the pelican feeding her
pelican in her piety,"
young with blood from her
but
it
is
doubtful
if
this,
breast,
styled,
in heraldry, " a
and other woodwork with which the
Fig. 84.
OAK
CHEST.

IT.
57
Capt.
The Hon. Richard Legh.
u'VJf^KiS'^'^^'
Fig. 85.
WALNUT TWO-TIER SIDEBOARD.

Height, 3
ft.
II ins.
width, 4
ft. 2 ins.
58
depth,
ft.
6 ins.
Victoria and Albert Sluseura
The Development of
Church
over- furnished,
is
from old panelling.
It
Chest
the
original to that edifice.
is
much more
is
likely that
Aldington Priory, the refectory of which
now
is
This pulpit
it
evidently
is
made up
was removed from the ruined
a part of the adjoining farm buildings.
In the Church are fragments of screens both of late fourteenth and middle fifteenth-
century dates, evidently from the same source.
The present additional
pulpit or
reading desk (really the true pulpit of the Church), Figs. 73 and 74, and the very charming
little
fifty
font cover. Fig. 76, are no doubt original, although the font-cover
of
which we have already
manner
vigorous
Mersham
of treating the arcaded
and
seats. Figs. 77
of
Rye
The oak panelling
shown, very
is
The
coarse, yet
clearly, in the case of the
78.
from Aldington,
Fig. 79, again
and pilastered panel
examples from East Anglia.
cutting of Kentish ornament
flat
more typical
illustrated
some
In the latter, especially in the details given in
years later in date than the pulpit.
Fig. 74, will be seen the Kentish
is
is
unusual
or Eastern Sussex, but this
in the chapel. Fig. 80,
treatment for this part of Kent, being
in
work may not be
shown
original to the Church.
in larger detail in Figs. 81
and
82, has
certainly been transplanted from a secular source, probably local, as the treatment of
tapered pilasters and arcading

is
not of high quality, and
it is
is
in the
in a
manner
of this part of
very decayed condition,
Kent.
many
This woodwork
of the panels being
almost powdered away with dry rot
and worm.
is,
is
The chapel
which
in
it
very dark, and gloom always
favours the development of rot
and
the fostering of the larvae of the woodbeetle.
question arises, as to
difficult
whether these pulpits were inspired from

the chests of their time, or whether the
process was reversed.
In the case of
the very early examples there
doubt that the pulpit

chest
of
which
it
is
is
is
little
prior to the
the
type,
but
towards the close of the seventeenth

century, secular
woodwork
leads
Fig. 86.
CARVED OAK BOX.
the
I
way
for the
Many
Church to
of
the
follow.
oak chests
ft.
loj
ins.
wide,
ft.
lo ins. deep,
ft.
4J
ins. high.
Early seventeenth century.
of
the
Capt. N. R. Colville, M.C.
59

later sixteenth century are really
lid, in
from
forms of the credence, cut down and
place of the original doors which are fixed as part of the front framing.
Lyme
Park, in Cheshire,
is
No marks
one which has this appearance.
show, but the central door was probably pin-hinged at top and bottom.
is,
obviously, cut at the top and at the bottom of the legs.
lingers in the details of the
same
source, of about the
ornament.
date,
Fig.
and both are
84
is
The Gothic
with a
fitted
Fig. 83,
of hinges
The
front
tradition
still
an original chest from the same
of local origin, either
from Cheshire or
the Lancashire border.
Towards the end

cupboard, with
in
of the reign of Elizabeth, the buffet
pillars of
and the standing, or court-
bulbous turning, come into fashion, and add to the variety
English furniture of that period.
Generally speaking, however, these bulb-turned
pieces are of seventeenth- rather than of sixteenth-century date, as the pattern did not
develop very
of
fully, either in wall-pieces or tables, until after
The
England.
county
origin,
which
is
later sixteenth-century pieces,
have a peculiar richness
when
unmistakable
Thus
apprehended.
Fig.
in
of
James
occupied the throne
however, especially those of eastern-
detail
and conciseness
of
execution,
once
85,
walnut buffet of choice quality recently

acquired by the Victoria and Albert
Museum, the cushion-sectioned middle

frieze,
the bulbs, and the egg-and-dart
top moulding are
and
all
carved with care
precision, yet without the stereo-
typed manner
of the later seventeenth-
century pieces.
base
are
rail
The top
inlaid
frieze
and the
with a chequer
pattern of holly and lignum, and the
back uprights have a kind

imbrication which
Walnut
is,
and
of this kind, is
is
novel and effective.
of course, a
at this date,
There
is
its
still
of fluted
very rare wood
use,
in
a buffet
more exceptional.
every indication, however, in

'^'
the selection of this wood, and the fine
THE CARVED OAK BOX,
character of the workmanship, careful
shown with Ud open.

60
FIG. 86.
The Development of
Chest
the
Fig. 88.
HANGING OAK DOLE CUPBOARD.

2 ft. 9 ins.
wide by
i ft.
lo ins. high.
First half of the seventeenth century.
and
3'et
last
decade of the sixteenth century.
not mannered, that this
Of somewhat
buffet,
is
later date,
the charming oak
is
but
an early piece of
in
St.
Alban's Abbey.
type, probably dating from the
its
very similar style to this two-tier sideboard, or
box or desk
illustrated here in Figs. 86
and
of the sloping-hinged front, in bold relief, appears to suggest that this
illuminator's colour
box than a desk, and the nest
to contain the bladders of

finely carved
pigment or gold
in
with the royal arms of James
teenth- not of sixteenth-century date.
I,
The
crudely inlaid in the manner of the period.
was rather an
drawers was probably intended
of
powder or
leaf form.
which show that
sides,
The carving
87.
this
The sloping front

example
is
is
of seven-
above the reeded band, are somewhat
This box
is
the direct prototype of the later
slope-fronted bureau.
With the next example we
are introduced to the process of lathe-turning, in the
fashioning of wood, and although turning
is
found
in the chairs of the reign of
these " tourneyed chairs " were, evidently, a novelty, and
much
Henry VIII,
prized at that date,
as they are frequently referred to in the inventories of the time, a distinction shared
only with important chests of ornate character.

61
That turning was an actual innovation

in the
middle years of the sixteenth
century would appear to

established
fact,
yet
it
There was
only a revival.
be
an
may
be
little
or
vf^J
no scope
for its use in the earlier
furniture, yet, in the chancel screens
H^
of the very first years of the four-
f \
1
teenth century, as at Chinnor in

Oxfordshire, and at Southacre in
Norfolk, the shafts of the columns
%\
'^
jK-
"
T^l
'^^
>'^'
''/-,,
't
under the traceried heads are of
round
section,
if
not actually lathe-
turned.
The early English
columns
of stone
would
aisle
Fig. 89.
OAK DOLE CUPBOARD.
offer the
suggestion, and, as
we have
seen.
St.
Alban's Abbey.
the woodworker copied the stone-
mason
ver\' closely in the earlj^
periods.
It is
these
that
fashioned
use
of
this
is
fact
probable, of course,
round shafts
were
by hand, without the
the
lathe
at
all,
further suggested
that
and
by the
diamond-sec-
the
tioned muUion, or shaft, rapidly
column
ousts the turned
in the
screens of the later years of the
fourteenth century,
and round
balusters or shafts do not appear

again.
The diamond
section
would be obtained by
workmanlike means,
tools of that date,
Fig. 90.
or square
with
the
whereas round
shafts, in the absence of the lathe,
OAK AND PEARWOOD DOLE CUPBOARD.

Height,
2 ft. eîns.
width, 3
ft.
depth, 8i ins.
Late seventeenth century.
H. Clifford Smith, Esq.
62
would be troublesome to produce, with very
little
decorative
The Development of
result to
involved,
compensate
Chest
for the time
yet the capitals, bases
and neckings
the
of the Chinnor
S^^
UPSfMrw^
and
Southacre screens seem to imply

either
lathe-turning,
remark-
or
accuracy in the fashioning
able
by hand.
wood
In the early lathes the

"
was
chucked "
in
the
modern
way, but the actual revolution
was
effected
by a grooved wheel
1
fixed to an outer prolongation of
the right-hand shaft of the chuck.
A bow
with a loose string of gut
"s^
iWi-'-
was then wound once completely

round the wheel, and the operation
of
drawing the bow smartly backFig. 91.
wards and forwards, caused the
wood
DOLE CUPBOARD OF DEAL.
This bow-work
to revolve.
was the province
"
of the
bow-
Height, 2
ft.
Carved and
inlaid.
width,
4 ins.
2 ft.
depth, g ins.
boy," the wood-turner's apprentice
in his first year.
Watchmakers
at
the present day sometimes use the same
method
for
very small lathes.
foot-lathe appears, however, early in the seventeenth century, but

slide-rest, for spiral turning,
as
many,
if
not
all,
was known before the middle
it is
The cranked
doubtful
if
the
of the eighteenth centur}^
of the " barley-sugar " twistings of the Restoration chairs are
undoubtedly fashioned by hand from the plain turned

very early origin, and
used, to this day, in
is
The
shafts.
some country
pole-lathe
is
of
districts, especially
in
Buckinghamshire.
Lathe-turning loses
its
novelty in the early seventeenth century, but spindles and
columns remain a very favourite device

split,
this
and applied
work
will
for
many
to flat surfaces as decoration, as
years.
we have
Often these balusters are

seen.
Many examples
of
be noted in the illustrations to other chapters both in the earlier and in
the later part of this book.
Towards the middle
of the seventeenth century a

63
number
of small
cupboards

were made, with open fronts partly
They
with turned balusters or spindles.
filled in
were intended either to be placed on a table, shelf or bracket, or to be fixed to the

Their probable use was to contain articles of food, for the keeping of which ventila-
wall.
tion
Numbers
was necessary.
cupboards are to be found in churches, as
of these
was
it
the custom, at this date, to distribute loaves and similar offerings to the poor of the
on certain stated occasions,
parish,
One such
These spindle-fronted dole-cupboards
have been made especially

South Transept
Fig. 89
for
of the later Charles
right-hand bottom corner,
is
commencement
in accordance with
cupboard
The
period.
if
of a better
it
name)
good.
latter
may
Fig. 88,
for such a purpose.
Both are designed with considerable

is
has ever
taste,
The spindles of the former are
and the
of the pattern
may be earlier. The date, 1770, scratched
on the
probably
of a dole
The
bequest.
want
(for
Abbey, was undoubtedly used
of St. Alban's
workmanship, especially the carving,
that of the
wills of charitable persons.
such offerings, but this cannot be substantiated.
from the same source.
is
terms of
from the Skinners' Company, survived to recent times,
gift,
been abolished.
in the
in fulfilment of the
cannot be later than
itself
about 1630, according to the st^de
of
the carving of the end visible in the

Fig.
illustration.
90
is
another of
these oak cupboards, considerably later

in
with three drawers below,
style,
beaded
in
the
decade
of
the
Fig.
91
arcaded
is
manner
of
seventeenth
partly
panels,
from
the
the
last
century.
with
deal,
framing
inlaid
with a chequered pattern and the top

bracketted in imitation of miniature
joist-ends, in the earlier timber-house
fashion,
This
is
here
used as dentils only.
a charming piece of the simple
Fig. 92.
OAK HANGING
kind, of date about 1640, with pear-
wood
spindles of fine pattern,
and the
Height, 2
ft.
6 ins.
width, 2
With
carving in very
flat relief,
" poker-work."
Fig. 92,
almost
like
CABINET.
ft.
ins.
depth, 9
ins.
rails of pear.
Mid-seventeenth century.
made to stand
H. Chfford Smith, Esq.
64
The Development of
on a
table or shelf,
uprights,
is
in the
and secured
form
of
the
Chest
to the wall
by
a miniature buffet.
nails througli the tops of the

It
has
all
back
the appearance of East
Anglian work of the middle seventeenth century.

Plain shaft-turning begins to appear in revived form shortly' after 1605, but examples
of this date are
is
somewhat
an arcaded chest, with a
chest
is
rare in tables,
lifting lid
still
more so
opening to a
on a stand with flat-sectioned cushioned
in other furniture.
flat tray,
frieze,
Fig. 93
and a central door.
carved with a
scroll
pattern in
Fig. 93.
OAK CHEST ON STAND.

1630-40.
65
C.
The
H. F. Kinderman, Esq.

low
relief, in
an astragal
the style of about 1630-40.
pilasters, are all
chopped-in
legs are plain turned, the shafts ringed
The bottom board
at a third of their height.
into the squares of the legs,
The
and pinned.
fixed to carved rails, tenoned
The upper framings, the
arches,
and the
ornamented with a running guilloche pattern, and the panels have a
The ogival
floral inlay.
pilasters, acanthus-carved,
over the lozenged triglyphs, are exceptional.

this date, of fine
is
with
This
workmanship and home county
origin.
Fig. 94.
ft.
3 ins.
wide by
5 ft.
in.
high by
Mid-seventeenth centurj'.
66
ft.
finishing in volutes
a good example of the
is
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

6
and
10 ins. deep.
work
of
The Development of
Chest
the
Fig. 95.
OAK
5
ft.
6i
ins.
CHEST,
wide across front,
ft.
DATED
ins.
5J
1637.
high by 2
ft.
i\
ins.
deep.
\'ictoria
and'AIbert Museum.
T
/-
/,-'<
=:>',-;;;i..t^sS'-^-
^Î^HW ^
9}^
'
J.
TA^ H t
'
/. L
>WL tW.Wg^.L JJWijp

I
Fig. 96.
OAK
5
ft.
8 ins. long
by
CHEST.
2 ft. 8 J ins.
high by 2
Date about 1640.
67
ft.
li ins. deep.
\'ictoria
and Albert Museum.

The
large court-cupboard, Fig. 94, has a small guilloche motive introduced into
The upper
the frieze above the lower doors.
frieze
has the interlaced arcade type of
The
carving, which persists from the late fourteenth century, as a decorative device.
top
is
formed
of thin boards here
running from one side to the other, but sometimes fixed
the other way, either butted or tongue-jointed with the end grain of the timber visible
on the
front.
The balusters
are without carving, a restrained modification of the bulbous
form, turned in the one piece with the scratch-moulded uprights.
The
rails
have the
scratch-beads and hollows running through from side to side, with no attempt at mitring
with the upright
The upward
The upper doors have both mitred mouldings and framings.
styles.
facing edges of the rails are chamfered in the usual manner.
cupboards of
Plain
with simple balusters, can usually be referred to the Welsh
this type,
bordering counties, Somerset or even northern Lancashire, but in the work of the
latter county, fruit-wood, principally cherry,
was generally introduced
as a relief to
the oak, in split balusters or ornaments of a similar character.
Chests
made
to stand
on the
of the seventeenth century,
continued in favour during nearly the whole
but their numbers diminished when the cupboard, or the
came
chest on a raised stand,
floor still
vogue and offered a greater convenience.
into
Towards
1680 the chest with drawers largely superseded the older form with hinged top, and the
latter
with hinged tops, are frequently dated,
chests,
initials or
when
the
names
of the original possessors,
Thus
side of the upper,
"THIS
CHIST
IS
It is of
in Fig. 95,
and
These middle seventeenth-century

in
addition to the carving of the
and are thus valuable indications
of period
as
later
on either
later keyhole,
is
ESTHER HOBSONNE
1637." which
date.
accepted
and not a
original,
embellishment.
carved
be
can
dating
and
reliable
its
obsolete, in consequence.
became gradually
approximately,
is,
midland county make,
probably Cheshire, resembling Fig. 84 in

general character.
last
suggestion of the
phase of the Gothic can be remarked

Fig. 97.
in the frieze rail
Fig. 96
is
of
and the
vertical styles.
about the same
carving of finer design and cutting.
French character
of the
OAK DESK.
date, with
Henry
II
Height, 13
The
ins.
width, 22
ins.
depth, 16
ins.
H.
period
68
Clifford Smith, Esq.
The Development of
Chest
the
Fig. 98.
OAK LACE OR RUFFLE

25
ins.
long
by
17 ins.
deep by 8|
BOX.
ins.
high.
H.
can be traced
in the pattern of the three vertical styles,
and
in the panels themselves.
This chest has the appearance of being of south-eastern county origin.

in quality for the Midlands,
and
guilloche-fillet
although similar patterns were used there.
this chest is cut
in
It is
execution show the greatest care.
with the parting
It is of
much
too fine
Every stem
and both design and
tool,
higher quality than Fig. 95.
Small pieces, such as portable desks, used chiefly by the travelling illuminator of
manuscripts, and lace or
seventeenth century at
and
Fig. 97
87.
ruffle
boxes, frequently
its best.
fine
show the work
of the first half of the
example has already been
illustrated in Figs.
shows the Elizabethan
strap-motive on front and sides persisting

to about the second decade of the seven-
teenth century, and Fig. 98 has a similar
kind of ornament, but in the flattened

low-relief
James
I.
fashion of the early years of

It
is
of
later
type,
probably of the same or even an

date than the previous example.
made from
two
fine
but
is
earlier
It
Fig. 99.
INLAID
is
quartered English oak, in
stages, divided
by a moulding
OAK BOX.
H.
of fine
69
86
Early English Furniture and Wôodwork
DC
< 5
s
03
a ^
"
Ic
^
oc
9
D S
O
CI
o
bi
r
^
<"
a
t*!
.-2
< S
o
70
The Development of
the
Chest
;2
<
s
S
=
3J
=0
1)
^ 1
Fig. 102.
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

Date about 1680-90.
72
C.
The Development of
the
Chest
i>Tp>rprr:'-
Fig. 103.
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

Date about 1660-70.
II.
73
Messrs. Gregory and Co.

section, with free versions of the carved triglyph below.
Fig. 99
is
difficult
to
date,
It
is
although
it
is
The
lock
is
undoubtedly from the
a later addition.
first
half of the
veneered, with the motto, " Sic transit gloria mundi,"
inlaid in the central band.
The
stages.
\\'elsh
type of court-cupboard
The name
" tridarn " has
is
almost a dresser in form, usually in three
been coined to describe these " three-deckers."
The
Fig- 104-
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

Date about 1660-70.
74
The Development of
the
Chest
Fig. 105.
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

Date about 1660-70.
75
Fig. 106.
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

Date about i68o-go.
76
Messrs. Robersons.
The Development of
balusters of these
Shropshire,
tions.
are
Welsh cupboards,
the
Chest
which
include those from western Cheshire
and
nearly always plain-turned, without carving, and of slender propor-
The decoration
is
usually in the form of flutes, connected by surrounding incising,
as in Fig. lOO, or a foliated arching, in low relief, as in Fig. loi.
The construction
is
Fig. 107.
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

Date about 1660-70.
77
C.

generally not so finished as in the
either
mere slabs
of
wood
Home County
as in the
of the examples illustrated here.
first,
or the East Anglian types, the doors
or coarsely framed in panels, as in the second
It is a general rule,
but by no means an
guide, that the cruder the workmanship, the farther from the border on the
does the piece originate.

of English
woodwork
in the seventeenth.
Radnor and Denbigh occupied a very high place
in the fifteenth century,
The
but
inlaid types of these
this
infallible
Welsh
side
in the history
former glory had entirely departed
Welsh
three-tier standing cupboards,
such as Fig. 102, are usually of finer character, but of considerably later date.
Fig. 108.
Thus
OAK BUFFET.
4
ft.
4 ins.
wide over top,
ft.
6J
ins.
deep over top,
2 ft
oj
in.
height of upper part, 4
Date about 1620-30.

78
ft.
i\ ins. total height.

Cecil Millar, Esq.
The Development of
this
example
is
The chequered
the
Chest
not earlier than about 1680, and

inlay
is
may
be some ten to fifteen years
more pronounced, and with greater contrast
earlier inlaid specimens.
It
may
of
woods, than
be remarked, however, that the former
regarding the selection and cutting of the oak
still
persisted.
later.
in
the
fine traditions
It is rare,
even
in the
crudest examples, to find other than selected quartered oak used in their manufacture.
Fig. 109.
OAK BUFFET.
Date atout 16405.
79
Fig. 110.
UPPER PART OF BUFFET.

4
ft.
wide by
i ft.
ins.
high by
ft.
6 ins. deep.
Date about i68o.
The Lancashire types
who has
The
studied
difference
many examples which have remained
that of Shropshire.
an example
in situ in their
rails,
by
illustration alone.
with oxide of
The oak,
in
of this kind.
The upper panels have a crude inlay
a reversal of the usual custom.
The doors above, open with

is
on the cupboard
Figs. 104
styles,
their
as fiat applied fretwork.
Sometimes a
as in the upper frieze of Fig. 105,
little
is
and these
are difficult of explanation.

in
fruit-
mouldings without
relief,
much
ornament
is
(" fielded " is
occasionally, but rarely, inserted.
between the court-cupboards from varying
low upper-part
box and
is
and locks into the door
incising of the raised
difference
than
Fig. 103
and 105 show another peculiarity
and a raised rebated panel
accepted term) as in the lower doors,
tint
not worked on
of holly,
ventional ornament neatly grounded out, but with no carving
also the
rather
is
more reddish
iron, or is naturally of
origin.
instances, either
but planted on the panels and pinned to the framing.
surrounding framings, and the lock
and
many
Mouldings are frequently of heavier section
woods, chopped in the solid oak.
device,
county of
between these and others from further south and south-west
of staining
the styles and
cupboards are equally unmistakable to one
of these court
subtle and difficult to explain
shows signs
Cecil Millar, Esq.
a con-
the same
attempted,
the usually
The
chief
localities is in general proportions,
The pendant acorn
is
a Lancashire
comparison with the carcase below.
This charac-
teristic is still further exemplified in the
of Fig. 105
standing cupboard from Yorkshire and further

80
The Development of
Fig. io6
north.
is
of this kind.
the
Chest atid Standing Cupboard
The cornice moulding
spoils the general effect, as cornices of
is
any kind are rare
a later addition,
in these
and rather
cupboards, the tops
being closed in by a platform of thin boards, with the grain running from back to front,
as pointed out before.
much
in the
These northern pieces are generally simple, with ornament very
Lancashire style, but the general proportions are heavier.
They
Fig. 111.
OAK BUFFET.
3
II.
ft.
9 ins
wide by 4 ft. high by i ft. 6

Date about 1670-S0.
ins.
deep.
Cecil Millar, Esq.
are also

usually of late date, as a margin of from twenty to forty years
must be added
to the
period of a prevailing fashion, in considering the probable age of north-country pieces.
The thin top-boards
to the lower part of these standing cupboards should be noted, as
this peculiarity will
be found in nearly every example illustrated, whether from north,
south, east or west of England.
One
fine type,
in Fig. 107.
and probably
The carving
is
in
of south-western origin,
very low
relief, in
some
is
the court cupboard
instances, as in the styles
the upper doors, almost of chip-carved character, and the ornament
Fig. 112.
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

Date about 1660.
is
shown
between
employed
in the
The Development of
Chest
the
Fig. 113.
OAK COURT CUPBOARD.

6
ft.
in.
wide by 4
ft.
high by
rated 1637.
ft.
11 ins. deep,
\V.
Smedley Aston, Esq.

form of long bands,
of
which there are
six
from the existing portion of the top cresting
The bulbs
heavy and
plain,
without squares either at the top or bottom, and secured merely by dowels.
The
to the
bottom guilloche-carved
rail of
the lower carcase.
provision of two drawers above the lower doors

raised
bead or jewel decoration

There
western counties.
is
of the fronts
a fine
is
is
unusual
in these
is
can be noticed
in the
cupboards, and the
exceptional in the work of the south-
subdued richness
in the
whole character of
almost typical of Devonshire or Somerset work.
example which
are
oak bedstead from Great Fulford, shown
this
The same character
in Fig.
396 of Vol.
Sideboards or buffets of the early seventeenth century, of two stages, with bulb-
turned balusters on the outer corners, as already illustrated in Fig. 85, are rare, but
where the upper
tier is
enclosed
by a
central door, with panelled flanks on either side
splayed at an angle to the uprights of the back,

termed,
they
the lower stage
are
still
more exceptional.
somewhat
century oak pieces.
Fig. 108
fine
The upper stage
example both
buffets, of
somewhat
is
as they are usually
a choice example of this kind,
restored, as one nearly always finds in these early seventeenth-
fixed to a thin shelf or platform,
is
the lower part, without dowels or other fixing.
very
angle-buffets
of its period
later date
and
and not
and
Of Essex or Suffolk make,
locality.
Fig. 109
is
rests
this
on
is
another of these angle-
so vigorous in execution.
2v^
^
^,
-^
'
"
Fig. 114.
OAK
CHEST.
84
C.
H. Woodruff, Esq.
The Development of
The East Anglian work
Chest
the
of the later seventeenth century
is
distinguished
by accurate
proportioning and fine detail, allied with a strong and unmistakable Dutch influence.
Considering the close intercourse between Norfolk and Suffolk and the
this
is
pieces
in
no way remarkable, but
made
it
Low
Countries,
requires a nice discrimination to differentiate between
here under Dutch influence (frequently the work of foreign artisans) and
those which were actually imported.
lower stage of which has disappeared.
no
Fig.
It is
is
the upper part of a small buffet, the
without carving, and has
many details, such
as the bulb-tiirning of the outside balusters, the twisting of the half-balusters flanking
the central panel, and the applied half-bosses of the frieze and
The panels
suggest Holland rather than England.

scrolled marqueterie
which was coming into fashion at
its
keystone trusses, which
are painted in imitation of the

this period,
but the colours have
faded, with the exception of the red berries in the design, which are
whole piece
Still
is
still
bright.
The
exceptional and interesting.
more strongly permeated from Dutch
sources, although undeniably of English
Fig. 115.
OAK
CHEST.
Date about 1665.

85
C. H. Woodruff, Esq.
Early English Furniture and IVoodwork

make,
is
the open buffet
shown
in Fig. iii.
The cushion-moulding
divided by fine double beads, and especially the

details typical of
East Anglian work, and
this
downward tapering
form
of turning will be
of the legs of the tables illustrated in the next chapter.
been restored, but the buffet

Fig. 112,
which
is
is,
of the
two
friezes,
of the bulbs, are
found
in several
The bottom board here has
otherwise, original and a fine example of
its district.
East Anglian work of about the date of the Restoration, has
Fig. 116.
OAK CABINET
Date about 1650-60.
86
The Development of
the
Chest
also suffered b}- being fitted with turned feet,
sequent to
its
original manufacture.
These hinges, of wrought
and a
later
The Norfolk type
iron, are original in this
The panels
at the present day.
in the
bottom
rail,
of strap-hinge will
example, which
upper stage are
at a date sub-
fitted
is
be noticed.
rarely the case
with pilastered arches,
very finely carved, alternating with the " inner-frame," or key-centred forms constructed
by framing,
in
mouldings only, one rectangular panel inside the larger one.
This type of panel-decoration, in which twenty internal and four external mitres are
needed for each complete panel, became a very favourite pattern after about 1660,
but
is
is
somewhat
used at a
rare in furniture prior to this date, although in panellings the detail
much
earlier period.
The
rich
double-moulded framing of these panels
Fig. 117.
OAK CABINET.
Date about 1660-70.
87
A. Cubitt, Esq.

is
worthy
and
of careful note.
original condition,
and
The
entire piece, with
of the highest
oak has been varnished, and
now
is
tlie
exceptions noted above,
quahty even
for its locaUty
a rich mellow golden
brown
is
in line
and period.
The
The
piece
in shade.
originally finished on the floor on three square stumps, prolongations of the outside
and central uprights, but these were, probably, decayed when the present turned
feet
were substituted.
The next example,

in a
Fig. 113,
is
of the
Midland type, and
house at Henley-in-Arden, not far from
its
original
for its length,
but
it
closely
drawn and
of origin.
in quite
flattened in execution.
has never been higher.
probably now,
county
East "Anglian arcaded and pilastered panels, but treated
ornament much more
is
another fashion, with
This cupboard
It is early for its type, if
9J
ins.
high by
3 ft.
5J
ins.
Date about 1670.
wide.
W.
is
squat
the carved date
OAK AND WALNUT^ CABINET.

ft.
room
Here are the
Fig. 118.
in a
Evans, Esq.
The Development of
is
to be relied upon,
and
and there
is
Chest
the
no obvious reason to doubt
this, as
Midland
it.
origin,
The band immediately under the carved date emphasizes

and the double-flattened
its
its
its
actual
Western-
on either side of the date copies a
scrolling
type of chair-cresting usually found on Warwickshire chairs.

siderable reason, guess that Coventry or
original
is
there would have been no purpose to be served in carving a date prior to
period upon
this
the piece
neighbourhood
One might, with con-
\yas the locahty
from which
court-cupboard originally emanated.
The
chest, Fig. 114, has the appearance of Kentish
p.-
"
"'"^flWHl^taHH
work
of the
'
-
Rye
or
Romney
'^g^BHliBiiHli
R..
Fig. 119.
OAK CABINET.
Date about 1670.
II.
89
Messrs. Gregory and C(

Marsh
fillet,
rose,
of
district, as the
French type
two central uprights, the flattened
of the
leaf
twisting to a central guilloche encircling a round representation of the
and the chevrons
some
of the central arch
of the preserved
Kentish work of
and
its pilasters
this district.
below, are quite in the
with
Tudor
manner
Intercourse between the southern
Kentish coast and France was irregular, and of varied character, since the days
when
the French rovers partially burned
Reprisals followed on Calais, quite in the

of the artistic influence of
the original work
still
Rye Church and
pillaged the country round.
modern approved manner, yet a good deal
France was assimilated by the woodworkers of Rye, as much of
to be
found
in small houses in that ancient
town bears witness.
Fig. 120.
OAK AND FRUIT-WOOD CABINET.

Date about 1C70.
93
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq.
The Development of
the
Chest
\\ ^"w**
Fig. 121.
OAK INLAID CUPBOARD.

OAK CHEST OF DRAWERS.
Date about 1O70.
91
C. If. F.
Kinderman, Esq.

It is true that
their
many
French
of the
vogue on the other side
details
were adopted at a
of the Channel,
much
later date
than
but they were rendered, in almost every
instance with considerable fidelity.
With
tion.
The
Fig. 115
we
revert to East Anglia again,
front of this chest
is
and the years following the Restora-
a rich example of the inner-frame panelling referred to
at a previous stage, with the central small panel facetted
stained to a darker shade.
In Chapter III of Vol.
manner known
I,
curious detail
It
be noticed with a magnifymg glass.
an account was given of the method of cutting oak in the
as " quartering," that
to the medullary ray.
may
and carved from cherry wood,
was pointed
is,
where each board was cut
at a slight angle
out, at the time, that to cut the
wood exactly
Fig. 122.
OAK INLAID
CHEST.
Date about 1670-S0.

92
The Development of
parallel with the ray, caused the surface to
wear better than the

his timber, usually
softer surrounding
Chest
the
wear unevenly, as the hard ray-figure
The
wood.
aims at riving exactly on the ray
been constructed from
this riven oak,
wear, can both be seen in the
flat
barbaric richness of decoration,
river,
who
The
itself.
instead of sawing
front of this chest has
and the riving marks, and the signs
of
This chest, with
panels in the illustration.
may
splits,
resisted
unequal
its
almost
be referred to mid-Essex, and a date between 1660
and 1670.
Although a decoration
in Elizabethan
to
assume that
examples
this
is
when coupled with an

to a period prior to
cabinet
is
it is
of split
usually
and applied turned balusters or bosses
known
an indication of
as " strap-and-jewel "
late sixteenth or early
elaborate mitring of mouldings.
1650 for this reason,
if
for
is
no other.
borrowed from the Italian frames
CHEST.
Date about 1685-90.

93
it is
a mistake
seventeenth-century work,
Fig. 116 cannot be referred
It will
of the period,
Fig. 123.
OAK INLAID
early,
be noticed that this
This fashion, of complicated mitring of
elaborate, yet quite without carving.
mouldings,
Thus
work,
is
and
is
the
indication

an attempt, during the
conform
later
to Puritan severity,
Commonwealth
period, to establish a style
and yet be decorative without the use
which should
of carving.
Thus
key-corners to framing-mouldings, raised chamfering of panels, and applied split balusters

or bosses, became, a fashion so popular that
it
persisted after the Restoration,
anything of Puritan origin was anathema to the new Court,

of ebony,
locality of
sycamore, holly, bone and mother-o'-pearl.

origin to
districts as far
much
removed
of this
work.
as Lancashire
It
although
with the addition of inlay
It
is
difficult to
assign
any
appears to have been made, equally, in
and Middlesex, and Norfolk, Suffolk and northern
Essex adopted the new manner with avidity, some
of the finest
Fig. 124.
OAK CHEST ON STAND.

3 ft. li ins.
wide by 4
ft.
oj
ins.
Date about 1690-1700.

94
high.
work being produced
The Development of
in
East Anglia.
It
doubtful
is
Chest
the
the style ever penetrated into the south-western
if
counties, however.
Many examples
of these chests
and cupboards, exhibiting the same
details,
could
bs illustrated here, did not space-considerations preclude more than a representative

Fig. 117 has the inner-frame pattern of panelling with mitred mouldings,
selection.
the rectangular central panels projected, with heavy chamfers of snakewood.
Fig.
from Forde Abbey, has the spUt-balusters, bobbin-turned, above, and square-
118,
section
moulded
The corners
pilasters below.
famihar key-cornered pattern as
in the
into quarters
the knobs,
by chamfered keystones,
which are not
used with considerable

the ends.
The
original,
effect.
of the panels
in Fig. 116.
are in the
The
ovals in the door panels, divided
somewhat
of 1670,1
and
are
is
on the right-hand door, a device which
carried
indi-
and one borrowed from Dutch
at this date.
The next example,
Fig. iig,
is difficult
to localise, although
it is
of post-Restoration
are decorated to give a perspective appearance to the panels,
The four doors
are inlaid with
manner
but probably replaced others of similar form,
cates the last thirty years of the seventeenth century,
date.
feeble
This press opens with two doors only, which are hinged on
central pilaster
and German sources
have the mouldings mitred
The Dutch
bone and mother-o' -pearl.
which
origin of these pieces has
been
often suspected, and this example gives colour to the suggestion, especially in such
and the
details as the projection of the central panels,
illusory recessing of these
Constructional details, however, show that this press
side.
is
of English
on either
make and
origin.
Fig. 120
is
the Western-Midland version of this style of elaborately mitred mouldings.
comparison of
ment
with the East Anglian chest. Fig. 121,
this
of the latter.
will
show the greater
The small cupboard above has the key-corners,
refine-
as in Fig. 118,
with
panels of bone inlaid in a ground of ebony.
The type
of split-baluster, strapped to its
often found in furniture and
woodwork
of the early seventeenth century,
ground, which
and which
will
is
persists as
an effective and inexpensive form of decoration until about 1680,
be noticed here.
Fig. 122 has the
same type
of inlay
and
split-baluster, with a fretted
capping, and appears to be of Shropshire origin.

additions from the next century.
Fig. 123
is
The
feet
and bossed
and the lock-plate are
the highest development of this type as
exhibited in the work of Norfolk or Suffolk, of the years between 1685 and i6go.
1
The device
to 334 in Vol.
itself is earlier,
and can be noticed
in the
I.
95
overmantels from Lime Street, illustrated
in Figs.
332

It is rare to find
low chests, with Hfting
in this respect the type
early,
is
but
and without drawers, at
lids,
in design, finish,
this date,
and refined elaboration,
and
may
it
be regarded as the last and best phase of this intricately moulded and inlaid style.
Fig. 124 closes this series of chests
although oak was
We
feet, flat-stretchered
reach, with this example, the walnut period,
and
used until the close of the century, veneering with walnut and
still
saw-cut marqueterie
from either the older inlay or parqueterie)
(as distinct
becoming general, with the
result that
was
examples of oak, plain walnut, and marqueterie,
apparently totally different stages in the evolution of English furniture, are met with,
and from the same

indications
to
localities,
which coincide
flanked
of the
by
in point of date, in spite of superficial
This chest of drawers on
the contrary.
of quiet but effective embellishment.
The escutcheons
supporters, and are of solid silver.
upper carcase
is
oak leaves with acorns.

"
of moulding, in a chest
with three drawers, mounted on a stand with turned legs and
in the fashion of 1690-1700.
of
carries us to the last years
Here we have the same elaboration
of the seventeenth century.

fitted
and cupboards and
its
stand has an amount
are crested with a royal
crown
In the centre of the bottom drawer
the device of a hand grasping an ear of wheat, and a spray of

Initials are
carved in four places, the upper two " J.T." and
O.T." being probably original to the piece, while the others, " J.C.E.T." and " S.V.E.T."
are later.
The middle drawer, with the
earlier initials,
however, has somewhat the
appearance of being an interpolation, differing even in the style of the coupled

turned balusters on either
work
its
is
The escutcheon-pattern
side.
of early eighteenth-century design,
stand
may
be taken as the
and thus concludes
last
and
is
is
the same, but
probably an addition.
all
split-
the metal
This chest and
phase of the oak furniture of the seventeenth century,
this series, leaving the consideration of the
walnut furniture of William III and Anne, to be deferred to a
next development, the

later book,
intended to carry this history of English furniture and woodwork to

the close of the eighteenth century.
96
its logical
where
it is
conclusion,
Chapter
The
T
II.
Oak
Progression of English
the outset of each of the preceding chapters the plan has been adopted
of
commencing with
a definition of the terms which
to use, with the idea of demonstrating
excluded.
is
if
we
function
therefore,
becomes not only
Some overlapping
clearest
manner,
summarised
of
Trestle tables,
by
The
recital
to
tables,
were frequently
tables,
is
not really one).
but also necessary,
if
and a
Strict definition,
confusion
is
to be avoided.
is
inevitable,
limitation, thus
the
of
types
implied, can be expressed in the
which
be illustrated in this
shall
chapter.
include
These
all
may
the
various
be roughly
composed
of tops,
supported at their ends, or
if
of great length,
vertical boards, or constructions of boards, placed at right angles to
the length of the top,
e.g. Fig.
125.
Trestle tables, where the supports are at the centre of each end, but with stretcher
rails fixed parallel to the
having cross-pieces, on the

(3)
desirable,
chairs.
by a
as follows
at intervals,
(2)
word
of types, in the case of cupboard-tables, or chair-tables,
cupboards or
descriptions
(i)
included and also what
often a nice point to determine whether such pieces should be referred to as
it is
chests,
proposed
" table," in fact, implies both an article of furniture
The name
a piece which serves as a table, but
(i.e.
is
is
are to exclude such articles as chests
similar articles, which, although in no sense of the
used as such.
and
what
it
Tables, far from offering an exception to this practice,
require exact definition,
and
Tables.
length of the top, generally on
its
central line, the trestles
floor level, to give stability, e.g. Fig. 127.
Tables with turned or square legs tenoned into framings at the corners, with
a top of some overhang.
The number
of these legs
is
dictated
by
the size of the table,
e.g. Fig. 132.

(4)
Tables of variable length, or with extending tops.
This type includes the
draw-table, where an additional section can be pulled out at each end from under the
main
top, to increase its length, e.g. Fig. 129, or those with hinged fall-down or fold-
over flaps such as the gate-leg or the folding card table.

(5)
Tables with central turned
the top on
its
usually of heavy type, placed centrally under
length, supported on cross-pieces on the floor.
kind are excessively

II. o
legs,
rare.)
97
(Genuine tables of this

(6)
Tables, usually small, which are supported on a central pillar, with either
a heavy base, or a tripod.
These are usually,
if
not
entirely', of
the later eighteenth
century, and will not concern us in this chapter.
There are
many examples which
are merely variations of the foregoing, such as
the triangular table with three legs, the hexagonal with six,
etc.,
and
also the hybrid
forms of the chair-table or bench-table, with a hinged top to form a table when down
and a back to the chair or bench when

chapter devoted to chairs.
Distinction of purpose,
tables, are ignored here as they

It is also
we
from wood, other materials, such as cane,
tables were
That
made
it
are
card or side
definition.
dealing only with the table
iron, stone or
made
marble do not concern us at
be noted, en passunt, that in the seventeenth century some
of silver.
tables, in
were known
may
e.g. dining, writing, tea,
have nothing to do with the present
obvious, in this book, that
present, although
This latter type will be found in the
raised.
any form,
are of great antiquity in England,
in the thirteenth century, for
survived, as other thirteenth-century
example,
woodwork
it
is
doubtful.
If
they
remarkable that none have
has, of a character
Fig. 125.
OAK TRESTLE-TABLE OF HEAVY TYPE.

This was the usual form of the early fifteenth century.
98
is
much more
frail
The Progression of English Oak Tables

and perishable than an early oak table would have been.
speculation
may
In the ages
from the
solid
suspected.
is
upwards
in butchers' shops,
when other
may
be a survival of the primitive English
Even had such
That the large
and even
furniture, such as chests
wood, a table made by the same method
butcher's block.
hazardous
be ventured here, that the large block, or cross-section of a tree-trunk
sometimes to be found
table.
A somewhat
may have
pulpits,
been similar to
pieces survived, their identity as tables
coffers,
such as the example
of thirteen feet in length,
may
also
in
have acted
were hewn
this
might not be
Westminster Abbey, which

as tables,
when not
in use
Fig. 126.
OAK TABLES AND FORMS, WITH ELM

Late
fifteenth century.
99
TOPS.
Bablake Schools, Coventrv.
:^Sit^f-
Fig. 127.
OAK TRESTLE TABLE OF LIGHT

7
ft,
long
by
ft.
3 ins.
deep by
2 ft.
TYPE.
ins.
high.
Lord Cowdray.
Fig. 128.
OAK TABLE (ONE-HALF

Originally 20
ft,
long
by
ft.
7 ins.
deep by
ONLY).
2 ft. 10 ins. high.
Top
4 ins. thick.
The Marquis
of
Townshend.

as chests,
is
possible, as the seats
were not used for
may
have been low
stools.
We know
that chairs
this purpose.
In the development of table-types, we are compelled to begin with those of trestle

form, such as Fig. 125, and to assume that this
The
the primitive English table.
is
supports to the heavy top are massive baulks of oak, buttressed on the fronts and backs
and at each end, with separate shaped brackets,
At Penshurst
are
two
of these
huge Gothic
all
cut from oak of large scantling.
tables, similar to the
of lighter construction, in proportion to their size,
which
is
one illustrated here, but
enormous.
The top
of
wide by 9J
ins.
one of
Fig. 129.
OAK TABLE AND FORM (WITH LATER DRAW-TOP).

Table
2 ft.
lol ins. high, 5
ft.
2 ins.
long by
ft.
8J ins. deep.
Form
ft.
11 ins. high, 5
ft.
5 ins.
Victoria and Albert
deep.
Museum.

by
these tables measures over twenty-seven feet in length
one central support, as
this great size, the top has only the
These
period appear to have survived, unless
where the top
is
thickness, in the one piece,

in
spite
of
in water.
its
we
An example
by three
feet in length
hewn from
example shown
a mighty elm trunk.

if
here.
but none of this
exists at Bishops
in width,
Unfortunately, elm perishes
the wood.
In spite of
place the Penshurst tables as early as this.
for these great tops.
some nine
in the
of late fourteenth-century date,
trestle tables are, originally,
was frequently used
three in width.
Elm
Farm, Windsor,
and nearly
six inches in
It is in fair
preservation,
not kept actually immersed
plank suspended lengthwise, and without touching the ground, will rot at
lower end, after a comparatively short space of time.
In spite of this drawback, or
because of this property of the timber not being known, elm was frequently used for
The wood
the tops of early tables.
shallow rooted.
untouched.
Elm
is
not nearly so slow in growth as oak, and the tree
violent storm will blow
trees,
down an elm where
it
will leave
being thus felled in this manner, would be used, in
all
is
an oak
probability,
instead of oak, for the reason that they were ready to hand, and did not require the
laborious cutting
The
down which was necessary
tables in the old refectory of the Bablake Schools at Coventry, Fig. 126, are
also of this trestle type,
one
in the case of a full-grown oak.
and have
their forms to match.
in the foreground, to the short table
shown
They vary
at the end.
The
in length
tops,
from the
which appear
to be original, are of elm, in three boards, bolted together with long iron dowels bored
Fig. 130.
OAK SIDEBOARD TABLE

6
ft.
gi
ins.
long
by
ft.
4 ins. high
(RESTORED).
by
102
2 ft. i in. deep.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.

right through
differ
from the one side
of the top to the other.
from each other somewhat,
The two
The small
in construction.
tables
shown here
one, at the end of the
room, has a heavy top-framing, tenoned into the shaped cross-pieces into which the
The long
trestles are fixed.
length of the top on
its
table has a massive central
centre line, and into this, at right angles, are tenoned broad
clamps, which serve to keep the top from warping.

together
by long
The
by wedges.
in
every way.
carried through
them
entire construction
is
in
In both tables the trestles are tied
rounded tusk tenons, secured
at the outside
simple and logical, admirable for
its
purpose
These tables, with their forms, are of early sixteenth-century type, but
their actual date

of Sir
rails,
running parallel to the
rail,
is
uncertain.
The chimney-piece
in this
Orlando Bridgman, has already been illustrated
room, remo\'ed from the house
in Vol.
I,
Fig. 300.
*:.
Fig. 131.
OAK SIDEBOARD TABLE.

4
ft. 7 ins.
wide by
2 ft. 3 ins.
c.
deep by
1550.
10?
ft.
5 ins. high.
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq.
Early Rnglish Furniture and JVoodwork

It
ment
appears to be almost a fixed law, in the case of English furniture, that develop-
is
Thus, the table shown in
always in the direction of lighter construction.
Fig. 127, originally
former home,
from Cowdray Priory, and now restored, as nearly
late
is
sixteenth century.
There are
light stretcher-railings,
which
for its type,
details,
is
that of the fifteenth rather than of the
such as the thin top, the slender
which indicate a
as possible, to its
trestles,
beyond question.
later date,
The
and the
lesson has
been learned here, that massive baulks of oak are not necessarily permanent by reason of
their size, as proper seasoning of
to use
oak
of lesser scantling,
bulky timbers
is difficult, if
not impossible.
It is safer
which has been thoroughly dried and matured.
Certain table patterns from the fifteenth century remained stabilised for
years after.
many
In the absence of the original types, which have, long since, disappeared,
these later copies are useful in indicating a bygone fashion.

character, but the tapered legs, pierced through from
Thus, Fig. 128
all sides,
Rainham Hall
in Norfolk,
a support at either end, one
new
leg
had
This remark-
really the half of one twice its present
is
length, originally on three central supports.
of early
with the suggestion of a
keystone to the arch, cannot be referred to a date earlier than about 1550.
able table, from
is
Being cut into two portions, demanding
to be made.
In the illustration here, both are
^g^}î^^sjm^
Fig. 132.
OAK TABLE WITH MODERN TOP AND RAIL

8
ft.
8 ins. extreme width (not over top)
by
2 ft. 10 ins.
Late sbcteenth century.
104
deep by
CAPPINGS.
2 ft. 9 ins.
high over
The
all.
Vicars' Hall, Exeter.

Before
original.
ft.
7 ins.
it
The top
solid 3-inch framing.
above the
legs.
was divided, the table had a length

4
is
ins. thick,
There
The wood
is
is
clamped
of
at the ends, but
20
with a width of
ft.
lined iip to this
is
by a
a suggestion of the earlier Gothic in the cross-bearers
English oak, quartered in the original
fine
manner.
The
former traditions, however, were usually well maintained throughout the whole of the
sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, although the stringent regulations of the Trade
Guilds were no longer enforced with the old-time severity.
It is rare, at all periods,
up
to the close of the sixteenth century, in the history of English oak furniture, to find
timber cut in planks without quartering.
The durable quahties
of quartered
oak were
too well understood for the practice to be discontinued.

Fig. 129
is
also
from the middle
of the sixteenth century,
possessing one of the original stools, but the draw-top

of extending the top
is
is
and
is
later in date.
important in
This method
a seventeenth-century innovation, and the practice of inserting
mitre-ended clamps in the solid wood
is
also not a sixteenth-century custom.
This
Fig. 133.
OAK TABLE.
6
ft.
yi ins. long
by
ft.
deep by 3
Late sixteenth centurv.
ft.
in.
high.
Pilton Church, N. Devon.

table
and
its
stool
is
reputed to have come from Broadway, Ilminster, in Somerset, and
might be accepted as the type

origin at this early date.
of the sixteenth century

It
It
is
is
of that locality,
were
it
possible to ascribe counties of
however, to reserve such speculations until the end
safer,
reached.
has been remarked that long chests were probably used also as tables, and
Figs. 130
and much
and 131 show a type which

finer in quality
is
a combination of the two.
than Fig. 131.
It
woodwork
century, and shows the influence of the rich

this piece has
been badly restored at
fact that the true mitre (as distinct
its
dates from the
ends,
first
Fig. 130
is earlier,
years of the sixteenth
of the fifteenth.
Unfortunately,
by a workman unacquainted with the
from the mason's mitre which
is
worked on the
Fig. 134.
WALNUT TABLE.
4
ft.
7I
ins.
long by
2 ft.
Late sixteenth or
io|
ins.
earlj'
deep by
2 ft. (>\ ins. high.
106
Ruckinge Church, Kent.

solid after the
very
little
the
in
much
first
is
put together) was practically unknown at this date.
Actually,
remains of the original, other than the four pierced and carved panels with
their framings
was
framing
and the front
legs,
the same form as
from the
partially covered
left,
at present,
it is
is
when
to
doubt that the piece
was made.
The panels show, on
no reason
it
a crown, probably ducal, \\ith the portcullis of Beaufort below,
by the sacred monogram
made
for ecclesiastical uses.
There
is
some
although there
Next
(I.H.S.)
in order
is
which suggests that the piece was
the three
lilies
of
France on a
slight significance in the use of three lilies only, as they
shield.
were adopted as
one of the quarterings of the royal arms during the latter part of the reign of Henry \\
and continued
until
James VI
of Scotland ascended the English throne in 1603,
The
unfortunately a margin of time far too great to be of service to us here.

is
not original, and
may have
been, formerh', the most elaborate of the
five.
central panel
The fourth
Fig. 135.
DRAW-TABLE OF ELM AND ASH.

sizes (dosed) 7
ft.
long by 2
ft.
9I ins. deep
Dated 1630.
107
by
2 It. 9 ins. high.
Capt. N. R. Colville, M.C.

has the Tudor rose pierced and carved, and the
be earlier than the
first
years of the sixteenth century.
both in design and cutting, which

Fig. 131
date.
is
It is of
some indication that
also
unusually high quality,

early in the century.
it is
make and
the secular version of the same form of table, of rougher
is
The oak
front
power
decline in
suggests that this table cannot
fifth
is
cut from the log without quartering, a sure indication of the
of the early Guilds,
whose
The
central door here
ance of a later endeavour to
make
officials
inspected
all
timber before use, up
and a date subsequent to the dissolution of
to the first years of the sixteenth century,
the Monasteries.
later
is
of doubtful authenticity
it
has the appear-
use of the space behind the front as a cupboard.
The
usual form was to hinge the tops of tables of this kind with large pins pierced through
massive end-clamps or battens under the top into the
opened
in the
manner
of the table
formed by framings tenoned into the upper
squares of turned legs and with bracing stretchers below,
in tables
is
much
these pins the top
of the thirteenth-century chests.
With the introduction
Turning
On
sides.
older art in the history of English
would suggest.
we
are on firmer ground.
woodworking than
Primitive methods probably caused
favour of the square-section, either plain, or with carving.
it
to be
its
appearance
abandoned
It is rare to find tables
with
Fig. 136.
OAK TABLE.
5
ft.
long
by
2 ft.
ins. high.
Date about 1630-40.

108
Earl
Stonham Church,
in
Suffolk.

turned legs of date prior to the
last
quarter of the sixteenth century
in fact,
if
they
were made, none seem to have survived.
Turned
made
table-legs
admit
of a
somewhat
for inevitable overlapping of types.
or possibly
somewhat
later,
and
form
column, generally with astragal
lasts until the
end
modified form, until about 1645-50.
Commonwealth and
The vase-turned
commences somewhat
if
leg
we may
later,
leg in the
about 1590,
include tables inlaid with
comes into vogue
with the cabriole form.
The
just prior to the
for the legs of tables prior to the Restoration,
running
twist or spiral turning
confined in period than the other patterns just referred
was used
The
carries us into the early years of the eighteenth century,
parallel, for a part of this period,
much more
collars,
marqueterie in this category.
if it
in
the early type, and Fig. 141 the last phase of this manner.
is
and
due allowance being
Thus, the bulbous-leg begins about 1575,
persists,
Fig. 132
of a
definite classification,
and
to.
it is
It is
is
doubtful
rare to find
it
on
pieces of the eighteenth century, with the exception of the square cabinets on spiral-
turned stands which were made until the close of the reign of William
III, if
not the
opening years of Anne.
There
is still
one type of turning, a representation of a number of bobbins strung
together, which belongs to the middle of the seventeenth century
to 1665
and
is
from
about 1640
rarely found on pieces other than chairs or tables of oak or fruit-wood.
Fig. 137.
OAK DRAW-TABLE.
Length (dosed), lo
ft.
8 ins.
height, 2
ft.
Date about 1670.

109
8 ins.
depth, 3
ft.
in.
Lord Cranworth.
apple,
pear, cherry,
The
and sometimes yew.
leg turned in the
cup with a downward tapering shaft below, on the other hand,

furniture of walnut
at present.
The twisted
leg
These
The Bulb
an inverted
nearly always found on
not concerned with this pattern
both an oak and a walnut type, being found almost as

as in the latter.
may
are,
with their dates, as follows
1575-1650
The Column
1590-1700
The Bobbin
1640-1665
The
1660-1703
Spiral or Twist
The Vase
this
are, therefore,
of
have, therefore, five distinct patterns of leg-turning during the period from
about 1575 to 1689.
To
is
wood
frequently in the former
We
We
rarely of oak.
is
form
1645-1710
be added the inverted-cup turning, for the sake of completing the
series,
Fig. 138.
OAK TABLE.
5
ft.
5 ins. long
by
2 ft. il ins.
deep by
Date about 1630.

I
10
2 ft. 8 ins. high.
Formerly
in
Sutton Courtenay Church.

with a period of from 1689 to 1705, running parallel with the shaped or cabriole
its
leg, in
various forms, for about the last seven of these years.

It is
proposed to follow the order of type-development rather than that of chrono-
logical progression, in this as in other chapters, as being
may
involve periodical returns to a starting-point.
compare the same form
any drawbacks such
we may commence with
and
for so long.
It is
in this progression of
used for the legs of chairs as well as those of tables (although in
It is
for the posts of
a Stuart rather than a Tudor form, although
Bulbous legs of the sixteenth century are
times.
the early years of the next century.

is
and
in the case of a chair),
and they may be characterised by possessing a richness
bulb legs
oak tables with turned
the bulb, that turning feature which enjoyed such fa\our,
an attenuated form, as one would expect
Tudor
of being able to
as the one just referred to.
legs,
originated in
The advantages
it
at different stages in its development, however, far outweigh
Following the order outlined above,
important pieces.
more illuminating, although
One
of the finest
of carving
it
undoubtedly
rare,
which
is
however,
unusual
in
examples of a Tudor table with
the one in the Vicars' Hall, Exeter, illustrated here in Fig. 132.
The history
Fig. 139.
OAK TABLE.
II
ft.
i ins.
long by 2
ft.
8 ins.
deep by
2 ft. 8 J ins. higti
Ill
4 ins.
deep framing
4 J ins. legs.
The Earl
of Esse.K.

of the Hall of the Vicars'
of the preceding
volume.
the Vicars' Hall
is
not
Choral has already been given in pages 271, 277, 278 and 279
At what
clear,
top, with its Victorian carved

of the
same
The
moulded capping
The ogival
rails,
The
The
railings,
original top was, probably, one of
frieze
and the massive
legs are carved in the rich
with a strong suggestion of Devonshire work
much worn, which may have
but the other parts are
suggested the addition
in a fine state of preservation.
last years of the sixteenth century.
altar table in Pilton Church,

railing has disappeared,
legs.
N. Devon, has a carved cushion
and the table has been
The carving
the entire design as fine.
form
evident.
into
of the under-framing of these bulb-leg tables appears to be typical
both of Devonshire and the
under the original
is
came
thumb-moulding, and the cappings to the stretcher
stretcher-rails are
The moulding
is
has not been highly esteemed
it
of the later period of Elizabeth,
at this date.
this table
There are no signs of the runners, or " lopers " which would
indicate a draw-top table.
of the
but that
and under which Bishop
period, are ignorant additions.
square-edged boards.
manner
period,
This
is
is
raised
Fig. 133, the present
The
frieze.
by the additions
stretcher
of turned vases
not so rich as on the Vicars' Hall example, nor
a typical draw-table of a very early date for this
of extending top.
Fig. 140.
OAK TABLE.
4
ft.
ins.
long by 2
ft.
7 ins.
Date about 1640-50.
high.
Stonham Aspal Church,
Suffolk.

It is
curious to note
how
a comparison of many of these tables,
made
leads to the supposition that, although
they have nearly
all
Ruckinge Church,
Fig. 134,
Kent
is
a puzzling
early oak.
line
We
remained
is
in their
for secular use in practically
own county
of origin.
typical not only of Kent, but of the
Thus
find the
London
in
Churches,
every instance,
tlie
example from
Romney Marsh district.
county to the student of English furniture, especially

fashions perpetuated in the towns
and
in the case of
villages in the
from London, through Eltham, possibly Sidcup, certainly Dartford and so on to
Gravesend and Rochester.
There
is
another st^de evident which
fountain-head at Canterbury or Ashford,

is
now in use
of this type.
met with
in the
probably
the former.
may have had
The Ruckinge
Yet a third manner, markedly influenced from French sources,

neighbourhood
into Rye, Pevensey
of
is
Fig. 141.
OAK TABLE.
ft.
table
to be
Hythe, extending from thence over the Sussex border
and Hastings.
its
6 ins. long
by
z ft.
deep by
Date about 1640-50.

J13
ft.
4 ins. high.
H.
Early English Furniture and

This Ruckinge altar table has been painted or grained
is difficult
to distinguish
certainly not oak.
between the two
facing
is
is
now
so
slots
to be walnut
it
it is
can
being visible, externally, at the end not seen in the
worm-eaten that
it
embossed paper,
has the hollow sound,
much
yet, although
when tapped with

altered,
it
is
This
frieze.
the point
The
original.
a later addition, and the lower squares of the legs, with the stretcher-railing,
are largely restored,
The bulb-turning
is
so old that
but on the other they have been covered by the facing of the
of the finger, of
top
wood appears
is
Originally a draw-table, the signs of three runners, or " lopers,"
be seen at each end, the

illustration,
and the
the work
If'ôodwork
if
not entirely replaced by subsequent work.
of the seventeenth century
the case with the work of the sixteenth.
Fig. 135,
and the
\'icars'
generally more loosely designed than
comparison between the next example,
Hall table will show this distinction more clearly than
Both examples
be expressed in words.
is
it
are equally fine of their kind, but there
difference not only of district but also of date.
One
is
can
is
unmistakably Tudor, the other
Fig. 142.
OAK TABLE.
6
ft.
6i
ins.
long by 2
ft.
61 ins. deep
by
Date about 1650-60.

114
2 ft.
4J
ins. high.
J.
Dupuis Cobbold, Esq.
Fig. 143.
OAK TABLE.
15
ft.
3 ins. long
by
7 ins. high.
ft.
Date about 164050.
The use
equally as unquestionably early Stuart.
date suggests Cumberland or Westmorland, as

the size in which
it
is
used here, and
from East Anglia, until almost the

of the stretcher-framing
it
is
of
Albert Cubitt, Esq.
elm and
it is
ash, in combination, at this
rare, in the south, to find ash of
very exceptional to find
it
close of the seventeenth century.
over the squares of the legs
is
at all in tables
The notching
later work, evidently a restoration
Additional evidence for this northern origin can be found
at a subsequent period.
:-..
Fig. 144.
OAK TABLE.
9
ft.
2 ins.
long by 2
ft.
9 ins. deep
by
Date about 1640-50.
"5
2 ft. 7 ins. high.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Karly English Furniture and Woodwork

in the pattern of the
carvmg
The
of the framing.
date, 1630,
is
carved on the upper
square of the left-hand leg in the illustration.
The ordinances forbidding the use
of elaborate altars in churches,
reiterated on several occasions during the late sixteenth

led to the use of secular tables as altars.
It will
and
be found,
in
earlj^
seventeenth centuries,
nearly every church through-
out England, that where simple altar tables have been specifically
they are nearly
all
of
modern construction.
In the larger
number
tables of the time are used, generally altered or modified,
with
loss to their original integrity.
however, have been
made
difficulty in differentiating the original
in Earl
Stonham Church
added and the
is,
made
as such,
of instances the secular
often
These alterations or additions,
so frankly, with
which were
raised in height,
in nearly all cases,
no attempt at deception, that there
from the subsequent work.
is
no
Thus the oak table
obviously, a larger one cut down, with extension brackets
stretcher-railing of late work.
It will
be wiser, in nearly every example

a^rags'îsr"">;i w:*.'yfaMiHP,<^.,fcjBJi!acj
Fig. 145.
OAK TABLE.
8
ft.
long by
2 ft.
5 ins.
deep by
ft.
high.
Date about 1590.

Cathedral Church of St. Michael's, Coventry.
ti6

of these church tables, to consider tliem as specimens of the bulbous-leg turning
decoration of their period, and to ignore the remainder of the table entirely.
example from Earl Stonham the
and
In this
bulb-legs, with the graceful vase form of the lower
manner
section, are in the finest East Anglian
of the first half of the seventeenth
century.
This tapered bulb
is
one of the few details in leg-turning which appear to have
been confined, exclusively, to Norfolk and Suffolk.
example
The Earl Stonham
of the form, the legs here being carved, whereas,
table
bead or astragal
the leg into two unequal portions
section.
is
At
this date, also, the bold
generally dispensed with.
most elaborate form, strongly suggestive
Dutch
of
an early
towards the end of the seven-
teenth century, carving was nearly always omitted, decorative use being
either of simple
is
made
of rings
hollow dividing
This later type, in
influences, has already
been shown
Fig. 146.
OAK DRAW-TABLE.
7
ft.
in.
long by 2
ft,
gj
ins.
wide by
Date about 1605-10.
117
2 ft.
5J ins. high.
St.
its
Mary's Hall, Coventry.

open
in the
burgh, Fig. 137,
The
is
way
is
into
England
at this date,
a carved
band
from the Dutch merchants trading
in the East.
with a herring-bone pattern of a lighter wood, below
of thumb-section.
form, with simple Ionic caps above.

of
draw-table from Grundis-
the typical East Anglian version of this tapered A'ase leg, which may,,
frieze of this table is inlaid
which
fine
have been inspired by the Chinese pottery forms which had begun to tind
possibly,
their
The
buffet, Fig. iii of the preceding chapter.
East Anglian work of the later
The
The turned
legs are of
table has the dignity
3'ears of the
admirably restrained-
which
is
characteristic
Sutton Courtenay Church possessed a complete unaltered table, Fig. 138, with the
exception of some replacement of the stretcher-framing.
of vigour
and crudeness
There
is
a curious admixture
in the fashioning of the octagonal-sectioned legs
which
be taken as indicative of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire tables of this period.
oak table has the
fine dull metallic
sheen which original early oak possesses when
not been varnished, either originally or subsequently.

lights (or rather half-lights)
It
This
it
has
has also the peculiar high
on the exposed edges and angles, which the forger of antique
Fig. 147.
OAK TABLE.
5
may
ft.
ins.
long by 2
ft. 3 ins.
deep by
Date about 1610-20.

118
ft.
3 ins. high.
St. Michael's
Church,
St.
Albans.

furniture always
in a
fails
to reproduce, in nearly every instance exaggerating this effect
manner which an expert eye can

It is
detect at a glance.
towards the middle of the seventeenth century, when the desire for ornament
was more subdued, that
these bulb-leg tables
law before mentioned, construction and

but more graceful
down
to a
in outline.
There
details
is
became
became
The long
lighter,
In obedience to the
with the bulb attenuated,
no longer the great mass
mere spindle at the top and bottom,
Exeter, for example.
refined.
of timber dwindling
as in the table in the Vicars' Hall at
table from Cassiobury Park, Fig. 139,
shows
this refined
mid-seventeenth-century manner very well.
There
narrow boards with small end clamps, the
fluted frieze with shallow brackets at the
is
the thin top of this period, in long
junction of the framings with the squares of the legs, and the plain stretcher-railing
Fig. 148.
OAK TABLE.
5
ft.
9 ins.
long by
2 ft.
in.
deep by"2
Date about 1620.

119
ft.
10 ins. fiigh.
Christchurch Priory,

flush with the fronts of the lower squares, all details of the
Home
1640-50 period and of the
Counties.
Stonham Aspal
altar table, Fig. 140,
of
is
about the same date, but
The bulbs
Anglian version of the manner of the Cassiobury table.
the East
is
somewhat
are
attenuated, as compared with those of earlier date, and the legs have the Ionic capitals
as at Earl
Stonham and Grundisburgh, but the ornament
This table, in
common
with nearly
is
everywhere more restrained.
others in churches, has suffered from repairs and
all
additions.
It is
impossible to account for the close similarity between
many
of these
oak
tables of the middle seventeenth century other than in the hypothesis that they originate
from nearly the same
district.
Cassiobury were disputed,
whatever that
may
it
Even
if
Home County
the
must be admitted that
Fig. 141
and Southern Counties
its
stools
between the table

in
its
from the same
locality,
There
of England.
is
the same
in the tables of the East,

flat
at their junctions with the leg-squares, in both cases.
here has
is
from
Here we have the same bulb, turned from the square-thickness
be.
without the paring down, above and below, which we find
rails,
origin of the table
correspond, which are
to
legs.
There
design and proportions.
is
made
so
West
bracketting of the frieze
The small
that they will
table
fit,
shown
laterally,
the prevalence of a long-existing fashion evident
This
is
a type which has evolved, through
many
:^^^rr'ri^
Fig. 149.
OAK TABLE.
19
ft.
8 ins. long
by
2 ft. \q\ ins.
Date about
deep by
1620.
2^ft.
9 ins. high.
The Earl
of Chesterfield.

intermediate stages.
later in date,
Tlie table
from Holywells, Fig. 142,
but not in development.
of foreign
more ornate, and somewhat
Here the turning
fashioned by hand, and the general appearance

to the stretcher-rails.
is
is
is
it
it
first,
shaft turning of the
can be traced,
may
This table exhibits strong Dutch influence, and
be actually
of its lower extremity,
the appearance of an inverted vase, and from this to the cup-and-
Orange period
is
only a step further in development.
in its inception, in the long table, Fig. 143,
and
in the
Fig. 144, the beginning of the cup-turned leg can be seen quite clearly.
frieze-rail carried
tenoned into the squares,
and
is
next example.
The
first
not so
this rail is
in
flat,
and
is
It
has the bracket-finish of
distinct
from the
frieze rail.
Fig. 150.
OAK SHUFFLEBOARD TABLE.

The playing end.
23
ft.
7 ins.
long
by
ft.
i| ins. wide
by
Date about 1620.
has the
leg,
in the centre as well as the ends.
141, but this bracket
This evolution
generally a Yorkshire or Lancashire

the latter
Anglia, whereas
over the square of the central
device, but sometimes found also in East
II.
were
make.
assumes,
Figs. 139
if
somewhat marred by the capping
The attenuated bulb develops by a gradual cutting away

until
cruder, as
121
3 ft. 1} ins. high.
Astley Hall, Chorley, Lanes.

details indicative of Norfolk or Lincolnshire rather than the counties further south.
That
had
this table
came from Kiddal
Hall, in Yorkshire, does not necessarily imply that
its
origin in that county.
To
consider the column form of table-leg turning
it is
it
necessary to retrace our steps
and to commence with the sixteenth century again.

Fig. 145
is
a remarkable table in the Drapers' Chapel of St. Michael's Church,
Coventry, which might, at
first
glance, be referred to a foreign source.
tion of the details, especially of the gadrooning of the top framing
under, will show that this table must be classed with
bedsteads of the time, the English origin of which

strong presumptive evidence that this table
is
of
many
is
close
and
its
examinaarcading
of the elaborate four-post
unquestionable.
There
is
also
Warwickshire make, as there are two
other examples, obviously from the same hand, but in varying stages of addition,
restoration or dilapidation, one on the altar, the other in Trinity Church,
sizes,
and supported on stages
identical in essential details.
of later date to serve as altar tables.
That they were
all
three imported
Fig. 151.
THE OAK SHUFFLEBOARD TABLE,

The box end.
122
FIG. 150.
is
all of different
The
doubtful
three are
it is
more
Fig. 152.
Fig. 153.
Fig. 154.
SECTIONS OF FRIEZE OF
OAK SHUFFLEBOARD TABLE,
FIGS.
150
AND
151.
Early English Furniture and Jiôodwork
Fig. 155.
Fig. 156.
VSL
Fig. 157.
SECTIONS OF FRIEZE OF
OAK SHUFFLEBOARD TABLE,

124
FIGS.
150
AND
151.
Fig. 158.
Fig. 159.
Fig. 160.
SECTIONS OF FRIEZE OF OAK SHUFFLEBOARD TABLE,

125
FIGS.
150
AND
151.
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probable to suppose that a renowned maker existed in Coventry
make
missioned to
They
these tables.
are rich, even barbaric, in character,
secular type, and the raising on extra supports
made
Church
for
The
They
any, of the Gothic influence in their design.
is little, if
are, in fact, tables of the
must imply that they were not
is
of oak, in five sections,
This has the appearance of a later addition.
a favourite material
Originally, the top
for
many
of the sculptured
tombs
at this period.
that an important piece, such as this table must have been, was
this material, especially as
with one of wood
sunk the top in a rebate at
The importance
that
which
It is possible
made with a top
would have not been necessary
to
of
have
all.
example cannot be over-estimated.
It is so
usual to refer
of
beyond
have
to
is
examples
to
at
illustrated
the
estimating
in
of
and
origin
almost
is
guide
Alabaster was
later
1590,
English
dispute,
age
be
cannot
which
may have
unquestionably seventeenth-centurj' date, to the reign of Elizabeth,
of
about
the
of this
it
in the
have a specimen
to
than
specifically
dropped into a rebate
been of marble, onyx or alabaster, which has broken and disappeared.
oak tables
and there
use.
top, in this example,
framing.
who was com-
itself,
be
later
stage.
Towards
years
the
of
century
the
closing
sixteenth
and during the
early part of the reign of
James
I,
both tables and
chairs were usually'
more
richly
much
ornamented
than at a later date.

is
safe
in
almost
It
every
Fig. 162-
instance
to
state
that
elaboratelv carved tables
OAK TABLE.
Date about 1620.
A. Cubitt, Esq.

are of early period, although after the Restoration there
rich
was a
oak furniture, until walnut became the favourite wood instead
The magnificent draw-table from
St.
brief revival of this

of the national oak.
Mary's Hall at Coventry, Fig. 146,
as the height of this exuberant early Stuart fashion of the carved
square base.
It
has also the great advantage of being in
its
may
be taken
columnar leg on a
original state throughout,
with nothing missing, beyond the wearing of the bases which has brought the stretcher-
->
"^
Fig. 163.
OAK BOX TABLE.

128
llessrs.
Gregory and Co.

railing to the floor,
It
and with nothing added beyond an outer
lining to the
column -bases.
appears to have once been the property of the Fairfax-Lucy family of Charlcote, but
how
it
came
into the Mayor's Parlour of St. Mary's Hall
from
this old Guildhall will
ment
of
The
oak
chairs,
table
is
when
is
not clear.
Other furniture
be illustrated in a succeeding chapter tracing the develop-
further details of the Hall itself will be given.
of English
and mitre-clamped together.
oak throughout, with tops of six boards, tongue-jointed
The oak
is
quartered, pit-sawn and roughly planed.
Fig. 164.
OAK CUPBOARD TABLE.

Date about 1630-40.
:.
129
Missrf. Gregory and Co.
The

construction
table
is
is
worthy
of note, as
it
is
so seldom that an early seventeenth-century
The draw-tops extend quite
to be found in this complete state.
of the age of the table.
Tusk tenons
easily, in spite
are fixed, in slotted dovetails, to the under sides
of the extension slides or " lopers " to prevent these tops being entirely withdrawn.
The
frieze, in
and
is
the form of a cushion-moulding,
deeply carved in strap-wood patterns,
Below
carried, in the solid rail, over the squares of the legs.
abacus, and the leg

Ionic base.
is
The bases
in true
are
strapping of the legs
Rare as
this
is
St.
columnar form, with taper and
a square-moulded
is
entasis, finishing in
an
beaded on the edge, but these beads are on facing pieces
which have been added at a
its
is
very
later date,
fine in
presumably as a
The
repair.
fluting
and
execution and unusual in detail.
Mary's Hall table
well-preserved state, the column-leg
is,
itself
as
much on account
of its design as of
appears to have enjoyed considerable

popularity in the early Stuart years.
Fig. 147
is
an ornate example from
St. Michael's
Church
at St. Albans,
with a later top and stretcher, and

with the lower squares of the legs
added
The
mutilated
and
carving
small in scale and low
is
in relief,
It is to
but
is
to.
choice in quality.
be suspected that this table
comes from a
locality considerably
to the south-west of Hertfordshire.

Fig. 148
is
a coarser edition of this
column-leg form, but

if
any
parts, other
it is
doubtful
than the four
legs, are original.
Fig.
but
not
from Holme Lacy,
original
either
to
the
its district, is
one of the
guardroom tables
of the first
house or
large
149,
quarter of the seventeenth century,

Fig. 165.
of great size, possessing six legs, to
OAK FOLDING-TOP TABLE.
which the framings are tenoned,
Date about 1650.

13
and two on the central
line of the
The
top, secured
above and below by
turning of the legs
is
of English Oak Tables
Progression
cross-rails
from the framing and the stretcher.
typical of East Riding
work
of this period.
The
These large tables
were beginning to become rare after about 1610, and carving began
to]^be cither
dispensed with altogether, or used with great reticence.

In a general way, tables of large size are usually of sixteenth-century date;
James
I,
the Great Hall went out of fashion, and in the
Long
Gallery, tables were usually
constructed according to the width of the gallery rather than
its
length.
Examples,
Fig. 166.
OAK TABLE WITH HINGED

Top, 2
ft.
7 ins.
by
2 ft. 2 ins.
Date about 1620-40.

131
ft.
TOPS.
oi
With
in. high.
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq.

such as the remarkable shuffleboard table at Astley Hall, here shown
161, do not disprove this, as the table
i.e.
a game, and
all
was made
even
in the later
for the
of great length for a specific purpose,
other considerations would be subservient to
tables, the great length presupposes the
days of Elizabeth.
guardroom, an even
in Figs. 150 to
this.
With long refectory
Great Hall, which was declining in importance,
In instances where these long tables were intended
earlier date
must be assigned,
as fortified houses, necessitating
a guardroom close to the drawbridge, were rarely built after the
first
years of the
Fig. 167,

132;
TOP.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.

sixteenth centur>^ although Fig. 149
a guardroom
certainly
and
table,
is
of
seventeenth-century date.
This shuffleboard table from Astley
Chorley,
Hall,
described at
Lancashire,
could
considerable length
be
were
not the illustrations given here almost
The game
self-explanatory.
one of great antiquity in
shovel-board,
is
England, and
persists, in
districts,
name.
to
of shuffle-, or
It is rare,
under
day,
this
remote country
another
however, to find tables

Fig. 168.
especially constructed for the game, such
Very few
as this Astley Hall example.

are
known
to
The top
exist.
of
APPLE WOOD TABLE.

Top,
ft.
7 ins.
the
by
2 ft. 2 ins. liigli.
9 ins.
ft.
Date about 1650.

H.
table
was
marked
generally
squares, with varying numbers,
out
in
and the player, standing
at the end, placed a
about
disc,
three
or
inches,
wooden
in
less,
diameter, at the extreme edge, with a
With
portion hanging over.

of the
open palm, the disc was impelled
up to the
table,
if
possible into the square
would travel
disc, too vigorously struck,
the entire length, and would

at the end,
At a
shown
fall into
was placed on
the table and struck with a "
YEW TREE
Top,
by
2 ft. 4 ins.
TABLE.
ft. 7 ins.
ft.
Date about 1660.

H.
The
earliest
its
end.
(of
which shuffleboard
direct
4 ins. iiigh.
something
or
modern
^^^^ instead
game
is
of billiards
probably the
was played with a
progenitor),
of a cue,
but
in those
r
,
n
x
thC USC of chalk tO prCVCUt
,
Cliiiord smith, Esq.
like
mast"
cue, with a small cross-piece at
billiard
^gg
the
in the illustration.
later date the disc
implement
number.
division bearing the highest
box
blow
a smart
days
iShppmg
of

the cue-top on
contact with the ball, was unknown.
its
The top
of this table is
constructed of a light framing or lipping, with an elaborate parqueterie, or herring-
boning of thin oak pieces, the idea being to ensure a

are
no squares or other
original, still exist
Two
with the table, in
and
There
level top.
winner being he whose disc was the nearest to
divisions, the
the verge of the box at the end.
flat
of the brass discs used,
which appear to be
and form very similar
to a flat brass four-
size
ounce weight.
Both
illustrations
show only one
in larger detail in Figs. 152 to 160,
its
it
end view.
in the
Fig. 151, carried along
There must have been always an important as well as an unimportant
length.
side to this table.

as
The other
arranged in their correct progression.
which can be seen
side has the double border
shown
side of the table, with its pierced panels
There
is
no question that
cannot be taken to pieces without breaking
the house where
it is,
put together in
its position,
it
apart, nor can
without demolishing one of the walls.
and here
it
which
in the gallery for
it is
It
lion
and unicorn
Fig. 156
Tudor
for this gallery,
The presence
in the section
shows that
it
is
devices and grotesques,
of the
shown
in
a Stuart, not a
The carving
table.
was made,
be moved out of
it
was made
has remained ever since.
it
is
quaint with
many
which
of
probably possess a real significance, and a

personal application to the original owner
for
whom
the table was made.
The date
of this table,
actual period at which

distinct
from
fashion which
of the legs
is
the
it
it
that
was made, as
inception
2 ft.
yj
ins.
by
2 ft. 6 ins.
and the carving
of the frieze,
pages are those of the birth of
ft.
TOPS.
4I
new
details,
the
manufacture of the pieces
themselves.
Mr. Christopher Hussey, in
not
2
the
exhibits in the turning
styles or the introduction of
of
concern us here, as dates stated
in these
Top,
the
somewhat obscure, and does not
really
Fig. 170.
is
of
ins. high.
''Country Life" (February 25th, 1922)^
Date about 1O45.
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq.
while admitting that from the point of

an
style alone
earlier date
might be assigned
to this great table, places
it
as
contem-
porary with the re-facing of the Hall in 1665, and the construction of the Gallery
which
it is
The
at present.
possibility of
advantage being taken of the work done at
the time to house a pre-existing table in a Gallery long enough to contain
not altogether with reason.
If
made
and topical
some
fifty
significance during the reign of
when
years later,
first
the
first
James
I,
details
should have been perpetuated
is
legs are in the
that of
the date given here.
column form
an octagon.
The
turned with astragal rings in pairs.
The
The
table
The top
of the period,
is
in the
form
of half
squares above are ornamented with the early Jacobean type of spht baluster.
has a drawer, the front of which

It
is
one of the small side or serving tables which were made in numbers during
is
half of the seventeenth century.
the solid.
it is
which had a
In any case, the type of leg-turning
quarter of the seventeenth century, which
Fig. 162
ignored,
the union of England and Scotland must have been
forgotten as an event in English history.
the
it, is
for the gallery, instead of the reverse process,
curious that such details as the lion, unicorn, crown and thistle,
real
in
was
is
decorated with
fiat fret
or strap-work, carved from
originally fitted with a second top, hinged to the first
and supported
on a pivoted framed " gate " behind.

Fig.
163
is
later,
Here
more usual type.
of
and
the legs are of the inverted
vase-baluster form, which
develops in several ways
towards the close of the

Restoration
is
This
period.
a true side table of the
Cromwell period, and
may
be taken as a good example

of
the
simple
which was
furniture
in favour during
Puritan times in England.

Fig. 164 has the extending
leg
at
the
back
and
a
Fiff
double hinged top, so that
it
could be used, on occasion,

as
a centre table.
It
171
^^^ ^^^^^ ^[^^ ^^^^^^ ^^p^

Top, 3
ft.
9 ins.
by
ft.
3 ins.
ft.
Date about 1660-70.
is
13s
3 ins. high.
H.
CUfiford smith, Esq.

with a central door, behind which
fitted
silver or pewter.
period of James
Fig. 165
is
This
is,
II.
is
a cupboard, probably intended to contain
and has the true vase-baluster
smaller,
however,
still
hinged top supported on the pull-out back leg
CromwelHan
These tables with double tops, pave the way,

for the gate-leg,
each supported on a pull-out leg or gate.
it
may
is still
James
and 1640.
form
It
I.
is,
It
with hinged flaps on either
would be
by reason
safer,
side,
must not be assumed, however, that these
of its crudity,
Commonwealth and might be
prior to the
has the folding
of this date.
tables are the progenitors of the gate-leg.
possess an early appearance
reign of
It
It
in the progression of table-types,
of a central part
where the top consists
CromwelHan double-top
manner
in the
piece.
leg of the later
both
Fig. 166, although

in design
and make,
referred to a date as early as the
however, to ascribe
it
to the years
between 1620
probably, of Welsh origin, which would account for the solid trestle-
of the supports at either end.
where some attempt
at relief
from
The development from

this primitive trestle
this
type
is
shown
in Fig. 167,
form has been attempted.
The
Fig. 172-

Top, 5
ft.
9 ins.
by
It.
in.
Date about 1660.
136
TOPS.
2 ft. 4 ins. high.
Messrs. Williamson
and Sons.
The Progression of English Oa/c Tables

method
on either side
of pivoting the gates
about 1640.
It is to
This table
is,
early, indicating a date not later
Commonwealth
that
we owe the
in
numbers
in the use of the lathe.
Three examples are given
probably somewhat the
They
for the Puritan houses.
type, but extremely effective, correct in proportions,
The
so-called bobbin-turning
Small tables, often of oak, but sometimes of apple, pear, cherry or
to.
almond, were made
is
than
probably, of Shropshire origin.
the period of the
before referred
is
are generally of simple
and showing considerable ingenuity
in Figs.
168 to 170, of which the last
earlier in date.
gate-leg table reaches
its full
and importance
style
after the Restoration,
and
although at this period, walnut was superseding oak, for such pieces of furniture as were
made
to stand
found
in
away from
oak than
a wall,
chairs
in walnut, especially
and the
when
like,
of large size.
these
Fig. 171
Fig. 173.
WALNUT TABLE WITH HINGED

Date about 1670-S0.
II.-
137
tables are
TOP.
is
more often
one of the smaller
Fig. 174.
Fig. 175.
OAK TABLE WITH HINGED TOPS AND DOUBLE GATE.
OAK CORNER TABLE WITH HINGED
Date about 1670.

Jlessrs.
Gregory and Co.
Fig. 176.
Fig. 177.

Top,
2 It. 5. ins.
by
2 ft. 2 ins.
TOP.
Date about 1650.
Height, 2
ft.
5 ins.
Date about 1680.

H.
OAK TABLE.
TOP.
Top,
2 ft.
ins.
by
ft.
5 ins.
Height, 2
ft.
6 ins.
Date about 1680-90.


kinds, intended rather as an occasional than as a dining-table.
important, with spiral

of a table of this kind
of the top
from the
legs, finely lathe-twisted.

is
It will
Fig. 172
is
larger
and more
be apprehended that the size
limited, as, given a dimension of the central portion, the height
floor
governs the size of the
flaps.
It is rare to find
Restoration gate-leg tables with a top larger than six feet by
dimensions they are rare and valuable.
Fig. 178.

Top, 4
ft.
7 ins.
by
3 ft.
Date about 1690.

139
4!
ins.
TOP.
five,
one of these
and even
of these

Another, and a later form of the hinged top table, which could be used for dining
when extended, and when not

a wall,
is
shown
in Fig. 173.
required for such use, could be folded and placed against
Here the section
below the twisted legs indicate a date towards the end

table
is
made from English walnut, another evidence
The form
and the bun
of the stretcher-rails
of the graceful vase-baluster begins
its
Fig. 174 this tj'pe just begins to assert itself.

in its
advanced form, but there
of the lower part of the shaft,
is
of a late period.
towards the middle of the sevenIts
development,
evolution, will be considered later.
In the small table, Fig. 175,
show the growing tendency towards
is
not found in the later work.
In
shown
it is
members
a tendency to elaboration in the turning
which
This
of the reign of Charles II.
teenth century, and carries us into the early years of the eighteenth.
and the probable reasons which dictated
fret
and 177
Figs. 176
simplicity, in the turning of these vase-balusters,
which manifests
century
the
Fig. 178
advances.
an important
is
may
which
table,
as
itself
date
from the short reign of
James
even
II,
but
probably
is
The
later.
and
proportioned
finely
turned with great
skill
and
The general con-
taste.
struction
early in type,
is
but there
in the
legs are
is
a maturity
composition of the
whole design which suggests a late date.
As
the
century
closes, there
evidences
skill
in
seventeenth
of
the
increasing
use
of
turning lathe, not so

a
are
the
much
mere mechanical per-
Fig. 179.
PORTION OF OAK ALTAR RAILING.

New Romney
Date about 169C-5.
140
fection in the use of the

Church, Kent.
chisel
and gouge,
as
>
r=\
^
Fig. 180.
TYPES OF TURNED TABLE LEGS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

141
Single Bine
Double
Fluted
Tapered
Point
Twist.
Twist.
Twist.
Single Bine
Twist.
Twist.
Fiddle
Head
Twist.
Latchee
Double Open
Twist.
Twist.
Triple
Fig. 181.
TYPES OF TWIST- OR SPIRAL-TURNING OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

142
Open
Twist.

training of the eye and a taste in
details
and proportions which make
the turned balusters of this period

real
works
of
art.â delight to the
The
connoisseur.
New Romney
from
altar-railing
Church, Fig. lyg,
is
given here to show this perfection

in detail,
and
skill in design, of
the
wood-turners of the early Orange

years.
The beauty of these balusters,
the subtlety of each line and
member
can only be appreciated on careful

examination.
It
is
only
when
memory copy is made, and compared

with the original, that the
of
full
idea
how much has been overlooked
or ill-remembered
becomes apparent
even to a trained draughtsman.
We have been
concerned, in this
chapter, chiefly with the evolution

of table-leg turning.
before
the
It is
eighteenth
only just
century
is
reached that shaping (such as in the

instance of the cabriole leg) begins
to usurp the place of turning.
The
subject here concerning itself with
the development
table,
some
later
of
the solid oak
forms which are
associated, almost entirely, with the
use of walnut and veneering have not
Fig. 182.
TYPES OF BALUSTER TURNING OF THE
SEVENTEENTH AND EARLY EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES.
Mctoria and Albert Museum.
143

been
illustrated.
The diagram,
may
Fig. i8o,
be of some
evolution of the turned leg on seventeenth-century tables.
book, such as
it is
this,
who has many photographs
possible to reproduce in a
of being able to trace
to
work
service in tracing this
little
writer of an illustrated
before him, a far greater
of this size, has still the
number than
advantage over
his readers
developments from example to example, which, although evident
him on comparison, cannot be stated other than empirically without the use
illustration to
prove his statements, which
are not actual copies
from existing tables
is
of lavish
These twelve examples
here impossible.
the idea has been rather to include several
Thus
variations in the one type, in order to explain, pictorially, the evolution of form.
must be taken
as
an example which includes
all
the bulbous-leg forms of the late
and below
sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, where the squares above
down, almost disproportionately,

is
itself.
The type which
contained in the one square of wood, without any diminishing of the squares,
The development towards the inverted vase-baluster
B.
in
emphasise the bulb
in order to
are pared
the cup-turning of the later walnut period
leg,
with inverted cup,
found on
tables, chairs
is
shown
which are given
the forms of
C and D.
expect, as, in the
and F
in
The
making
The
as for
The
example
legs
in
D,
to
is
that
this re\'ersal
in
true Orange baluster-
the
early
column-leg,
other
not such an advance as one would
this stage, to
procedure which would occur, obviouslj^ and
and
of marqueterie or veneered chests or
of these tables, the legs are received
At
in C,
vase-baluster, J, can be traced back to
reversal of the leg
framed together by the cabinet-maker.
shown
shown
another variation of the same form,
is
marks a return
and L
The
suggested.
and the turned-leg stands
cabinets shortly before 1700.

varieties of
in E,
is
is
is
it
from the turner, to be
view the leg upside down
would be found,
in
some
down would
instances,
might be an advantage rather than a
once framed together, as a table, this turning upside
is
defect.
cease to be
a possibility.
To
close this series,
of the
K may
be taken as representative of the Restoration twist and
Commonwealth bobbin-turning.
The dates
of the inceptions of the various
forms have already been stated, at an earlier stage in this chapter, and recapitulation
unnecessary here.
is
is
This subject of turning, especially that of lathe twisting, however,
so fascinating, as illustrating not only the evolution of fashion but also the progres-
sion of the art of the wood-turner, that the
may
two remaining pages,
and
182,
be of service, in showing what was achieved by the aid of the lathe and gouge
during the latter half of the seventeenth and the
The
Figs. 181
illustrations are, for the
most
to point out that the various patterns
first
years of the eighteenth centuries.
part, self-explanatory,
do not
differ,
it
is
hardly necessary
other than in bulk of timber, whether
used for the legs of tables or chairs, the balusters of

144
and
stairs or the stands of cabinets.
Chapter
The Development
III.
of the Enghsh
Oak
Chair.
r has already been stated at the outset of this book, that chairs, with
their kindred pieces, settees, stools, forms or benches,
occupy a place
apart from other furniture, for the various reasons given in that
introductory chapter.
While
this isolated character of the English
chair has been thus insisted upon, the statement

later
development, that
styled
when
by any other name.
becomes a chair
it
in
true only of
such a form that
Actually, the progenitor of the chair
such as the bishop or abbot's throne, the choir
seat,
is
is,
is
is
it
cannot be
the ecclesiastical
the pew, or the bench.
stall,
its
It
not exactly true to say that the chair was not known, as such, in the fifteenth century
(as illustrated
examples on subsequent pages
may
that the exceptions given

It
may
but
will show),
be stated as proving the
it
is
so nearly the fact
rule.
be necessary, at the very beginning of this chapter, to define what the term
" chair " really does, and does not, imply, and to find a descriptive formula which shall
include
any type which may
as would, at
first,
We
appear.
and yet exclude anything
arise,
have to postulate,
if
is
not so easy
possible, a material, a
form and a
function, yet none of the three admits of exact definition.
usually
made from wood,
on
this
account alone.
not
call
If
its
we
yet one
We
made from
This
Chairs, as
we know,
chairs, for
example, which one does
are constructed from another material than timber.
describe a chair as a stool on four legs, with a back, and sometimes with arms,
function to support a sitter,
we have
and yet are not supported on four

as a chair,
which
and thrones.
it
is,
we
legs.
must
to exclude
If
many
pieces which are true chairs
include, in the
same category, choir
to us at the present day.
wood, which can be moved from place to place, does not apply
be fixed to the
pews
Even
made from
in all cases, as a chair
floor.
There are several reasons
why
comparison, in this connection.
-u
stalls,
Actually, the earlier forms of the chair do not conform to any formula
the definition as a seat for one person, with a back, with or without arms,
II,
and
the fifteenth-century box-type be admitted
which would describe, adequatel}^ the types known
may
are
iron or stone does not cease to be a chair
have cane or wicker
by another name because they
else.
the church stall or
The
stall
is,
145
pew
will
repay examination and
undoubtedly, the forerunner of the chair.
Ear/y English Furniture and JJôodwork

Stalls
and pews were made
in
They
such numbers, that they ser\'ed to establish types.
have, as a general rule, been preserved, and are available for such examination and
comparison.
They
represent, in a general way, the fashion of their time, in its best
sense, as the mediaeval carpenter gave his finest

are, therefore, not
at their period
advantage
only chair prototypes
and
of their locality' in an unmistakable
a Devonshire pew,
village or
time,
its
at
for instance,
to his Church.
immovable.
way
and pews
Stalls
they show the highest class of work prevailing
where they were made.
in the districts
in being, comparatively,
work
has been
county from another, and that
They
we may be
made
it is
Lastly, they possess an
represent, therefore, the types
certain, in nearly e\'ery case, that
locally,
moved
has not been
a good example of the
skill
to the one
and
taste of
and not a depraved example, representing a sporadic fashion or no fashion
all.
We
can begin with the square box-end pew of the Devonshire type, such as in
Horwood Church,
and
Fig. 183.
are late for their style,
These pews date from the middle of the fifteenth century,
which shows the transition from the Curvilineal Gothic
to
That
the Perpendicular.
were the private
these
pews
of local families
indicated
shields
by the
and
is
heraldic
initials
on the
second, fourth and fifth
pews
The
in the illustration.
last
two are shown
in
better detail, in Fig. 184.
The
dawn
of
the
Renaissance can be seen

in the
two pew-ends from

Church,
Coldridge
1 85,
dating from about
The suggestion
1500.
the
Fig.
linen
fold
of
pattern
between the fret-tracery

^'^- ^^^-
HORWOOD CHURCH,
^
of the
N.
,
u
ihe square box-ended
Devonshire
type
4^
end on the right
DEVON.
c^bench
^
of
or pew.
hand
of the illustration,
and its actual presence
Date about 1450.

146
in
The Development of
the back of the other,
or the
dawn
always a sure indication of cither the very close of the fifteenth
is
of the sixteenth century.
The two pew-ends from Lap ford Church,
Fig. i86, carry us well into the sixteenth
century, as the purely Renaissance foliated heads, in the Italian
through the French of the Francis

possibly
Oak Chair
the English
some decade
or
two
such as at Atherington, Fig. 187.

;
it
period, indicate a date not earlier than 1520,
is
is
typical of Devonshire, there are rare exceptions,
crocketted pew-end, however,
is
exceptional in any part of England.
is
not far behind the wealthy East Anglian counties.
Devonshire churches,
intact, as at
also,
chancel screens can
still
not only very
Atherington
a church rich in woodwork, even for Devonshire, which, in the quality of

furnishings,
and
later.
While the square-ended pew
unusual in Devonshire
manner transmuted
is
its ecclesiastical
In several of the
be found, with their rood-lofts almost
Swimbridge and Atherington, and one
is
spared the melancholy sight of
the fine carved and painted woodwork, of the most wonderful period of English joinery
and colour decoration,
left
only as magnificent ruins after the purposed destruction by
Puritan and other vandals.
Without a wealth
of illustration,
which would be out
Fig. 184.
DETAIL OF THE PEWS,

147
FIG. 183.
of place in a
book
of this

kind,
it
would be impossible
to
show the
distinctive types of
prevail in various well-defined localities of England.
pew and bench-ends which
There are the Lincolnshire, the
East Anglian, the Midland, the Northern, the Somerset, the Devonshire, and the SouthEastern, or Kentish types,
all
of the eighteenth century.
The succeeding examples,
to,
and only from the point
chair,
which
Two
and
189.
therefore, will be briefly referred
view of illustrating the genesis and growth of the English
the principal subject of this chapter.
views of the benches in Wetherden Church, Suffolk, are given in Figs. i88
The ends
Wetherden
district
is
of
well-defined from the fifteenth almost to the beginning
are of the buttress type,
illustrates the
is
of
Cambridge and Lincoln.
also general in Norfolk
the grotesque figure caps the bench end
which forms the arm.
figures of animals.
East-Anglian type of poppy-head (from poupee
which includes parts
carved in wood
capped with grotesque
At Stowlangtoft,
and
at
Suffolk.
The representation
At Bradfield
Hitcham, Fig. 191,
Figs. 192, 193
and
it
St.
of
doll),
animals
George, Fig. 190,
surmounts the buttress
194, each one of the richly-
carved benches has this grotesque device on the arms, and the ends of the choir
Fig.
185.
COLDRIDGE CHURCH, DEVON.

Bench Ends.
Date about 1500.
148
stalls,
The Development of
Figs. 195, 196,
and
English
the
197, finish with beautifully carved figures, of
Oak Chair
which Fig. 195, a priest
standing at a reading desk, will show the fine execution and conception.
ends are late fifteenth-century East Anglian work at

in point of design
its best,
and execution, with the chancel screens
Bramfield or Ludham, or the font-co\'er at Ufford.
shows two of
these.
It
must be remembered,
although they are not of the very

contains
them
at
Southwold, Ranworth,
and not
also
some
so fine in execution.
examining these ends, which,
high quality, that the church which
situated in a Suffolk village with a population, in 1900, of only 347
That Brandeston may have been larger
persons.
it
is
finest, are still of
in
stall-
and can be coupled, both
Brandeston Church has
interesting bench-ends, slightly earlier than at Stowlangtoft

Fig. 198
These
was undoubtedly
richer,
but there
is
in the fifteenth
no reason to believe that
it
century
is
possible
was ever other than
a sparsely populated village.
the
If
latter,
if
pew
known
or choir-stall be the progenitor of the English chair, the type of the
as miserere seats, illustrates the development, in a very
marked
degree,
they are removed from their surrounding woodwork or surmounting canopies.
The
practice of putting these stalls together in rows, where twelve seats, for example, have
only eleven ends, destroys the chair-like appearance which they would exhibit were
In Figs. 199 and 200 accident has done that which custom
each seat a separate unit.
Here
denied.
is
one of these choir-stalls separated from
its fellows,
and
resemblance to an early chair

be noticed.
will
Actually
it
is
far less clerical in appearance,
in
detached form,
this
than
are
many
are
almost wholly secular in
early
chairs
which
character.
bench from Rougham,
Fig 20 1 of the very late fifteenth

.
century, with large and finely

car\'ed
poppy-heads and
solid-
cut traceried ends, closes this

series of the ecclesiastical pro-
genitors of the English domestic

chair.
It
Fig. 186.
LAPFORD CHURCH, DEVON.
must not be imagined,
Bench Ends.
however, that the transition from
The Devonshire type

149
of 1520-30.
its
strong

Chairs at the
the clerical stall to the secular chair marks''any distinct change of type.
end
of the fifteenth
own.
century were
much
too rare to have established a fashion of their
Apart from being highly exceptional
character,
and obviously so inspired from
at
period,
this
they are so special in
that they
clerical sources,
may
be styled
rather as church stalls which are not in their proper habitat.
Two examples
are given here which

of
would be
were others known to exist
typical,
as the type.
which these could be regarded
The
first
the Coronation Chair from West-
is
minster Abbey, Fig. 202, the second a chair
from
St.
Mary's Hall at Coventry, Fig. 203^
The former has a well-attested

safely be assigned
and the
is
to
the fourteenth century,,
unmistakable
as
example
an
Making due allowance
the fifteenth.
and can
although not so well recorded,
latter,
equally
history,
for
of
the
inexactitude in the early records, the Coronation-
Chair appears to have been
made
to contain the
" Stone of Destiny,"
which Edward
back from Scone
1296.
to
doubt
in
There
is
brought
no reason
but whether the chair was
this,
at this date or
many
years later,
Apart from the fact that
is
made
not certain.
its style is
that of the
end, rather than the beginning of the fourteenth
century,
to
say nothing of the closing years
of the thirteenth,
there are signs which indicate,
beyond doubt, that the chair was,
at
one period,
decorated and emblazoned with gold'and colours,

if
not with raised and gilded gesso.
The merest
vestiges of this colour-decoration remain, as the
chair
in a deplorable state, several generations
is
of ignorant vandals
their initials
Fig. 187.
space
ATHERINGTON CHURCH, DEVON.

Rare crocketted type
of
missing
pew-end.
has
away
150
on
it
having been allowed to carve

until every available inch of
been covered.
The pinnacles are
perhaps they were removed and taken
as keepsakes
Figs.
188 and 189.
WETHERDEN CHURCH, SUFFOLK.

1
he East Anglian type of poppy-headed beneh-snd, buttress-type, of the late fifteenth century.
J
O
13
u,
fa
D
la
-_;
~
J)
^ X ^
o ^
OS
th
a :c
D
ho
s
fa
u
o
s
<
s
u ~^
j:^
.T^
--^
X a
T3
J3
iS
J
o
fa
fa
3
09
a
o
o
fa
o
H
o
w
en
T-<
,
bJJ
fa
J
fa
fa
u:
QJ
75
O
>t
^
:3
o
S
3
71
Q
< o
OC
o
m j3
7:
fa
QJ
o a
S
u
cc
D
X
*s^-
t)
'52
fa
Figs. 192
and 193.
STOWLANGTOFT CHURCH, SUFFOLK.

Pew ends carved with
153
grotesques.

We
do not usually associate colour-decoration on wood with the beginning
fourteenth century
hardly with
There
its close.
of the
the possibility, of course, that this
is
colour was a later application, but the chair has the appearance of having been designed
and made
screens,
specially for colour
and the general
and
gesso, in the
same manner
as the East Anglian chancel
style of the back, with its crocketted head,
is
late fourteenth
or even early fifteenth century in character.
The
chair in St. Mary's Hall, Figs. 203 to 210,
and while only a fragment,

in colours, nor has ever
original finish
is
well preserved.
That
is
it
in
much more
was never intended
been either painted or partially gilded,
was a glossy varnish,
or in other words,
perfect condition,
much
the
almost certain.
is
same
for decoration
Its
as at the present day.
This chair has been considered at such length and detail in the "Burlington Magazine'"^
that the statements
1
made
No. CCXXIII, Vol.
in that article
XXXIX, "An Oak
may
be summarised and repeated here.
Chair in St. Mary's Hall, Coventry," Herbert Cescinsky, October,
1921.
Fig. 194.

The
finest
East Anglian type of bench-end of the late fifteenth century.
154
o
b.
u>
X
u
a
o
X
u
Eb.
O
C3
Z
<
.J
o
H
O
b
D
a
u
OC
S
u
H
b
O
EO
<
15s

This
is
a civic or state chair
has only a remote clerical connection,
it
if
any.
The
pinnacles, which are quite original, represent on the dexter, Fig. 206, the Plantagenet
England^ (the " leones-ieopardes " of Glover's Roll
lions of
the portion of a crown, which,

are the
arms
of
when complete was probably
of Coventry, the elephant
and
castle. Fig. 207.
Henry
royal.
III)
supporting
On
the sinister
The chair
is
only a frag-
ment, being complete at the one end. Fig. 208, but having two mortises at the other,
Fig. 209, obviously for the tenons of
two panel
rails.
The commencement
of the panel-
groove can be seen above the lower mortise, and this steps forward immediately, to house
the applied tracer\^
So much
is,
therefore, certain, that a traceried panel, similar to
that on the front. Fig. 204, with rails above and below, must have fitted on the chair
on
its
triple
right-hand side.
form
'
The question now
arises,
was the chair
originally of double or
There are several reasons to justify the latter assumption.
The unicorn on the
sinister side of the
Royal arms dates from the reign
Fig. 197.

Carved
stalls.
Date about 1480.

156
of
James
only.
The Development of
Coventry
ancient
renowned
city,
dyes
century
and
woollens
its
Oak Chair
an
is
in the fifteenth
for
the English
hence the old say-
ing, "
True as Coventry
blue."i
was
It
visited,
on several occasions, by
Royalty, and
reputed
is
to have once housed
royal
prisoner
the
in
person of Mary, Queen
The
of Scots.
chair
is
in
Mary's Hall, a build-
St.
ing erected in the early

part of the fifteenth century- for the
of
united guilds
Mary,
St.
John
St.
the Baptist and St.

Catherine; a Trinity, be
it
noted.
The Great
which measures 76
Hall,
ft.
in
Fig. 198.
length, 30
34
ft.
dais
in
ft.
span and
height,
in
at its
has a
BRANDESTON CHURCH, SUFFOLK.

Pew-ends
of buttress-type, carved with
poppy-heads and grotesque
figures.
Date about 14O0.
end with a
perpendicular Great Window, di^'ided into three sections by two vertical muUions.
Below
this
window hangs a
this chair
of this tapestry,
if
is
Arras tapestry in three divisions, corresponding with
window above.
the mullions of the
That
fine
was intended
to stand
unquestionable.
one of the seats were intended
on
this dais,
under the window and
double chair would have been incongruous, and
for royalty,
which
is
the pinnacles has the Royal arms, and the tapestry has, on
the figures of
Henry VI and Margaret
'
in front
of
exceedingl}^ likely, as one of

its
right-
and left-hand panels
Anjou, and was specifically woven for the
Blue was the royal colour
in the fifteenth century.
157

place
seat
it
occupies at present,
would have had an equal dignity.
The double-seat theory

for
the other
another reason
is
also not tenable
while
there
are
unmistakable indications of the fixing of

a back, there are
none
of a seat.
A hypothetical reconstruction of this

chair has been attempted in Fig. 211.
The absence
here be
chair
The
explained satisfactorily.
would be occupied
only on very rare occasions.

seat
can
of a fixing for the seat
would be
rich
by
The
royalty
central
in character,
with
covering, probably, of cloth of gold.
It
^45*jS>'
would be one
to be preserved with every
care, as apart
from
its intrinsic
value, the
Coventry burghers would aim at keeping

it
clean and free from wear.
it
would not be
sit
upon
dignity.
In addition
left in situ, for
at pleasure,
with
The natural
anyone to
loss to its
result
royal
would be
that the seat would be in the form of a
Figs.
OCCOLD, SUFFOLK.
28
ins.
199 and 200.
SECTION OF CHOIR STALLS.
wide across base. 3 ft. 5 ins. high over

I ft. 4 ins. deep over all.
all.
Latter half of fifteenth century.
158
The Development of
Oak Chair
the English
cushioned box^ which would be removed,
when not
and
use,
in
place
its
left
vacant.
The massive
present
and
having been
and back
exhibit
205),
(see
signs
of
They were probably
cut.
bridging
through,
carried
at the foot of the
at front
chair,
204
Figs.
cills
space
the
between, and bracing the outer chairs

together,
and were further extended on
either side to hold the banner standards
The Royal banner would,
of the Guilds.
Fig. 201.
naturally, be displa3Td centrally, behind
ROUGHAM CHURCH, SUFFOLK.

the chair.
Back and end
Another point
triple-chair theory
in
favour
St.
John and
of
oak bench.
Date about 1510.
Both the great window and the tapestry below
The Guild Hall

St.
this
number
that the
is
three figures everywhere.
three divisions.
of
Catherine.
Mary
of St.
is
are in
dedicated to the Trinity of St. Mary,
Coventry as one
of the strongholds of the
Knights
Hospitallers of St. John, would give their Saint the post of honour, in the centre of the
back
of the
(Fig. 208)
is
carved with the effigy of
probably devoted to
may have
The
middle chair or throne.
St. Catherine.
St.
side spandrel of the chair illustrated here
Mary;
its
missing fellow on the right was
Another theory suggests
itself.
The
central seat
been movable so that the royal stool could be taken away, and
its
place
occupied by another, not so ornate in character, and the throne would then be used
by
the Masters of the three Guilds.
resemblance will be noticed between the grotesque carvings of the arms (although
these have been mutilated, apparently with a set purpose) and those on some of the
clerical
benches already illustrated. Fig. ig8 for example.
case of choir-stalls and misericords, to
questionable decency.
a wave
of puritanism
are exceedingly quaint.
this chair
to mutilation.
were carved
Some
Thus, in the Victoria and Albert
here in Fig. 212, where the mediaeval carpenter

of the woodworker.
was
introduce purely secular
Perhaps the arms of
condemned them
It
is
usual, even in the
carving,
in this
often
of
manner, and
of these misericord carvings
Museum
is
an example, shown
instructing his apprentice in the craft
Representations or pictures of this kind, in wood, must have had

159
Fig. 202.
OAK CORONATION CHAIR,

Westminster AbbeyFourteenth century.
r6o
V*
Fig. 204.
Fig. 205.
Front view.
Back view.
Fig. 206.
Fig. 203.
Fig. 207.
Left-hand pinnacle.
General view.
Right-hand pinnacle.
AN OAK CHAIR
IN ST.
MARY'S HALL, COVENTRY.
Mid-fifteenth century.
II.
i6i
Fig. 209.
Fig. 208.
End
view.
End
Left.
view.
Fig. 210.
Detail of top
AN OAK CHAIR
IN ST.
rail.
MARY'S HALL, COVENTRY.

162
Right.
The Development of
and sixteenth
a very wide appeal in the fifteenth
the present day,
when
there are so
many
Oak Chair
the English
comprehend at
centuries, difficult to
other diversions.
In the ^Middle Ages, few
outside of the church could read or write, and books of any kind were correspondingly
small in number.
Illustration
and drawings
scarce,
still
illuminated manuscripts,
saints
on paper or vellum was more meagre
The only
rarer.
and
pictorial representations
they were not for the multitude
edifices
were the mediaeval recreation
were not invaded, the nave was the
all
many
painted
decoration, but
also
effigies of
in
churches
because clerical
property of the parish, and was used, when
services were not being held, as the parish hall.

for the semi-clerical character of
in missals or
Providing the sanctuary of the chancel
halls.
common
were
They were
on chancel and other screens, and these secular carvings.
not only because the Church aggrandised
Pictures were
still.
Perhaps
this accounts, in
of the Guild Halls of the
same
some measure,
period, the rival
attractions to the churches of the Middle Ages.
The
credible.
have at
original
abundance
of these
Apart from their perishable character,

least four distinct periods of
VI, Elizabeth and Cromwell.
must have been almost
in-
in the natural course of things,
we
pictorial carvings
purposed destruction
under Henry VIII, Edward
Yet the English parish churches
of the present
Fig. 211.
HYPOTHETICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CHAIR,

From
a drawing by Herbert Cescinsky.
163
FIGS. 204
TO
210.
day can
Fig. 212.
OAK MISERICORD.
îctoria
Fifteenth sentury.
furnish innumerable examples of wood-carving

idea, yet a
in the
meagre one,
Golden x^ge
is
undoubted.
fifth
of the artisan.
who were
powers.
From
Crusade (1203-5) were responsible for much of
close of the fourteenth century
and influence that they
work
this
they had acquired such power
rivalled the monastic establishments in the artistic education
men
these Guilds were selected the King's master-craftsmen,
well paid, highly considered,
They were probably members,
influence of which
work which must have existed
That the Guilds, which began to assume
of the fifteenth century.
At the
and colour-decoration, which give some
of the vast richness in similar
a prominence after the
and Albert Museum.
was paramount
and often invested with delegated autocratic

to a
man,
of the powerful Cluniac order, the
Europe from the eleventh
in artistic
to the fourteenth
century.
Chairs of the last years of the fifteenth century are exceedingly rare pieces, as they
did not replace stools, and become general articles of household furniture, until more
than a century
Hall, Coventry.
Fig. 213
later.
is
an example from the Mayor's Parlour
Apart from the addition
screen, as this chair
is
of the high extra
used at the end of a
fine draw-table,
place), the bracing of the seat to the front legs,
to the back, the chair

its age.
It
is
in original condition,
with
and the absence
Mary's
(to serve as a fireits
back to the
fire-
of the original finials
and wonderfully preserved considering
has a bright varnish finish and in general tone

164
back
in St.
is
a fine golden-brown.
Some
The Development of
additional measurements to those given under the illustration
top of the original back measures 2

lated cresting
top
i ft.
From
rail of 3^^ ins.
(the tenon
original
is
width on the
The
and from the seat
back are
ft.
3J
The
to the machico-
ins. in height,
with a
is i ft.
as
3^
ins.,
so the chair has lost
little,
any, of
if
its
it
legs are /[\ ins.
From
front.
the seat
under side of the overhang of

10
arm-caps taper from
and the
ins.,
2 ins. at the front
if ins. at their junction with the
to
The
back.
seat
in thickness.
back
original,
is
ins.
ins.
of the
The
seat -rail
entire chair
is
its
The
is
and sawn
oak draw-table
fine
from the same room
and
period,
selected quartered
English oak.
legs.
well-constructed, in
the skilful manner of
made from
is
are
side-rails
tenoned right through the back
The
ins.
above the top edge
The front
rail.
by \\
and \\
The bottom edge
rail is 3 ins.
of the side
be of service.
the floor to the top of the mortise at the side of the front leg
especially
arms, measures
the
in the
may
been provided with a squab-
cushion originally.
to the
The panels
carried through)
seat-height,
may have
in
ins.
gf
i| ins. across,
ft.
Oak Chair
the Etwlish
is
illustrated in
Fig. 146 of the preceding chapter.

Fig.
214
is
more
than
half
century later in date, about 1540-50,

the real type of a Tudor chair.
and
is
The
seat
is
boxed
in,
with a cupboard
below open at the back.
The arms
similar form to the chair
from Coventry,
are of
Fig. 213.
but the linen-fold panels are of late
OAK CHAIR.
pattern, and the well-defined Renais;
ft.
6 ins. wide across front of seat
sance ornament above shows that the
by
3 ft.
3!
ins. total height.
Late fifteenth century, 1490-1500.
Gothic traditions had departed at the
St.
i6s
Mary's Hall, Coventry.
in
K 3
< ^
O .3
<
O
ii
-I
;-*
<
a
ci
.3
>,
DC
* <u
M af
u
J
o
o
^
>
3
C
-u
4->
bn
b.
< -o
o ^
n
tn
i66
The Development of
the
Oak Chair
English
Fig. 216.
OAK
7
ft.
II ins. long \>y
ft.
81 ins. high
STOOL.
by
io|- ins.
deep over top, 12J
ins. at base.
Mid-fifteenth century.
when
date
this chair
Fig. 215
The purpose
door on the front.
The back
surmised.
was made.
is
later,
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
dated 1574, and the boxed seat has the
of these cupboards
under the seat can be readily
is tall,
and the chair has an important appearance, which
was evidently
in
spite of
it
is
intentional,
the fact that
without
practically
There
carving.
in
that,
is
no doubt
the designing
of
many of these Tudor chairs,

the
models
earlier
freely copied
were
and adapted.
They were important pieces,

and were often signed and
dated,
this
in
the
manner
example, the
of
initials
" J.E.S." and the date

1574
being carved on the cresting

rail of
the back, an honour
shared only with the chest
Fig. 217.
and the standing cupboard.
The
skirting to the base
is
ft.
10 ins. long
by
OAK
STOOL.
i ft.
lo ins. high
by
i ft.
in.
deep.
Earlj- sixteenth century.
a later addition.
Victoria and Albert
167
Museum.
Fig. 218.
OAK UPHOLSTERED CHAIR.

i68
Lord Amherst.
The Development of
the English
Oak Chair
''^w
o
05
E H
b
O
<
m
ac
<
fai
<
i6g

The
chair being a rare article of
furniture during the sixteenth century
and almost unknown
in the fifteenth,
the usual seat was either the long or
short stool.
ation,
when
Even
Restor-
after the
chairs
were
made
in
considerable numbers, the stool main-
tained
its
popularity, owing, possibly,
to its greater portability.
are
heavy
intrinsic
which
of
is,
pieces, as,
Oak
chairs
apart from the
weight of the wood
itself,
approximately, double that
walnut, chairs until the Restoration
were heavily made and framed.
It is
partly due to this fact, no doubt, that

so
many have
persisted to our
good preservation.
Fig. 221.
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE CHAIR,

rioor to top of straight capping
Floor to top of seat,
Seat to top
of arm,
i ft.
7I
rail,
FIG. 219.
ft.
in.
ins.
ft.
Seat cushion moulding, 3i
ins.
Prieze panel of back (including mouldings), 5J ins.
Back, outside uprights,
Back
ft.
panel, outside pilasters,
Extreme over front
of seat, 2
Outside squares of front
Depth over
front
loj
i
ins.
ft.
ft.
4I
legs, 2 ft.
and back
legs,
5J
wide.
ins.
ins.
t.\
ft.
ins.
5J
wide.
wide.
Fig. 222.
wide.
OAK
ins.
Pitch from seat line to top of capping, 4^
STOOL.
Date about i6oo.
ins.
170
day
in
The Development of
The
Oak Chair
the English
early stools, from the mid-fifteenth to the early sixteenth century, are usually
of the one type, with solid ends, held together with deep framing-pieces halved into the
and with tops pegged
trestles,
Hall
to the framing
and supports.
Fig. 216
a long stool of this kind, dating from about 1450-60.
is
The
from
Bamingham
front " apron " is
cut out in the form of eight ogival arches, the two in the centre, only, being cusped,
and
this
original,
is
no signs being
visible of cuspings
on the other archings.
This
form, which was discovered

the
in
Hall,
very complete
is
for
The present
period.
its
the
of
stables
building only dates from
about
but
1612,
it
was
erected on the site of a
much
earlier house, to the
furnishings of which this
long
probably
stool
longed,
or
formed
may have
it
be-
part of the
possessions of Sir William
who
Paston,
acquired the
manor house
old
the
of
Winter family, on the
site
which he erected
his
of
new
hall.
The date assigned
to
by the Museum
this piece,
Authorities, that of the late
fourteenth or early fifteenth

century,
is
somewhat early,
as the form of the trestle
ends
is
pattern
arches,
later
of
and
than
the
it is
the
cusped
the latest
feature which establishes a

period.
Fig. 223.
The cusping
also,
OAK UPHOLSTERED CHAIR.

Height,
2 ft.
ii|
ir=.
width,
c.
I ft.
1600.
10 ins.
depth,
i ft.
9J
ins.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Early English Furniture and JJ'ôodwork

is
more mannered than one would expect,
It
is
safer, therefore, to
rather than at
its
at least in the late fourteenth century.
ascribe a date towards the middle of the fifteenth century
beginning.
The back
of
rail
this form,
which indications remain, was probably a plain board,

of the trestle-ends suggest that the piece
The early sixteenth-century type

for meals,
methods
is
shown
in Fig. 217.
of its time.
The turned
close of the sixteenth century.

It
times.
This
is
some
of
full
It is
missing, but of
the cutting of the back
was the usual seat
expression of the
leg does not
is
to stand against a wall.
of single stool, such as
at table
manner and constructive
appear on stools or chairs until the very
somewhat
must not be assumed that the

Actually, in
was made
as
which
earlier in the case of tables.
art of the
wood-turner was not known in Tudor
the inventories of the mid-sixteenth century, certain
Cv
Fig. 224.
Fig. 225.
OAK
CHAIRS.
Midland Type.
Date about 1620.
\'ictoria
172
and Albert Museum.
The Development of
"turneyed" chairs
are mentioned.
These
Oak Chair
the English
will
be again referred to at a later stage in this

chapter,
of
with the reasons
why no examples
the original early period appear to have
survived.
While
upholstered
became usual
end
in
chairs
and
settees
wealthy houses towards the
of the reign of
James
I,
the well-known
examples from Knole Park are representative

of this period,
the fashion for upholstery
first
Fig. 226.
OAK CHAIR.
Date about 1630.
St.
appears
to
have
Michael's Church, St. Albans.
arisen,
in
the years from 1590 to 1600.

of
England,
in
The device
padding with horse-hair or tow, and
covering
with
fabrics,
velvet, originated
from
such
as
silk
Italy, rather
or
than
from France. These upholstered chairs and

settees,
in
Fig. 227.
however, are too rare at any period
England, up to the close of the seven-
teenth century, to enable any progression of
OAK CHAIR.
Date about 1640.
St. Michael's Church, St. Albans.
types to be illustrated.
Fig. 218
is
only
given to show an upholstered chair of the

173
Early English Furniture and TVoodwork.

X-form, such as was made in England at a date
from 1590
to
1645-50, in very rare instances
and
in
houses where a high standard
only,
of comfort
mmBA
and luxury was attempted.
Chairs
accession of
turned
with
James
of high quality.
I,
prior
legs,
are very rare,
The
fine chair
the
to
and usually
from Barking
Church, Suffolk, here illustrated in Figs. 219 to

221,
is
and
of
one of this late sixteenth-century kind
East Anglian origin.
The use
of the
Fig. 229.
OAK CHAIR.
Dated 1621.
and chests
pilastered arch in early chair backs
nearly
always
suggests
Norfolk
Suffolk >
or
Occasionally, especially in Kent, this arcaded
form was adopted, but the arches lack the

finish
and proportion
of those in
work, and are nearly always

In this chair
Fig. 228.
seat-rail,
from
of inverted
East Angliaa
flatter.
Barking Church, the

is
carved
Elizabethan
strap-
thumb-section,
OAK CHAIR.
Date about 1630-40.
with
work.
174
the
The
late
form
of
front legs are turned, with flutes,
The Development of
Oak Chair
the English
The arms
of light wood, inlaid in the shafts, with the arm-balusters to correspond.
sweep downward
volutes.
The
in
graceful line,
central panel,
cut into the solid oak.
Of
and
and
finish,
on
frieze of the backs, are inlaid
later additions, were, probably, of the

flutes, in
the
same way
same form
ovolo-section, finely carved with strapping
and
The arch
scrolling.
and been replaced
The cup-like
as this vase,
as the arm-balusters.
well-carved
with holly and other woods
this inlay, the central vase has fallen out
with a piece of plain veneer, cut to the original shape.
with
supports, in
their
finials,
which are
and may have been

of the
back
is
inlaid
in flattened
The small ogee cornice breaks
forward over carved trusses, finished on the uprights of the back-framing with laterally
fluted scrolls.
The lunetted
cresting
is
a later addition, or a replacement, crude in
Fig. 230.
OAK CHAIR-TABLE.
Date about 1650.
17s

every way, compared with the rich
and finely-designed chair below. The

shaping of the under-side of the arm
remains a popular pattern for half a

century.
Figs.
fifty
be noticed again in
It will
234 and 235, two chairs some

years later in date.
The very charming
little
stool,
Fig. 222, similar both in design
and
county of origin to the chair from
Barking Church,
may
be described as
the 1600 type.
The inverted thumb-
moulded
carved with a centred
frieze,
gadroon,
is
applied over the upper
squares of the delicately-turned and
The
fluted legs.
stretcher-railing
kept low to give the
maximum
is
of
strength.
Upholstered chairs of the kind
shown
in Fig. 223, usually
known
as
farthingale chairs, were not unusual

in
great houses shortly after 1600.
In the Presence Chamber at Hardwick

is
a large set, with backs so dwarfed as
to suggest that the chair was intended

for use sideways, with the
acting as an arm.
low back
The theory that
these backs were provided as a concession to the large
the period
is
hooped
not tenable,
skirts of
as
any
back would incommode a lady dressed

in this
manner, whether high or low.
That the
stretcher-rails
Fig. 231.
were used,
THE OAK CHAIR-TABLE,
apart from their constructional pur-
Shown with top
pose, to keep the feet from the floors

176
FIG. 230.
raised.
The Development of
of
this
period,
whicla
were often
in
the English
Oak Chair
a questionable state of cleanliness,
is
more
probable, but no chair-railing could obviate the ordeal of entering or leaving a room.
Perhaps avenues in the rush-strewn
floors
were provided for
ladies, or those
who were
over-nice in their habits.
These early padded back chairs, with squab-cushioned
were nearly always
seats,
covered with rich fabrics, often an applique of gold or silver braiding on a ground of
velvet,
cut-pile
generally of Italian, but sometimes of French origin.
coverings were imported
by the
work
fact
suggested
is
that petit-point needle-
tapestry,
or
That these
the
making
of
both of which was an English art at
and the usual leisure-hour
this date,
dame and
her
so rarely used.
It
recreation of the noble
attendants,
was
suggests the
also
further possibility
that these rich fabrics were brought
back to England as tourist

foreign town,
bearing
applique
easily,
in
and
their size
and shape,
mind that a
finished
cannot
altered
panel
may
spoils of a
be
have dictated the form
and proportions
of these
In
chairs.
the case of the fine set at Hardwick,

there
is
no doubt that the coverings
were designed and made for the
chairs,
but there are also evidences that this
was not always the
case.
It is at the
other end of the century that the age

of gorgeous fabrics
the
Huguenots
had
from France with

the
commences,
fire
commencement
of
been
after
expelled
and sword.
Fig. 232.
At
HICKORY ARM-CHAIR.
Dated 1633.
the sixteenth
Height of back from
century, upholstery fabrics of any kind
must have been exceptional, even

the houses of the wealthy,
if
Height of
Width
Width
Depth
in
we except
177
seat,
floor, 3 ft.
7 J ins.
of seat at front, 22J ins.

of seat at back, 18 ins.
of seat, front to back, 16 ins.

the state or principal bedchambers, the only apartments in which some degree of
luxury was attempted at this period, as we have seen in the concluding chapter
of the first
Two
in Figs.
volume
of this work.
versions of the Midland type of arm-chair of
The backs
224 and 225.
cresting cut from the solid.

stretcher-rails.
The
James
period are illustrated
are of one panel, framed up, the top rails with low
The
and
legs are baluster-turned,
seats are thin, cut
moulded
tied with
round the squares connecting the front
legs
with the arm-balusters, with a small overhang, in Fig. 225 taken across the squares,
but in Fig. 224 only cut between them.

Lancashire and Cheshire appear to have adopted the four petal Tudor rose and
Yorkshire chairs
the interlacing guilloche as favourite design motives.
differ in
many
respects from those of Lancashire.
much
the
the
in
same manner
as with clocks
the
century,
eighteenth
later
In
Yorkshire oak chair of this early seventeenth century
generally clumsy, with
is
crude carving in low
relief.
In Figs. 226 and 227, two chairs
from
Church,
St. Michael's
the general character

is
St.
Albans,
This
unusual.
is
due, in great measure, to omissions
and additions due
cresting of the
manner
first
carved in
is
The
of a century later.
the back
rail of
has lost
The
restora-
Thus, the lunette panel in the
tion.
top
and
to decay
its
below
is
the
original
this,
and
small trusses at each end.
central panel of the back
is
coarsely
carved with a representation of a winged

angel holding a chalice, and appears to
The
balusters are in the
manner
legs
CHAIR.
stretcher-rail
Dated 164S.
w. smediey
Aston, Esq.
178
much
that
IS
is
missing.
and arm-
of the early
years of the reign of Charles
Pig_ 233,
OAK
be earlier work.
I.
The back
There
,
so
is
exceptional and not origmal
The Development of
to
the
postulate
be
that
chair,
however, that
said,
west or middle England

has
lost
its
impossible
of origin.
locality
its
is
it
it
of
It
227
stretcher-railing entirely,
and
the
of
later in style
pronounced
may
be
arms
of the
Fig.
tj'pes.
the feet are badly decayed.
what
to
may
It
not
is
as
of
Anglian
well to
almost identical
is
some-
than Fig. 226, and
East
both
It
of
is
character.
notice
here,
these
chairs
pattern.
Oak Chair
the English
that
are
The over-
Fig. 235.
OAK CHAIR.
Date about 1650-60.
hanging back
rails of
both are without
the original small trusses.
Whether chairs of this kind were made

for
Church use
is
problematical
many
are
to be found flanking altar tables in small
churches throughout England.
It
may
be
that their dignity.whichwasstillmaintained
during the
first
century, caused
half
them
of
the seventeenth
to be bequeathed, as
valuedpossessions,to theChurch. In sacred

buildings, as a rule, chairs are finer
Fig. 234.
OAK CHAIR.
Date about 1660.
and
in
better preservation than in private hands.

St.
Albans Abbey.
This
179
may be owing
to the fact that the best
Karly English Furniture and Jiôodwork

were given to the Church in the original instance, and they have been more carefully
preserved, and certainh^ less used, than would be the rule in secular houses.
Fig. 228
relief,
is
The carving
the Cheshire type of oak chair of about 1630-40.
with a peculiarly soft modelled
with the gouge, anywhere.
effect.
The back panel
original board seat, its place being taken
There
is
is
low
in
is
hardly a trace of vigorous cutting,
The
coarsely incised.
by a squab-cushion.
to the uprights of the back framing will be noticed here.
The
They
chair has lost
its
trusses, or earpieces
will be
found
in nearly
every example of these Stuart oak chairs, from 1610 to about 1660.
Fig. 229
It
has
its
is
the
work of the Welsh bordering
Shrewsbury make.
counties, probably of
original cresting, with the date 1621 carved to flank a guilloche-framed semi-
circular panel, scrolled at the
and cut with
conventional
vine
and grapes.
The
tendril with leaves
interlacing guilloche pattern
and
for the st^des
rails
framing, the bottom
The
a replacement.
bottom
of
rail of
used
is
the back
which
is
sides of the seat
framing project above the seat, which
is
thus sunk to receive a squab-cushion.
The
eagle-pinnacles, which
surmount
the side uprights of the back, are well
conceived and executed, and give a

fitting finish
to a very stately chair.
The columnar type

baluster,
as in
indicate
either
this
the
of leg
and arm-
chair,
does not
manner
locality or a defined period.
of
It
was
adopted in Lancashire, Somerset, Kent,

Hertfordshire
and East Anglia,
fre-
quently alternating with a severely
modified form of the Tudor bulb, and

persists, as a favourable design, until
pj
OAK
236
CHAIR.
cheisworth Church, Suffolk.
about 1685.
It
may
be described as
the characteristic seventeenth-century

frout leg of English oak chairs of that
The Development of
The modified form
period.
table
shown
when
base,
all
The top
230 and 231.
in Figs.
raised,
is
can be seen
is
side,
and runners.
This piece
of the early appearance of the carved back,

title of
is
is
of
visible
back
of the
rests.
Below the seat
The top has

is
a drawer
western-midland make and,
in spite
probably of mid-seventeenth-century date.
a monk's bench for chairs of this kind
ceased to exist in England
in
which forms the
cut from the solid wood, framed round with a narrow moulding.
pulling out on grooves
To
remarkable oak chair-
carved with a double-headed crested eagle resting on a scrolled
two stout runners which are pivoted on the arm
The
in the
formed of three boards, nearly two inches
The under
clamped at the ends.
in thickness,
chair
of the bulb-leg
Oak Chair
the English
is
a misnomer
monks had almost
when they were made.
illustrate the chairs of this period
regular
regards
order of progression
their
and
dates,
at
as
same
the
time to arrange them in groups showing
development
detail,
of type
impossible,
is
attempted
here.
and similarity
in
and has not been

order
Chronological
has been abandoned as being of lesser
During
importance.
seventeenth
the
century, articles of furniture began to
both in amount and variety.
increase,
Apart from the era
commenced about
little
of
building
of
15 10
and
that
with
lasted,
end
intermission, until almost the
the
eighteenth
important houses
could
be
much
as
century
from
(a
15 10
made with no
list
to
lapse
as
com-
pletion of the one
and the commence-
ment
which gave a great
of another),
impetus
to
the craft of the furniture
maker, there was
from the ranks

class
that also
houses of
1790
of
a decade between the
of
gradually
emerging
of the artisans a
demanded
the lesser t\'pe.
middle
furniture for
For such
Fig. 237.
OAK CHAIR.
1640-50

The wood
the interesting chair shown in Fig. 232 was probably made.
with the top
the back inlaid with herringbone stringing of walnut and bog oak,
rails of
surrounding the device " S.G. 1633. S.C."
The uprights
with small turned vases, similar ornaments of smaller
immediately above each of the

of the
back
is
five spindles,
arm-terminal
It is difficult to
scrolls
imagine
seat
being cut
how
disappeared.
all
and arms
same way, and
The panel
its
back
is
The panel
may
account
off.
Even
if
would not be
fashioned, as
off,
the scrolling were to break across

Fig. 233 has suffered in
affected.
and the centre
three finials on the uprights
of the
rail
and bog oak.
which
at a later date,
the ends of arms could be broken
the short-grain, the actual arm-length
missing.
being fixed to the top
size
but these have
they are, from the long-grain of the timber.
the
back originally finished
of the
inlaid with the five-diamond device (see Fig. 221), in lime
The chair has been upholstered on

for the
hickory,
is
of the cresting are
unusually choice for a chair of this class
carved with a
conventional rendering of the carnation, the
Tudor
dahlia, the
rose
and the acorn,
Some family
on the one central stem.
may
significance
attach to this choice, but,
without indication,
One
Fig.
it is
obscure.
from the Lady
of the fine chairs
Chapel of
234,
Albans Abbey
St.
which, at
shown
is
same page.
top
it
on
Both have the
Fig. 235.
heavy horizontal
in
bears a
glance,
first
resemblance to the one shown with

the
all
rail
to
the
back,
projecting over two carved brackets on the

sides of the
the
arm
is
back uprights.
same
the
The design of
in each.
There are
points of difference, however, which
be
pointed
chairs
had
have
this
out
with
advantage.
lost
their
original
may
Both
cresting
been present, the casual resemblance
between the two would not have been so

marked.
Fig. 238.
1660.
first
has the type of key-
cornered framing of the back, which was
OAK CHAIR.
c.
The
St.
Albans Abbey.
borrowed from the

182
Low
Countries
about
The Development of
pattern
the
English
was rarely used other than by East Anghan
1650-60, and
plete
the
of
back,
this
one
must imagine a
turned in the form of columns, well cut
and back
of the seat
below
panel
of upright
The
front legs are
The carving motif
necks and bases.
The cushion-moulding
not the original form, but the carved members above and
is
belong to the chair.
it
There
gouge
To com-
field.
purely geometrical in inspiration.
rails is
back
of the top rail of the
in at the
designers.
central
rectangular form framed with a chamfered moulding or
Oak Chair
is
one detail which
cuts, or " fingering,"
many
which
is
of the chairs of this date exhibit in
a relic of the Gothic period.
It will
common the
be noticed in
the hickory chair. Fig. 232, in the
arches and pilasters of Fig. 233, in

the cutting of the conventional leaf
on the back uprights
arm
junction of the
above the
in
the chair
which we are considering, and,

the next example, in the lower
and the framing

study of
one,
rail
back.
and
Fig. 235,
chair,
this
the previous
also
show
will
former methods of con-
that the
without
struction,
for
of the
in
the
necessity
had departed.
adhesives,
The
two sections
missinghave been
mouldings of the back

of
which are
secured with nails and glue.

is
This
a finely-designed and well-made
chair
every
in
although
top
the
on
tenoned
other respect,
the
rail
been
has
uprights
as
of
the
back, instead of between them, the
wood
is
too stout and solid for this
method
to
weakness
in
a good deal
present,
be
a source of
much
the chair.
There
of
influence
classical
is
Fig. 239.
OAK CHAIR.
Dated 16S2
and with its original cresting
^'ictoîa
1S3
and Albert Museum.
in the form of a cornice of ogee and

marked.
may
Attention
fillet,
probably
be directed to the top
rail
this
may have
with dentil course, and the
vertically fluted frieze, with the fillets separated with the parting tool
These suggest a Middlesex or Hertfordshire origin
been even more
for the chair.
and the punch.
Its
date
is
about
the middle of the seventeenth century.
The chair
in
Chelsworth Church,
cushion-moulded top
There
is
rail to
the same shape of
in Suffolk, here
shown
in Fig. 236,
the back, but with a cresting which
arm
as in
many
of the preceding
is
has
its original
certainly of later date.
examples, cut out, probably.
Fig. 240.
Fig. 241.
CHAIR OF ASH, ELM AND FRUIT-WOOD.
CHAIR OF APPLE AND YEW.

Victoria and Albert
184
Museum.
The Development of
so that the sitter could grasp
chair close to a table.
The
and, half rising to a standing posture, draw the
it easily,
leg
Oak Chair
the English
and baluster turning
of the
is
same pattern
as in
Fig. 234.
Fig. 237, of
somewhat
earlier date
Hessop Hall, Derbyshire, the former seat
and
of Lancashire origin, originallj'
of the Earl of
hardly have been created at the date when
it
came from
Newburgh, whose earldom could
was made.
comparison of
this chair
with some of the examples already illustrated will show the similarity in type of this
fiat-modelled character of carving.
indicates the period of the
Another of the chairs
Of similar character
of the
arm supports here
Commonwealth.
in the
Lady Chapel
to Fig. 235, the
mouldings, and with very

rail
The bobbin-turning
little
back
of St.
is
Albans Abbey
closely framed,
recessing of the panel.
It
is
shown
in Fig. 238.
without surrounding
has the overhanging top
with brackets to the back uprights in the manner of
its
time.
Fig. 243.
Fig. 242.
FRUIT-WOOD BOBBIN-TURNED CHAIRS.

II.-
185
\V.
Smedley Aston. Esq.

An
239.
interesting chair from
This
is
a recent
Thorpe Arch Hall, Yorks, dated 1682,
Museum
The date
acquisition.
is,
is
shown
in Fig.
of course, the period of the
Restoration walnut chairs, and oak overlaps with walnut towards the end of the reign
of Charles
IL Although carved
back possesses the walnut
in oak, the cresting rail of the
and pierced stretchers which are
details of this time, as exemplified in the richly carved
to be found tenoned
between the middle squares
tion walnut chairs.
Examples
of these will
of the twist-turned legs of the Restora-
This model
be illustrated in a later chapter.
represents the last phase of the English oak chair.
We
have now to retrogress and take up another channel
history of our subject.

chairs of the period of
of
development
in the
Mention has already been made of the so-called "tourneyed"
Henry VHI, which were
and objects
referred to as novelties
great
value
time.
None
inventories
in
of
the
of
of these chairs of original
date appear to have survived, and an
examination of the two later copies
shown
show
in
Figs.
and 241,
240
Here
their fragile character.
we have
running
will
the art of the wood-turner

especially in Fig. 241.
riot,
This chair consists of a multitude of

bobbin-forms,
each
into another.
The woods
are apple-
and yew, both chosen
tree
toughness.
and
socketed
piece
In
Fig.
either apple or
240
for their
ash,
almond
elm
tree are
used.
This type of turned chair appears

at
several periods,
may
which
obviously,
and
for reasons
be conjectured.
a
conceit
of
It
is,
the wood-
turner, produced without the aid of
OAK CHAIR.
Height, 3
ft.
3 ins.
width, 2
ft,
Construction-
the joiner or his tools.
Fig. 244.
ally,
depth,
i ft.
g ins.
these
chairs
and, in design,
are
absurdities,
they leave a good
Date about 1645-50.

H.
Clifford Smith,
Esq.
186
deal to
be desired.
Thus the seat
The Development of
of Fig. 241
back
is
is
Oak Chair
the English
triangular on plan, so that the chair could be placed in a corner, but the
attempt
parallel to the line of the front seat, so that the
is
abortive.
All
the stresses, in both chairs, bear directly on the joints, which have to depend, for
of the
is
and the
genesis
chair of the stick-back type can be traced in this model.
There
on glue or other adhesive.
stability,
modern Windsor
no method here, however,
strain
is
somewhat more
logical,
of bracing the front legs firmly to the back.
on the ends of the front
rails of
Fig. 240
legs,
on the part
of the sitter,
would
The Puritan disdained ornament, and

The
history.
woodwork
fine
as an iconoclast he
had few equals
Henry VIII and Edward VI
not excepted.
from
London
wave
this
chairs or other furniture, of

is
of
Carving on
Puritanism extended.
origin,
how
doubtful
It is
home-
during the
rare
years from 1645 to 1660, yet the
same cannot be
said of Yorkshire,
Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumber-
land or Durham.
of
That
this neglect
ornament was only a pose, there
can be
little
doubt, viewed
after
the lapse of two centuries and a

half,
when events and
can be appreciated
spective.
all
proper per-
onwards
him,
silver is
from the reign
inclined to pewter.
prevent
tendencies
Commonwealth
the rarest of
Elizabeth
in
the
of
Puritan
That did not
nevertheless,
from
Fig. 245.
seizing,
and melting down
as
period.
in English
of the fifteenth century, especially that in churches,
than at any other period, the reigns
county
force the cross-
Commonwealth
more at Roundhead hands
suffered
far
forward
the arms out of their sockets.
This revival of turning coincides with the beginning of the
of
Any
much
OAK
of the earlier silver as he could lav
CHAIR.
Dated 1640.
.87

his
hands upon.
but one which
It is
is
a curious reflection,
substantiated
by
historical
evidence, that an age of rehgious zeal always
discounts artistic production, whereas an era

of vice
and extravagance encourages
Commonwealth
it.
The
England, and the middle
in
eighteenth century in France can be selected,

at haphazard,
of the
two
from
many
historical
examples
influences.
The bobbin-turned
chairs,
such as Figs.
Fig. 247.
OAK CHAIR.
3
ft.
/\\ ins.
high by
I
ft.
ft.
J.
and 243
242
wealth type.
evidently,
are,
The
the
7I ins. across seat,
4 ins. deep.
Dupuis Cobtold, Esq.
essentially, of
lavish use of turning was,
Laodicean attitude of the
Puritan towards ornament.

possess
ft.
5 ins.
CHAIR.
;
width,
characteristic of
i
ft.
seats pre-
Commonwealth
It is
chairs that,
10 ins.
if
Date about 1650.

H.
The sunk
suppose the use of a squab-cushion.
Fig. 246.
busy
but they are well constructed, top
heavily stretchered.
Height, 3
as a
tenoned between uprights and the legs
rails
OAK
These chairs
what may be described
severity,
Common-
made
same
188
in pairs, the
height.
It
two are rarely
was not because,
if
of the
intended
The Development of
for
male and female
lady would
use, the
demand
the English
Oak Chair
a chair of lesser seat height, but the
fact that this slight indication of relative importance epitomised the Puritan attitude
towards their womenfolk.
If
man was
created
first,
the
Roundhead did not intend
the fact to be forgotten.
Of the two chairs

other,
is
and
this
is
illustrated here, one
intentional.
is
The two ma^' be an
the chair of the lady, Fig. 243 that of the
wealth traditions, illustrated
Fig. 248.
considerably less in seat height than the
man
original pair, in
;
which
case. Fig.
here, as a revolt against
Common-
last.
OAK ARM-CHAIRS.
Date about 1660.
Fig. 249.
Date about 1665.

Victoria and Albert
i8g
242
Museum.
o
o
Hi
>>
)H
60
O
1M
CC
<
u
bi
4J
3 ^
t/1
1-
S
p5
Hi
l-H
<
rt
O
lO
NT*
it
Ouj
'-/l
XI
XI
<
o
y-
t;
<
o H C
190
The Development of
If
the term
is
Crom-
meant, not the covering of a seat or back with a leather or
fabric,
but the padding of the seat
is
also
it
was
still
more so during the regime
with horse-hair, tow or similar material.
itself
Cromwellian chair, of which Fig. 244
made by
is
for female use
any attempt
of note that the arm-chair of the seventeenth century

;
The simple
a good example, usually hasja seat and back
straining a thick hide over the framings, without
worthy
Oak Chair
of
upholstery was rare before 1645,
By
well.
the English
the wearing of a sword, which was not usually
at padding.
was usually made
left in
the ante-room,
Thus
according to the polite custom of the next century, precluding their use^by men.
Fig. 245
is
a man's chair, the back low, to rest the
sideways position was adopted.

over the original leather.
arm upon when
It
the more comfortable
This chair has a covermg of coarse woolwork applied
It serves to illustrate the use of spiral-turning prior to the
Restoration, and in an oak chair.
Two more
of these
oak Commonwealth
cowhide, are shown in Figs. 246 and 247.
with seats and backs of thick
chairs,
They show
the usual type of chair of their
period.
The two
child's chairs, Figs.
248 and 249, just bridge the Restoration period.
The
tife'M'
.
vy ^
.jysi j?j*;.i^
'"
-.:
Fig. 253.
OAK SETTLE TABLE.

Date about 1630.
191
Victoria and Albert
Museum.

bobbin-turning
still
persists
Commonwealth manner.
guilloche.
If
in
the
first,
with stretcher-rail on the ground in the
In the second an extensive use
is
the evidence of pulpits can be relied upon, this
made
is
of the interlacing
a Lancashire chair.
Fig. 254.
OAK CHAIR
^TABLE.
Date about 1660-5.

192
^'ictoria
and Albert JIuseura.
The Development of
Oak Chair
the English
In Figs. 250, 251 and 252, three chairs are illustrated,
the
all of
first
years of the
may
serve to explain the Sussex, the Wilts and Somersetshire, and
the Hertfordshire types.
In the latter must be included Berkshire, Buckinghamshire
Restoration, which
and part
of
its
of Bedfordshire.
own
at this date.
All three of the chairs,
became more general

reign of
shire,
Oxfordshire does not appear to have possessed a chair-type
James
II.
shown
after 1660,
and
but rarely with side-overhang.

itself.
led the
way
and narrow
in the back,
but this form
for the tall slender chairs of the short
The Sussex type, which includes western Kent and part
has a strongly-framed back,
of the rail
here, are high
The upright
made
to simulate panelling.
It is crested
styles of the
The top
of
rail is
Hampbroad,
with a shaping cut from the solid wood
back are narrow, and the arm
is
usually of
greater breadth, sometimes cut over the panel moulding, but more often overhanging
outside,
and rounded
off to
make
a neat junction with the back.
cut in between the square of the legs, projecting very slightly or not at
The seat-board
all.
The resetted
Fig. 255.
OAK
SETTLE.
Date about 1670-5.

II.
2 c
193
is
Messrs. Robersons.
Karly Knglish Furniture and JVoodwork

interlacing guilloche
is
a favourite detail in the coast towns of Sussex and Kent, but
The turned baluster
not typical.
Restoration date, and
is
than in those from other
The western
very
flat relief.
more frequently found
chair. Fig. 251, is distinguished
close
cresting
is
from the
in
is
Sussex and
indicative of a post-
Home County
pieces
localities.
by over-elaboration
examination of the lower panel,
show that nearly every inch
The
in vase-form, as in this chair,
is
solid
of available space
wood
is
of the top rail
in the
of
back of
covered with this
and the uprights
ornament, in
this chair, will

flat
decoration.
of the framing,
the junctions at the bases of the end scrolls being contrived with some ingenuity.
In the Hertfordshire chair of this date, of which Fig. 252

of the
is
back
is
very massive, with broad top
rail,
is
an example, the framing
and separate cresting pegged
on.
a peculiar chip character in the carving which can be seen in the illustration.
There
The
Fig. 256.
OAK
SETTLE.
Dated 1704.
194
The Development of
arcading of the back panel
into the solid
wood with
period.
Other
relief
is
types
described and illustrated at a later stage.
been shown
The general quality
typical of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire
pronounced
Oak Chair
but in intaglio, the entire design being cut
the gouge and parting tool.
with a certain vigour which

this
not in
is
the English
from
Some
Yorkshire
and
of the earlier
is
and Berkshire
Lancashire
will
at
be
examples have already
in the previous pages.
Various forms of the high-back settle appear in Commonwealth times.

of space
crude, yet
would no doubt dictate a combination
portion of the seat
is
of settle, table
and
hinged to give access to the chest below.
Economy,
chest, as in Fig. 253.
The
flat incising of
the arcading has been scratched from centres, the tool used being probably a pair of
Fig. 257.
YEW AND FRUIT-WOOD

Dated 1640.
195
CHAIR.

dividers, one point having a cutting edge.
North Riding
Fig. 254
The general
style of this piece suggests the
of Yorkshire.
shows the Commonwealth simplicity carried into the early Restoration
years, the vase-shaped balusters suggesting this date.
boards, fixed to the heavy runners.
and was cut to
its
It
The top
is
was probably rectangular
constructed of six
in form, originally,
present circular shape at a considerably later date.
the uniting of the front and back legs with turned
rails,
and the
The
detail of
tieing with a turned
stretcher from their centres, precludes this chair-table from being referred to a date
prior to 1660, in spite of its Cromwellian simplicity.
The Lancashire
settle is
shown
" fielding," or chamfering of the back panels, the
Fig. 258.
The distinguishing
in Fig. 255.
fiat
Fig. 259.
OAK
features are the
modelled character of the carving,
Fig. 260.
CHAIRS.
Date about 1660.
196
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
The Development of
the central
leg,
halved into
the arms cut from thin oak,
The
little
The running
Fig. 256
is
is
carving
the piece
(?
J)
itself,
late seventeenth-century models.
"
this panel
ft.
3 ins.
and there are no indications, either
width,
ft. 7
ins.
depth,
i ft.
no central
holly, herring-
ingeniously designed.
It is
is
interesting as
dated 1704, and
has been inserted at a later date.
and the date, has every appearance
OAK
is
original.
of being of the
The
same age
as
at the front or the back, of the panel
Fig. 261.
Height, 3
is
the Essex type of settle-chest with hinged seat, and
no reason to suppose that
"I
is
There
ebony and
guilloche pattern of the top rail of the back
showing the persistence of the

there
incli in thickness.
inlaid stringing of
central panel, with its initials " A.W.,"
Oak Chair
below and into the seat apron above, and
more than one
The framing has a small
leg at the back.
boned.
its stretcher-rail
the English
Fig. 262.
CHAIRS.
Height, 3
4 ins.
Date about i56o.

197
ft. i in.
width,
i ft.
7 ins.
H.
depth,
Clifford
i ft.
4 ins.
Smith, Esq.

being added, nor of the surface being dubbed
fiat
and re-carved.
Tlie
panel
is
fixed
in
grooves in the framing, with the mouldings

applied, but these only
and do not
chest
fix it in
lie flat
on the panel,
any way.
This settle-
must be regarded
sistence
of
type,
as showing the per-
such as one finds in the
instance of the thirty-hour, pull-up, long-case

clocks which were made, in country districts,
Fig. 263.
OAK
CHAIR.
Yorkshire Type.
Height, 3
ft.
ij ins.
depth,
width,
I ft.
ft.
7 ins.
4 ins.
Date about 1G60.

H.
upwards
of
a century after the fashion of the
pull-up clock had been superseded,
winding from holes
The
by the key
in the dial-face.
circular-seated chair. Fig. 257, has every
appearance of being of English make, but

obviously, copied from the model of the
is,
Dutch
" Burgomaster's " chair, examples of which are
not unusual in Holland.

Fig. 264.
OAK CHAIR.
YorksUii-e
Type
(rare).
which
in
is
bears the date, 1640,
very early for a piece of
England.
198
It
There
is
this
kind
made
no doubt that, with the
The Development of
considerable
place
in
the English
Oak Chair
Dutch settlement which took

and
Norfolk
Suffolk
during
the
latter half of the seventeenth centurN', not
only were pieces from Holland imported, but

also
many were
timber,
It is
constructed, from English
by workmen from the Low
Countries.
exceptional to find caning in seats and
back-panels as early as the reign of Charles
I.
These circular chairs are not unknown
in
England, but the greater number
so
are
Fig. 265.
OAK
CHAIR.
Date about 1660.

obviously of foreign handiwork, that they
can be summarily dismissed as such.
In
some examples, however, woods, such
as
yew, pear, apple and almond are used, which

indicate, almost
were
Fig. 266.
made
Capt.
in
this
They
country.
are
generally described as Welsh, but there
is
evidence for such locality of origin.
It
OAK CHAIR.
Date about 1660-70.
beyond question, that they
safer
to
assume
that
they
are
of
no
is
East
Anglian make, copied from the Dutch models

199

which, we know, were imported into Ipswich and Norwich.
spuriously dated, or no,
origin,
is
open
Judging from
to question.
Whether
its style,
example
and
its
is
English
The actual
and 1690 would be more probable.
a date between 1670
this
figures
are in the numeral characters of this period.
The Yorkshire
the
first of
chair of the later seventeenth centurj^
when
the open-back type,
cross-railing
either turned pendants, as in Figs. 258
and 260,
Yorkshire patterns.
identical pattern to Fig. 260, but
They show
between the back uprights
It is also
is
adopted
have
The
of
bog oak or stained fruit-wood, or
Eight examples are shown here which
balusters of yew, cherry or pear, as in Fig. 259.
the back.
unmistakable.
These chairs are generally constructed from oak, with
instead of the earlier framing.
illustrate the usual
is
pair of chairs, Figs. 261
lost the
Fig. 267.
between the two chairs
Fig.
of a pair
268.
CHAIRS.
Lancashire Type.
Height, 3
ft.
4 ins.
depth,
width,
ft.
3 ins.
ft. 7 ins.
About 1670.
of
turned pendants under the cross-rails of
also the slight difference in size
OAK
and 262, are
Capt.
<
X
u
4-)
ro
4-1
bo
<
o
f3
<
u
12
<
o
S
s
CO
a
05
CD
bi
O Q
X
X!
&,
fa
to
DC
<
SB
u
u
ce
a
to
<
o
<
<
O
O
N
fa
which has already been referred
The
having
legs
to in this chapter.
seats are grooved into their rails,
hold a thin squab-cushion.

split balusters
above the
seat.
Oak Chair
the English
The Development of
Fig. 263
and sunk
to
unusual
in
is
glued to the faces of the back
The projection
of the top squares
of the front legs, finished in turned buttons,
is
a detail
general in walnut Restoration chairs, but unusual in
those of Yorkshire origin in oak.

rarest type
chair
of
Qi
this
Fig. 264
district,
is
in
much
the
character
Fig. 275.
OAK
CHAIR.
South- Western Type.
Height of chair, 3
ft.
height to seat, 16 ins.
Date about 1665.

H.
Clifford Smitli, Esq.
strongly resembling the early sixteenth-
century examples of Northern France,
from whence
inspired.
this
This chair
appearance.
is
Fig.
which
in walnut,
emphasises
further
still
model was probably
265
its
of
is
foreign
the usual
kind, another version of Fig. 260, excepFig. 276.
WALNUT
2
ft.
tional only in its bobbin-turning.
CHILD'S CHAIR.
The Lancashire small
10 ins. high, floor to top of back.
I ft.
yi
I ft.
5 ins.
wide across front of

depth of seat.
ins.
same period
seat.
back
Date about 1665-70.
is
is
chair of the
also unmistakable.
framed,
with
cresting
the top rail between the uprights,
Victoria and .\lbert'lluseum.
203
The
to
and
Fig. 277.
Fig. 278.
CHERRY WOOD STOOL.

c.
OAKSTOOL.
Height, 15
1630.
ins.
width, 15 ins.
depth, gj ins.
c.
Fig. 279.
OAK
Height, 21
STOOL.
ins.
1640.
width, 18
depth,
ins.
ins.
1 1
1630.
c.
3^5^^
Fig. 280.
ELM
Height, 20
width, 18J
depth, i3 ins.
ins.
c.
Fig. 281.
OAK STOOL
STOOL.
;
ins.
(EAST ANGLIAN),
c.
1660.
Fig.1282.
OAK
Height, 21
STOOL.
ins.
width, 18
ins.
depth, 10 ins.
1680.
c.
1630.
H.
204
Clifford Smith,
Esq.
The Development of
the back frame
The character
is filled
with a solid panel, either chamfered and
of this Lancashire carving can be illustrated
can be described.
Nine examples
With the exception
274.
English
the
left plain,
much more
period.
this
Fig.
of Figs. 267,
Restoration date.
of
wood
275
The
as possible,
is
268 and 273,
in the
may
than
it
266 to
have the wide opening between
all
Lancashire chair
front legs are turned in a sturdy manner, with as little waste
and the under-framing
still
is
The back
square-sectioned.
on the seat
level.
merely a succession of single gouge-cuts, in character almost

is
easily
the south-western county example of the same early
solidly panelled, with the lower rail finishing
Fig. 276
or carved.
of these Lancashire chairs are given in Figs.
the seat and the lower rail of the back, which characterises the
of
Oak Chair
The carving
is
is
simple,
like chip-carving.
a child's chair possessing both the oak and the walnut characteristics,
bobbin-turning below the seat and the slide-rest-twisting above
be said to bridge the oak and the walnut periods,
if
This example
it.
the term can be used of two
manners, which, at the end of the one and the beginning of the other, over-lapped by a
period of nearly twenty years, and with
it,
we return again
to the point arrived at in
Fig. 239.
Of the seventeenth-century
stools there
is
little
to be said.
They were made
considerable numbers, and were, in fact, the seats of their period, having the
in
same
P^^
OAK
c.
STOOL.
1630.
Fig. 285.
Fig. 284.
Fig. 283.
OAK BOX
Height, 14
ins.
width, 17
depth, 13
c.
OAK
STOOL.
ins.
1640.
205
c.
ins.
H.
STOOL.
1630.
Fig. 286.
Fig. 287.
PINE STOOL TABLE.

Height, 21
ins.
width, 23
c.
ins.
depth, 18
OAK
ins,
c.
1660-70.
H. CUfford Smith, Esq.
Fig. 288.
OAK
c.
STOOL.
1620.
Fig. 289.
STOOLS.
1630.
c.
1630,
Bond's Hospital, Coventry.
206
The Development of
Fig. 290.
OAK
Fig. 291.
OAK
STOOL.
Western Type.
c.
Fig. 292.
OAK
STOOL.
Western Type.
1660-70.
c.
One
importance which chairs possessed in the next century.
former the stool was general and the chair exceptional, whereas in the
is
the case.
The eighteenth-century
stool
always
is
in the
Clii=ford
Smith, Esq.
of the great distinctions
and the eighteenth centuries
of the seventeenth
STOOL.
1640-50.
H.
1630.
c.
between the furniture
Oak Chair
the English
that in the
is
latter, the reverse
nature of a supernumerary
piece of furniture.
These oak stools have been variously described

as "joint-stools,"
They were,
stools."
and
in
and even, lugubriously,
many
so as to
fit
as "coffin-
really, the guest-seats at table,
cases they were exactly proportioned
between the framing and the stretcher-
and were evidently intended
rail of tables,
stacked away
when not
Low
in use.
use of children, were also
made
in
to be so
stools, for the
numbers, some-
times fitted with a box below the seat as in Fig.
These low stools sometimes had the centre
284.
of the top cut out with a hand-hole, so that
Fig. 293.
OAK
could
STOOL.
Midland Type.
c.
be
readily
lifted
and
carried
from
they
place
to place.
1640.
W. Smedley
Aston, Esq.
The
stools
207
shown
in these pages
have not been

arranged in chronological order, and only approximate dates, namely, those of the
inception of turned leg fashions, can be ventured.
The one drawback

chairs, tables, chests,
to include.
Thus
to
and the
the
arranging of English furniture into types such as
like, is
Fig. 286 here
is
that pieces which bridge these categories are difficult
really a stool-table,
and we have already had examples
of table-chairs in this chapter.
Two
interesting examples of cupboard stools are given here in Figs. 294
as a conclusion to this chapter.
than the close
of the sixteenth
type), while the second dates
Their periods are uncertain, but the
century (and even then,
from the
instructive in showing these bridge-pieces
last
is
not later
first is
copied from a
and 295
still
quarter of the seventeenth.
which were made during a space
earlier
Both
are
of over a
Fig. 295.
Fig. 294.
OAK CUPBOARD
Late si.xteenth century.
STOOLS.
Late seventeenth century.
W. Smedley
208
.\ston,
Esq.
The Development of
the English
century, in numbers too small to establish any fashion.

are always
difificult
Made
to date, for this reason.
Oak Chair
Pieces of exceptional character
for special purposes, sporadically,
they follow no established mode of the time, and are nearly as likely to create a new
manner
copy one long disused.
as to
The development
of the English
when walnut superseded
oak chair has now been taken past the period
oak, in a great measure, as the fashionable
wood
for furniture.
Actually, to follow a chronological order, walnut chairs of Restoration type should
have been inserted

have
seen,
in this procession of
and
is late,
carries us well into the
would have rendered the whole scheme

illustrated the
manner
chairs,
to enable similar
have resulted
clearness
sources,
oak
of
in
oak examples.
shown
explanation.
to
and
this
is
to
have
be compared or contrasted, would
English chairs develop not from one,
and
lines.
in evolution
For
than
this reason,
is
209
but
sacrifice of
from
chairs are
many
much
the case with other pieces
true, not only of the seventeenth,
centur}' as well.
Even
here, in the progression of their date, instead of in a
and dissimilar types
in character
we
In practice, however, this
of this chapter incoherent.
and proceed on widely divergent
of English furniture,
walnut years.
an orderly arrangement of chapter, but at the cost of a
more heterogenous
II.
Fig. 239, for example, as
but the eighteenth
Chapter IV.
Walnut Chairs from 1660
HE
practice of lathe-turning columns or balusters
in
prime,
is
revived,
It
has also been
used in Gothic woodwork, in
little
its
and that the square, or diamond-sectioned and moulded
baluster or mullion
It
of ancient origin^
is
England, as we have seen in earlier chapters.
pointed out that turning was
screens.
to 1700.
was employed,
as a novelty,
in preference, in chancel
and other
during the reign of Henr^- VIII and in the
seventeenth century becomes the usual method of fashioning legs of chairs and tables or
the baluster of cupboards.
flat
It is also used,
pilasters, in the fashion
termed
It
known
with considerable
effect, in
the decoration of
as the " spht-baluster," or the boss, generically
" strap-and-jewel " work.
was inevitable that the
lathe, once used as a general thing,
upon and that new methods, such
would be improved
as the slide-rest for spiral turning,
would be
devised.^
In the chairs of the later seventeenth century, turning plays a very important part,,
as
it is
the fashions of the legs rather than of the carving which indicate a definite period^
often within a margin as narrow as a single decade.
but very simple tool which
may
The
slide-rest itself
may
serve) be centred in a lathe
allowed to revolve, a lead pencil held rigidly in the one position will
it
the line which
turns.
it
If,
makes
an ingenious
be described here for the benefit of the iminitiated.
a plain turned baluster (an ordinary desk ruler
the ruler as
is
make
however, the pencil be moved laterally, say, from

will spiral
a ring
it
will
expand the
and
round
left to right,
round the ruler from one end to the other.
slowly, the spiralling will be very close, but
If
Moved
faster the pencil be moved..
Let us replace the pencil, which merely marks, by a gouge or chisel which cuts, and a twist
will
be produced, more or less regular, according to the even character of the lateral
movement.
rest,
Substitute for the chisel held with the free
hand a cutting
tool in a slide-
the lateral travel of which can be accurately proportioned to the chuck-revolution
of the lathe,
spirals,
and
it
will
be seen that every variety of twisting, either in long or short
can be produced with ease and certainty.
That twist-turning on the lathe does not appear

seen in a previous chapter.
Numbers
of chairs
late as the first years of the Restoration,
as a fully-developed art
we have
and small tables were made, even
with bobbin-turned
legs,
as-
and these must be

regarded as the prototypes of the later lathe-twist.
may
a squab cushion, the

be regarded as the
which
is
phase of the Cromwellian manner.
nearly always in walnut,
characteristic
is
made
fashion, although copies were

latter, to find the
which
persists
Both may
true Restoration chair,

Figs. 298
and 299
from 1600 to about 1680-5,

It is rare,
however,
3-S
in the case of
Restoration details without any intrusion of later features, which
Although the
chair can be studied in these two illustrations,

to emphasise
The
and unmistakable.
at a later date.
will be described at a subsequent stage.
and
and chair are
stool
been expressly devised for fixed upholstery.
latter has
last
Both
and while the former has been made with a caned-seat to hold
illustrate the features of this style,
the
and 297, from Lyme Park,
Figs. 296
be cited here as typical examples of this bobbin turning.
in beech, stained black,
1700
to
them
here, in order that
any
it
may
details of the pure Restoration
be as well to point them out,
inno^'ations can be easily
remarked
in
examples after about 1680.
later
These two chairs have framed backs,

^vith the cresting fixed between the squares
of
outer
the
instead
balusters,
dowelled on them
in the later
being
of
manner.
The
back forms one complete frame with carved

styles
and
more rarely cut
as in Fig. 298,
as
in
sometimes pierced through,
rails,
Fig.
Perhaps because of the
299.
general satisfaction
monarchy
at
the
these chairs
the
may
This
be
remarked
it
crown introduced
styles of the
in
in
by
the
is
not rare to
in
the upright
back framing, and the stretcher
uniting the front legs.
use of this
the
of
the royal crown, flanked
is
cresting of Fig. 298, but

find
revival
England, a favourite motif
in
amorini.
in the solid,
deîce,
the absence of
its
So general was the
that Fig. 299
is
rare
from
use anywhere on the chair.

"
The
'"
both at front and back, are
legs,
spiral-turned, with squares car\-ed, on the

^,
fronts only, with paterae. The arms have a
.
long graceful sweep, scrolling over at their
^'^" ^^^'
BEECH CHAIR.
capt. The Hon. Richard Legh.

The
ends.
stretcher railing uniting
all
turned, and Fig. 299 has an additional
The
'split
filling
cane
of the
four legs
rail
back and seat panels
any upholstery,
as in the
is
of the
between the back

of these chairs
two examples
here,
pattern,
legs
all
double twist-
below the seat framing.
is
always a meshing of fine
is
nearly,
if
not always, of
subsequent date.
Although apparently confined within narrow
limits, this
Restoration style of walnut
chair, permitted of considerable variety, in details, although not in general appearance.
same time, a wide diversity
There
is,
finely
carved to the positively crude.
at the
procedure, to
to note that
dub
all
these
is
by no means a
usual, but
is
crude chairs as provincial in make, but
justifiable
is
it
curious
where an actual maker can be singled out, either by a label on the
chair itself (rare but not

it
It
from the extremely rich and
in quality,
the village
unknown) or by the means
maker who
is
an inventory or account,
of
often responsible for the richest and best executed
specimens.
One
of these crude (one
might almost say cheap) Restoration chairs
Fig. 300, showing, however, the original state of the seat

of the
legs
crown on the back cresting and the front
above the framing
of the seat
was a device
stretcher.
is
shown
and back panels and the use
The projection
to hold a flat
squab cushion
of the front
in position.
Fig. 297.
BEECH STOOL.
c.
1660.
212
in
Capt.
IValnut Chairs from 1660

There
made
is
every reason to believe that
cushions, usually covered with velvet, were
flat
is
the aristocratic type of the same model, one of four from Cassiobury
Park, probably original to the house and
Essex as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.
made
prior to the appointment of the Earl of
The upholstery
of the seats
replacement of worn caning, but these chairs, otherwise, are

of fine
quahty.
They
would be
made
ft.
and show
Fig. 299.
CHAIRS.
\q\ ins. floor to top of back.
ol
in their original condition
useless here to illustrate a procession of these walnut Charles II chairs.
WALNUT
2 ft.
a later addition, a
for the large houses at this date.
Fig. 298.
is
are typical of the first ten 3'ears of the Restoration
the kind of furniture which was

It
1700
for these chairs originally, as the proper finish to the seat.
Fig. 301
and
to
ins.
across front of seat.
Date about 1660-5.
213
ft.
10 ins. floor to top of back.
ft.
The Marquis
of
Townshend.

as they differ, as a rule,
detail,
verj' little in
form or
although varying considerably in quality,

often not apparent in a small
but such variation
is
illustration.
more
It is
instructive,
however, to
show the departures from the type which were

then
introduced
from the
Continent,
Holland,
Flanders, Portugal and Spain.
The two
rich chairs. Figs. 302
and 303, from
Belton House, show these foreign details in a very

striking manner.
curve, which,
Chief of these
when used
for the
is
the Flemish
shaping of front
Fig. 300.
WALNUT
r.
legs,
CHAIR.
1665.
rapidly evolves into the cabriole form.

balusters
and
the front legs of both of these chairs,
and
This can be noticed in the
in
arm
the stretcher-rail of Fig.
further
emphasised.
although
still
of
These
Charles
made
and
back panel, instead
it
is
later
period,
II
frequently
in the
303
for upholstery
still
chairs,
were
on the seat
of the former
caning, although the latter does not lose

Flg^.
popularity until almost the end of the seven-
301.
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
c.
its
teenth century.
1670.
The Earl
of Essex.
It is
with the years following
1680 that we enter what

214
may
be described
JValnut Chairs from 1660

as the era of gorgeous fabrics,
political,
ment
must be noted
and one event
here, as
of English furniture.
This
it
is
in
to
1700
France, partly religions and partly
has an important bearing on the later developthe Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and the
persecution of the Huguenots which immediately followed.

It
was Henry
of
Navarre who, on the 13th
of April, 1590, granted permission to
the Protestants of France to worship openly, wherever Protestant communities existed,

to establish churches, except in Paris
ties,
and
Richelieu,
edict,
and
its
environs, to maintain colleges
to enjoy complete religious liberty.
and
in turn
by Mazarin and
Colbert,
and universi-
Although threatened and oppressed by

it
remained
for Louis
XIV
to revoke the
under the influence of a corrupt and hypocritical penitence, on i8th October, 1685.
Although actually accomplished at that date, the storm, had threatened

or six years before, and
many had
Fig. 302.
fled
for
some
five
from France to avoid the persecution which they
WALNUT ARM-CHAIRS.
Date about 1670-S0.
215
Fig. 303.
Earl Brownlow.

had seen
but
tlie
to be
artisan
knowledge and
imminent.
and peasant
skill in
in
was not the aristocracy who thus forsook
classes,
and
it is
to these emigres that
their country,
England owed
the weaving of silks and velvets, and South Africa
finest families of settlers,

fully, at
It
men whose descendants
Majuba, some two centuries
later.
We
some
its
of its
fought against England, and success-
do not know these Huguenots by name,
connection with silk-weaving, although they established a colony in Spitalfields
many years, but on the dials of long-case and bracket clocks

Du Chesne, De Charmes, Massy, and de la Fontaine perpetuate this
which remained famous

such names as Nieue,
for
persecution of the French Protestants of 1685-90.
Apart from the mere use
of these elaborate silks
and
velvets, their influence in
the development of form in chair-designing was immediate and immense.
powered the simple pattern
of the earlier Restoration years,
Fig. 304.
WALNUT ARM-CHAIRS.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Date about 1670-S0.
216
They over-
and designs were altered
Fig. 305.
Bond's Hospital, Coventr}\

and enriched to accord with them.
two chairs from Belton, especially
show
These
Fig. 302,
ornate character in unmistakable
this
fashion.
1700
to
Here we have the amorini not only
back cresting and front stretcher, but
in the
also as terminals to the balusters of the
back
and
legs.
as
ornamental details on the front
Of these elaborate
many noted
chairs,
houses, as at
examples exist
Glemham
in
Hall, for
example, which show that the fashion must
have
been
very
widespread.
Fig.
303
is
Fig. 306.
WALNUT
c.
quieter
in
taste,
and
CHAIR.
1685.
pronounced
of
Flemish
design, the balusters of the back twisted in the

earlier
manner from which
Fig. 304
is
of
Fig. 301
had departed.
about the same period as the
two chairs from Belton, and shows the somewhat

rare conceit, of carving representations of couchant
lions
on the ends
of the scrolled
arms.
In the
cresting to the back are the figures of four boys,
the
Fig. 307.
WALNUT
c.
Capt.
CHAIR.
two
resting
in
the
centre
supporting
crown,
The same pattern,
on a female head.
almost identical in detail,
is
repeated below in
1680-J.
the stretcher uniting the front legs.
The framing
Ear/y English Furniture and Woodwork
Fig. 308.
OAK AND WALNUT DAY-BED.

5
ft.
io|
ins,
long by 2
ft,
10
ins,, lioor
to top of back,
Date about 1660.
by
i ft.
10 ins. deptii of seat.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Fig. 309.
WALNUT DAY-BED.
Date about 1670-S0.
218
Messrs. Robersons.
JValnut Chairs from
1660
to
1700
Fig. 310.
THE BACK OF THE DAY-BED,
of the
back
is
FIG. 309.
richly carved with bunches of grapes, vine tendrils
and imbricated baskets,
the figures of boys being introduced into the composition with a charming and novel
effect.
The
front legs have the Flemish curve, but the
used for the back legs and the stretcher-railing.

chair of the full Restoration type.
Fig. 305,
This
somewhat
is
older double twist
is
an ornate and well-designed
from Bond's Hospital at Coventry, has
the typical Restoration back and front stretcher, in conjunction with the Flemish front
legs
and arm balusters harmonising with the
form, but the double C-scroll of Flanders

front stretcher.
by a
The
scrolled arm.
is
Fig. 306
is
of the
same general
introduced both in the back and on the
chair in Bond's Hospital has the caned back panel, but divided
central muntin, which prepares the
way
for the three flat balusters in that of
Fig. 306.
In the latter the prototype of the cabriole leg can be seen in an unmistakable
manner.
Fig. 307, although possessing
many
219
of the older features,
such as the twisted

legs
and stretcher
has three
railing,
carved
vertical
splats in the back,
where an
ingenious use
made
is
The
the Flemish C-scroll.

point-twist
is
turning,
also,
unusual type in this
of
The upholstery
chair.
the seat
It
of
is
of
a later addition.
can be remarked, in this
how
example,
chairs
last
become
years
backs
of
taller in the
Charles
of
II,
but that this example

not
than
later
1685
is
is
suggested by the fact that

the
back cresting
is
still
tenoned between the

squares of
the
balusters,
instead_of_.being dpwelled
.
on them
in the
manner
of
the next reign.
An
innovation of the
Restoration jêars was the
day-bed, or chair with seat

elongated to form a couch,
a
piece
copied
from the
French chaise-longue.
Whether these walnut daybeds
were
ever
really
practical pieces of furniture

is
doubtful
they appear to
possess about as
much
Fig. 311.
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
con-
typical example combining the constructional details of the
structional strength as real
Restoration period with Flemish details.
comfort, and without thickh*
1680-5.
Messrs. Gregory
and Co.
OS
p
rt
<:
X
o
S
K
<
I
<
o
z
D
Z
<
5
CO
th
CO
bii
fci
<
221

padded cushions on seat and back, could hardly have
been used at
implies.
all
They
for the
purpose which their
^.^êj
name
are rare pieces, at the present day,
but this scarcity

possibly to both.
may
be due to one or two causes, or
They could not have been made
if
'.
in
the same numbers as the chairs which they copy, for
reasons which
obvious, and
are
the
constructional
defects inherent in a couch designed in this
must have been responsible
for
manner
frequent breakages
Fig. 315.
WALNUT
The
tall
back which
CHAIR.
is
typical of the
period 1685-9.
and, in
many instances,
for their destruction
as worthless pieces of furniture, especially
during that dark period of the nineteenth

century,
Fig. 316.
WALNUT
A
CHAIR.
type which bridges the Jacobean and Orange period.

c.
when anything
in
the
way
of
furniture possessing grace in line or detail
appears
to
have been anathema
to
the
designer.
1690.
Of these Restoration day-beds, those

which copy the earher chair models, such
Fig. 308, where twist turning
is
employed
to
1700
as
for
the legs and balusters of the back (and which,
presumably,
are
prior
to
those
where
the
Flemish motives are introduced), are rarely

of
fine
quality.
The necessary suppression
y-
,*"
Fig. 317.
WALNUT
The
CHAIR.
earlier logical construction persisting to a
later date.
c.
1690.
Messrs. Gill and Reigate.
of
constructional knowledge, at the
dictates of an absurd fashion, which
the contortion
of
the
back of
this
example must have demanded, probFig. 318.
ably
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
With turning
of Portuguese influence
1690-j.
and flattened
"
bun
M.ssrs. Gregory
" feet.
and Co.
22%
militated
chair -maker
largely
taking
against
the
sympathetic
interest in such productions.

Figs. 309
of its great
and 310 show an interesting example
of these day-beds
rare
also
by reason
depth of seat and width of back, measuring nearly three feet across,
was recently bought from Gwydir

on the banks
of the
Conway
Castle, that
nobleman's seat so charmingly situated
Although actually a Restoration
river.
which
piece,
it
possesses
few of the really typical details of the Charles II period, other than in the logical framing
That the Flemish curve
of the back.
a novel motive of this date
is
use everywhere, on legs, stretchers, and back framings.

quality, the general design, especially that of the back,
The
framing,
it,
The former
James
is
as
II differ
good
in line
and proportion.
of the difference, in the construction of chair backs,
between the side balusters, and dowelling
rail
as the latter
from those
good
finest
failure.
Mention has already been made

between tenoning the cresting
Although not of the
its
with metal pegs, which are socketed into the seat
at the base,
an evident confession of
suggested by
without adequate support, has here been
difficulty of the abruptly-sloping back,
shirked hy fitting
is
is
method
is
bad.
The
it
on.
chairs of the short reign of
of the Charles II period in this constructional detail,
more
Fig. 319.
WALNUT
Showing the square-sectioned
or "
c.
SETTEE.
thermed " type
1695.
224
of "
bun
" feet.
C.
1660
IValnut Chairs from

than
in
any
Backs become
other.
taller,
and seats narrower,
as a rule,
1700
to
and there
is
an
ever-growing tendency to use the turned baluster and the Flemish curve and C-scroll,
and although these are general indications
Many
chairs were
by no means
made, before 1685, where the backs were disproportionately
seats very narrow,
some
of later date, they are
and where a lavish use was made
chairs have low backs
and broad
seats,
but
of the
infallible.
tall
Flemish curves.
and the
After 1685
in this dowelling on, instead of
tenoning
between balusters of the back crestings, we have an almost certain indication of a period
subsequent to 1685.
It will
be as well to bear this
in
mind, as
in
WALNUT
WALNUT
CHAIR.
Height, 3
aristocratic type of 1685-89.
ft.
SJ
ins.
to seat,
The
Frank Green, Esq.
examples
225
CHAIR.
width,
ft.
-j\
ft.
j ins.
ins.
crude, or so-called provincial type.

c.
11.
of the
Fig. 321.
Fig. 320.
The
some
1690.

to be
shown
here, this
is
the only detail which
establishes an early date for one,
is
later
Fig. 311, as an instance
period for another.

of this,
and a
a typical
James
II chair in ever^^
respect, with the sole exception of the cresting
fixed
between the squares
of
the balusters.
The Flemish double-scrolled curve
is
used
Fig. 322.
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
4
ft.
8 ins., floor to top of back.
ft.
loi
ins., -idth
Date about 1688.

C.
everj-where,
and
and vase-turning
That
1680 and 1685

Fig. 323.
(One of a
pair.)
Date about 1685.
226
between
this chair dates

is
unquestionable
cannot be earlier than the
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
of legs
has superseded the former
rails
twisting.
H. F. Kinderraan, Esq.
first
it
nor later
than the second.
It has, also,
jumble of
which a
details
not the
later
copy

(made as a spontaneous creation and not
haê possessed.
certainly,
There
is,
to adopt this
of
back as
fixed
as a deliberate imitation) would, almost
It is a fine chair, well
of course, a strong probability that
method
of dowelling
designed and logically constructed.
many
on a back-cresting.
far as this constructional
between the projecting squares
method
is
1700
to
chair-makers
Thus
may have
refused
Fig. 312 has the early style
concerned, but the seat-frame
of the front legs, as in Fig. 300,
but
is
is
no longer
spiked on them,
the legs being turned without squares and with a pin at the top to secure the frame of
the seat.
That
this is
the weight of a sitter

is
exercised
when
bad construction
;
it
must
also
unquestionable
a chair has not only to support
withstand the lateral strain on seat and back which
a person braces himself, as in the act, for example, of pushing the
Fig. 324.
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
c.
is
1690.
Fig. 325.
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
c.
1690.
Bond's Hospital, Coventry.
Early English Furniture and Môodwork

chair back
while sitting in
great this strain

chairs
of
Fig.
really
312,
is,
it
will
It
in
when
especially
appreciates.
and
or
it,
tilting
the front
from the
legs
maker
the back feet stand firmly, only a
would be
fatal
to
one constructed
How
floor.
manner
the
in
of
be noticed, when examining these James II chairs, that
They
they have, almost invariably, been repaired, not on one, but on man^^ occasions.
are examples of constructive principles sacrificed to design.
Very
Flemish
the
C-scroU
Lyme
314,
two
Park,
chairs
313 and
Figs.
examples,
fine
of
about
after
arm and small
1680, as in the
from
was made
effective use
of
high
quality and choice designing, of the

last
The present
Restoration years.
stamped
which they are
velvet, with
upholstered,
mid-nineteenth-
is
century addition.
Fig.
the original finish of seat
and the lavish use
The
front
introduces
that
which we
of
chair
this
another foreign
detail,
Dutch-Spanish
bow,
shall see further elaborated
at a later stage.
bowed
and back,
of the C-scroU.
stretcher
the
of
315 shows
Fig. 316 has this
stretcher, in developed form,
together with the ornate back which
was becoming fashionable

close of the reign of
James
at
II.
the
The
scrolled front legs of this chair are

in the true
(which
is
Dutch manner
about
its
of 1690
date) used in con-
junction with the earlier C-scroUing,

pj
32g
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
1690-5.
c.
H.
which
was
afterwards
modified and adopted by
Showing combination of Flemish curves and Spanish

hooped stretcher,
c.
motive
F.
Kinderman, Esq.
228
Thomas
Chippendale, and became the designbasis of his
Rococo manner.
IValnut Chairs from
->
-^'<^
1660
Fig. 327.
BEECH CHAIR, PAINTED AND

4
ft. 2 ins.
floor to
I
top of back
ft,
GILT.
2 ft. 3i ins. across front of seat.
5i ins. floor to top of seat.
Date 1670-5.
229
R. Eden Dickson, Esq.
to
1700

It
may
have been remarked,
in the foregoing illustration, that a chair
permitted of a better form of construction than one without,
bj-
with arms
reason of the fact that
the arm-balusters, prolonged above the seat to the arms, braced the seat-framing firmly
The Stuart oak chair provided
together.
into
which the seat panel,
principles are sacrificed,
Even
after 1680
it is
alwaj's solid,
was
grooved.
When
constructional
nearly always an indication of a late and decadent fashion.
some attempts appear
strength which the
and
nearly
a stout framing between the legs at the top,
new mode would
legs are effectively turned,
have been made to retain the
to
allow, as in the chair. Fig. 317,
and strongly
of
where the balusters
tied with stretcher-rails,
framing tenoned between the uprights in the early logical manner.
maximum
and the backdefined fashion
appears to have existed for this revival of turning, as in the large arm-chair, Fig. 318,
and the
settee. Fig. 319.
Both have the
late detail of the flattened foot, in the first
turned, but in the second square-moulded and carved, whereas in Fig. 317 the scrolled
foot
is
of
Spanish or Portuguese importation, often referred to as the " Braganza foot,"
compliment to the Queen Consort
were introduced at
this period,
of Charles II.
which
will
Other details of Portuguese origin
be indicated
in later illustrations.
Fig. 328.
PERSIAN CARPET (ISPAHAN).

The type which was sparingly imported
into
England
in the
One
of
Walnut
Chairs
from 1660
Fig. 329.
A SECTION OF THE CARPET,
FIG. 328,
231
SHOWING THE DESIGN.
to
1700

embryonic form,
these, the Portuguese bulb, can be seen, in
in the stretcher-raiHng of
Fig. 318.
The
true
James
II chair, graceful in proportion,
struction which have been pointed out before,
the strong Flemish double-curve, the back
and the cresting
rail of
The open back has a

pendant husks,
all
is
shown
is tall,
but with the weaknesses of con-
The
in Fig. 320.
front legs
have
with side balusters fluted and reeded
the back dowelled on
them instead
central splat formed
by a slender reeded muntin fianked by
of being
tenoned between.
In spite of faulty construction, this
finely carved.
The uneducated version
proportioned and beautiful chair.
be seen in Fig. 321, which has the tradition of
time, but
its
a finely
same type can
the
of
is
designing ingenuity,
little
being crude both in proportions and detail.
Faulty as these James
everywhere a decadent and debased
II chairs are, indicating
fashion, the defects are less noticeable in the case of arm-chairs, for the reason just
stated.
The
upon the
manner,
and especially the
social,
artistic
aristocratic,
We
craftsmanship of the nation.
of
life
England has always reacted
have seen
this, in a
very striking
and especially the woodwork, prior to
in the instance of the early furniture,
the Reformation, as described and illustrated in the opening chapters of the previous
volume.
It is true
that the fine productions of the joiner's craft in the fifteenth century
were made for the Church, but this standard

that this fine
woodwork was made
in those parts of
is
not appreciably affected by the fact
for clerical establishments.
England which were under the beneficent dominion
want nor
a state of rural peace coupled with practically no

of leisure
all
made
and a
A
much
of
for
work
of high artistic
neither reckoned, nor begrudged then, as
seventeenth century, and scamped work

taste
privation,
of strife
of the
Church,
and an amount
on the part of the artisans of England due to the easily procurable character of
the subsistence of that period,
Time was
The absence
it
and technical
was during the
skill.
latter part of the
usually associated with depravity of artistic
is
loss of fine constructional traditions.
more or
less settled state of affairs,
and discriminating patronage
to atone for the lack of the cultured
former ages.
such as during the reign of Charles

of the
II,
did
Church
Architecture was fast becoming a distinct profession, well grounded
in classical traditions
by Inigo Jones
in the first half,
and
and these architects had a
decoration of their time, and, indirectly, on
much
his followers in the latter part
direct influence on the interior
of the furniture
which was produced.
Furniture, other than chairs and their kindred pieces, does not lose
232
its earlier
sturdy
JVain lit
Chairs
from 1660
1700
to
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character after the Restoration, and, although the fashion for chairs of Hghter form and
construction rapidly replaced the taste for the former cumbrous models, there
is still
a logical method pursued, and only departed from in the concluding years of the reign
of Charles II.
With the
accession of the
Duke
of
York, under the
again in a turmoil for a space of about four years.

rise of
The
James
II,
rebellion of
England was
Monmouth, the
the factions which favoured \Mlliam of Orange, and the threat of strife and
insurrection throughout
Neither
title of
life
England shook the Court and
its satellites
nor property was secure under the last of the Stuarts.
to their foundations.
treacherous race.
Fig. 339.
WALNUT
With
original
SETTEE.
needlework covering on a morine ground.

e.
1690-5.
236
IValnut Chairs from 1660

they were known and^distrusted as such by
all
with
Charles II had shown some gratitude to certain of those
whom
to
1700
True,
they associated.
befriended him after
who had
Worcester, but his liberality, or rather his extravagant profusion, was that rather of sheer
than of studied repayment for services rendered.
carelessless
was on the throne
king
another libertine
that
of
It
England,
was soon
and the period
profligacy which followed again impoverished the country, although
it
of
also fostered
productions in woodwork,
artistic
and
furniture
way
fabrics, in the
which an age
in
realised
always
of vice
has done and a sober and moral

era has equally failed to do.
Considering the bigoted

character of the last of the Stuarts,
and
short
his
before he
reign
unsettled
fled, for safety, to
Court of
St.
Germains,
it
is
the
not
surprising that artistic craftsman-
ship in
wood
former
its
or silk declined from

traditions
fine
anything
that
surprising
it
is
was
produced worthy of the name.
The
exiled
French
Huguenots
were the saving factor, and show
how
the
of
arts
a country are
fostered
and developed by the
artisans,
and not the
aristocratic
There
doubt that
classes.
is little
these French emigres were largeh',

if
not entirely responsible for many
of
the
way
of
finer
productions in the
furniture,
from 1685
in
years
the
to 1689, as
that their influence on the longcase clocks of
(from
their
the same
signatures
Fig. 340.
we know
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
The Portuguese
period
on
ball or bulb turning of 1690
and the
flat
serpentine stretcher o 1695.

c.
the
1695.
Capt.
237

dials)
is
Thus
was immediate and manifest.
skill in designing,
a capability of assimilating forms from France and the
Countries, which only these cultured
the Spanish hooped front stretcher

Figs. 315
and 316,
such as Figs. 322 and 323 there
in chairs
Frenchmen would have
is
In Fig. 322
possessed.
used in a manner far more decorative than in
The embryonic
for example.
Low
flat
serpentine stretcher of Flanders
can be seen here, a detail which became very general in the chairs of the next reign.
The back
is
formed
of eight curves,
well-carved scroll-work.
There
is
framing a caned panel flanked with pierced and
an entire absence of the Flemish vigour and coarseness
such as in Fig. 311, although the latter
is
a fine chair of
type.
its
Fig. 323
of
slightly
date,
earlier
front
but of
The designing
similar origin.
the
a beautiful chair
is
and
legs,
of
pro-
their
longations as arm-balusters, the
and
sweeping
the
of
foliating
arms, and the form of the back
with
its
show
cresting and balusters, all
a skill
and creative
of a high order.
ability
Of the chairs
which bridge the Stuart and the
Orange periods,
325
may
Figs.
be given as examples,
although neither of the two

its
and
324
is
in
complete and original state.
The
has
first
the
long
fluted
and reeded back balusters
as in
Fig. 322, with a similar Flemish
curved front leg and Spanish type

of stretcher,
swept
Fig- 341.
it.
3 1 ins. floor to
The
top of back,
ft.
-z
ins.
set
flat
back from the front
legs
between the
tie
the
together.
WALNUT ARM-CHAIR.
4
rail,
with an additional
front
cross-rails
and
The caning
which
back
of the
legs
back
^^^ ^^^^ r^^\^ct^ by upholstcry,
and the framing
pierced cup-turning of 1695.
238
of the panel itself

The same
appears to be a later addition.
and
Bond's Hospital, the back framing
The turning
additions.
the
inverted
The
original
of the front legs
its
1700
to
fate has overtaken the arm-chair
caning being
from
and unfortunate
later,
and the arm balusters show the beginning
of
cup-form which became so popular during the early Orange years.
caned seat here has been replaced by a
The
board.
flat
familiar C-scrolI
has been employed in the decoration of the Spanish hooped stretcher, and the
Flemish serpentine form
also used, as in
is
Fig. 322.
There
is
the
same
flat
influence
evident in both, in spite of material differences in their design, and certain features
which place
Fig. 325 as the later of the
Although
two.
of
as Fig. 324, there
about the same date
Flemish coarse vigour

of the
*''.
in the scrolling
arms or the cresting
Fig. 326
-3
an absence of the
is
to the back.
a typical Low-Country model
is
of this period, unusual in having turned
above C-scrolled
balusters
This
legs.
but
also used, in a crude,
scrolling
is
effective
way, for the stretcher uniting]
The moulded
the front legs.
seat rail
is
a subsequent application, fixed after the

seat has been
upholstered,
method
of avoiding the use of fringe or braid
which was frequently employed, especially with chairs
where the back consisted
of a solid upholstered panel, separately
framed with mouldings to correspond.
The method
of
upholstering the
backs of chairs in one panel, framed
round with mouldings,
is
French
manner which was introduced shortly

after
1690.
The open arm-chair with
padded seat and back, although

was not unknown
rare,
Fig. 342.
BEECH PAINTED CHAIR.
in the later years of
(One of a
the reign of Charles

of
set
of
six
II.
made
Fig. 327
for
is
one
The
the State
flat
pair.)
serpentine stretcher of 1695.

N'iscount Rothermere.
239

Bedroom
at
Glemham
Hall, during the years from 1670 to 1675, but they were excep-
tional chairs for this period.

of yellow
Covered with a
fine
crimson
silk velvet,
and
and brown, with frames painted a cream white, with tiny
tasselled fringes
flowers,
and the
carving parcel-gilt, the^^ are extraordinarily fine examples of the art of the chairmaker
of the later Restoration years.
power and
period, carved with
Glemham, and
was made
it is
for a
significant as
The
skill.
front stretcher
The
set
is
in the ornate
manner
of the
was made to match the State Bed at
showing the mode
of the
time that such rich furniture
bedroom.
The standard
and
of comfort in the living rooms, e^'en of the wealth}-,
as late as
the reign of Charles II, was exceedingly meagre, compared with the furnishings of the next
century.
It
was only
in the
bedrooms
of the larger houses that upholstered chairs
and
patterned carpets (either imported from

the East, or
made
of coarse
on a tambour frame
woolwork
in the fashion of
and
gros-point needlework) were used,
even then they were exceptional.
That
at this period, as at all others, certain
sybarites
who were
existed
advance
of
of ideas,
is
far
in
time, in refinement
their
unquestionable, but these
were in an extreme minority. At Knole
Park are several Persian carpets from

the province of Ispahan, which were
probably imported at this date, and in

the
whole history
of
Persian
carpet
weaving, the glory of these fine Ispahan

rugs of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries has never been surpassed, or
even equalled, for beauty

jewel-like
quality of
mere pleasure
work
pj
leg
and crested stretcher
colouring.
and
The
of illustrating a priceless
may
excuse the inclusion
here of Figs. 328 and 329, one of these
343_
BEECH GILT CHAIR.

The thermed
of art
of design
fine
Ispahan carpets, probably of early
sixtecnth-century date, in general view
of 1695.
24^
1660
IValnut Chairs from

and
may
which
detail,
show the
serve to
available,
and which were imported,
rooms
the large houses of such
of
in
floor coverings of
too sparingly,
all
the
to
which were
this period
to
1700
enrich the important
possessed the
as
Restoration nobility
necessary taste to appreciate them.
As a general
and
coarse, as
which
rule,
we can gather from such
life
literature as
and ideas
of this
time were crude
Wycherley's plays, for example,
fully represented the fashionable ideas of their time.
rather than of vice

to
however, both the domestic
It
was an age
of bestiality
as the latter term appears
convey some idea of a perverted refinement
which was almost entirely absent
That the plays
Stuart years.
in the later
Wycherley,
of
which, with their unparalleled licentiousness,
would not be
form, on the English
day,
an expurgated
tolerated, even in
reflected the
stage
of
present
the
spirit of the time, is
shown
by the applause with which they were received.

Garrick,
in
Bowdlerise
title
of
assisted
"
the next century, attempted to

"
The Country Wife," under the
The County
and,
Girl,"
by the acting
of
the
although
famous Mrs.
Jordan, failed in the endeavour to render a late

Stuart play clean enough even for the
not
Voltaire
was
over-nice
century.
eighteenth
equally unsuccessful with
"The Plain
in "
which he attempted to purify
Apart from the rank indecency

the ideas expressed
are
his age
of a
when he
La Prude."
of the dialogue,
indescribably coarse.
That Wycherley mirrored the

of
Dealer,"
aristocratic ideas
counselled the marrying
widow, or peer's daughter, who must be
young and handsome, and, above
all, rich,
the spending of her fortune on loose

(the Court of Charles II
and other debauchery,
is
and
Fig. 344.
BEECH CHAIR,
women
{One of a
abounded with such)

unquestionable. That
to top of back.
width across front of
ft.
ins. floor
ft.
ins.
c.
domestic refinement, in an age which had brought

II.-
241
GILT.
pair.)
seat.
1695-1700.
Capt. X. R. Colville, M.C.
Fig. 345.
WALNUT EASY
The cup-turned
leg of
CHAIR.
1690-5 combined with the decorated stretcher of the later

Restoration years.
c.
1690-5.
Clias.
Young, Esq.
H'âlnut Chairs
must have been
vice to this bestial level,

It
rare,
from 1660
1700
to
not almost unknown, can be imagined.
if
must not be supposed that the actual furniture which was made was crude.
have seen that
this
from being the
far
is
We
Rich carving or inlay was general, and
fact.
gorgeous covering fabrics by no means unusual, but floors strewn with rushes, and littered
with the debris of meals thrown to the dogs of the household, rarely changed, and
generally in a filthy state, were also not exceptional, even in the rooms which contained
this ornate furniture of this late Stuart period.
In place of the earlier caning, backs of chairs began to be greatly elaborated in the
early years of
WiUiam
rich
French type
legs
and
of pierced
is
Fig. 330, another
example from Bond's Hospital, has the
and carved back,
in conjunction
Another departure at
cross-stretcher.
that this stretcher

is
III.
this date,
no longer tenoned into the front
legs
with the Flemish curved
which
may
be noted here,
but into the side
an early example of a fashion which subsequently became very general.
rails.
Fig. 332,
influence in this chair.

in
Kent, of graceful form and
is
one of a pair
fine detail,
is
purpose.
is
shown
by
in the chancel of
Biddenden Church
unusually well preserved.

is
The
stretcher
is
usually the case, two
the turner for this
The development
of this feature
in Fig. 334, a characteristic tall-
back chair
in the
left
member.
a strong suggestion of Italian
here tenoned into the front legs, but placed higher up than
squares being
This
Fig. 331 has
the ornate back and baluster-turned front legs curiously reeded on the lower
In proportion and the style of carving of the back there
is
of
Portuguese type (especially
bulb-pattern of the turning)
the Worcester
Museum
now
in
in Massachusetts.
This chair had originally been lacquered

a bright red, and
it
restored to as nearly
possible.
at
has recently been

its
original state as
The suggestion of Gothic tracery
the top of the back
seen through the caning)

interesting
(which can be
is
exceedingly
and almost unique
in a chair
Fig. 346.
of this period.
the Spanish
The
scrolled foot
manner already
is
in
WALNUT
described.
This Portuguese bulb-turning develops
The octagonal-section form of the Orange

leg, combined with the Braganza
c.
in various
ways, and finally culminates
STOOL.
" cup-turned
foot.
1695.
Messrs. Gregory
and Co.
'

I
in the inverted cup, wliich is
this cup-turning
late stage, this
is
such a typical Orange
already suggested, but the cup
member
is
seldom decorated
inspired from French sources, especially in
back from the front face
stretcher
is
the same
manner
set
gadroon-carved, whereas, at a
is
In this chair, which
any way.
in
In the fine chair, Fig. 333,
detail.
directly
is
elaborate back and cresting, the carved
its
and fixed between the
of the legs,
side rails in
as in Fig. 330.
The further development
of this Portuguese bulb-turning can be traced in the
next four illustrations, which bridge the years from 1685 to 1695.
Fig. 335 has the bulb
with a central bead, whereas in Fig. 336
The
a tapered shaft.
front stretcher here
back between the cross
set
caps
it
also
is
Fig. 337 has the
rails.
bulb carved in a representation of a pomegranate
both on the
and the
legs
and the
stretcher,
The back
feet.
which
correspond,
cresting
show
development from the
earlier
the corner blocks to the
curious detail here
is
form
the
1685-9.
of
seat-framing, evidently inserted for greater strength,

into
which the framing

338 has
Fig.
still
rails are
tenoned.
the late Stuart
tall
and
narrow back, with a central pierced and carved

splat, flanked
by two moulded
made
has been
" apron-piece "
for
upholstery,
under the front
laths.
with
rail.
The
a
seat
carved
The
front
legs
have the cup-turning, which, with the "bun
feet
and the
flat stretchering,
place this chair
"
some
years later than the last of the Stuarts.

^^'hile
the
prevalence
of
fashion
may
account for the strong similarity in the design

of
many
of the tall chairs,
there are details of
almost identical character which suggest that the

area of
The tall-back
CHAIR.
chair of 16S5-9 with the cup-
turned leg of 1695.

Messrs. Gill
must have been
restricted.
These were the aristocratic chairs of their period
Fig. 347.
WALNUT
production
and Reirate.
we have
seen, in the preceding chapter, that to
place the late Stuart chairs in strict chronological
order would entail both oak and walnut chairs

?44

being illustrated
however widely they might
together,
and proportion, but
detail
in constructive principles as well.
examples have been kept apart

forgotten that both were
made
same
at the
1700
not only in material,
The oak and walnut
book, for obvious reasons, but
in this
and walnut chairs were taking
declining,
differ,
to
it
must not be
period, although the fashion for oak
their place as the
mode
of the time.
was
It is
with this insulating of examples for the purposes of reference and to
inevitable,
they acquire an exclusiveness which they do not
trace developments of tj-pes, that

really possess.
The
Lyme
from
settee
fine
shows the bulb-turning
Park, Fig. 339,
front
of
typical flat serpentine stretcher,
turned
after
finial,
1690.
centred with a
which became the fashion shortly
The evolution
and
be
is
its
The material here
fringe.
a flat-pile velvet with an applique of bullion
braiding, whereas
the settee
is
upholstered with
on
morine ground.
very elaborate stitchery
Both examples,
Glemham
Hall,
the French
in
Fig. 340
arm-chair from the same house, with
original covering
is
may
type
of this
followed in succeeding illustrations.

large
and the
legs
with the
together
Fig.
show the
327,
Huguenot weavers and
from
chair
influence
of
artists exiled
consequence of the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes.
Fig.
341
is
the
version of Fig. 340, with

legs
cut
out
more
arm
and carved,
in
developed
fully
balusters and front
manner which
suggests Chinese inspiration, as exhibited in the
ivory carvings from Nankin.
Fig. 342
a fine
is
chair from Hemsted, of beech stained black, with
the inward C-scrolled leg of the fashion of Figs.
316 and 326, and the voluted Spanish

covering
is
foot.
The
an old Genoese or patterned velvet
on a cream ground with
tasselled fringe to
Fig. 348.
WALNUT
(?
match,
CHAIR.
Dutch.)
The embryonic
of considerable age,
c.
Fig-
343
h3.s
the
cabriole leg.
but not original to the chair.

square-sectioned
leg
inspired
245
1695-1700.
Victoria
and Albert Museum.

from the
later Louis
XIV
and the French version
period,
of the
Orange
fiat
serpentine
stretcher.
This square-sectioned leg became a very favourite alternative to the more usual
turning, shortly before 1700, especially with chairs
one of a pair,
was
is in
the advanced fashion of
made
upholstery of this period
in
and velvets which were being

this date.
The
by the exceptional quality
of its
and elsewhere
Spitalfields
characterised not only
is
Fig. 344,
695-1700, and shows the type of chair which
specifically designed to display the elaborate silks
woven by the French Huguenots
important houses.
for
at
covering fabrics, but also by the lavish use of magnificent braidings or tasselled fringes
of silk
and
bullion.
Unfortunately, this use of metal in conjunction with silk has been
the direct cause of the perishing of these trimmings

fabric.
by the cutting
or abrading of the
This chair
is
directly copied
from French models, but
it
possesses a grace in pro-
portion and a charm in detail which are unmistakably English.

of this kind are found, divested of their original coverings
value of these adjuncts, even
if
only
It is
when
chairs
and trimmings, that the
in the last stage of dilapidation, is appreciated.
full
From
the point of view of the practical chairmaker, as well as that of the designer, these
tall
graceful chairs, of the closing years of the seventeenth century, are superior to
any
which were made during the years from 1660 to i6go.

Of
slightly earlier date,
Fig. 345,
which has
but in the same
original covering of pale blue-green
its
Here the front
of its fringes.
cup-turning develops.
legs
It is rare to find
Fig. 346
foot of 1695, on a chair which, otherwise,
although
is
many
this series,
is
is
flat
serpentine Orange stretcher.
of the front legs
late Stuart in proportion
and the flattened
and
a chair, the English origin of which
of a similar kind were
from the French back,
damask, but has been shorn
one of the stools of about the same
shows the smooth undecorated cup-turning
which concludes
the interesting wing chair,
an easy chair of this form and date with legs and
and the fully-developed
period, with legs of similar detail,
is
have the Spanish vase-form from which the inverted
carved stretcher as in this example.
Fig. 347
manner,
fine
in the later
made
Louis
in this
detail.
is
Fig. 348,
questionable,
country just prior to 1700.
XIV manner
Apart
which was adopted and freely
rendered in Holland and Belgium at this period, this chair possesses a great interest
in
illustrating
finishing
in
the beginning of the development
a plain club foot,
which
is
so
towards the smooth cabriole leg
characteristic, not
only of the earl 3^
eighteenth century, but of the narrow margin of years contained in the duration
of
the reign of Anne.
With
chairs,
therefore,
246
although not with other furniture,
TValnut Chairs from 1660

it
is
to
1700
possible to coincide the conclusion of this chapter with that of the seventeenth
century
itself,
leaving the later development of the
Enghsh walnut
chair to be further
considered in a later book.
xHMMiiB
"
i<ti
iiBMiW
III!
rt *
if- ,---
t^
'U^
'm
Mif
.î^
^lOW
.-=r
VH\
'
'-.;%,
EXAMPLES OF ENGLISH AND FRENCH FRINGES AND BRAIDS AS USED ON

LATE STUART AND ORANGE FURNITURE.
247
Fig. 349.
TABLE-TOP INLAID WITH MARQUETERIE.
-Mm
^Jôftr-v.r
''
"%ii?s'/;i^'\4p
r1,.
êas;
:i-
'^L^^r^'ifCi-'
.jO
,'Z
.iâi//
Fig. 350.
"
PRICKING " OF THE MARQUETERIE OF THE ABOVE TABLE-TOP.
Chapter V.
English Marqueterie.
r^^77-^5^ EFORE
proceeding with the subject matter of this chapter,
necessary to define the terms which

to be a general idea that inlay
Even were
designations.
'&^^;:k^
this
proposed to
it is
In previous chapters there have been
furniture a coarse
have seen.
It
an actual
is
name
fact, it
or glass-paper.
a distinction between
In Stuart oak
references to inlay.
is
for
quite a familiar detail, as
we
to describe this as marqueterie, for the
Marqueterie
it
is
an inlay,
be advisable to explain exactly
will
lies.
Tudor and Stuart inlay

chopped into the
appears
It
would be necessary,
make
implies a process as well as a result.
not necessarily marqueterie, and
where the difference
many
and fruit-woods
of holly
would be misleading, however,
reason that the

yet inlay
ornament
use.
be
will
and marqueterie are interchangeable
the better understanding of the subject, to

the two.
it
consists of pieces of lighter or darker
woods which are
oak background, and then " cleaned up " with the plane, scraper
solid
Marqueterie
is
a pattern formed
by inlaying various woods, metals
or
materials such as pearl or ivory, into veneers, the whole being then glued down, or
" laid," with the hot caul, the press, or the veneering
third subdivision
as a whole, or in part,
patterns, in
much
may
is
formed by putting together pieces
chests are examples of this
For the purpose
" pricked," that

it
method
methods
to be inlaid
is,
as a parquet floor
the design
paper-hanger's
(see Fig.
If this
lining paper
48).
much
the
design be laid
brown or black powder (bitumen powder
design will be found on the paper underneath.

II.
Nonsuch "
is
flat
on a sheet
the best,
249
is
is
same v/ay
The
351 for this operation).
of light weight
form
be of service.
then
as
if
result
is
of plain white
and
"
through, or in other words, dusted over with a small bag of porous linen
fine
to
prepared and drawn out on paper, which
were followed by a sewing machine
paper,
and
may
perforated with a needle in
the master-pattern or " pricking."
The
familiar "
will arise at a later stage, the
of the marqueterie cutter
is first
is
is laid.
problems which
woods
of various
of inlaying (see Figs. 47
of appreciating
following account of the
The pattern
be attempted here, that of parqueterie, where the inlay
same way
the
hammer.
pounced
filled
"
with
nearly always used) a replica of the
To prevent the powder from rubbing

handling, the pounced sheet
off in the
a hot metal plate placed on a charcoal

gas-stove, and the design burned
be
taken
great or
to
the
that
see
is
or
a.
not
too
For the work
several of these impressions are taken

is
fire
Care must
in.
lieat
the paper will scorch.
on
laid
is
the
first
pasted on to the veneer background, the others
cut up, according to the various coloured woods

or material required for the inlay, and pasted
on to the pieces
selected.
Fig.
marqueterie pricking or pattern.
method, and one which
is
350,
An
shows a
alternative
is
to cut
wood,
seaweed marqueterie of
is
holly or sycamore in walnut, for example,
both inlay and ground at the one operation.
right angles to the

latter
PRICKING THE DESIGN.
usually followed in the
case of small panels, especially where the inlay

in the one
Fig. 351.
work (and with the former running
firmly held in
the
" chops "
comparatively easy) the inlay must
of
If
fit its
it
rigidly at
does,
find
and the
this
pieces which fall
The
is
away
as counterpart panels, the effect being,
counterpart will be an inlay of walnut in light wood.

to
in guides, as
ground exactly.
the original be one of light
in the instance of long-case clocks,
saw be kept
the
the marqueterie-cutter's " donkey,"
from the saw are usually preserved, and used

of course, reversed.
If
wood
It is
one which
is
dark walnut, then the
in
not exceptional, especially

the exact counterpart of
another, proving that the marqueterie of
both must have been cut by the same
workman, and
It is
for
at the one operation.
usual to cut veneers, whether
ground or
inlay, or both, in layers
of four or six at a time,
layers,
on
each
common wood,
being
the motion of the

to rag the cut
side,
both the outer
generally
of
discarded,
as
saw has a tendency
on the outer
pieces.
If
only one panel be required, and cut

Fig. 352.
with ground and inlay at the one time,
CUTTING MARQUETERIE.
The use
of the "
donkey."
250
common wood
is
used for these outer
English Marqueterie
From
layers.
this
the
follows that
it
labour involved in cutting six panels

the
same
is
as with a single one, the extra
value of the
wood and
the time in fitting
the marqueterie together being the only
additional cost.
The marqueterie cutter
sits astride
on a narrow bench of chair height, at

the end of which
is
a lateral
wooden
vice or " chops," placed at a convenient
height for working.

closed
by the action
treadle.
known
The
" chops " are
as a "
donkey"
its
PUTTING MARQUETERIE TOGETHER.
on a
of the foot
The bench with
Fig. 353.
vice
is
Each
(see Fig. 352).
section of the inlay, in
veneer secured together with panel-pins or line
with a
fine
nails, is
then held
its
six layers of
in the vice
The wood
saw, held in a long frame running laterally in guides.
and cut
is
turned
round to the various positions demanded, by opening and closing the " chops "
saw only makes a horizontal backward and forward motion.
same manner, care being taken, with a
The ground
large panel, to prevent breakage.
the
is
cut in the
If
the design
be symmetrical, large panels are usually cut in four quarters at the same operation,
the pieces then being joined together (see Fig. 375).
Both inlay and ground, being cut from

patterns pounced from the same master
the cutting be accurately done,
should
fit
even
ground and inlay be separately
if
cutting
piece
is
in
exactly
finished,
its
if
the
allotted
identical
" pricking,"
work
position,
is
cut.
fitted
When
this
together, each
and a sheet
of
paper
glued over the outer, or exposed side, to keep the whole

in
place.
The panel
is
usually in a screw-press.
this
then
left
to
(See Fig. 353,
dry thoroughly,
which
illustrates
putting together of a marqueterie panel.)
Another operation may be explained here, although

it is
not generally used during the period from 1685 to
1700, that of shading or sand-burning (see Fig. 354).
SAND-BURNING OR SHADING.
The
picccs to be shadcd are held with a pair of tweezers
Early English Furniture and JJôodwork

and dipped
vety hot
have a
into
bowl or pan containing
The usual plan
silver sand.
flat
to
is
and
iron tray filled with the sand
The corners
placed over a small gas-ring.
only of the pieces are dipped, as where the
wood touches
the sand
and from
brown,
this
it
burns to a deep
gradually, into the colour of the
can be shaded
itself.
work
the
manner.
in this
The laying
of
the marqueterie
veneered
is
perfectly
smooth
the
The
and
level,
and
The underside
finished
Fig. 355.
and
" toothing
of
to be
surface
scraped
toothed in like manner.

it is
not
cabinet-maker,
cutter.
planed,
afford a key.
veneer
the marqueterie
of
roughened with the
and
wood
obvious that only light-coloured woods
It is
is
away,
shades
point
then
is
plane "
" OYSTER-PIECE.
(Cut trans-\'ersel}' from sapling.)
to
of the veneer
The edge
LABURNUM
is
of the iron of a toothing plane
pitched nearly upright instead of at the usual angle.
is
slightly serrated,
Its action, therefore,
is
rather that of a scraper than of a plane.
Having prepared the wood, the panel or
flat
of proper consistenc}', the glue being allowed to
veneer
slipping,
by headless
known
brushed over with hot glue
become quite
cold.
The marqueterie
paper side uppermost, and secured, to prevent
" veneer " pins,
which are allowed to project above the surface
about two-thirds of their length.

technically
is
its surface,
then placed on
is
surface
as a " caul,"
flat
piece of wood, shghtly larger than the panel,
and made from
soft
wood such
as pine,
is
then
made
very hot and placed on the veneer, handscrews being quickly applied to squeeze the
whole together with great
force.
It is
obvious that the contact surface of the caul must
be level or the pressure on the veneer will not be exerted equally, and subsequent
blistering will result. ^
The pressure
to drive the glue outwards.
first,
To make
glue, a caul
is
of the
handscrews should be applied to the centre
The heat from the caul penetrates through the veneer
sure that the pressure shall be from the centre to the edges,
usually
made
slightly
convex on
its
under surface.
and thus
good plan
is
to drive out the superfluous
to place a piece of felt
between
the caul and the work, as this ensures perfect contact everywhere, by taking up any surface irregularities.
prevent this
is
felt
usual to rub
it
from sticking to the work, should any glue exude through the cutting of the ornament
with soap.
252
To
itself, it
English Marcjuetcrie
and
liquefies the cold glue
The headless
underneath.
position, are forced into the soft
wood
(seeking the line of least resistance), and
with
pins, used to
instead of being driven
when the
caul
is
keep the veneer
home
in
into the panel
removed can be extracted
pliers or pincers.
In the process outlined above a trap exists for the inexperienced.
If
the veneer
be laid with hot glue, the heat will cause the veneer to expand before the handscrews
be put down in a state of strain, and will remain so after the
can be applied, and
it
glue has hardened.
In the course of time this strain results either in pulling the \-eneered
surface hollow,
if
relieved.
All
or
will
too well secured, the veneer will crack until the tension be
wood veneered on
the one side only will always
warp somewhat
Fig. 356.
CHEST OF DRAWERS.
Veneered with oyster-pieces of walnut and banded with sycamore.
Date about 1700-5.
253
in the

when hot
direction of the veneered side, but
ghie
is
used, and the veneer
appHed
immediately, this pull will be excessive.

This casting or cracking of surfaces which have been veneered in the wrong wayis
a more important point than would appear, at
is
found with the veneer
have been
the heat
is
laid
by
applied
screws before
it
split in this
way,
it is
first
Where
original marqueterie
strong presumptive evidence that
workman unacquainted with
by the agency
glance.
the technicalities of his craft.
of the caul only, the veneer
is
with subsequent contraction, and the work should stand.
A modem
is
innovation
Fig. 357.
3i ins. high
by
3 ft. 2 ins.
Date about 1695.
254
vitae
wide by
and
ft.
inlaid with
boxwood
lines.
11 ins. deep.
J.
When
no expansion,
CHEST OF DRAWERS.
3 ft.
must
secured by the hand-
can penetrate through to the glue beneath, and there
Veneered with oyster pieces of olive -wood and lignum
it
is
the
English Marqueterie
veneering press, where panels are placed between two large metal plates and squeezed
together by powerful screws.
and the work hot
until the pressure has
and the work allowed
to cool.
be applied to the centres

will
A number
first
With
and
of gas-jets placed
underneath keeps the plates
been applied, after which the gas
large panels,
it is
is
turned
important that the pressure should
to the edges afterwards, otherwise the liquefied glue
be imprisoned in the centre and will be unable to escape from the edges.
be remembered that glue, even when quite cold,

the panel has been veneered, and as the air
is
is still
more
soft for a
of
hardening
is
it
a very gradual
CHEST OF DRAWERS.
Veneered with walnut and inlaid with marqueterie of holly and sycamore.
loj ins. high by 3
ft.
li ins, wide.

255
J.
must
by the panel
Fig. 358.
ft.
It
very long time after
or less kept from
on the one side and the veneer on the other, the process
off
Fig. 359.
CABINET ON STAND.
Veneered with walnut and inlaid with marqueterie.
Height, 5
ft.
yi ins.
width, 3
ft.
7!
ins.
Date about 1675-S0.
256
depth,
ft.
8i
ins.
R. Eden Dickson, Esq.
English Marqueterie
In this action of " setting,"
one.
much, and
glue contracts very

is
necessary,
the
between the panel
glue
layer of
that
therefore,
it
and the veneer should be squeezed

out
thinly
as
as
allowed to remain, will
excess,
if
make
an
imperfect
These
very troublesome to
are
They cannot be reduced
rectify.
by another application
caul,
and
joint,
cause blisters and bubbles.

blisters
The
possible.
as a
of the hot
amount
certain
of air
takes the place of the contracted

glue,
which
out, as
is
cannot be squeezed
has no escaping vent.
it
It
necessary to prick the surface,
so as to allow the imprisoned air to
escape before attempting to reduce

blisters
by the caul
veneering
or the
hammer
is
in
Fig. 360.
MIRROR FRAME.
hammer.
form
Veneered with walnut and

3
a blunted axe, with the
inlaid with marqueterie.
like
ft. I in.
high by
head fixed
2 ft.
8J
ins.
Frame 5I
wide.
Cushion-mould 3J
J.
of in a line
is
it.
but for shaped surfaces,

front,
it is
especially
indispensable.
is
is
much more
where there
The veneer
or glue, on each side, both to render
it
hot.
is
and
convenient and certain,
curvature both ways, as in a
to be applied
pliable
The glue must be thin and very
hammer.
The hammer
rarely used for large flat surfaces, as the caul
"bombe"
wide.
Date about 1680-5.
at right angles to the handle instead
with
ins.
ins.
is
soaked with hot
size,
to facihtate the action of the
The veneer being
laid,
the
hammer
used, from the centre outwards, with a pressure applied with a circular action, the
work the excess glue from the centre
aim being
to
knowledge
of the correct consistencies of the glue, for
methods,
is
An
accurate
hammer and
the caul
to the outside edges.
both the
indispensable.
After the panel has been allowed to stand for about thirty hours, the handscrews
and the caul can be removed, but the process

II.-
257
of " cleaning
up
" should be deferred for
Fig. 361.
CABINET.
inlaid with marqueterie.
{Upper part only.)
The
Height, 2
a week,
inlay
of the
possible, as the glue
if
and veneer
two
of the
coarse style of inlay of
ft.
6 ins.
still
is
width, 3
ft.
c.
1690.
depth,
ft.
soft underneath.
ground are rarely
of exactly the
will gradually sink as the glue contracts.
6 ins.
\\'ith
The
bad method
of
and Albert Museum.
marqueterie-work the
same thickness, and the thinner
It is better
take place before the panel be cleaned up rather than after,

" faker " wilfully adopts the
^'^ctoria
if
that this sinking should
perfect finish be desired.
smoothing his work quickly, to obtain
the uneven surfaces, and even the blisters so frequently found in genuine old work.
To
clean up, the protecting paper

are reduced with
larities of surface
with a
steel scraper
therefore,
of brass
of
may
smoothing
glass-paper.
known
scraped
still
a fine toothing plane, and the
it
The
as "
final process of
work
off,
is
friction, in
and thus cause
The work,
Especially
is
blisters.
this the case
buhl " or " Boulle."^
with the inlay
In this work the process
generally done with pumice-stone and water to prevent the
The name
is,
of course, derived from
finished
poHshing does not
work from
becoming heated.
'
irregu-
must be remembered that excessive
as cool as possible.
tortoise-shell,
is
washed, or better
soften the underlying glue
must be kept
and
fine
In this cleaning up
concern us here.
producing heat,
and
first
is
Andre Charles Boulle, the famous French

258
ebeniste.
Fig. 362.
CABINET ON STAND.
Veneered with patterns
Height, 5
ft.
3i
ins.
of oyster-pieces of
;
width, 3
ft.
4J
laburnum and other woods.
ins.
Date about 1690.
259
depth,
ft.
8J ins.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Fig. 363.
CABINET ON STAND.
\'eneere<i with
ft.
walnut oyster-pieces and inlaid with marqueterie,
3 J ins. high
by 4
ft.
ins.
SJ
wide by
Date about 1685-90.
260
ft.
ii ins. deep.
English Marqueterie
Fig. 364.
CABINET ON STAND.
^'eneered with walnut and inlaid with marqueterie.
(The original stretcher and feet are missing.)

Height, 5
ft.
4!
ins.
width, 3
ft.
S ins.
Date about 1685-90.

261
depth,
ft.
S ins.
Victoria and .Albert
Museum.

The
art of inlaying
woods, the one into another, being mastered by the English
craftsman, and the concomitant problems of veneering on straight or shaped surfaces
being solved at the same time, materials such as ivory or bone, and even metals such as
silver or pewter,
ivory, as
One
it
Coloured effects were obtained by the staining of wood or
were used.
was found that the colour-range
of the
of the
woods available was extremely
limited.
most decorative devices adopted, which became very general among English
cabinet-makers, was to cut saplings transversely, that
'ar-^j-g x~3
-^.
:
iwrr^.
,,
__::
is,
in thin
the
across
slices
trunk, and to veneer with these
" oyster-pieces."
As an orna-
mental method there was a good

deal to be said in
but
even
principles
favour,
its
constructional
if
be strained to in-
clude veneering at
all,
there
is
no doubt that end-grain wood,

such as these transversely cut
must
saplings
adhere to
its
not
does
be,
bed as
efficiently
as veneer cut with the grain.
In
addition
to
oyster-pieces
this,
are,
these
necessarily,
exceedingly brittle, and

although
this
tendency
to
break under the slightest strain

is
are glued
of the
down, any warping
bed or
inefficient
ing will cause

in
when they
parth^ obviated
small
them
broken
adher-
to fall off
pieces.
If
these fragments are not pre-
served and replaced

Fig. 365.
impossible to
it is
almost
match them,
as
CABINET ON STAND.
no two
Height, 4
ft.
loj
ins.
width, 3
inlaid
ft.
of these sapling-pieces
with marqueterie.
4 ins.
Date about 1690.
depth,
J.
i ft.
6 ins.
262
are ever exactly alikein texture-
pattern, and
any subsequent
English Marqueterie
restoration becomes an unsighth' patchwork.
Of these oyster-pieces, the sections
of
walnut, laburnum or lignum-vit were the most frequently used, although king-wood
and fruit-woods such

a reduced
scale,
for veneering.
as apple,
plum
or cherry are not exceptional.
a laburnum oyster-piece with
its
Fig. 355 shows, on
sap-ring, before being jointed
up
In Figs. 359 and 361, both the inside and outside of the upper and
lower doors are entirely veneered with sections of walnut and laburnum, further
enriched by an inlay of walnut marqueterie in panels of holly.
fronts of the drawers are veneered in the
same manner, portions
In Fig. 356 the
of the outer ring of
light-coloured sap-wood being left to enhance the appearance of the oyster rings.
The
drawers here are edged with a banding of sycamore, but a more usual device was
to border panels
and drawer fronts with two
strips of
walnut placed together, with
the grain running diagonally, and placed in opposition to produce a " herring-bone "
Fig. 366.
THE CABINET,
FIG. 365,
2bx
SHOWN
OPEN.
Fig. 367.
CHEST OF DRAWERS ON STAND.

The columnar
legs with briquetted shafts are exceptional.

c.
i6go.
264
S.
Brand, Esq.
English Marqueterie
Fig. 368.
THE TOP OF THE CHEST,
effect.
An
method
for
The
and
to cut
which has the appearance
chest, Fig. 357,

is
directly
across
the
veneer
leaf,
use of a tool
known
made
lines.
These
lines are
as a " string-gauge," a small
Between the prongs,
like a large tuning-fork.
the one being
of
having
lost its
under stage of legs
veneered with transverse sections of olive and lignum, with a geometrical
box-wood stringing or
somewhat
the bandings
367.
which the term " cross-banding " has been coined.
stretcher,
inlay of
was
alternative
FIG.
gauged to an even thickness by the
apphance
inside,
of
in
shape something
two small cutters are secured,
adjustable for varying thicknesses of
larger than
wood,
lines.
The
strings are cut
actually required, with a cutting-gauge instead of a saw, and
is
they are then drawn between the two cutters until they are reduced to an uniform
These
thickness.
is
lines,
when used
veneered, channels being
in straight lengths, are inserted after the surface
made with an ordinary movable-headed
with a cutter corresponding to the thickness of the
brushed with glue, rubbed
in
the corners with a chisel.
With
example, this method

II.
is
line itself.
The
gauge, furnished
stringing
is
then
with the tail-end of an ordinary hammer, and mitred at

stringing such as in the panel-borders of Fig. 358, for
not practicable, and here the panels have to be cut by the

265

marqueterie cutter, together with the veneered ground, and the Unes bent round
the panels
when
the entire drawer front
to prevent breakage,
it
is
is
pieced together.
In the case of ivory Hues,
usual to soak them in acetic acid for several days before
using.
Had
marqueterie originated as a wood-working art in this country,
interesting to
have traced
its
it
would be
development, both technically and decoratively.
comes to England, however, full-blown,
as
it
It
were, and the variations which do actually
take place are merely due to change of fashion or taste, and are, therefore, of
little
Fig. 369.
WALNUT TABLE.
Inlaid with marqueterie.
Height, 2
ft.
5 ins.
[_\vidth, 3 ft. i in.
Date about 1675-80,
266
depth, 2
ft.
o\
in
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
English Marqueterie
Fig. 370.
THE TOP OF THE TABLE,
or no use in establishing positive dates.
There
is
FIG. 369.
one noticeable evolution which takes
place after the English craftsman attains a certain degree of
marqueterie, and that
dark wood
in a
arisen (that
is,
ground
if
we
is
in the direction of the
skill in
the cutting of
delicate scrolled inlay, usuallj- of
of holly or sycamore, the taste for
which does not appear to have
are to suppose the supply, in this instance, did not create the
demand) before the years from 1695
to 1703.
In placing the examples illustrated in the following pages, therefore, in some

order,
it
must be pointed out that the dates given under each
are those only of the
inception of the fashions of the various styles, but the nationality of the actual makers,
and even
of the
There
is
country of origin
very
where the inlay
is
little
Fig. 359
is
doubt that some
composed
green-stained ivory,
is
itself, is
of the leaves
frequently very questionable.
of this marqueterie furniture, especially that
and flowers
of jessamine cut
from white and
as early, in England, as the later years of the reign of Charles II.
a cabinet which
may
easily date
267
some years
prior to 1680 rather than
Fig. 371.
CHEST OF DRAWERS ON STAND.

inlaid
with marqueterie.
Date about 1630.
268
Victoria and Albert iluseum.
Rnglish Marqueterie
after,
and when
it
is
remembered that oak
extensively produced at this period,
it
sombre oak running concurrently with
is
furniture, as
difficult to
this
gaudy
we have
was being
seen,
understand the fashion for the
inlay, other
than on the hypothesis
that the latter had to be imported from the other side of the North Sea, and therefore
was not available

is
also sand-burnt
to the
same degree.
is
tradition,
here, apart
from
its
Dutch
design,
on the laurelled bandings surrounding the doors, which indicates a
device which could hardly have been
There
The inlay
known
to
an English craftsman at
this early date.
a mechanical excellence in the cutting and laying of the veneers, and also a
if
only in the possession of the necessary designs, in tracings and prickings,
which must render the nationality
of this early marqueterie very suspect.
Considering
the close inter-association which existed between England and Holland at this and
Fig. 372.
CHEST OF DRAWERS.
c.
1700.
269
Sir Leicester
Harmsworth, Bart.

subsequent periods, the question of nationality
as
we know that timber and veneers were
latter half of the seventeenth century,

this country, especially in
not so serious as one would imagine,
imported from the Continent during the
and numbers
of
Dutch woodworkers
settled in
East Anglia and the counties bounded by the Dover Straits
or the estuary of the Thames.
Dutch
freely
is
colony, situated in the
Canvey Island was,
mouth
until recent years, almost entirely a
of our chief river
and within a few miles
of the
Metropolis.
This early marqueterie
falls
into sharp divisions.
Fashions appear to have been
whether regulated by English patrons or by the craftsmen themselves.
short-lived,
stained and white ivory inlay ceases abruptly, and
B^^^H^^^^^^^
is
|HH^^HIB|p*tTl^.:^^
not repeated, even as occasional
BBPTflB^ Wf^Wiff
"%
This
^P
"P
_^p^y-"
Fig. 373.
WALNUT TABLE.
Inlaid with floral marqueterie.
Date about 1680-5.
270
Col. H.
H. Mulliner.
English Marqueterie
Fig. 374.

3
decoration, after about 1685.
It
ft.
was
3 ins.
as
by
if
FIG. 373.
2 ft. 3 ins.
the " something
new
" of the later seven-
teenth century interdicted anything belonging to the expired fashion.
Even
in
such
examples as the convex or "cushion-moulded" mirror frames, such as Fig. 360, where
one would imagine that stock inlay, especially that in panels, would have been used
up, at a date considerably later than the vogue of the marqueterie
the
moment
The
is
and the design a coarse
scrolling.
Of
is
this
generally in monotone, light
manner
marqueterie of this kind that the term " seaweed,"

Its strong
Dutch character
will be
Fig. 361
if it
is
to this coarse scrolled marqueterie can be

of lesser
renown.
exception, perhaps, of
Dan
It is
found
doubtful
in dark,
It is to the
all,
should
in the illustration,
and the
have any meaning
remarked
wood
an example.
use of pale walnut for the ground veneer serves to emphasise this.
by makers
the "fashion of
usually rigidly followed.
inlay of the early Orange period
be applied.
itself,
at
The counterpart
in the early long cases, containing clocks

if
the important clockmakers, with the
Quare, placed their clocks in marqueterie cases at
all.
Fig. 375.
WALNUT BUREAU ON STAND.

Inlaid with Arabesque maxqueterie.
Date about 1690-5.

272
Col.
H. H. MuUinet.
English Marqueterie
To the same period
with oyster-pieces in radiating patterns, as in Fig. 362.
from the general form of
They
stretchers.
cushion-moulded
moulding
is
of a
and behind
is
many
There
is
bead and
is
fillet.
Below
on spiral-leg stands with shaped swept
drawer opening on the
this are
two doors
hinged at the bottom and
a collection of drawers, veneered
or no modification, and
of veneering
httle to be gleaned
follow, usually, a set pattern, of a classical cornice
central cupboard with door.

little
of these cabinets
frieze (usually containing a
one panel which
custom
as this coarse marqueterie belongs the
falls
and
(at
surmounting a
sides),
with a
frieze-
a later stage the whole front
forward to act as a writing bed),

inlaid to correspond,
and a small
This pattern persists from about 1675 to nearly 1700, with

it
is
the character of the inlav onlv which enables the
^^^mr^-'
.fik/^
V-v
Fig. 376.
WALNUT TABLE.
Inlaid with marqueterie in ground of holly,
banded with walnut
Date about 1695.

II.
273
oyster-pieces.
Col.
H. H. MuUiner.
mM^^^^^^^'^^M:^^^^^^:Z^m
mMmm^fmm^^'^m^^
Fig. 377.

3 ft. 2 ins.
later to be distinguished
an ingenious use
of the entire panel.
had inspired
It
It will
be noticed that in Fig. 362
of the sap-rings of the oyster-pieces, in the decorative effect
would almost appear that the " eye "
of the peacock's feather
this elaborate veneering.
The next phase

reign of
376.
2 ft. 2 ins.
from the earher examples.
made
is
by
FIG.
James
II.
of English marqueterie appears to
Fig. 363
may
be given as the type.
the earlier centred oval, towards
have been confined to the short

There
is
a progression, here, from
the later " all-over" inlaj-, although the oval does not
appreciably decline in favour until the end of the seventeenth century, but in the later
years
is
more frequently used without marqueterie
03'ster-pieces, herring-bone stringing
or veneers of exceptional figure or burr being substituted.

for marqueterie decline, in certain districts,
itself
placing
it
beyond the means
of
probably
any but the wealthy,
So rapidly does
due to the cost
of the
work
that a separate classification
of English furniture of this period, that of the plain walnut of \Mlliam

274
this taste
and Mary, might
English Marqt4eterie
Fig. 378.
CHINA CABINET.
Veneered with oyster-pieces of walnut and laburnum, and inlaid with marqueterie.
Date about
275
1695.
Viscount Rothermere.
Fig. 379.
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE CHINA CABINET,

The name
"
Samuel
Bennett "
is
inlaid
FIG. 378.
"
on the inside of this door and the address " Monmouth Square
on the other.
275
English Marqucteric
be attempted, as this walnut furniture of William III differs in
from that
im]X)rtant details,
of the succeeding reign.
The broad treatment
by others
many
in
of marqueterie, with centre panels as in Fig. 363,
a wide framing, the inlay sometimes in yellow
surrounded
wood (sycamore
or holly),
but more often in various colours, was the fashionable manner of 1690-5, and was
nearly always used for pieces of important
cupboard
presses, of the kind to be
size,
such as this cabinet, or for large
found at Burghley and elsewhere.
phase that the characteristic English marqueterie begins, and
made with
considerable confidence,
as,
this
It is
with this
statement can be
apart from the marked difference in massing and
general design which these large pieces present (which might have been simply the result
Fig. 380.
TABLE.
Top
ft.
3 ins.
c.
by
1695.
277
z ft. 2 ins.
R.
W.
\\'right,
Esq.

of a
new
taste in the importation of pieces)
it
is
with this work that the Enghsh
marqueterie cutter begins to show his 'prentice hand, in such technical details as the
and
cutting (and designing) of panels in the one piece, the cutting of marqueterie
ground separately (resulting
in
an absence
of the
mechanical accuracy so noticeable in
the earlier work), and the laying of veneers with hot glue, with such consequences as
the splitting and warping referred to at an earlier stage of this chapter.
The
earlier
form
of smaller cabinet
with cushion-moulded
frieze still persisted
even
into the first years of the eighteenth century, but in the marqueterie pieces there
marked change
in the use of floral forms, the carnation being a favourite motive.
comparison of Fig. 364 with Fig. 359

later inlaj^
is
more
clearly than
it
will
show the
difference in the character of this
The
can be pointed out here.

is
solid base of Fig.
364
a subsequent addition, the usual
being
finish of these later cabinets
a stretchering as in Fig. 359,.
still
but
of
more
shaping.
intricate
These cabinets on spiral-leg stands
have nearly always three,

instances,
balusters
four,
and only two
front
That
this
in
rare
on
the
the back.
at
may have been
a source
of weakness, especially with a
cabinet, such as Fig. 363,
and may account

of the
is
heavy
probable,,
for the presence
two plain turned
legs in that
connected
the
example,
not
stretcher,
being added at a later
to
date.
Fig. 365
is
a good specimen of
all-over marqueterie of
about
1690,.
the inlay of box, holly, plane, king
and rosewood,
of fine quality,
of
Fig. 381.
Fig.
CABINET ON STAND.
design
or
slightly shaded,
and
both from the point

technical
execution.
366 shows the cabinet open.
Behind the central door are mirrors^
Inlaid with marqueterie.
278
English Marqueteric
Fig. 382.
THE INTERIOR OF THE CABINET,
FIG. 381.
intended to give an effect of depth and perspective when the door

device
is
more usual
in lacquer cabinets
the ebony pieces of Italian
The twisted
make
than
in
whicli found
opened.
This
marqueterie, and was copied from
tlieir
way
to
England
have gilded caps and bases, and the stretcher
legs
is
is
at this date.
unusualh' thick.
Cabinets of this kind appear to have been the production of East Anglia almost
exclusively (in fact, even at the present
day they
the West), and considering the numbers of

settled in Norfolk
St.
and Suffolk
are rarely found in the Midlands or
Dutch merchants and others who had
at this date, especially in
Edmunds, the strong Dutch character which many
Norwich, Ipswich and Bury

of
these pieces exhibit can
be easily understood.
Fashions in marqueterie of the
to be confined so
much
last
decade of the seventeenth centurj' do not appear
to periods as to localities, that
is,
if
we
are not to
entire production of these expensive pieces to have been chaotic.
be nearer to the truth to say that the distinction was even
and that the strong

is
similarity
due, very often, to one
man
between certain
finer
It
would, perhaps,
than one of
The panels
or one workshop.
in the front of Fig.

279
districts,
pieces, in the designing of the inlay,

It is unlikely
that master patterns
would be duplicated, or that prickings from these patterns would be sold

to other makers.
assume the
or given
away
367 and the top, shown in Fig. 368,

offer
an interesting instance
The four
of this duplication.
in depth, four distinct patterns
tiers of
must have been required
the frieze of the stand being a duplicate of the top stage.
drawers being graduated
for the
drawer fronts alone,
This inlay of birds
is
a very
familiar one, being found in the marqueterie furniture of this period too frequently to
be merely a
whim
of a popular fashion.
are duplicates, cut from the

in Fig. 40
and Plate IV
The panels
same pattern. Mr. Percy Macquoid
of "
exactly the same in design, as Fig. 367.
establish a
is
by no means exceptional
common
Even
if
Both
is
they
two examples,
identical, the
are very similar to, although not
this duplication, in original
in this bird-marqueterie)
source for both, there
settles, finally, that in
illustrates
The Age of Walnut," where the patterns are
one being the reversed counterpart of the other.
part (which
in these pieces are not copies
were not
and countersufficient to
the evidence of the woods themselves, which
some examples which have been
carefully examined, the grain of
the counterpart ground exactly matches the original inlay, proving beyond question
Fig. 383.
OAK BUREAU.
Veneered with holly and inlaid with
fine scroll marqueterie.
Date about 1690-5.
Viscount Rotherraere.
English Marqueterie
not only that the two must have been
made
in the
same shop and by the same man,
but they must both have been cut at the one time.
There are numerous evidences of

at
all
common
this
origin to be found in
Enghsh
furniture,
periods from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, but in no instance, other than
in this inlay of the
Orange period, can the
In this chest, Fig. 367, the inlay

in a figured
walnut ground.
part of the shafts
brickwork
is
The
legs
two woods, a
have square caps
an exceptional and very charming
of
are usually
cross-grained walnut,
almond wood, and the lower
by a serpentine
made from
moulded
detail.
to a
thumb
stretcher, centred in an oval or a
section.
Every variety
FIG. 383,
2S1
of marqueterie,
finely scrolled, can be
Fig. 384.
THE BUREAU,
was one on
straight pine, in narrow sections, edged with
from the ivory jessamine flowers and leaves to the
II.
and a reddish brown,
to 1695 the favourite pattern of small table
four twisted legs with bun-feet, tied
The tops
rich yellow
veneered with a rich yellow wood cut to simulate the coursing of
During the years from 1675
circle.
in
is
fact be stated so irrefutably.
SHOWN
OPEN.
found
in these

tables.
Frequently the back
is
inlaid to correspond with the front,
were made to stand away from a wall.
Fig. 369
is
showing that they
an example of about 1675-80,.
with marqueterie of choice design, especially in the laurelled bandings, and with the
central oval of the top not connected to the outer banding with ribs, as in Fig. 368.
Fig. 371
is
one of the ornate chests on stretchered stands with shaft-turned
in character to Fig. 369,
and
of
about the same date.
century when these inlaid chests begin again to be

stands.
They vary considerably
It is
made
legs,
similar
only towards the end of the
in the older fashion,
without
in quality, the appeal being, evidently, to a
wider
Fig. 385.
WALNUT VENEERED TABLE.

Inlaid with scroU-marqueterie of
dark wood
in panelled
Date about 1690-5.
2S2
grounds of holly.
Col. H. H. Mulliner.
English Marqueterie
Fig. 386.

Walnut
scroll
panels,
Fig. 372
by
ft.
1 1
ins.
one of these, veneered with simple marqueterie in
is
and with the ornamental brass escutcheons
As a variation from the more usual

made,
after
about 1680, with legs
in the
usually inlaid on the outer edges,
show one
of these tables,
operation from
its
very
of the time.
spiral-turning, tables
form
of
sides also.
to be
These legs were
an S or a double-C.
more rarely on the
fine in design,
and cabinets began
Figs. 373
but with the marqueterie cut
and 374
in a separate
ground, and with the consequent tendency to slight inaccuracy which
distinguishes the cutting of
Parham Park,
385.
marqueterie in panels of holly inlaid in grounds of walnut oyster-pieces.

3 ft
market than before.
FIG.
England from that
of Holland.
The
the Sussex seat of Lord Zouche of Haryngworth.
table
was formerly
The veneers,
at
especially
those of the top, have bleached with the action of sunlight.
From
the
same
collection,
which, although not extensive,
is
remarkably rich
in fine examples, comes also the charming desk, illustrated here in Fig. 375.
marqueterie
is
The
a closely designed intricate pattern of arabesques in light and dark
woods, cut with great exactness, and in quarters, pieced together

283
and banded with

laurelled borders.
desks,
with
legs,
of these
hinged
sloping
on
supported
Numbers
tops
pin-hinged pull-out
were made during the latter
years of the reign of William III,
but they are exceedingly rare with

marqueterie inlay. They were super-
by the
seded, shortly before 1700,
bureau with drawers below, of the

kind shown in Fig. 383
and
bureaux
of these
The interiors
desks
are
nearly always as elaborate as the

exterior surfaces, finely
ornamented
with marqueterie everywhere. They
were pieces, evidently, only made

important patrons.
for
A much
more
form of
delicate
arabesque inlay, of black wood in

holly, can be seen in the exceptionally
fine table. Figs.
376 and 377.
This
represents in design and execution,
the
high
watermark
marqueterie
and
Enghsh
of
shows
to
what
perfection the art had been brought

in
England, within a narrow period
of less than
twenty years.
only the progression

technical
in
It is
point
which
excellence
not
is
of
so
Fig. 387.
BUREAU CABINET.
Veneered with elm burrs and inlaid with
stringing
and marqueterie.
See Fig. 388 for interior view.
Date about
C.
700.
H. F. Kinderman/Esq.
284
English Marqueterie
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE CABINET,

FIG.
387.
Showing the door open and the
signature,
"Samuel Bennett London Fecit"
inlaid at
the base of the pilasters.
The
interior of the
bureau
is
exceptionally
choice.
C. H, F.
2S5
Kinderman, Esq.

"Temarkable
of the
woods
The
-as
is
the growth of taste in the designer, the restraint and judicious assorting
is
no
noteworthy.
less
phase of English marqueterie which, however advanced
last
an example of patient execution, yet indicates the decadence

the
inlay of
scrolled
fine
1695-1700.
It
marqueterie cutter a supreme master of his

that
it is difficult
to imagine that
The
inlaid in another.
two views
it is
of the
most remarkable china
some
is
itself,
work
of this
one wood, cut with a saw, and

In Figs. 378 and 379
effect is rather that of wax-filled engraving.
are given of a
the art
be
where we see the
pieces
So delicate
craft.
composed
these
in
is
of
may
it
case,
covered with finely-scrolled
marqueterie on the outer and inner surfaces of the doors, on the ends and even on the
rounded edges
The
veneers.
of the shelves,
and the base are beautifully carved,
cornice
The upper doors,
and
inside
the same way.
doors, "
The maker
of this case
larger, being
has signed his
very stout
in
from cross-grain walnut.
all
out, are veneered with closely pieced small
where the surfaces are
pieces, the lower doors,

in
which have a sand-burnt laurelling cut
laburnum oyster-
covered with walnut cut
name on
Samuel Bennett " on the one, and " Monmouth Square
the inside of the upper

"^
fronts of the drawers are rebated at the ends to cover the dividing styles, only
beads being allowed to project to mark the division

carcase- work throughout
is
of pine,
now
line
two small
The
between the three drawers.
painted a dark dull green.
a china cabinet, as the ends are glazed, and
The
on the other.
must have been made
This
specifically
is
to contain
some
of
the rare Oriental porcelains which were sparingly imported at this period.
Fig. 380
to,
is
a table of similar date and style, with the C-scrolled legs before referred
surmounted by carved female heads supporting the framing
cushions.
-and the
of the table
on tasselled
These carved heads, the projecting rosettes at the bottom of the

feet,
are all silvered,
and
may have
legs,
been originally covered with a golden
lacquer.
To what degree
of elaboration this finely scrolled marqueterie
Tjy the cabinet. Fig. 381,
and
its interior.
was by no means exceptional.
Fig. 382.
The bureau.
every surface, including even the edges or
work
of this piece
-original.
is
Such lavish use
Figs. 383
fillets,
and 384,
was carried
shown
of marqueterie veneers
is
another instance, as
has the same scrolled inlay.
of quartered English oak.
is
The carcase
Both handles and escutcheons
are
This form of bureau, consisting of an upper part in the form of a desk with
-overhanging ends,
is
of the seventeenth-century type.
1 Monmouth Square was the old name

IMonmouth until after the date of Sedgmoor.
for
Soho Square.
286
It
During the reign
of
Anne
contained the town house of the
it
was
Duke
of
English Marqueterie
make
usual to
the entire end in the one piece.
was mitred round the
method
and
of constructing these
whether
pieces,
front
The
in
sides in place of this overhang.
bureaux
of the
may
385 and 386,
scrolled marqueterie of
walnut
This
now
are decorative
rare, especially
be accepted as the
in holly panels.
the alternative
is
They
William III period.
marqueterie or in walnut, and are
table. Figs.
illustration will
Occasionally a boldly-projecting moulding-
when
development
final
inlaid.
of this
close inspection of the top in the-
show how the inlay has been designed
to allow of cutting in four sections-
at the one operation.
that architects,
It is possible
furniture-designing,
may have
to 1745,
who were beginning
and whose influence became very marked

been responsible for the decline
which they could have had
little
here in Figs. 387 and 388, which
may
On
of the
with the creation of
classical element, in the scrolled
The veneer everywhere
is
it is
pediment
not entirely the unaided creation
a finely figured, or pollarded elm, of
The trussed corners of the
a rich golden brown shade.
and base
of marqueterie,
from 1720'
be taken as bridging the marqueterie and plain
pilasters flanking the doors, to suggest that
of the cabinet-maker.
in the years
The extraordinary bureau cabinet shown
concern.
walnut furniture of 1700, has enough of the
and the
to intrude into the sphere of
"
bombe
" lower part,
and the
frieze
upper stage, are the only portions which are decorated with marqueterie.
the inside of the door the pilasters of the outside are imitated in inlay and cross-
banding, and on the bases again recurs the
name
of the
Soho cabinet-maker, " Samuel
Bennett, London, Fecit," in the manner of the early makers of long-case clocks.
from
its
missing akroter, the cabinet
is
in fine preservation,
and
of
superb quality.
Apart
That,
a maker of thirty years previously would have opened a door in this manner, bringing
with
it
the side pilasters and the frieze above,
is
doubtful.
This detail appears
to-
indicate the existence of a foreign element, in the designing of furniture of this date, of
which
many
and the
first
evidences will be found
two Georges
carrying us, as
it
is
when
the later furniture of the periods of
considered in a subsequent book.
With
this
Anne
bureau cabinet,
does, to the close of the seventeenth century, this chapter can be
brought to a logical conclusion, leaving the furniture of the eighteenth century, together
with
its
woodwork,
to
form the subject-matter
287
of another
work.
Chapter VI.
Domestic Clocks.
HE
late
seventeenth and eighteenth-century long-case
and bracket
clocks are such integral features of the English furniture of their

period,
field to
and
their acquirement offers such a fascinating
and
profitable
them
is
At the outset one
is
the collector, that some mention and description of
necessary,
if
book
this
is
to be comprehensive.
confronted with the difficulty of having written an exhaustive book on the same subject,
how
and the problem
is
in a royal quarto
volume
to condense the information

of
and
illustrative material contained
354 pages into the space of a single chapter, without omitting
something of prime importance to the student of English horology.

a good deal of excision
is
It is
obvious that
necessary, and, at the outset, space will forbid anything
beyond
a very brief mention of the clock movements or the historical development of the
clockmaker's craft.
The
collecting of English
reinforced
work
of
number
domestic clocks appears, at the present day, to be
by very inadequate knowledge.
Fine examples, and the merest rubbish,
the
the later eighteenth-century country makers unfortunately offers a great

of
specimens of the
latter,
appear
to
command
indiscriminate prices, some-
times absurdly high, at other times as ridiculously low.
poor clock in a case of
knowledge
little
or no merit
of the subject has the effect of
is
a worthless thing, and
enhancing the prices of the
of rendering the rubbish absolutely unsaleable, a real benefit will
on the discriminating
is,
a greater
fine clocks,
and
have been conferred
collector.
English long-case clocks
which
if
may
be divided into several periods, or
to a great extent, quite distinct.
To commence
with,
classes,
each of
we have the very
early
thirty-hour long-case clocks, generally in ebonj^- veneered, or ebonised panelled cases,

or in walnut, inlaid with simple stringing or marqueterie.
These clocks are one-handed,
the motion-work of the minute-hand being imperfectly understood at that date.

of this
kind date from about 1660 to 1672, but
thirty-hour single-handed clock
is
an early one.
it
Clocks
must not be imagined that every
They were made,
principally as hanging
wall clocks, during the whole of the eighteenth century, in the smaller provincial towns
or villages, and they are usually to be found, divorced from their original wall brackets,
288
Domestic Clocks
and married
square
dials,
to crude long cases, generally of
waxed
The early
oak.
and these are never more than about lo
1660-70 one-handed clock would
in
ins.
clocks have always
width and height.
almost certainly, from a London maker, and would
be,
name
be signed with his

straight
the
at
line
bottom
of
and usually
the dial,
" Johannes
thus
in
Latin,
in
Fromanteel,
Londini, fecit."
For the purpose

understanding
of
of a better
this
subject,
without entering more than

absolutely
necessary
technicalities of the
is
the
into
movements,
we can examine and describe the

visible
component
parts
of
long-case clock, and briefly state

Fig. 389.
THE DIAL OF
FIG. 390.
the various stages of evolution
from 1660 to 1800.
The
or
still
earlier
lantern
"
Crom-
wellian"
hanging clocks,
being
the progenitors of the long-case,
demand also some
brief reference.
necessary to touch on the
It is
technical side of our subject and

to
examine the mechanism which
causes a clock to go and keep
The motive power
time.
long-case
clock
is
the
of
fall
a
of
weights, suspended from pulley-
wheels channelled to carry the

gut lines
barrels
Fig. 391.
EXAMPLE OF A ONE-HANDED SQUARE

DIAL CLOCK OF LATE PERIOD.
(1740-50.)
-2 P
up.
To
which are coiled on
when
the clock
is
wound
these barrels the winding
squares, which can be seen in the
Fig. 390.
JOHANNES FROMAN
TEEL, LONDINI."
30-hour Striking Clock.
6
ft.
Ebonised case.
8 ins. high.
Waist
10 ins. wide.
Dial 8J
winding holes on the dial

289
face,
ins. square.
Date about 1660-^.

are
attached,
and the winding key turns these
squares and the barrels at the same time, thus
The
coihng the gut Unes and Ufting the weights.

barrels are cogged,
way only, thus preventing

from running down with its weight when
barrel to turn the one
the
line
the
winding-key
is
removed.
usually for the going,
The
respectively.^
each
to
is
and a spring-ratchet allows the
known
The right-hand
the
left
barrel
is
the striking
for
train "
the " going
" striking train " respectively.
It is
and
this
s.
'^
unnecessary
here to enter into an elaborate explanation as to
how and why
Is
"^
collection of wheels attached

as
'f^^
Fig. 392.
a clock goes and records time, as
EDUARDUS
9-in. Dial o
has been fully described in the larger book
Date about 1665.
" English Domestic Clocks " before referred to.

It is
EAST, LONDINI."
8-day Striking Clock.
obvious, however, that
going weight
is
if
the
the driving force of the clock,
uniform check must be placed on this

it
fall of
shall take eight days, a
period to accomplish
its
fall
the
some
so that
month, or some regular
descent to the
full
length
The eighteenth-century long-case
of the gut line.
clocks have usually a period of eight days, between
windings, that
is,
in technical parlance, the train is
one of four wheels from main wheel to the escape-
ment, but month and even year clocks were made
by the noted makers.
The check on the
fall of
the driving weight
the escapement and the pendulum.
The
is
fastest
wheel, and therefore the most easily controlled,

is
at the other
and
barrel,
Fig. 393.
is
is
toothed, and
end
of the train to the
known
is
gut-wound
as the escape-wheel.
This
engaged by two checks attached
"GULIELMUS CLEMENT, LONDINI, FECIT

8-in.
Dial of 8-day Quarter-striking Clock,
to the
pendulum, which
in its
swing alternately
ij-seconds Pendulum.
'
Date about 1675.
Henry
T. Brice, Esq.
In some complicated clocks, especially those with three trains,
this rule docs not always apply.
290
Domestic Clocks
Figs.
394 and 395.
WILLIAM CLEMENT, LONDON.

(Gulielmus Clement, Londini, Fecit.)
Month
Clock, Non-striking.
ij-seconds pendulum.
(61.155 ins. in length.)
Bolt-and-shutter maintaining power.
Water
OaU
gilt dial.
case veneered with burr walnut.
Sliding hood, supported on spiral click-spring.
Height of case, 6
ft.
6 ins.
lo-in. dial.
Date about 1675.

D. A. F. Wetherfield, Esq.
engages one and then the other of these checks

in the teeth of the escape wheel, allowing one
tooth to escape, and the wheel to revolve thus far
with each swing.
At the same
time, the
pendulum
receives an impulse from the crutch attached to

"the
escapement which
swing.
The
carries
clock, therefore,
time the pendulum takes to
on to
it
is
next
its
regulated by the
oscillate,
and
this is
a fixed quantity depending on one circumstance
Stated in exact
only.
language, a pendulum
with a length of 39-1393
bending point of the

top
to
the
centre
steel
of
ins.
from the exact
suspension
gravity
at
the
-^=.=J
of
the
entire
291
Figs.
396 and 397.
THOMAS TOMPION, LONDON.

(Thomas Tompion, Londini,
S-day Strilcing Clock
Fecit.)
water-gilt dial.
Finely pierced and carved hands.
Oak
Carved cresting to hood.

6
ft.
9 ins. high,
Slide-up hood.
gj-in. dial.
Date about i68o.

pendulum, has a swing occupying one second of

time to accomplish, no matter whether the arc
be wide or narrow.
registers, in seconds,
The
clock, therefore,
minutes or hours, the number
of the oscillations of its
pendulum.
In long-case
clocks,
where the pendulum
longer,
and where the arc
by the
inside
narrow
in consequence, the escape-wheel
vertically,
escapement,
adopted.
is
short,
is
sometimes
of seconds' length or
swing
of
case,
known
as
is
restricted
and has
is
to be
placed
"
as the " anchor
the
"recoil,"
is
In bracket-clocks, where the pendulum
and the degree
escape-wheel,
292
is
width of the
and what
merely
especially
of
in
swing immaterial, the

early
examples,
is
Domestic Clocks
and 399.
Fig. 398
JOSEPH KNIBB, LONDON.

(Joseph Knibb, Londini, Fecit.)
Month
Striking Clock, striking on
numeral system
two bells on Roman
Hour and minute
(see text).
Water-gilt dial and corner pieces.
solid silver.
Oak
tionally delicate hands.
circles
Excep-
case veneered with ebony
in raised panels.
ft.
8 ins. high,
lo-in. dial.
Date about 1695.

usually placed horizontally, the rod or " arbor
attached to the pendulum having two checks, which

engage,
This
is
in
turn,
known
escapement.
with the teeth
the
escape.
"
as the " crown-wheel " or " verge
The
of
power
difference in the motive
between the bracket clock and the long-case
is,
that
:5
in
former there
the
is
no room
weights, and a spiral spring
which
is
coiled
is
for
is
up when the clock
connected with
its
fall
of
placed in the barrel,

is
uncoils, gradually, as the clock runs
barrel
the
wound, and
down.
"fusee" by a gut
The
line,
and the function
of the fusee
pull of the spring,
which would otherwise be more
is
to equalise the
293
=====î^^^^
Early Rnglish Furniture and JVoodwork

powerful when fully
wound than when
nearly run down.
(See
Chapter IV, " English Domestic Clocks.")
With
this
mechanism, and turn to the
.^:
up
long-case dials
we
explanation
brief
can
the
dismiss
The
visible part, the dial.
to about 1715-20 are always square,
clock
earliest
measuring
10 ins. in the very early examples, 11
ins.
from thence to about 1720, 12
After about 1720 the arch
dial
ins.
up
to about 1700,
and
comes into fashion, the square form being made only by small
country makers.
much
The arched
dials
vary from 12
ins. across to as
as 18 ins. in the case of the gigantic Yorkshire clocks.
In the attempt to give a rational account of English domestic

clocks,
and one which
shall
be of value to the collector,
possible to illustrate those specimens

their fashion or period.
It
only
it is
which are representative
would be both a waste
of time,
of
and
highly misleading, to describe those examples which are merely
although
late repetitions of early types,
it
must not be
forgotten,
that, especially in the case of long-case clocks, such specimens
abound, the work of small provincial makers working
With
fashion.
this stipulation in
bygone
mind, we can proceed to our
examination of the dials of long-case clocks of the
and the eighteenth
in a
late
seventeenth
centuries.
Types of Long-Case Clock Dials

Fashions in long-case clock dials do not appear to
obtained until about 1670.
1660-5,
The
clock,
Fig. 400.
work,
JOSEPH KNIBB,
LONDON.
8 -day Clock.
the
perhaps, the very earliest type which was made.
being one-handed,
dial
are
without
clock
is
a thirty-hour
train of three
of simple panelled form,

294
Fig. 390
inside
The spandrels
any ornamentation, and the hand
action and a striking train.
Date about 1675.
its
but with
is
of
earlier lantern-
See p. 341 for illustrations of lantern-clock hands.
clock.
high.
no minute-hand motion-
the hour circle divided into quarters on
gilt.
ft. 2 ins.
having
development from the simple spade-form of the
with ebony, brass capitals
water
has
a Fromanteel dial of about
is
edge, with no minute divisions on the outside.
Oak case veneered
and bases to hood
3-r>d is,
Fig. 389
have
The
a key-winding
shows the clock case
ebony veneered on oak, with the
itself,
capitals
Domestic Clocks
Figs. 401
and 402.
DAN QUARE, LONDON.

Month StrikingClock.
2 bells.
Roman
Striking on the
numeral system as
Figs. 399
in
and 406.
i2-in. dial.
Date about
695-1 700.
James Stuttard, Esq.
Fig. 401.
Fig. 402.
and bases
of the columns,
shows the
late single-handed dial of a thirty-hour clock of
many
on either side of the hood,
respects, the appearance of
As a comparison
silvered.
about 1740-50, which has, in
With these
an early example.
Fig. 391
late degenerate types,
however, the details are a mere jumble, and the latest characteristics establish the date.
Thus
projecting
later.
specimen the pierced hand
in this
tail
The
on the other side of the
of the
is
collet,
1730-40 pattern,
by cords or
is,
It is
disregard the
wound by
therefore,
chains, in the old lantern-clock style
long-case clock, of a degenerate type.
we
and the brass spandrel-comers are even
clock has no visible winding-holes, and
the weights
if
an
pulling
up
infallible sign, in
a depraved example, and
is
only illustrated
here to show the differences between an early clock and one of later date but apparently
early character.
It is
hardly necessary to point out that these clocks are worthless to
the collector.
An
early dial, which
is
quite typical of
spandrel comers are engraved

brass corner-pieces
divisions are
circle is
on the extreme outer edge
their relative devisions
illustrated in Fig. 392.
is
The
This latter detail
of the circle.
is
finely pierced
is
an almost
and carved, the
and the exact attention bestowed, by the leading
trifling details is
on the
narrow, the numerals squat, and the minute
The hour-hand
an early clock.
dial centre beautifully " matted,"
makers, on apparently
period
a fashion which preceded that of the separately attached
and the hour
infallible indication of
its
circle,
shown by the
fact that the
two hands
just reach
the quarters on the inside and the minutes on the
outside, without trenching a fraction of an inch beyond.

29s
The
clock
is
an eight-day
Fig. 403.
Fig. 404.
BACK PLATE OF MOVEMENT.
Fig.
'
DIAL OF CLOCK.
i
Fig. 406.
405
SIDE VIEW OF MOVEMENT.

Figs.
403
to 406.

8-day Ebony Bracket Clock.
Roman numeral fashion.
Striking on 2 bells in the
Date about 1695.

Richard Arnold, Esq.
296
Domestic Clocks
and the
striker,
is
which
dial has the simple refined character
inseparable from a fine early specimen.
Edward East was
a noted maker, the Court Horologist to Charles
The next example,
II.
Fig. 393, illustrates the next develop-
ment, the provision of a subsidiary dial to mark the swings
pendulum,
of the
length
the
39-1393
pendulum
the case of a
or, in
pendulum
of seconds
the seconds themselves. In this clock

of \\ seconds length 61-155
and
ins.
is
ins.
the subsidiary dial, although
numbered from
to 60, has
only four divisions between each numbering of
The engraved
and so on.
5,
10, 15
corners, as in the East dial, are
here replaced by brass-winged cherub heads, and in early
by renowned makers, these corners
clocks,
found
finely chased,
and frequently
will
water-gilt.
always be
This clock
maker who adopted the

the
" anchor" escapement, and the name
signed " Gulielmus
is
by William Clement,
first
is
Clement, Londini, Fecit," across the bottom of the

the usual fashion of that date.
Malcolm Webster
for
it
is
also
am
indebted to Mr.
permission to use this photograph
illustrated
Clocks," and
the
again,
dial, in
84 of " English Domestic
in Fig.
four preceding examples in this
chapter.
William Clement's dials are always characterised by

quiet refinement of style.
collection the next
similar
to
Fig.
From
example
Mr. Wetherfield's unique

taken, in character verj^
is
Both have the long
393.
61-inch,
i|
seconds length pendulum, the subsidiary dial having fortyeight divisions only.
being a
power
394
month movement, and
of the
of duration
differs
from Fig. 393
may
in
possessing the maintaining-
kind known as the bolt-and-shutter.
descriptive detail
be of service here.
Some
In the matter
between windings, we know that an eight-day
clock, with a seconds
has
Fig.
pendulum,
a train of four wheels
i.e.
39-1393
from main
ins. in length,
to escape.
Clock
Fig. 407.

Jlonth striking Clock with skeletort
dial.
ft.
8 ins. high.
lo-in. dial.
Date about 1685-95.
wheels are geared together by means of teeth and pinions,

II.
297
D. A. F. Wetherfield.Esq.

the former, on the periphery of the wheel, engaging
with the
latter,
or shaft.
A wheel-motion, therefore, from left to right,
communicates
opposite
attached horizontally to
itself
This
direction.
next in order, in the
the
to
"arbor"
its
apparent
is
to
anyone
acquainted with cog-and-pinion, or cog-to-cog gearing,
and must be evident
We
thought.
which
see, therefore, that the
this
move with
and
it,
Fig. 408.
motion must be from
the
or
last,
main wheel, from
direction,
to right.
left
moves from
the next, the centre wheel, from
left,
same
in the
next, or third wheel, therefore,
seconds finger,
attached directly to the arbor of the escape-
is
wheel, must
and
on a moment's
to the untechnical
The
right to
left to right,
right to left again.
and
To
8-day, 2-bell Striking Bracket Clock, with

skeleton,
minute-numbered
the arbor of this main wheel the winding square of the
dial.
Date about 1685.
going train
is
attached, and in winding
reverse the going of the wheel, compensating for

line
from which
winding-key from
weight
the
left to right.
fall
by some ten
depends,
Now
of
eight
or
twelve
with a month clock there
is
and one wheel
one end of the train must have
at
its
would look absurd, therefore
it
This
must be turned from
to a clock with a
method
of detecting a month-clock,
pendulum shorter than seconds
probabl}^ does, consist of a greater or lesser

of a seconds dial
and
finger
the
for the additional
its dial
right to
We
from right to
left,
this
instead of
the case of an eight-day clock with a seconds pendulum.
left to right as in
a rough-and-ready
is
of
must be the main wheel which must have
reverse motion, and, in winding, the key
the usual
turns
the gut
motion reversed.
cannot reverse the escape wheel, as a seconds finger moving round

left
da3'S of
an additional wheel,
between the centre and main wheels, to provide the extra gearing
duration,
we merely
but this will not apply
length, as the going train
number
of wheels than four,
may, and
and the absence
removes the objection to the escape-wheel having a reverse
motion.
The second point

to.
It
to be explained
must be obvious that
as the motive
ing, consists in the fall of a weight,
winding-key, and the power
is
by
its
swing through
this period
is
the maintaining-power device before alluded
power
of a clock, of the kind
when we wind
the clock
temporarily removed.
own momentum, but

298
we
lift
this
we
are consider-
weight with the
long pendulum will usually
the clock, especially
if it
be finely
Domestic Clocks
adjusted, will not keep time during the period of the winding.
be very
clocks,
was
to
acts
overcome
adopted.
depressing
of error will
but the old clockmakers prided themselves on the accuracy of their
slight,
and
The margin
This
provides
putting
lever,
on the going
maintaining power
this defect the
operation
in
thereby
train,
or
pulling-string
which
spring,
the
driving
clock
by
spring-power during the period while the driving weight

is
To ensure that
being lifted on the winding-key.
spring-power
without any option on the
used
be
shall
this
part of the person winding the clock, shutters are provided

in
front
protect
which in some measure

dust and these shutters can
the winding-holes
of
the
from
clock
by putting
only be opened for the winding of the clock

the maintaining power into action,
string or depressing
square
is
striker,
10
ins.
a lever.
In
hidden by this shutter.
Fig.
the
has
train
394 the winding
(The clock, being a non-
The
has only the one winding-hole.)

square, and
by pulling a
either
been
dial
measures
" planted "
to
occupy part of the space which would have been required

for a striking train.
Fig. 395
shows the clock
in its case,
The
the latter being of oak veneered with burr walnut.
hood has no door, and

to slide
up
is
made with grooves
in the
back
for winding, a click-spring being provided to
hold the hood up during this operation.
This
is
the usual
device with early long-case clocks.

Fig. 396
is
measuring only 9J
hour ring
delicate,
manner
of
and
Tompion
ins.
same early
date,
square, and with the refined narrow
that period.
the
dial of the
The hands
dial-plate
is
are exceptionally
water-gilt,
to the Clement dial. Fig. 394.
Fig.
in
similar
397 shows the
case, of simple burr-walnut veneer, the only extra embellishFig. 409.
ment being the carved
cresting to the hood.
It will
be
observed that these early clocks, of superfine quahty, were

rarely put into elaborate cases.
Tompion ever had
do not think that Thomas
marqueterie case
made
for
any
of his
^j,
example of a square-
walnut^cTse'ôf goodTrTportions and with its

CORRECT BASE.
1700 type.
Fig. 411.
JOSEPH KNIBB, LONDINI, FECIT.

Fig. 410.
8-day Clock, in oak case veneered with English walnut,

quartered and cross-banded.
6
ft.
ins. total
height, gj ins. width of waist.
The
carved pediment and central ball are typical of the

early cases of
Tompion and Knibb.
Fig. 411.
The
Knibb
dial of Fig. i6i, signed

;
Londini
on bottom edge " Joseph
Fecit."
Fig. 412.
Back view
dulum, which
its
of clock
is
movement, showing the pen-
of seconds length (39.1393 ins.)
and
" butterfly " nut on the rod for extra regulation,
in addition to the nut
shown
in Fig. 165.
Date about 1690.

Fig. 410.
300
#
Fig. 412.
Domestic Clocks
"
Grandfather "
movements.
ebony veneer, the

panelled,
either
cases
and sometimes,
Walnut
or
or
plain
as in this example,
a carved cresting to the hood, were the only
enrichments he appears to have
He
evidently regarded,
and
tolerated.
rightly too,
the clock itself as being
the
main point
terest,
and
tions of
of in-
elabora-
all
detail, finish
and workmanship were

on
lavished
and
dial
mechanism
the
behind
the
The next
it.
two examples, shown in

Fig. 414.
Figs. 398, 399
and 400,
clocks by Joseph
BACK VIEW OF THE CLOCK

Showing
Knibb
the.
(FIG. 161).
outside locking plate and extra adjusting]
nut over the pendulum suspension.
from Mr.
^^'etherfield's
Nothing could
collection, are exquisite illustrations of this point.
be finer than the Knibb
dial.
seconds circles are of solid
water
corner-pieces,
The hour and the
Fig. 398.
silver,
the dial and
its
beautiful
Both hour and minute hands
gilt.
are
exceptionally beautiful even for this age of fine clock-making.
The
striking
strikes in
on two
tones,
bells of different
Roman numeral
as far as I
is
is
fashion, an innovation
struck once at five o'clock, twice at ten.

bell
marks the
which originated,
Thus the deep tone
know, with Joseph Knibb.
blows on the small
and the clock
One, two or three
hours
first
bell
four o'clock
is
sounded by one blow on the small followed by one on the large

bell.
One on the
o'clock
Fig. 413.
o'clock,
THE HOOD RAISED ON

ITS CLICK-SPRING.
Showing the rocketting catch

which fastens the hood when
the trunk door
is
closed.
large followed
by one on the small marks
one on the small followed by two on the large
and so on.
thirty blows are struck
is
six
nine
simple calculation will show that onh-
by
this
method
as
compared with the
usual scvcnty-eight in the twelve hours, a valuable economj- in

.
power.
t'
-i
Considering that this Knibb clock

301
is
ot
j_i
month
duration,

and the
striking
same
the
has to function with the going train for
period, the value of this striking system
apparent in a clock of this

6
ft.
the case only measures
size, as
any undue length
8 ins. in height, which precludes
the gut hne on the barrel of the striking train.
The
square.
case, Fig. 399,
The
dial
is
of
lo ins.
veneered and panelled with ebony
is
with the metal mounts water

of
be
will
In
gilt.
my
opinion this
is
one
the four finest examples in Mr. Wetherfield's collection.
Of similarly high quality to Fig. 399

from
case
hand
the
is
of
is
Joseph
Fig. 400, also
The
Knibb.
veneered with ebony, the mouldings
faced from solid wood, and the caps and

bases of the hood-columns are of chased
brass,
water
the
of
are
dial
fashion
Fig.
of
The spandrel-corners
gilt.
engraved,
392
the
in
the
hour
early
circle
is
narrow, the dial finely matted and water

gilt,
and the movement has the bolt-and-
shutter maintaining power.
my opinion,
not oxAy the
is
This clock, in
earliest,
but also
the finest example of Joseph Knibb's work
by Mr. Wetherfield, even among
possessed
the unique specimens which the collection

contains, the previous
cepted.
example alone
ex-
have recently discovered that
Quare copied
this
from Knibb.
Roman numeral
striking
Mr. James Stuttard of Fence
House, near Burnley, has kindly lent
two photographs, reproduced here
me
in Figs.
401 and 402, which show the dial and the

side
[
view
(These
of a
two
month
clock
by Dan Quare,
clocks are photcgraphed to the same scale).

Fig. 416.
Fig. 415.
CORNELIUS HERBERT, LONDON.
CHRISTOPHER GOULD, LONDON.

8-day Striking and Pull Repeating Clock.
case.
ft.
ins. high,
C.
yj-in. dial.
5 bells.
Marqueterie
Date about i6go.
8 ft. 4 ins. high.
D. Rotch, Esq.
302
Marqueterie case.
Date about 1700..
12-in. dial.
Domestic Clocks
Fig. 417.
Fig. 418.
THOMAS TOMPION, LONDON.
JACOBUS HASSANIUS, LONDON.
Dial of S-day clock of about 1700.
Dial of 8-day clock of 1710 type.
and the IV on the
Roman numeral
will write
the
Actually this
plan.)
the
The
Roman
Quare on
is
dial,
instead of the usual IIII, indicates the adoption
system of
" 4 "
as
"
striking.
IV
"
if
(It
this
figure III.
Quare clock
is
in
dial
It
any but
signed "
dials of clocks striking
Dan
on
this
Ouare, London," and above
This probably indicates that this clock
is
the third
is
made by
this system.
Mr. Richard Arnold has a bracket-clock
way.
by the way, how many people
they are asked to number a dial from memory.
always engraved " IIII "
dial of
surprising,
is
of this
is
illustrated in Figs. 403 to 406.
numbering
be noticed.
will
It
by Knibb which
The same
peculiarity of the "
understand the reason of
difficult to
is
also strikes in the
IV
same
" in the
this striking
in a bracket-clock, the striking-duration offering
no problem,
month
Actually, the going train of this clock
long-case, especially
requires to be
twice.
wound
The system,
when
of small size.
same space
five times in the
as
it
does in the case of a
of time as the striking train
therefore, in the case of this bracket clock, can only
is
wound
have been
conceit.
Fig. 407 illustrates
two features which are rare on bracket-clock
The hour
rarer in the case of long-case clocks.
showing the matting

circle is separately
numbered
of the dial underneath,
numbered from
skeleton-dial.
The pattern
to 60.
ring
is
cut
away between
and
This
is
technically
known
and the
still
the numerals,
and every minute on the outside
of the corner-pieces
303
dials,
of the
as a minute-
style of the case,

s^
Fig. 419.
JOS. DAVIS,
Fig. 420.
RATLEFE HI WAY;
Dial of 8-day clock of 1710
(late)
LANGLEY BRADLEY, LONDON.

Dial of S-day clock of the
type.
veneered with laburnum and inlaid with simple marqueterie of

leaves, indicate a date not later than 1695
movement
is
month
The
striker.
710 15 type.
and jessamine
stars, fans
and possibly some ten years
case measures 6
earlier.
8 ins. in height.
ft.
The
Fig. 408
is
another skeleton minute-numbered dial from one of Joseph Knibb's bracket clocks,
which shows the detail more

A^'hile clocks of
to procure
It
distinctly.
the type of the last five examples are rare and valuable,
more ordinary, but
still
it is
possible
very refined specimens, at quite a commercial price.
must be remembered, however, that these early clocks were,
until quite recent years,
very scantily appreciated, and have by no means reached their true value.
Nothing could
be more refined and pleasing, as articles of furniture, than the simple walnut long-case
clocks such as Fig. 409.
The movements
are almost invariably of good,
quality, the cases are usually of small unassertive size,
requirements of ordinarj' good-class furnishing.

recognise a good clock at a glance.
practically instantaneous.
clocks are worthless.
It
The
The
the clock.
collector,
The appreciation
fulfil
not fine
all
the
however, should learn to
of the following points should
clock should be an eight-day, at least
should have a striking train,
reason to the contrary, as in the case of Fig. 394,

front of the dial,
and the clocks
if
unless
be
thirty-hour
there exist sufficient
with both trains winding from the
and the hands should be well pierced and
of the pattern of the period of
A study of clock-hands may be made, with ease and advantage, by the collector.
304
Domestic Clocks
Several typical examples are illustrated
on pages 341 to 343, and each clock

one
furnishes
illustration
pair,
which
can be examined with a magnifying glass.

Corner-pieces
but
maybe
of several patterns,
they are merely rough castings,
if
without chasing, they are subsequent

additions,
and
it
would be advisable to
The hour ring
suspect the entire clock.
unless the silvering

been worn away, and
should be silvered,
has, obviously,
the
minute
on
either
divisions
the
set inside, with
extreme outer edge, or
if
an additional space
outside
Arabic minute numerals,
for
the
neither
the
space nor the numerals should be large.
minute numerals indicate the
Coarse
late degenerate
country-made clock.
The pendulum should be
of seconds'
Fig. 421.
length, at least , if the clock has a seconds

dial,
JOHN DAVIS, LONDON.
minimum pendulum-length can
the
be taken for granted,
i2-in square dial with
and the weights
added arch.
1730 type.
should be of the original brass-cased kind for preference, not merely coarse lumps of
lead, as
they so frequently
to the plinth
are.
and the base,
In examining a case, always pa^^ the greatest attention
after this to the slides of the hood.
where restorations or additions are the most
permissible.
likely.
Legitimate restorations are quite
case such as Fig. 409, for example, even
preferable to a mere ruin.
The double plinth
finish of high-grade cases of
this period,
These are the places
if
of this case
much
is
restored,
would be
the correct and original
and should be preferred
to other patterns.
Additional feet under the plinth are rarely original.
As pointed out before

opening doors, the hood
by a
in this chapter, the
itself
being
made
to slide
click-spring while the winding operation
to oblige the
hoods of these early long clocks have no
is
upwards on runners, held
performed.
in position
Another ingenious device,
winder to open the bottom door, and thus to prevent the
common
practice
of winding, vigorously, until the weight collides forcibly with the seat-board of the clock.
11.
35

was
to lock
rocketting
the hood with a
which
catch,
was
only released by opening the
lower door (see Fig. 413).
The square-dial
clocks are
the
most interesting and
the
most valuable.
also
These early
specimens, even at the present

day,
offer
chance,
and
educated
to
the
discriminating
collector, of acquiring at a price
which
certain to appreciate
is
in the near future.
The same
remark applies to the ebonycased basket-top late Stuart and
Orange bracket
will
clocks,
which
be described and illustrated
These clocks cannot
later on.
be forged
to
deceive
anyone
with a slight expert knowledge,

although the names of famous-
Fig. 422.
AN EXAMPLE OF THE DIAL AND MOVEMENT OF AN

ELABORATE LONG-CASE MUSICAL CLOCK.
ham
are
makers, such as East, Tompion,
Knibb, Ouare, Gretton or Gra-
sometimes re-engraved on indifferent clocks, the original engraving being
stoned out.
clock without a maker's
as the rules of the Clockmakers'
name should always be regarded
Company,
as suspicious,,
a powerful and autocratic guild, obliged
each maker to sign his work, up to at least as late as 1740, beyond which date custom
resulted in the
same practice being followed
until the early years of the nineteenth
century.
I
have
Knibb,
of
collection,
illustrated, in Figs.
410 to 414,
many
a kind not exceptional, like
in
fact, of a quality
which
full details of
it
of the
a long-case clock by Joseph
examples
might be the fortune
collector to find in country districts, especially in Oxfordshire,
purchased this clock early in 1919.

its
many
It
in Mr. Wetherfield's
of
any discriminating
from whence Mr. Arnold
has been chosen for this reason, and also because
virtues are not apparent at a
first
^06
glance.
To begin
with, the clock
is
not
Domestic Clocks
only by
Knibb
Joseph
it
Knibb's
work-
manship
touched
is
un-
by the
clock-jobber.
The
hour ring has

been
re-silvered
and the numerals

re
and
-waxed,
that
is
all.
The
hands are beautifully pierced
and
carved, and
the
Fig. 424.
cherub -headed
Figs.
DAN QUARE, LONDON.
corner-pieces are
Month
wellmodelled and
chased.
There
Finel)'
Hands were
is
dial,
finely pierced.
Carved cresting and corkscrew
pillars to
hand.
Date about 1700.
although the pen-
dulum
striking Cloclc.
engraved dial and cliased spandrel corners.
Oak
no seconds
423 and 424.
is
of
The winding-holes
seconds' length.
are wide apart,
the unusual " planting " of the trains,
appearance to the
The hour
dial.
remembered that the
due to
which give a refined
ring
is
broad
must be
(it
dial has not the delicacy, as
has not
it
the quality of examples such as Fig. 398), with the minute

divisions on the outer edge.
The outside locking-plate is large,
and spoked, planted outside the back-plate

with
early clocks.
in the usual
Later on, this locking-plate
attached to the main wheel, and inside the plates.
is
later
development
is
way
found
still
the rack-striker, for details of which the
Fig. 423.
reader must bs referred to "English Domestic Clocks." Joseph
Knibb's peculiar square-section striking
bell will
;same fashion will be remarked on the other
Knibb
be noticed above the
dial,
and the
clocks illustrated in this chapter.
The pendulum bob has no regulating screw underneath, but the pendulum rod

itself
has a " butterfly " adjusting screw, and there
The spoon-shaped rocketting

lower door
is
is
catch, before referred to, which locks the
closed, can be seen in Fig. 413.
The hood
catch, attached, high up, on the backboard at the side.

rail of
the hood
is
fitted
another above the suspension.
is
here raised on
wound by unauthorised
its
coil-spring
In addition to this, the lower
with a keyhole, so that the hood can be locked.
did not intend his clock to be
hood when the
persons.
The
Joseph Knibb
case
is
of oak.
:-^?r-.'
(SI
m^
W):'^
^^
.R'
Fig. 425.
CASE OF PANELLED
EBONY.
Fig. 426.
CASE VENEERED WITH FLORAL

MARQUETERIE IN PANEL.
308
Fig. 427.
CASE VENEERED WITH " ALLOVER " MARQUETERIE.
Domestic Clocks
'^"iatsamfA
->
?i3s?S3i..
iv
^<^'*.
i<f-
3d
r
-^'^"^^^'msam^'v^.-iTfe:
m
wm
('^'^.xitra^.^BM. f
Fig. 428.
CASE VENEERED WITH "ALL-
OVER
"
MARQUETERIE.
Twisted columns to hood.
Fig. 430.
Fig. 429.
MINIATURE CLOCK WITH

SKELETON DIAL.
Case veneered with
" all-over
" marqueterie.
CASE VENEERED WITH
ARABESQUE MARQUETERIE.
Gilt spires
and trusses to hood.
Viscount Rothermere
309
Fig. 431.
ARABESQUE MARQUETERIE OF
DARK WOOD ON LIGHT GROUND.
Fig. 432.
SEAWEED MARQUETERIE.
Fig. 433.
MOSAIC MARQUETERIE.
Collection of D. A. F. Wetherfield, Esq.
.ilo
Domestic Clocks
veneered with English wahiut of good
The hood has the Tompion type
figure.
of
cresting (refer to Fig. 397) centred with a turned

ball.
This clock has
been specially
il-
lustrated as an ex-
ample of akind and

--
_..^. M^d
quality for which
the clock-collector
should seek.
In
good condition,
with the base
tact,
in-
and the works
not tamperedwith,
/iootO;/î25would
be
reasonable
price to pay.
The
however,
should,
seek
with
excep-
for
tional
ties,
collector
peculiari-
such as dials
the
hour
circle cut
away
Fig. 435.
Figs.
434 and 435.
CHARLES GRETTON, LONDON.

S-day Striking Clock.
between the num-
Added arch top

erals so as to
show
Oak
the brass dial un-
derneath,
skeleton
tfSrl i;*a*.:5At?sr.i.ss'i
cases veneered with walnut
ft.
si
ins.
high over
fore described,
or
inlaid with floral
by \\\ width of
by 15 J ins. high.
all
Dial II ins. wide
be-
and
marqueterie.
the
dial
to dial.
Dial signed in three places.
waist.
Date about 1720-5.

the separate numbering of each minute in the outer ring, as such

details materially
add to the value and
interest of the clock
are not always reckoned as extras in the price

of
unusual duration are rare.
a higher
Fig. 434.
sum than an
year clock
3'i
demanded. Clocks
Thus a month clock
will
command
eight-day, other things being equal,
will realise at least four
and
and a
times the price of a month.
Fig. 437.
Figs. 436
and 437.
CHRISTOPHER GOULD, LONDON.

8-day Striking
Cloclt.
Bolt-and-shutter maintaining power.
Exceptionally
Each minute on
Case decorated with
7
ft.
fine
hands.
dial separately
gilt
numbered.
gesso on black lacquer ground.
8 ins. high.
i2-in. dial.

D. A. F. ^êthe^field. Esq.
Fig. 436.
312
Domestic Clocks
A
year " striker," that
is,
a clock with a striking train of
a year's duration between windings,
thought
little
ft.,
an impossibihty.
show the reason why.
will
Miniature clocks,
to 5
is
i.e.
long-cases which are from 4
or less, are very rare,
pendulums almost equally
ft.
ins.
and clocks with ij seconds
The
so.
collector should note
that primitive, "pull-up " hanging walLclocks are frequently
found enclosed
original
in
in
miniature
form.
this
possible, with
they
Genuine miniature,
mother," clocks should be

if
but
cases,
pendulums
eight-day,
pendulums reaching only
or
never
" Grand-
key-winding, and,
of seconds length.
often made, however, with short " bob
are
"
They were
or bracket-clock
to the seat board of the clock.
miniature long-case clock, with key- wind, seconds pendulum,

of eight-day duration,
with three trains, i.e. chiming on
bells, and in a good marqueterie case, would be worth from
200 to 300, and certain adjuncts, before described, such

as a month's duration, numbered minutes or a skeleton
might easily add
dial,
another ;îoo to the price.
The
duration of a clock, between windings, cannot be increased,
would be imagined, by lengthening the fall of the weight

and the gut line, as the barrels will only allow a certain
as
number
of turns of the line.
Neither can another wheel be
added without absolutely remodelling the train, and spoiling

the clock, although this has been gravely stated as a
possibility in a recent
book on the subject.
A very exceptional miniature

clock
shown
by Christopher Gould,
in Fig. 415.
smaller bells.
in a fine
It is fitted
striking the hours on
Its height is
eight-day " Grandmother "
large
marqueterie case,
is
with a pull-repeating string,
and the quarters on four
only 5
ft.
9 ins.,
and
it
is
shown
with another fine clock, of similar type, by Cornelius Herbert,

Fig. 416,
both being reproduced to the same
Before leaving the subject of the square
scale.
dial, it will
be
advisable to pass a few examples in review and to show

11.- 2 S
313
Fig. 438.
SAMUEL LEE, LONDON.

Burr walnut case with carved mouldings.
Date about 1725.

the changes which occur in the
centur\'.
Fig. 417
Tompion
is
years of the eighteenth
first
dial of 1700, of beautiful
detail
and workmanship.
form,
and well pierced and carved.
The hands
are simple, of
fine
The corner-pieces
are of the earUer simple cherub-head form, but the later
character
by the band
indicated
is
the square dial,
but
late
of engraving
unusual feature,
edge of the hour ring, with a separate
circle to
were sometimes used on dials as late as 1705,
numerals
for the
the
eighteenth century.
contain
Although the outer-edged minutes
the xA.rabic numerals.
circle
and
minute divisions back from the outside
setting of the
round
an
is
this separate
infallible indication of the
As the years advance,
this separate
ring becomes larger, until in the later arched form of dial
the Arabic numerals are
much more important than
Long-case clocks also grow
minute divisions themselves.
considerably in size after about 1705, about 6
ft.
being the
usual height from 1700 to 1705, but after 1735
much
exceptional to find cases as

floor to the
as 8
it is
not
6 ins. from the
ft.
top of the dome.
In the next example, Fig. 418,

dial type of 1 710, the
circle
the
slightly cutting
we have
the square-
hour ring broad, the seconds

into
its
dial
inside edge, the winding-
to prevent scratching of the matted surface

of the dial with the winding-key, well pierced hands, but
holes ringed,
now
ring
419
trenching over their particular divisions on the hour

;
is
and elaborated cherub-head spandril

the succeeding style, differing very
corners.
little,
Fig.
excepting
breadth of the Arabic numeral ring, and the
in the greater
corner-pieces of amorini supporting a crown capped

Fig. 420
Maltese cross.
Fig. 418, but the
hour ring
by a
has the earlier corner-piece of

of 1710-15.
This example
may
Fig. 439.
MARKWICK, LONDON.
8-day Clock.
9
ft,
Green
lacquei' case.
4 ins. total height.
Date about 1735-40.

Percy Webster, Esq.
be classed as the last phase of the square
dial.
Opinions are divided as to the date of the earliest

arch dials, and
114
am
inclined to the \-iew that they did
Domestic Clocks
not become fashionable until between 1720 and 1725.
is
I
Tompion
the large
clock
the
in
have twice seen a replica of
Pump Room
clock
Pump Room
curious fact, and one showing
were the dictates

is
dial
and
as such,
rare.
beyond one
inscribed "
It
is
tliat
dial,
in the
Fig. 421
that
is,
is
The arch
ornament, being
Tempus Fugit,"
hour ring
numeral on
of the arch
but
is
/"(r\
filled
no function
fulfils
b}^
is
a silvered ring,
flanked by dolphin spandrels.
divided
the inside edge.
in
frankly revealed.
one piece, of the very earliest type,
a significant sign of an arch dial

the
was
one which was made specifically
an example.
is
of
it
strip of brass,
other examples the joining of the two
The true arch
how paramount
The junction
sometimes hidden by a
is
arched dials are really the older
square form with the arch added.
and the
specimen known
of fashion in the early eighteenth century,
the very early
that
The
was made about 1709, but the arch was
evidently more than an innovation at this period

a discovery.
earliest
at Bath.
hands.
this in private
The
into
from 1725
quarters
to 1735
between
In later clocks this
each
always
is
omitted.
From 1740 to nearly 1765 long-case clocks were sparingly

made in London and the important southern county towns.
The fashion evidently
^êered
from the long-case to the
bracket clock, as the latter were plentiful enough during

this period.
much
After 1765 the long-case dial loses
earlier interest.
Clocks being
taller,
and the
of its
dial in con^'K'Ci^'
sequence
features
being
placed
become
coarser.
late bold style. Fig.
clock
a greater
Many
height,
that one could be
general
in this
422 being a noteworthy example.
This
less
used, operated from the spiked
the illustration.
the
were made
fine clocks
chimes and plays tunes, no
strikes,
hammers being
in
at
than
fifty
drum shown
These drums were usually made so
removed and another substituted.
The
four subsidiary dials, on the corners, regulate the chiming
and playing.
The arch has the usual moon-work, a revolving

315
Fig. 440.
WALTER
SMITH, CUCKFIELD.

Dead-beat escapement.
Green lacquer case.
Date about 1760-70.

disc,
numbered with the days
The days
of the calendar
of the lunar
month
month, and a fixed pointer
in the centre.
shown through the aperture under the hands,
are
on cither side are the month and

day,
the
and above,
respectively,
number
This clock
month
of the
is
itself.
Dutch make,
of
but others of similar elaboration
were made
in this country.
noticeable
point
difference
of
between the early and

dials
late arch
that the arch of the
is
former
is
always
than half
less
a circle, but the latter
is
always
either a full half-circle or even
more.
"
Grandfather
Clock
Cases.
The
"
cases of these so-called
Grandfather " clocks of

Orange,
Stuart,
the
Oueen Anne
and Georgian periods can be

classified as follows
to 1 715
we
find
From 1670
the panelled
ebony or ebonised cases (which

are always early)
side
by
being
made
side with those veneered
with plain walnut or inlaid with

marqueterie.
about
From
1715
1740 we get the
to
plain
walnut case, generally veneered

with
wood
of
rich
figure.
Fig. 44-1.
Fig. 442.
WALNUT CASE, ARCH DIAL,

WITH CORNICE ARCHED TO
CORRESPOND WITH THE DIAL.
WALNUT
CASE, ARCH-DIAL
CLOCK, BY JOHN ELLICOTT,

SQUARE CORNICE OVER ARCH.
316
Domestic Clocks
Lacquered cases overlap, from 1705
before
rare
exceptional,
From 1740
1715.
and
or in veneers,
mahogany,
almost exclusively employed.
number
necessary here to give a
either solid
as
-already been dealt with, in full detail, in
For the same reason, and
hardly
It is
examples of each
of
although the types are very numerous,
Clocks."
they are
1765 long-case clocks are
to
after this latter date
is
1760, but
to
class,
the subject has
" English Domestic
also because this
book
is
intended as a guide to the collector, to show him what to
than what to avoid, examples of the declining
collect, rather
when
period,
hands
the
long-case
of the small provincial
makers, have been omitted.
became depraved
clock
the
in
and even the important Yorkshire

Those who desire information on
these points can be referred to the larger book.
Marqueterie cases can be resolved into several classes or

kinds, although, with
some
of late or early date.
amount
There are
evidence., for
of
of
the
made
marqueterie cases were

celebrated makers
reservation, these are not indicative
the
many
reasons,
that
assertion
in
and a certain
many
of
these
Holland to the order
of the
The
from 1690 to 1720.
period
reasons for this conclusion have been stated, at considerable

detail, in " English
length,
and
there
neither reason nor space for a recapitulation here.
is
in
full
Domestic Clocks," and

If
.
this
theory be admitted, however,
easily
be,
various
styles
and probably were, older than the era
importation of
differences
the
in
these
.,^j
owm
may
of
the
marqueterie cases into England,
and
decoration were probably dictated, either by
the stock of the
Dutch case-maker,
of the English horologist.
There
or the personal predilections

is
no doubt that the cases
inlaid with simple marqueterie, such as Fig. 407, are usually

earlier in date
than those in the
full
once this type of case was admitted to the fashionable clock-
making world,
it
was persistentty rejected by Tompion, and
only tolerated by Knibb
Fig. 44-3.
marqueterie style, but
in his later clocks,
any co-ordination
HIGGS AND EVANS, ROYAL
EXCHANGE.
8-day Clock
style
and date ceased
to exist.
ft. 2 ins.
Dial i6i ins
317
for the
Spanish market.
8
vof
in red lacquer case.
An example made
high.
bv
12 ins.

With the exception
of the
early star and fan inlay,
we can
marqueterie into "
divide
and
panelled
over,"
Further
mosaic.
itself into
the
of
classification
marqueterie
all-
coloured,
****
monotone, arabesque, etc. might

,
be attempted, but
necessary
almost
would be
it
to
make
separate class for each
and
clock,
must
this system, therefore,
be abandoned. Generally speak-
however,
ing,
mar-
coloured
when
the
queterie,
especially
ornament
is
of jessamine leaves
and flowers
of white or stained
green ivory, in a ground of dark
wood,
than the inlay
earlier
is
sycamore
of yellow holly or
Panelled ornament, as
walnut.
a rule,
in
is
"
than " all-over
earlier
marqueterie, but this
is
subject
to wide exceptions.
The form
itself
of the long-case
undergoes a defined pro-
from 1680 to
gressive change
1710.
"
grandmother "
is,
of
that
exceptionally
size,
hoods were
for
0-inch dials
usually
up
small
made
to 1690,
and
Fig. 445.
MAHOGANY CASE WITH
MAHOGANY CASE WITH CONCAVE CRESTING TO THE HOOD.

1
clocks,
those which were specifically
made
Fig. 444.
Apart from miniature or
CON-
CAVE CRESTING TO THE HOOD.
750 type.
!l8
770 type.
Domestic Clocks
^l"5U'
Fig. 446.
WALNUT CASE "GRANDMOTHER " CLOCK.

1750 type (very rare).
Fig. 447.
MAHOGANY
CASE,
REGULATOR
CLOCK.
Dead-beat escapement.
1
790 type.
3>9
Fig. 448.
SATINWOOD LONG-CASE
CLOCK.
In the form of a balloon bracket clock
on a pedestal,
c.
iSoo.

from thence to 1700 the ii-inch
clocks,
was the
dial
where greater space under the

trains,
dial
for the extra wheels
was required
One almost
of
the
invariable custom,
make
before 1695, was to

ing,
month and year
measurements were usually
these
exceeded.
In the case of
rule.
the bold mould-
under the hood, of convex form, and
after that date of
Domes
concave section.
above the hoods, with flanking, and often
surmounting
were
spires,
general
the
fashion, with important clocks, after about
before which date the hoods were
1695,
roofed and
left
Cases veneered and
square.
panelled with ebony are always early, and

generally of
screw
Cork-
hood are
earlier,
pillars flanking the
in style only,
latter,
Dutch manufacture.
when
than plain columns, and the
in original condition,
and when
attached to marqueterie cases, were always
To veneer
inlaid to correspond.
columns implies that the veneer
and
state of great strain,

especially
if
it
circular
is
in
readily peels
of
marqueterie
these columns can usually be detected

fillets
off,
the case be exposed to damp.
The former presence
two
on
by
remaining, of veneer thickness,
above the base and below the astragal

rings under the capitals.
A review of
these early long-case clocks
would not be complete without an example

of the finer
work
of
Dan
Ouare, a maker
whose work appears to have varied from the

Fig. 449.
Fig. 450.
AYNSWORTH THWAITES,
AYNSWORTH THWAITES,
CLERKENWELL.
CLERKENWELL.
8-day,
Long Pendulum
The companion to
Clock.
Case veneered with Thuja wood.
Offices of H.JI. Secretary of State for India.
320
Fig. 449.
Domestic Clocks
very highest class to the most
He had
mediocre.
most
extended business career, was
born in 1649, admitted
to the
Clockmakers' Company, in 1671,
became Master
in 1708
He was
in 1724.
and died
member
of
the Society of Friends and was
buried in their ground at Bunhill
He was clockmaker
Fields.
House
the
to the first of
Brunswick, but
this
of
appoint-
ment was only made a few years

before his death, and
when he
was quite an old man.

finest
His
work was done from about
1685 to 1700, in Exchange Alley,

that centre of the clockmaking
craft
to
close
change.
the
Ro^'al Ex-
Ouare specialised
in
clocks of exceptional duration

at least four-year clocks
being known.
is
at Bucking-
Palace, a third at
Court and
by him
Mr. Wetherfield
has one, another
ham
Hampton
have since seen a
fourth in a country house.

is
It
probable that there are others.
Figs. 423
fine
and 424
month
illustrate
clock by Quare, in
burr- walnut
The hour hand,
veneered
of
case.
broad spade
Fig. 452.
Fig. 451.
AN EXAMPLE OF A CASE USUALLY
JOHN HOLMES, LONDON.

Mahogany
KNOWN
case in the true
Chippendale style (very
II.
AS "CHIPPENDALE."
These clocks are usually of Lancashire make.
rare).
321
Early English Furniture and U'ôodwork

form,
I
am
is
typical of this maker, and the case, although plain,
of opinion that
later,
of beautiful quality.
Quare only adopted the marqueterie case grudgingly, and
and poorer work.
expended on
is
When we
their clocks,
consider the time and thought which these old makers
must have been annoying
it
for his
to
have had them considered
merely as pieces of furniture, and prized solely for the decorative quality of their cases.
Before dismissing these fascinating square-dial clocks from our notice,
it
well to pass, in an orderlj^ progression, a few types of cases in rapid re\-iew.
Tompion
Fig.
426
walnut.
is
case in panelled ebony, the dial of which has already been
be as
Fig. 425
is
in Fig. 417.
a case veneered with floral marqueterie, panelled, in a background of figured
Fig. 427
to the hood.
in the
shown
will
is
an example
Fig. 428 has the
same proportion
of all-over marqueterie,
dome and
as Fig. 428,
In Fig. 430, the marqueterie
is
is
more
spires to the hood.
and without superstructure

Fig. 429,
of the
reduced
dial.
Arabesque type, and the hollow moulding,
Fig. 454.
EDWARD STAUNTON, LONDON.
EAST, LONDON.
S-day, 3-train, (Juartcr -striking Clock.
8-day Striking Bracket Clock.
Ebony
is
a charming miniature clock with a skeleton
Fig. 453.
EDWARD
which
Three
case.
bells.
Ebony
case.
Date about 1680.
Date about 1680.
322
Domestic Clocks
below the hood,
and
is
decorated with car\ed and
correspond.
gilt pine, to
and with a 12-inch
Fig. 431
Fig.
This
is
month
is
The
clock
finials are also of
by Charles Clay, 9
Fig. 432 approaches to the
dial
carved
ft.
high,
seaweed
an excellent example of the mosaic inlay already
434 departs from the square-dial form, and
when the arch
this reason, as
a tall
type to Fig. 430.
dial, similar in
kind of marqiieterie, and Fig. 433

referred to.
is
gilt trusses.
came
into vogue, marqueterie
is
very exceptional for
was a bygone fashion.
a late example, probably of about 1720-5, and the clock has a square dial with
an added arch.
Its dial
is
shown
in Fig. 435,
where the
join of the arch to the dial can
be clearly seen.
436 and 437, which close this
Figs.
clock
and
dial
by Christopher Gould
series of sqaare-dial clocks, illustrate a
in Mr.
beautiful hands, of the most elaborate kind
separately
numbered on the outside
raised gilded gesso on a
ground
of the
hour
The
dial
has
have ever seen, and every minute

ring.
The
case
is
is
decorated with a
of black lacquer.
Fig. 456.
Fig. 455.
THE ENGRAVED BACK PLATE OF FIG. 455.
ROBERT SEIGNIOR, LONDON.
8-day Striking Bracket Clock.
Ebony and
Wetherfield's collection.
superb
tortoise-shell case.
Date about i6go.
323

Generally speaking, the introduction of the arch dial marks a distinct period in
Tompion used the arch form on
English clock-making.
in 1709
and on
at least
two other examples, but only

have seen, and
earliest arch-dial clock I
some
seconds dial with a fixed central pointer.
low the arch

than
its
is,
all
much
the moulding
The vogue
as an innovation.
is
added
members
The
case of Fig. 438
for lacquer-work, as a decoration for clock-cases,
already been illustrated in Figs. 436 and 437.

finials
and
trusses to the hood, decorated
height
is
ft.
ins.,
and
it
One
Fig. 439
on a ground
must have been made
for
is
of
a fine
tall clock,
Roman
even
finer
figure,
an important room.
lyi-
ms by
12 ins.
by
(>\ ins.
numerals on the revolving disc are illuminated from behind.
Date about 1680.
324
examples has
with elaborate
dark green lacquer.
EAST, LONDON.
Front and back views of a day-and-night clock.

the
is
how
extended from about
Fig. 458.
EDWARD
niglit
the
probably
walnut of rich
of the earliest
Fig. 457.
At
is
is
are carved from solid walnut.
nearly to the close of the eighteenth century.
Fig. 438
be noted in these early examples
It will
of oak, veneered with burr
is
Bath
clock at
for a purpose, to contain a revolving
as the half of a circle.
The carcase-work
clock.
and nearly
1 710
rarely as
Pump Room
cannot be dated before 1720 and
this
In this clock the arch
five jêars later.
the
Its total
Fig. 440, also
Domestic Clocks
Fig. 460.
Fig. 459.
SAMUEL WATSON, LONDON.
Dated 1687.
1690.
-^^
Fig. 462.
Fig. 461.
RICHARD JARRETT, LONDON.

Skeleton dial.
"^'9o
16S3.
EXAMPLES OF EBONY-CASED BASKET-TOP BRACKET CLOCKS

325

exceptional in possessing a dead-
a green-lacquered clock of the usual type of 1760-70,
is
beat escapement, and
iine regulator,
by an
to
of
maker
insignificant
From 1725
is
in
what must,
at that date, liave
about 1740 the fashion was
walnut of the type shown

dial
superb quality, equal to a
and upper door,
in Fig.
is
it
was made
been a small Sussex
for long-case clocks
village.
veneered with figured
The cornice following the arch
441 and 442.
as in Fig. 441,
and yet
Fig. 442
the earlier style.
is
a line clock
of the
by John
Elhcott, with a chart for calculating the equation of time pasted on the inside of the
lower door.
good example, and an exceptionally
1755-60,
is
shown
in Fig. 443.
the " Anglo-Chinese "
manner
fine
The ground
is
of the period.
specimen, of a lacquered case of about

red, the
The
ment, playing four tunes, marked as " Song,"
"
clock
ornament raised and gilded

is
a chiming and musical
March," " Minuet " and
in
move-
" Carillon "
~rAfr*-;r*Trai^T;î;a^1*ii^^
Fig. 464.
Fig. 463.
E.
JOHN MARTIN, LONDON.
SPEAKMAN, LONDON.
Domed
Case inlaid witli marqueterie.
brass basket.
,
1690-1700.
690.
D.
526
.\.
F. Wetlierfield, Esq.
Domestic Clocks
Fig. 465.
Fig. 466.
AHASUERUS FROMANTEEL,
LONDINI, FECIT.
Ebony-cased, 30-hour, Quarter-stiikiiif; and
i\Iu.sical
Clock.
and unusual specimen. At 5, 9 and 12 o'clock

one of two tunes is played on eleven bells
from a spiked drum.
\'ery rare
Fig. 465.
Side view of clock, showing nest of
bells.
Fig. 466.
Back view, showing unusual winding
cranks.
(The winding-squares are beneath the
dial.)
Fig. 467.
Front view of the clock.

Height, 14
ins.
Dial
width, 12 ins.
S:^ ins.
by 7J
depth,
9.',
ins.
ins.
Date about 1665-70.
Hansard Watt, Esq.

Fig. 467.
327
Early English Furniture and IVoodwork:

respectively on the right-hand subsidiary dial in the arch, the
and " Not Chime," both

is
effected
This
is
by hammers
dials
having a small index pointer.
striking
on nested
bells,
a good example of the elaborate, and
for the
" David
Spanish market from 1750 to 1770.
Evans
"
becomes " Diego Evans."
left
The
being for " Chime

striking
'"
and playing
operated from a revolving spiked drum..
somewhat gaudy
clocks which were
made
In the signing of the dial of this clock
The
full style
Evans
of the firm, "
Higgs and
Koyal Exchange"
of the
(they had practically a

of the
monopoly
Spanish market, as Mark-
wick Markham and Borrell had
was more often
of the Turkish)
engraved " Higgs y Diego Evans."'
The double concave
cresting to-
the hood was a favourite detail,,

especially with
mahogany
from 1750 to 1770.

an example of the
Fig.
first
cases,
444
is
and Fig.
445 the last of these dates.
Both
and
clocks are of good quality,
only minute details of dial and

case indicate the early date
the
of'
one and the later date of
the other.
Fig.
miniature clock
446
in a
is
a pretty
walnut case
of the 1750 period, interesting
account of
its
diminutive
on
size,,
but hardly representative of
its
period, as these small long-case
clocks
followed
rarely
current
fashions very closely..

Fig. 468.
REGULATOR Clocks.
JOSEPH WINDMILLS, LONDON.

8-day Striking Bracket Clock, in walnut case of unusual form.
Finely chased brass mounts.
17 ins. high, without handle, gj ins.
wide by 6
ins.
deep across case.
With
the
century regulator clocks we get
Date about 1715-20.

Capt. N. R. Colville, II.C.
32S
late-eighteenth-
return, to
the earher square
Domestic
dial
the
of
late
seventeenth century,
as
in
the same function, of timing other clocks and watches in regulating shops.
this
Fig.
447,.
of the regulator type, although they doubtless fulfilled
which were hardly
for clocks
and the fashion obtained,
Clocks-
kind are almost invariably of
fine
Clocks of
quahty, usually with " dead-beat " escapements..
Exceptional Clocks.
From about 1775

made, but
to nearly 1800 long-case clocks of exceptional
these, although
illustrating or exemplifying
form were sparingly
very interesting to the clock student, are quite sporadic,
no fashion, and
are, therefore,
somewhat out
of place in
orderly progression of English clock

Fig.
fashions.
apparently a
448,
satinwood " balloon " bracket clock
on a
pedestal,
is
really
long-
pendulum clock with a seconds

Figs. 197
dial.
and 198 are an interesting
pair from the India Office, formerly
East India Company's House.
in the
The one on the
dulum
clock,
right
is
a long-pen-
the one on the
left
(now inoperative) was formerly connected with a weather-vane on the

roof,
and showed the direction and
force of the wind, the phases of the
moon,
Both
etc.
cases are veneered
with Thuja wood, and the clocks

are signed
by the one maker, Ayns-
worth Thwaites
of Clerkenwell.
The
design of the cases exhibits, strongly,

the influence of the school of Robert
Adam.
The El Dorado
collector
the
clock
the Chippendale long-
is
case, that
of
is,
one in style similar to
the examples illustrated in Chippen-
Fig. 469.
THE INVERTED-BELL TYPE OF

dale's
" Gentleman
II.
and
Cabinet-
1730-40.
329
CASE.
an

which
makers,' Director," not of the usual type
is
often loosely styled " Chippendale."
Mr. Wetherfield has one, an apparently unique clock by John Holmes, illustrated here
in
Fig. 451,
date about 1765-70, in a mahoganj' case, the design of which
of
Thomas
" Director "
The
Chippendale.
is
strongly
reminiscent
irrational
and absurd, and could not have been made as they were designed, but
this clock
of
is
just
a practical
of
what one would expect from one
and cultured
clock-case
described as a " Chippendale " clock

in
it
maker.
is
of
designs
hands
of these patterns in the
452 shows what
Fig.
are
usually
is
a type which was made, in numbers,
Lancashire during the late eighteenth century.
Bracket Clocks.
With the younger brother
of the
long-case clock, the spring-driven or
bracket
clock
known
(usually
as
" table clock " in the eighteenth cen-
we have
tury)
to return nearly to our
The
starting-point.
known resemble very much

of
the
Fig. 400).
The
veneered
either
the hoods
ebony panelled
architectural
the
long-case clocks of
(e.g.
examples
earliest
period
1675
cases are generally
with ebony or are
of solid pear tree, stained black.
movements
are always of the highest
narrow
quality, with line early hands,
hour
The
circles,
with minute divisions on
the extreme outer edge, well chased

corner-pieces
Fig.
453
is
and
water-gilt
an example of Edward
East's work of the period
when he was
Court Horologist to Charles
454
is
clock,
Fig. 470.
THE TRUE BELL-TOP
a three-train
three
bells,
period,
1755-95 type.
330
and
II.
Fig.
quarter-striking
in an ebony case,
by Edward Staunton,
CASE.
dials.
Figs. 455
of the
1675-80
and 456 show
Domestic Clocks
the
front
view and the back plate,
by Robert
respectively, of a fine clock
ebony and
Seignior, in an
case, of
some
tortoise-shell
.ten years later.
Figs.
457 and 458 are front and back \iews

of
another
Edward East
clock, with a
curious device of a pierced hour circle
behind
the
through a
visible
dial,
lunette above the engraved hour ring,
show
the numerals being cut out to

light through,
when a candle
other light
placed behind the
is
example
This
may,
or
some
dial.
therefore,
be
described as a "day-and-night clock."
These early architectural bracketclocks are exceedingly rare, and well
worthy the attention
Somewhat more
ciently
scarce,
of the collector.
but
plentiful,
in
suffi-
qualities,
fine
are
the basket-top cases, the succeeding

fashion which covers the forty years
from 1680 to 1720.
These
cases, six
examples of which are given

459 to 464, are generally
in
in Figs.
veneered
ebony, but they are to be found, in

rare instances, with marqueterie cases,
e.g. Fig.
464,
still
rarer,
veneered
with tortoise-shell, and, rarest of

with mother-o'-pearl.
may
all,
The basket top
be of wood, brass,
or,
as
in the
case of a fine clock, similar to Fig.

461,
and by the same maker,
Wetherfield's
collection,
of
in Mr.
pierced
Fig. 471.
THE TRUE BELL-TOP STYLE OF CASE ON

BRACKET.
silver.
Fig.
462 shows
the
simple
This
moulded ebony
top, the case
mounted
is
the true bracket clock.

1
331
760-1800 type.
ITS
Early English Furniture and Môodwork

'Only with the engraved fret in the upper
"upright styles of the door.
to its winding-key,
has
Fig. 459,
the brass
the
Fig. 461 the metal basket
hand
of
Richard Jarrett.
chased handle and
and the two escutcheon
\-ery fine
and
spires, the clock
spires
Fig. 460 possesses
by Samuel Watson, signed and dated
ball spires,
Fig. 463
plates on the
Joseph Knibb clock, original even
mounted top and corner
the brass pierced' basket on a fine clock
and
rail,
on a clock with a skeleton
dial,
shows the brass domed basket with a
by E. Speakman.
Martin, unfortunately with a type of minute
Fig.
464
hand some sixty years

in
later
finely
than the clock,
veneered
case
from
by John
a clock
is
1687,
with
arabesque marqueterie.
fine
All these
basket-top clocks illustrated here

are pull-string repeaters, repeating
cither the last hour or the quarters
or frequently both on
One
bells.
of the earliest, certainly
the most elaborate, and, possibly,

the finest of these basket-top clocks
is
shown
This
in Figs. 465 to 467.
remarkable specimen
Hansard Watt,
collection of Mr.
The
Hampstead.
veneered on
from the
is
case
at
of ebony,
is
oak, with
front
door which opens by operating a
The winding-
concealed spring.
holes are below the dial edge,

this has necessitated a
and
system
of
double cranks for the winding,
which can be seen
The
and 466.
in
Figs. 465
entire case, with
the exception of the back -board,
can be
lifted
manner
of
hoods.
Fig. 472.
AN ELABORATED VERSIONÔF THE BELL-TOP STYLE
oft"
the
The
332
base, in the
early
long-case
escapement
is
"
crOWU-whcel, with a " Crutched
bob pendulum.
1770-1800.
its
The quarters
are
Domestic Clocks
struck
on two
separate
at 5, 9
bell.
and 12
a spiked drum
bells
One
of
two tunes can be played,

on eleven
o'clock,
is
at will,
operated from
bells,
The
the fashion of a musical box.
in
duration, between the windings,
but this
and the hours on a
(ting-tang)
is
only thirty hours,
the period of the brass lantern clock of the
known
pull-up kind, the eight-day clock not being
at
this date.
The arch type

the long-case,
rarely as
much
of
the bracket-clock, as in
dial in
begins with the same flattened form,

as the half of a circle,
and usualh' with
The
the lunette used merely as a decorative feature.

first
arch-dial bracket
exceedingly rare,
the
tall clocks.
a name
clocks,
much more
This example
of high repute,
such as Fig. 468, are
so than
is
is
the case with
by Joseph Windmills,
and the maker,
would
as one
expect,
Fig. 473.
the
of
ENGRAVED BACK-PLATE OF A
BRACKET CLOCK BY JOHN
FROMANTEEL, LONDON.
square dial, both

in long-case
bracket
and
almost
clocks.
is
of
The
example
the
arch, being a novelty
date of the clock cannot
be later than 1720, and

years prior to this,
may
used on
is
be even a few
all
four sides, in-
The
stead of the usual front and back only.
wood
is
walnut, of a fine golden colour, and the
terminals,
all
finely
detail
and
and other brasswork

chased and
its fine
and valuable
As
this
gilt.
of the case, are
Both from
quality, this
is
its
CLOCK BY JAMES CLOWES, LONDON.
clock.
book has been
w^ritten
information, primarily, of the collector,
be
idle to trace the
333
rare
an exceptional
for
Fig. 474.
ENGRAVED BACK-PLATE OF A BRACKET
his
exceptionally choice, both in
quality and design.

at this period,
close
This, although a late
business career.
of his work,
the
to
it
the
would
bracket clock beyond about

1760, after which date, although patterns
of cases multiply rapidly, specimens are
worthy
rarely
attention of
of the
discriminating
We
connoisseur.
the
can
conclude this review with two further

of
styles
bell-top,
bell-top,
clock,
as
in
also
as
usu?.lly the true
469 has a red lacquer

is
and the true
Fig. 469,
Figs. 470
in
inverted
the plain or
case,
and
case,
bracket
Fig.
471.
but this type
more frequently found veneered with
richly figured walnut,
and very charming
these walnut clocks are
when
proportions are correct.

late
example
Fig. 471
is
is
Fig. 470
and
is
the bell-top case, and
of
a similar clock on an earlier
bracket of the George
472
style
Fig.
period.
the elaborated edition of the same
Cases of this descrip-
late bell-top style.
tion usually contain complicated chiming
Fig. 475.
gilt
clocks,
made
Spanish market.
for the
and 474 show the
CARTEL CLOCK.
In carved and
and were frequently
and musical
ornate
Figs. 473
back-plates
usual in these early bracket clocks up to
pine case.
Date about 1735
about 1740-50.
type of the two, shown by the outside locking plate
The simple
is
the former
bob pendulum on each should be noted,
light
only found on bracket movements after 1700.
direct
that
is,
to
the
however,
such
a pull-repeater only.
as the
heavy
they are not " crutched," and are not detachable.
in consequence,
heavy
is
latter is the earlier
disc
which accounts
form
conversion,
at
later
From
although improving the
clock, diminishes its value as a genuine
or jarring,
for the fact that so
date.
specimen of
century horology.
334
disc type
The early pendulums
their light weight thej^ are very susceptible to vibration
deranged
The
the
By
point
also
reason of
and are
many were
collector's
are
easily
converted
of
time-keeping qualities
view,
of -the
late seventeenth or eighteenth-
Domestic Clocks
Mural or Cartel Clocks.

Mural or Cartel clocks present so many types that space
is
them here
lacking to consider
have been illustrated
some variety
in
The elaborate wall
Clocks."
clock, such
and gilded wood cases present the

true Chippendale
;
its
" English
in
as
Fig.
Domestic
is
475,
an
and decorative possession, however, and these carved
interesting
1735
they
in detail, especially as
The date
case.
of
proper habitat one of the
equivalent to the
closest
example
this
tall
about
is
pine-panelled rooms of
the early Georgian era.
Brass
The
"
Bird-cage
" lantern " clock
called " bracket " clock,

of the latter
or Lantern Clocks.
the direct progenitor of the so-
is
and
"
illustrates the misleading character
" lantern "
name, as the unconverted
cannot go
other than on a bracket, owing to the space required for the
long
or
" royal "
pendulum
and the
whereas the " bracket " clock

or a table,
hence
name
the
fall
name used
weights,
of " table " clock, generally
Fig.
used
476 shows one of
or " bird-cage " clocks, to

when they were made,
at the time
the
go equally well on a shelf
will
in the eighteenth-century design books.
these early lantern
of
employ another
with
its
long
pendulum and weights complete.

Lantern
vary.
main
clocks
The "train"
(in
to escape.
have
is
this case the
certain
wheel over which the weight-cord runs)
rare,
are
clock
by Edward East having
finely
this form,
Figs. 477 to
engraved brass
seldom
nearly always one of three wheels from
Eight-day clocks of
known.
which
peculiarities
case,
although exceedingly
fine
miniature
Fig. 477
shows the
479 illustrate a
this duration.
which
is
water
gilt
479 has
Fig.
the side door removed, and the four-wheel train of the eight-da^
"
clock
can be seen.
the back,
i.e.
the
As
this
pendulum
illustration
side,
of
the going
the clock
train
is
is
from
on the
Fig. 476.
..
jhos.
trafford fecit."
30-iiour Brass, striking
Lantern Clock.
right,
the striking train
being always
at
33S
the
back
in
these
Date 1660-70.
Fig. 477.
Fig. 478.
Front \'iew.
Side view showing the engraving

of the case.
EDUARDUS
E/ST, LONDINI, FECIT,
8-day Miniature Striking Lantern Clock,,
with finely engraved brass and

mercury-gilt case.
Chased
frets.
8 ins. high over
by 3j
Unique example.
all,
ins.
by 3|
deep.
Date about i66o.
Fij^.
479.
Side view showing door removed.
The 8-day
train of four wheels
can be seen.
336
ins.
wide
Domestic Clocks
Fig. 480.
WM. PAYNi,
Fig.
481
EAST SWITHFIELD.
IN
30-h3ur Brass Lantern Striking
Clocli.
Balance-wheel control.
Very
I
j|
ins.
rare example.
high over
by 5j
I
in.
all,
by b\
ins.
deep.
hour
circle.
ins.
wide,
Date 1618.
Fig. 482.
II.
337
Fig. 483.
Fig. 484.
EDUARDUS
EAST, LONDINI, FECIT.
30-hour Brass Lantern Clock.

1660.
lantern
clocks.
The two
striking side of the
The second
cross-bars
actuate the hammer-tail, naturally
from
the
movement.
peculiarity of these clocks consists in this planting of the one train
behind the other, just referred
matter of fancy on the part
Long
to.
of the
or short
maker, but,
pendulums appear
to
have been a
about 1670-5,
in the case of clocks prior to
the pendulums themselves are conversions, the original escapement being a large balance-
wheel placed horizontally under the large

in situ, photographed from above,
and
with the doors removed, in Fig. 481.

of a watch, only, naturally,
bell.
Fig. 480
The wheel
much more
slowly.
the " potence bar " shown in the illustration.
Fig. 482
is
shows a balance escapement
the clock
itself,
oscillates in the
With each
The
shown
same way
oscillation,
holes left
view,
as the balance
strikes against
by the removal
" potence " are always to be seen in an early, converted, lantern clock.
338
it
in side
of this
Original balance-
Domestic Clocks
wheel lantern clocks are exceedingly
rare.
have only
seen two, and have heard of a third, as the result of

3'ears of
examination of these early clocks.
Figs. 483
and 484 are two views
a fine early
of
example, the weights carried on chains instead of plaited

cords,
and possessing the early characteristic
of a clock
of high quality, the simple pierced hand, the
hour
circle,
narrow
the engraved dial-plate and side doors and
the chased frets.
The clock
immediately under the hour
is
signed across the dial

"
ring
Eduardus East,
Londini."
For the
collector,
must be
several points
stated
connection
in
with
lantern
these
Fig. 485.
They
clocks.
made, especially
were
JOHN CRUCIFEX, LONDON.

A
in re-
example with a minute hand.
late
c.
mote country
1710-15.
villages,
end
as late as the
many
of the eighteenth century,
of the early characteristics being repeated over
An
over again.
the character of
and
early clock should not only possess-
time
its
it
should be fine in work-
manship, and signed by a London maker.
have
never seen a 1670 clock of good character with a

provincial maker's
with
If
its
name upon
minute motion-work,
is
it.
minute hand,
alwa^'s a later addition.
the minute wheels under the dial are original (in
any case an old minute hand would be used) the

clock
is
later
than 1695-1700.
Fig. 485
is
hand clock by John Crucifex, London, and

later, or at best
Fig. 486.
LANTERN CLOCK WITH HERALDIC

FRET.
lDOO-70.
The
C.C, 1712.
are
some indication
periods,
there
is
is
probably
only a few years prior to the date of
his
all
a minute-
frets
above the
of date,
dial, if original,
but these were copied at
from 1710 to the present day.
(I
believe
a thriving factory, in or near Birmingham,

339
Karly English Furniture and JVoodwork
Fig. 487.
Fig. 488.
JOHN BOWYER, LONDON.
LANTERN CLOCK WITH DOLPHIN FRETS.

An example
Lantern Clock chiming on lo bcUs.

c.
which speciahses
converted from a balance to pendulum
1660.
in the
control.
manufacture of " old
or armorial fret, as on Fig. 486.
" lantern clocks.)
Fig. 487, a fine clock
The
1660.
earliest
is
the heraldic
by John Bowyer, chiming on
nest of ten bells and striking on the large one, shows the elaborate type of this
Fig. 488 exhibits the dolphin fret of 1675-1695, with an early type of hand.
fret.
Fig. 489,
to conclude these examples, illustrates types of lantern-clock hands from Mr. Richard
Arnold's collection, and Figs. 490
et seq.
show examples
of the
hands from early long-case
clocks.
It is
almost impossible to state values of these lantern clocks, as not only do prices
tend to appreciate, but so

lantern clocks
rare.
up
much depends upon
qualit\', original state, size
to 9 ins. in total height are valuable),
Thus a clock with
its
original balance intact,

340
(miniature
and points which make examples
and otherwise
of
good quality,
is
Domestic Clocks
Fig. 489.
EXAMPLES OF LANTERN CLOCK HANDS.

Collection of Richard Arnold, Esq.
341
Fig. 492.
Fig. 491.
Fig. 490.
Fig. 493.
EXAMPLES OF HANDS FROM LONG-CASE CLOCKS.
easily
one,
worth 8o to
;îoo
would be dear at
spire)
with
its
the same clock with a pendulum,
2'^.
engraved and
The tiny East clock

gilt case,
(it is
especially
only 8
ins.
if it
be a short
high to the top of
its
much
as
and eight-day duration, would
realise as
200 at a Christie auction.
At the other extreme, a common
late clock
is
worthless
a few shillings even
!
?
Fig. 494.
may
Fig. 495.

342
Fig. 496.
Domestic Clocks
Fig. 497.
Fig. 498.
Fig. 499.

be thrown away on
To
it.
the clock collector, and indeed to the collector of furniture
in its widest sense, three items of advice
hurry.
(2)
may
Don't begrudge a good price
rubbish at any price.
These are
the article be really
(i)
ftne,
Don't be
(3)
in a
Don't buy
fourth caution might be added, namely, to acquire the requisite
knowledge before commencing

of this chapter rather than at
Two examples
if
be useful.
to collect,
its
but this should have been put at the beginning
conclusion.
of the quaint labels
sometimes found pasted
to the inside of
trunk
doors of long-case clocks.

ALL SORTS OF CLOCKS AND WATCHES
(RESTORED) AND REPAIRED BY
PICTURES FRAMED
JEREMIAH MARTIN
AT TOTTENHAM HIGH
Orders taken
at the Sign
at
Enfield
CABINET & CHAIR
Head, at
Woodford Town, the
of the King's
Chigwell, the White Hart, at
George,
CHAS. MOSLEY
CROSS.
Town, the
Two
Brewers,
MAKER
CHURCH STRSET
MANCHESTR.
NO. 18
at
Ponders End,
Mr. Chapell's,
Shopkeeper,
at
Loughton, Mr. Colecloth's, Marsh Street, Walthamstow, Mr. Kirby's, the end of Wood Street, Walthamstow, and at his house at Tottenham.
Sells
all
sorts of
Mahogany Bureaus, Chests of

& other Tables, Ward-
Drawers, Clock Cases, Card

robes, Bedsteads
343
&
other Cabinet Goods.
Chapter VII.
Work.
English Lacquer
HE
Enghsh lacquer
history of
merely a continuation, or rather a
is
main stem
divergence, from the
of the points
cesses
would be
desirable.
of the size of this book.
we would have
the whole of the Mongolian races, and from the present
The
difficulties of
the task can be indicated
we know that
date,
to a
by the following
work
Oriental lacquer
day
wâs
of the various pro-
to consider practically
somewhat remote
classification.
made almost
we must look
is
much
to China.
The work, however, must be studied
Peninsula, Japan, India and Persia, and

itself,
we
find the flat
if
we attempt
ornament, the raised, the cut
(the " coralline " or cinnabar lac being
we
As regards countries
older than this.
(or
an example of the
period.
In point of
continuously, since the
sixteenth century, from the evidence of actual examples, and there
suppose that the art
many
for their elucidation,
and a technical description
In the Eastern work,
and to
In addition,
advanced would require actual pieces
to be either satisfactory or convincing,
itself,
and photograph, would
illustrate the progress of the latter fully, in text
occupy several volumes
work
of the Oriental
is
every reason to
of origin, ultimately
in
Korea, the Malay
to classify the lacquer
work
Coromandel) and the carved
As regards
latter).
colouring,
find the black, the red, the yellow or buff, the green, occasionally the blue,
sometimes the gold grounds.

inlaid
The ornament
either simply gilded, in other pieces
the
many
colours,
enter into the field of European lacquer
work we
with solid gold, or decorated with
When we
is
and
polychrome lacquer.
find the
still
same
classes,
with others added, and the further confusion of Occidental pieces sent in the East India
Companies' tea ships to be lacquered

the old
bills of lading,
in
and actual pieces
China and Japan, as we know from a study of

of Oriental
used in the making of European furniture.
It will readily
foregoing, that to treat of the subject in full detail

of this size,
and we have
may
out of the question in a single chapter
begin by defining the terms to be used.
a dual meaning, to describe
be seen, therefore, from the
method
of condensing
it,
with
be useful to the collector.
recent innovation, or rather, has changed
word has
is
to adopt the least objectionable
due regard to such knowledge as
We may
work imported here and cut up and
The word
its significance.
what we know
344
Even
" lacquer " itself
at the present
as lacquer work,
and
is
day the
also to indicate
English Lacquer JVork
Fig. 501.
Fig. 500.
JAPANESE SAKE CUP IN RED LACQUER.

WITH DECORATION IN TWO-COLOURED COLD.
THE REVERSE OF FIG. 500

SHOWING THE SIGNATURE.
(Ka-Ritsu-Sai.
Mid-nineteenth Century.)^
Tokio or Kioto.
Fig. 502.
A JAPANESE SAKE CUP SIMILAR TO THE ABOVE,

FRACTURED TO SHOW THE THIN COVERING LACQUER.
345

a protective coating of varnish used to pre\'ent metals, such as brass or
from
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the words " Jappan work,"
tarnishing.
"japan"
silver,
or " japaning " were indifferently used.
Japanning, at the present day,
is
a term which has been coined to describe the rough graining and varnishing finish of
cheap servants' bedroom furniture.

illustrate the country, or the region,
The eighteenth-century word

from which a good deal
Various fancy names were also used, such as "
Coromandel lacquer, a name adopted from that
when
Peninsula, which was abandoned
some miles further
" to describe the cut or
Dutch trading-station
is
all
the older records, for the use of the
both curious and instructive.
Bantam,
trading-stations, such as
from
Here and there we
and productions
life
known.
Japan,
It
is
country
little
Dutch
their lading.
China must have been a
Even the name

Empire
find a reference to the
of this vast
name Japan
generally the
whence the tea ships received
incognita, other than to a few adventurous travellers.
inner
Malay
The only actual knowledge which
as late as the middle of the eighteenth century,
mentioned.
in the
the settlement was removed, in 1S17, to Sirang
appears to have been possessed was that of the ports of export,
Even
was imported.
inland.
This predilection, in nearly

instead of China,
japan " served to
of the lacquer
Bantam work
of a
"
itself is
of Cathay,
terra
seldom
but of the
or nothing appears to have been
not surprising, therefore, that the difference between the work of China and
very different from the Oriental, especially
in the case of lacquer
work, w as not
apprehended, and, with the exception of certain names which were coined to exi)ress
in various of the Eastern ports, the
employed
in the inventories
and
term
bills of
"
Jappan work
"
is
it,
the one nearly always
lading of the seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries.
For our present purpose, however,
words
" lacquer "
possess.
and
it
will
be better, and more convenient, to use the
" lacquering " in spite of
The preparation
of these lacquer
any dual
grounds consists
significance
in the application of
coats of protective varnishes, either black or stained with colours.
work the ground
is
than the finished
effect
nearly always applied in
which
is
flat colours,
of
the Chinese
over
scumbling "
more or
numerous
somewhat brighter hues
less
by the many
tinged with yellow.
work, especially the late Ming or early Manchu, other than
the black or the Cinnabar,
ground,
of
may
In the European
desired, to allow for the toning caused
coats of varnish, which, however clear, are always
Much
which they
is first
which stained
prepared on the underlying soft pine, with a
varnishes
are
of the decorator.
346
applied
in
manner
similar
flat
grey
to
the
English Lacquer
Work
There are several conditions which render the Eastern lacquer not only superior,
The
but also impossible of imitation by any methods of the West.

tion of a native tree (Tsi)/
Sumach,
Rhus
vcrnicifera or
Rhus snccedanea,
lac itself
both
is
an exuda-
varieties of the
which when fresh, can be thinned down to any consistency, but when exposed
to the air, hardens
and cannot then be attacked by any solvents which we
one so drastic as spirit-of-wine.
possess, even
This property of permanently hardening on exposure to
the air renders the export of the raw Chinese lac nearly an impossibility.
'
In Japan the I'rushi tree, from the fruit of which vegetable
wax
is
derived.
Fig. 503.
JAPANESE CABINET
IN
BLACK LACQUER.
Raised gold decoration.

Jlounted on carved and
gilt
stand of English make.
Mid-eighteenth century.
347
Herbert Cescinsky, Esq.
^-*
c^'â
..ESaBtlliUSjaSfic*
'
Fig. 504.
CABINET OF ENGLISH LACQUER ON CARVED AND SILVERED STAND.

Date about 1670-80.
348
Mctoria and Albert Museum.

Climate plays an important part in the successful application of the lacquer
'Cold winds, or humidity of the atmosphere, will cause the varnish to chill
transparency
(it
panel, where as
depth
will
many
and
itself.
lose its
be remarked that even in a finely prepared and finished coach
have been used, there
as twent}' coats of varnish
in the colour itself)
of tiny air bubbles almost
and stoving or working

an impossibility.
a fine even finish has been produced,
is
in a
is
never any real
heated room makes the avoidance
Modern European lacquer
(so called)
where
nearly always shellac dissolved in spirit-of-wine,
applied with the rubber instead of the brush, on a black or coloured ground, or, in other
words, what
of
varnish
is
generally
known
(difficult to explain,
to observe the two)
as " French polishing."
It lacks
the hard brightness
but quite unmistakable to one whose eye has been trained
and has nothing
to use the decorator's term, and
liable to
is
always " short,"
crack or craze, especially
when applied on
of its elasticity.
polish finish
-^
.Xif-'.f.'^^<t^l^lrX^^-
i
4ir
Fig. 505.
THE CABINET,
FIG. 504,
349
SHOWN
OPEN.

a slow-drying painted ground which
is
always slightly expanding or contracting with
variations of temperature.
Lacquer, therefore, which has been coated on in a hot climate, commences with
an
advantage.
initial
The preservative
Japanese
qualities of the Chinese or
lac are
Large pieces, such as screen panels, are made from soft wood, often in
extraordinary.
two or more pieces jointed together with small square-sectioned dowels, but without the
use of any adhesive, yet finished with these fine lacquered grounds they defy our \^'estern
extremes of climate for centuries,

coating, these large screens
would
if
the surface of the lac be unbroken.
fall
to pieces, or
would warp or spht,
1721) or of the late
Ming dynasty,
is
remarkable for
especially of the late seventeenth century-,
Grounded on the Chinese
finish.
art, as
its artistic spirit,
equally notable for
is
much
in a
of that of
few weeks.
period (K'hang H'si, 1661-
Manchu
the Chinese lacquer, especially that of early
If
Stripped of this
its
that of Japan,
sheer perfection of
Japan undoubtedly was, the
Japanese, not only as imitators, but even as creators, often excelled their Chinese teachers.
It is
customary to despise much
contemptuously, as " Japanese," forgetting that the actual
tise it
and
especially the careful
workmanship and
mercial pieces, are truly extraordinary.
is
skill
is
pieces,
as
it is
made
if
artistic conceptions,
for
Japanese notables,
In tiny salit cups the per-
remarkable.
incomprehensible to the European.
contact before the lacquer was dry
to stigma-
displayed, even in the case of com-
With signed
the high quality of the lacquered grounds

fection of finish
and
of this work, especially- in collecting circles,
There
is
no sign anywhere
of
these small bowls were prepared while
invisibly suspended in the air.

Figs. 500
and 501 show the front and back views
sake cups of high grade Japanese work, measuring 3f

being, therefore, slightly reduced from actual size.
signature
drying.
and
all
Fig. 501
is
of
one of these
ins. in
fine red
diameter, the illustrations
In the centre of the back
another of these bowls, fractured at an angle to show
how
the
Dutch East India Company
and
referred to in inventories and, evidently, highly esteemed.

cabinets, on carved gilt stands, with doors
England by
or the republican trading cities of Northern
during the Tudor period, and in the reign of Charles
lock-plates, lacquered
thin
is.
Pieces of Oriental lacquer, usually small objects, were imported into
Italy,
is
the rims and edges show no sign of contact while in the process of
even this covering lacquer
the agency of the
ground
"
Jappan
" cabinets are
The well-known square
ornamented with elaborate hinges and
and decorated on both
sides,
and with a nest
of
flat
drawers behind,
were usually imported from 1650 to about 1670, after which date they were copied,
35
iy>^-.
i'f
'>Aîr>v
t-*
a.
r
{^
'^
Fig. 506.
CABINET OF ENGLISH BLACK LACQUER ON CARVED GILT STAND.

ft.
high by
4 ft. wide.
Date about 1690.

Lord
,351
\\"illoiighbv
de Broke.
Early English Furniture and Hôodwork
^-4 -^-<*?'>^v
<
'
k
Fig. 507.
CABINET OF ENGLISH BLACK LACQUER ON CARVED GILT STAND.

7 ft. 4 ins.
ft. 3 ins. wide by

Date about 1700.
high by 3
352
ft. 7 ins.
deep.
English Lacquer
Fig. 508.
THE CABINET,
II.
2 Z
FIG. 507,
353
SHOWN
OPEN.
Work

with modifications, by the artisans
very materially from the Oriental, not only

being prepared, as a
The EngHsh
in this country.
rule, in varnishes,
in execution
however,
lac,
differs
but also in method, the grounds
from the resinous coccus
lacca,
instead of the
Chinese and Japanese insoluble Tsi.
Of these square Oriental cabinets, those from Japan as well as China were also
mounted on English
work
of the
of the
or
French stands, and,
absence of a knowledge which allows
in the
one country being distinguished from that of the other,
may
it
be
worth while to point out one characteristic which the Japanese cabinets nearly always
have, and which the Chinese do not possess.
of the mid-eighteenth centur3-,
bracket plinth,
filled,
or,
and
it
will
and
in this country,
appearance to the whole piece.
with backboards, or " aprons," to give a solid
made
whom
to stand
on the
The Chinese, on the other hand, possessed both, from the simple
seated,
on a plane nearly three
is
feet
The Japanese
floor,
which
unknown
chairs or stools were
darin, princely or imperial throne or chair of state.
when
one of these Japanese cabinets,
The open spaces, between, have been
feet.
This cabinet was
the customary seat of the Japanese, to
is
be noticed that the cabinet rests on a cut-out
more properly, on four stump
at a later date,
period.
Fig. 503
at this
seat, to the
man-
eye-level, therefore,
lower than that of China, and while, to our
Western notions, these cabinets appear correct when mounted on a stand such as
to Japanese eyes they are unnecessarily
is
and even incongruously
be assumed, however, that a cabinet without these stump
elevated.
It
feet, is necessarily
this,
must not
Chinese.
These Oriental square cabinets, usually with raised and gilded ornament on a black
ground, were freely copied in this country during the last quarter of the seventeenth
century, and with varying success.
in point of
In no instance
is
the English lacquer comparable,
workmanship, with either the Chinese or the Japanese, but
able, considering the natural
reference has been made.
this
is
not remark-
advantages possessed by the Oriental, to which previous
This in no wise prevented the publication of text-books on the
subject of " lackering," such as the folio of Stalker and Parker (John Stalker " of the
Golden Ball
grandiose
"
title
and George Parker

"
those Arts, with

Pictiires,
" of
Treatise of Japaning
The
best
way
of
making
Oxford
")
which appeared
and Varnishing.
all sorts of
Being
the
Apart from
its
must have been

periods since, and
etc.
1688 with the
Compleat Discovery of
Varnish for fapan, Wood, Prints and
The Method of Guilding, Bttrnishing, and Lackering with
Separating and Refining Metals,
in
the
Art of Guilding,
etc."
quaint and amusing character, showing that the wealthy public
as gullible, in the seventeenth century, as they

in spite of the "
Compleat
Discovery " as
354
have been at many
announced on the
title
page,
English Lacquer IVork

there
anything, in the book which
is little, if
There
coach-painter.
common knowledge
not
is
one remark, however, which
is
worth quoting
is
Some who have made new

make
by the help of a Joyner,

situation of their figures
you may observe
in Figs.
of
and from
refers
that large old piece,
ones, such as Stands or Tables, but never consider the
hodg-podg and medley.
Of the square cabinets
shown
little
so that in these things so torn
the finest
Cabinets out of Old Skreens
here, as possessing
The author
a significance which will be apparent at a later stage in this chapter.

to "
to an ordinary
and hacked
to joint
new fancie
."
European workmanship, before referred
504 and 505, although not of the highest quahty,
may
to,
the one
be taken as typical.
The stand is now silvered, but

work, although
this is later
nearly
the original Charles
all
II so-called gilt
stands were
and then overlaid
silvered,
with gold lacquers to imitate

gilding.
Very
little
of this
Restoration work has per-
day
our
to
sisted
in
its
At
pristine state, however.
a later period, from about
1680 to i6go,
it
became the
custom to add a cresting

carved
gilt
pine, placed
of
on
the cabinet without fixing of
any kind.
Of these crested
cabinets Figs. 506 and 507
may
be taken as typical, the
first of
about 1690, the second
of the
end
or
the
of the
first
seventeenth
years
eighteenth century.
the
only
the
of
In both
carved stands are not

heavily
prepared
gilding, the carving

ally finished,
is
for
aCtU-
^.
^
Fig. 509.
Chinese lacquered cabinet on carved gilt stand.

5
ft.
S ins. high
as far as the
by
3 ft. 4 ins. wide by

Date about 1680.
ft.
6 ins. deep.
355

finer details are concerned, in this thick coating of size
method, and accounts
for the fact that
when
this preparation
or stripped entirely, the fine veinings disappear with
While the square cabinets

of Chinese
workmanship
of
and whiting.
is
unknown
in
is
doors,
is
either badly
the usual
damaged
it.
Japanese origin are by no means uncommon, those
are exceedingly rare.
This can be accounted
measure, by the fact that the square cabinet on dwarfed

of Fig. 503,
is
This
a complete Japanese piece in
itself,
for, in a large
such as the upper part
feet,
whereas such an
article of furniture
China, the equivalent being a standing cupboard, sometimes with two
more often with
four,
one
tier
above the other.
tall
peculiarity of the Chinese
Fig. 510.
TWELVE-FOLD CHINESE SCREEN (ONE HALF).

Incised, polyclirome
and sanded ornament on a semi-transparent ground

Dated, on reverse, 1671.
of
brown
lacquer.
J.
Herrmann, Esq.

double door
partition,
is
is
that a fixed meeting style,
really
the broad edge of a vertical central
provided, and in the centre of this a projecting eyelet
others, to correspond, fixed to the doors themselves.
To
necessary to pass a skewer through the three eyelets.
achieved by this means, of course, but apparently none
cupboard
two
is
would have
to be sacrificed.
make, would only be possible
from Europe, and
bottom
of the
No
is
until almost the
with two
it
is
only
actual locking security
demanded.
is it
is
This form of
possible to cut
it
in
upper part, or the top of the lower,
square cabinet, complete in
in the case
fixed,
secure the doors
quite unsuited for placing on a carved stand, nor
carcases, lateralh^ as either the
is
itself,
of actual Chinese
where such a piece was directly com.missioned
middle of the eighteenth century, intercourse direct
Fig. 511.
THE OTHER HALF OF THE CHINESE SCREEN,

357
FIG. 510.

with China was too spasmodic or irregular to render such pieces plentiful
made
Cabinets which have been

up, although
rare, are
still
in
in
Europe, from Chinese screens which have been cut
not so scarce,
nor so valuable.
Fig. 509
is
one of these,
The doors and the
evidently of the kind referred to by Stalker and Parker in 1688.
have been frankly cut from screen panels or
fronts of the drawers inside
any way.
folds.
The
brass mounts, and the carcase-work of the cabinet itself are of English workmanship.
The lacquer here

work
") in
cabinet
of the cut or
is
Coromandel kind (known
polychrome on a black ground, and
itself,
although
drawing which
of the
still
is
somewhat
Manchu dynasty.
at the time as "
earlier
Bantam
than the date of the
has the freedom and bold
It
rare in the lacquer of Ch'ien-lung or later.
is
^'i;iî
-.
t
Ji
'
* *
? -
)*
/v
s^
gp A.
*-
skftm
in f
* fl <*
i;
ft
Is
fj.
- jl
1
i
***
ft
01
(**
(1 ft
i t
M;
fi '
T
(T
f.
>'''
-ft =??
* #
.#
iir
i^
ifc
=ft
fjt
;L
.^ i^
i l^
T-
y^
^^ /v
$.
5&
:* !'> >^
^ #
^ .^
#S-4 i:
#^
^ ^
-Ir
.,
4^
ifV
TF
-if
1^4
)^ ft
4^ JL ;f fcf,^&. if
.i-
#
# >'
ijl-"
Fig. 512.
ONE HALF OF THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE SCREEN,

1671,
and the names
FIGS. 510
of the donors are recorded here.
358
T-
T^
-T^f^
r!&
w-
f^
^ ^^^
'> ^ ^ ^ K i^ V ^
^ ^ [-^ ^ ^ a ft
A^?gl^
"
The date
*v
It r^
H^# * #!l#
IS '> '.^Ji] 4: j^
.gg!'^j&^s>
IP'
f
#
-4r -tf '11
I-
# Lit n ^ i ^ 9^^
4K.
AND
511.
English Lacquer
The early Manchu work can be
were imported into this country
formerly, far
present da3^
interest,
is
more
in
best studied in the large Chinese screens which
the early eighteenth century, and which were,
some twenty or
plentiful,
Work
thirty years ago, than
is
the case at the
In Figs. 510 to 513 one of these, of magnificent quality and exceptional
illustrated.
The ornament
is
incised in the lacquer
chrome on a sanded ground, and with the exception

colours are almost intact.
glazed over a grey ground.
The groundwork
The wood
is
is
of the
itself,
decorated in poly-
heavy vermilion, the
a thick, semi-transparent
original
brown lacquer
a soft pine, each fold in two sections, dowelled
together without adhesive, and preserved only by the air-excluding properties of the
lacquer.
On
the reverse side,
shown
in Figs.
512 and 513,
is
a long inscription, in flowery
Chinese, recording the fact that the screen was presented, in 1671 (the second year of
Fig. 513.
THE OTHER HALF OF THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE SCREEN,

359
FIGS. 510
AND
511.

K'hang-h'si) to a Chinese professor
left of Fig.
Each
512.
fold
is
by
his pupils,
joined to
panel, which can be seen in Fig. 511.
its
This
whose names are
fellow
is
by primitive
set out
on the extreme
two
pin-hinges,
to each
the Chinese method, the fixed hinge with
a closed and riveted knuckle being entirely a Western idea.
Many
of these Chinese screens, especially those of the later eighteenth century,
while possessing very
Manchu work, and
little
is
of the
is
of
Dutch
514 and 515
illustrate
whole design
and
is
by
much
in
their careful detail
one of these, and
There
is,
practically-,
it
will
and
be seen
no reverse
side,
amazing.
detail of drawing,
unapproached by any efforts
can be found which are
hands
Figs.
in perfection of finish
even that of Japan,
draughtsmanship of the early
vi\'id
as lavishly decorated as the other.
and the intricacy

While
freedom and
especially of the later Ming, almost atone
magnificent craftsmanship.
that one side
of the
advance
of
much
Western
of this Chinese
artists, occasional
of the usual lacquer of the time,
or Flemish artists are strongly indicated.
work, and
One
examples
and here the
of these is a table plateau.
Fig. 514.
EIGHTFOLD CHINESE SCREEN (FRONT VIEW).

Late eighteenth century.
360
C.
English Lacquer
in four sections,
The
detail
is
in bro\Mi
figures of birds
at his best.
from the collection of Lord Leverhulme, shown here
and
on a black ground, the work
is
formal, consisting of long
The rims and the small claw-and-ball
approximately, of mid-eighteenth-century date, but
The
516 and 517.
amazing quality, with
squirrels executed with a fineness of detail
The border
tinsel colours.
of
in Figs.
worthy
of
JJôrk.
foliage
Gerard
Douw
and short panels decorated with

feet are of silver.
nationality
its
is
The work
it
was
styled.
The
finest
examples of
is,
debatable.
rage, just prior to the pubUcation of Chippendale's " Director" in 1754,
for the " Chinese Taste," as
and
was
this period, that
is,
exhibiting the greatest fidelity to the Chinese originals, are to be found in the glass
pictures, not those
fully
is
where a print has been transferred to the glass and the paper care-
rubbed away (which should be despised by any true
actually painted on the glass from behind.
Many
collector)
of these,
considerable merit and a value quite distinct from their rarity.
but where the picture
such as Fig. 518, have
So
fine are the best of
them, in execution, that they are frequently mistaken for actual Oriental work, although
to one acquainted with Chinese forms
and conventions
their
European
Fig. 515.
THE REVERSE OF THE CHINESE SCREEN,

361
FIG. 514.
origin should
Fig. 516.
TABLE PLATEAU,
IN
BROWN DECORATION ON A BLACK LACQUER GROUND.

Mounted with
silver rims
and
feet.
Date about 1750.
f.
f.
<
r f f
(,
inrr-f."i.j,-r r f
r^-f rf, irrtnr
The Rt. Hon. Lord Leverhulme.
r r- ^
-.
rir,.
j. <
Fig. 517.
A SECTION OF THE TABLE PLATEAU SHOWN ABOVE.

362
English Lacquer Jfôrk

In lacquered frames, of half-round section, with a small
be, at once, apparent.
or hollow dividing the frame from the glass, they
make extremely
gilt fillet
effective pictures,
especially in a low deal-panelled Georgian room.
In considering these imitations of the Chinese, either in drawing or technical excellence,
we have diverged somewhat from
there
is little, if
any, of the order which can be traced as in other furniture, English
With the square cabinets from 1670
in inspiration as well as origin.
there
is little
the progression of English lacquer-work, although
beyond the
indication of date
to about 1720
details of the stands themselves.
Thus we
can place the charming green lac cabinet shown in Fig. 519 at about i6go by this detail
The ornament
alone.
is
good and well
executed, on a ground of apple green,
and the stand has the C-scrolled

and
flat
stretcher which
we
with the reign of William
had
cabinet
Bought
history.
dispatched
an
rather
in
associate
This
III.
adventurous
Sussex,
to America,
legs
was
it
where
in
the
extremes of climate of the Eastern States

it
would, probably, have been doomed
few years.
in a
however,
It
remained
in
only a few hours.
purchased almost as soon as

sent back to England,
of the
Sir
America,
was
It
it
arrived,
and now adorns one
drawing-rooms in Dudley House,
John Ward's mansion
The cabinet shown
in
Park Lane.
in Figs.
520 and
521 dates from the reign of George
carved stand being a free
from French sources.
I,
the
adaptation
The ground
is
red lacquer, with ornament raised in gold,

well
drawn and executed.
closes the series
of
This example
cabinets on gilded
stands, the fashion after
Fig. 518.
PICTURE PAINTED ON GLASS (ENGLISH)

THE CHINESE TASTE.
about 1745 being
to design the stand to accord with the
2 ft. S ins.
cabinet,
and
to lacquer
it
to correspond.
36^
high by i ft. loi

Date about 1750.
ins.
wide.
IN

The Chinese
English
artists,
by the
so rare, were obviously accepted as models
and the time when they were imported coincides with the best period
the English work.

skill in
now
cabinets,
It is
of
not the fact that, with the development of the fashion, greater
Not only
execution followed as a natural course.
the taste displayed in the
is
eighteenth-century lacquer work of a lower order than was manifested in the late
seventeenth, but the time which was necessary to produce a fine ground was also
begrudged.
from 1670 to about 1700 that the
It is
produced, in
all
probability
by the Dutch
both outside and
inside,
and the drawer
work
itself
that
friction,
cavities themselves,
it is
domiciled in
that the drawer sides and bottoms,
were always lacquered and
and that the running
finished with sprinkled gold dust in these early cabinets,
drawers produced a considerable
who were
artists of this period
When we remember
the East Anglian counties.
English lacquer- work was
finest
of the
a testimony to the quality of the lacquer
has persisted for some two hundred years with comparatively
it
little
evidence of wear.
The
later lacquer, that of the closing years of the seventeenth
of the eighteenth century, differs
from the early work
becomes merely an incidental decoration.
The
and nearly the whole
one important respect
in
early cabinets,
and even some
the
gilt
is
possible
if
we exclude marqueterie, and even with
stands would have been very incongruous.
little
between the early and much
Japanese manner
this
made
or no attempt
;
it
work we return
is
work
Another important
that in the latter there
is
to familiar pieces
which we have seen
It is
is
With
in earlier chapters, here
with this work that considerable knowledge
required to detect the modern copy, that
much
or
all of its
is,
the old and probably
original veneer,
lacquered as an alternative and cheaper " restoration."

is,
any kind
becomes merely decorative painting and nothing more.
dilapidated piece, one which has lost
struction there
no
to produce a true lacquered ground, after the Chinese or
lacquered instead of being veneered.
and experience
of the later
During the eighteenth century,
however, we find lacquer used merely as an alternative to veneering.

difference
inlay of
it
of later
date, such as those illustrated here, were specifically intended for lacquering
alternative finish
and has been
In the wood, form or con-
obviously, nothing to guide the collector.
Lacquer work
good or
of
high quality, such as the bureau cabinet from the Victoria and Albert Museum, shown
here in Fig. 522,
produced
in
the
may be
modem
regarded as above suspicion.

forgery.
transparency, of the old work
may
The deep sealing-wax

be too costly
certainly
Bureau cabinets with the familiar double-domed cornice

364
good red ground

colour,
it is
and
rarely,
of the early
if
is
rarely
especially the
ever, imitated.
Queen Anne
period,
English hacquer IVork

especially
and
if
when
the lacquered ground
any evidence
exist that
is
either green or blue, arr always to be susj)ected,
any portion other than the lipping
of the
fall,
which
surrounds the lining of the writing bed, be veneered, then the piece can be dismissed,
almost with certainty, as a forgery.
example
of lacquer-work
One should beware, however,
merely because
it
of rejecting
any
corresponds in form and detail with others
Fig. 519.
CABINET OF GREEN LACQUER, WITH GOLD DECORATION, ON A CARVED AND GILT STAND.
c.
1690.
365
Capt.
The Hon.
Sir
John H. Ward, K.C.V.O.
Early English Furniture and Jiôodwork

veneered
either
with
walnut or inlaid with

marqueterie
native
this alter-
was
finish
fre-
adopted
quently
Thus
work.
original
in
Lyme
the mirror from
Park, Fig. 523,
of a
is
type usually found either
veneered with walnut in

or
oyster-pieces
inlaid
marqueterie
with
panels, yet
in
an original
is
of a lacquered
example
frame and of fine quality.

,
With the
square
later
cabinets, either on chest
stands, such as Fig. 524,

or
on tables with square-
sectioned legs, such as

Fig.
525,
we have
brass
mounts
guide,
and there
the
design
some
as
evidence
itself
the
is
also
of
the
that
no
other finish than lacquer

is
When
possible.
work is of
fine
the
and costly
quality, such as on Fig.
may
be
accepted as original,
al-
524, the piece
though
following
the
general lines of the

Fig. 520.
CABINET OF RED LACQUER ON A CARVED GILT STAND.

Date about 1720.
C.
H.
366
F.
Kindcrman, Esq.
veneered
furniture
the same date.
of
English Juacquer JVork
;-;L--i-_-r:r>-î-^Wj-:jr^.;MjMassacsK*
*jr^x- ->
Fig. 521.
THE CABINET,
FIG. 520,
367
SHOWN
OPEN.
Fig. 522.
BUREAU CABINET
IN
BED LACQUER.
Date about 1700.
Victoria and Albert
Museum.
Fig. 523.
MIRROR WITH FRAME OF BLACK LACQUER.

Date about 1700.
II. 3 B
369

The eighteenth century was
essentially the age of Chinese fashions, not one, but
marked by a recurrence
several periods being
In the early years
of the Oriental taste.
the art was confined to lacquer and to imitations of the Chinese paintings on glass, such
as Fig. 518.
William Chambers carried the manner into buildings and summer houses,
Sir
Chippendale and Sheraton both designed
in the "
Horace Walpole
Chinese Taste."
levelled several diatribes at the " Chinoiserie " of his age, but as he perpetrated Straw-
berry
Hill, after
having referred, scornfully, but
can scarcely be regarded as a qualified

riot eventually, as
after
many
It is
needless.
is
It
which are deserving
of
critic of style.
Batty Langley's Gothic, he
The vogue
for the Oriental ran
such crazes usually do, and culminated in the Pavilion at Brighton,
which comment
papers,
justly, to
inaugurated, however, the taste for Chinese wall-
of high praise,
during the early Chippendale era, which
both as regard design and execution.
may
be said to commence about 1750,
At
that this taste for Chinese forms and decoration extended to the bedroom.
this
period the Chinese furniture at Badminton and elsewhere was made, where the design
as well as the decoration
and
especially
earlier
China.
than
is
in the pseudo-Chinese
when the decoration was
In the hands of
by Chippendale,
as popularised
The wardrobe shown here
by Matthias Darly.
this,
manner
in Fig.
526
is
somewhat
inspired from Persia or India rather than from
Thomas Chippendale,
the Chinese forms became a design-basis
rather than a mere surface decoration, his more familiar motives being the applied
the lattice, either in glazing bars or in open fretwork, and the pagoda.
To
this period
belong the remarkable pair of hanging cabinets from Rainham, one of which
here in Fig. 527.
the hand of
The
fret,
is
shown
entire spirit of the design, as well as the superb execution, suggest
Thomas Chippendale himself. Beginning each with a nucleus
of four
Japanese
panels, which are used for the backs, these cabinets are, otherwise, entirely of English
make, with the
lattice of the doors
and the
ribs of the
pagoda
gilt,
and the
everywhere enriched with finely drawn ornament on a black ground.
flat
surfaces
Late as these
cabinets are, they represent the zenith of English lacquer, and are, truly, a remarkable
pair in every respect,
chapter, and the
book
The detection
ance of age,
is
of
and may
fittingly close
the illustrative material both of this
itself.
modern lacquer- work, which has been
" faked " to give an appear-
a matter rather for the trained expert than for the amateur collector, as
already pointed out.
Such signs
hidden by the lacquering
itself,
as texture of woods,
and
and methods
of construction, are
as quality, in the original pieces themselves, varies
often a mere daubing with black or coloured paint

Modern
criterion
equally of no
and a crude design traced in gold or colours,
from the highest to the very lowest,
this
37
is
avail.
Fig. 524.
BLACK LACQUERED CABINET.

Date about 1700-5.
371

work, executed within the past one or two years, can be detected by the famiUar trick of
rubbing the piece with the milled edge of a coin placed

kerchief,
piece
is
when,
if
the white linen be
marked by the paint
unquestionably of recent make.
dry thoroughly
in
a single fold of a white hand-
in
With
of the lacquered ground, the
spirit varnishes or shellac polishes,
a week or two, however, this test
will
The smell
not answer.
which
of polish
or varnish, which cavities, such as drawer interiors or cupboards, harbour for a long
period,
is
suspicious,
and
it
is
presumably, to hide this smell.
no
less suspicious
As a general
if
perfumes have been used,
artificial
rule, howe\'er, a
minute acquaintance with
the technique, methods of gesso-raising, and design-forms are absolutely necessary
weapons
in the armours^ of the ex-
and these cannot be acquired
pert,
other than by the examination and
handling
many
of
authentic
ex-
amples, such as at Badminton and

elsewhere.
Nearly every ancestral
house of any note contains some

specimens of seventeenth and eightteenth-century lacquer, and, where
opportunity presents
itself,
these
should be carefully examined and

studied at leisure.
In the carved gilded stands of

the square cabinets of the Stuart
period, the original finish
is
a gold lacquer on silver leaf,
metal
itself is
ally used.
always
and the
always very economic-
Thus, on the back, and
the parts of the ornament which are
not readily seen, such as the under-
neath or the reverse of the pierced
and carved " aprons," the wood
is
always left in the yellow preparation.

Fig
Where
525.
BLACK LACQUERED CABINET.
the " gold " has worn on the
exposed
faccs,
as
is
nearly always
Date about 1750-60.

Messrs. GUI and Reigate.
372
the casc, the Underlying preparations
I
ft
\J
Fig. 526.
WARDROBE
IN
BLACK LACQUER.
Date about 1730.
373
Early English Furniture and JVôodwork

should be red or yellow.
Blue burnish was never used, and
gilding, and, probably, of recent
manufacture
also, as
always a sign of recent
is
nothing can be so quickly and
easily " aged " as gilded carving.
Original metal
work
of the period,
such as hinges and lock-plates,
always of hard
is
brass with a considerable alloy

of
These
zinc.
hinges
and
lock-plates were almost invari-
ably fixed with round-headed

brass
pins
rarely,
with screws.
if
ever,
an opportunity
If
occur of removing one of these

hinge plates, the back, and the
place which
has covered,
good deal
afford a
or
age,
of
it
may
of evidence
otherwise.
The
locks are nearly always of the
multiple-bolt variety
to
bolt-tangs
six
usual,
and
porting
be
to
the
be
carefully
movable
in
square one on
or
being quite
key,
pur-
original,
may
examined
with
parts, such as a
its
gilded stand,
two or more
in
if
Where a cabinet
advantage.
is
from four
carcases,
should be removed and
these
examined on the touching surfaces, as
such cabinet must have
been moved from place to place,
and
LACQUERED HANGING CHINA CABINET.

(One of a
4
loj ins. total height
2 ft.
inside of cupboards, especially

in the corners
pair.)
6^ ins. wide
would be done piece-
Drawer-cavities and the
meal.
Fig. 527.
ft.
this
gj
ins.
deep outside.
Date about 1750-5.

The Marquis
of
Townshend.
374
may
yield
Above
all,
and
interstices,
some information.
always suspect the

minutely crazed lacquer surface
is
a coating of strong dextrine applied, before the ground
thoroughly hard, allowed to stand for a week, and then washed
The usual
beautiful crazed pattern.
observed with advantage, especially
which apply
hints,
with strong
allied
if
off, will
produce a
to other furniture,
common
sense
may
be
and an absence
of prejudice.
The value
of original lacquer
and the perfection
quality,
of the
of the ground, its
work depends upon the colour
drawing and execution
Apart from
ornament.
of the
the polychromatic incised lacquer, the rarest ground colours are the blue, yellow and
red.
The
pale blue
not so rare and
is
deep cobalt blue, nearly always

silver.
This
ornament
is
and the ornament here
The
should be of a deep sealing-wax

well executed
unless of
and
of poor quality,
is
and are
is
the
of white or
always found associated with polychrome
is
Red lacquer,
to be valuable,
and the ornament should be sharp
tint,
varieties black
also frequently
met with.
rarely found other than
is
the most
in
modelhng,
common, and
green,
Tortoise-shell grounds are generally
on the long cases
of "
Grandfather
"
Silvered grounds are exceptional in genuine pieces, although " fakes " abound.
clocks.
It
on an undercoating
always polychromatic.
Of the other
gilded.
fine colour,
and
all,
the valuable colour
yellow, buff or biscuit grounds are also very exceptional
also nearly
is
generally worthless
laid in a stippled tone
the rarest ground of
of fine execution.
is
cannot be too deeply impressed on the collector that lacquer-work should have a well-
prepared glossy ground.
painted ground
not lacquer at
is
all.
rubbish, in spite of any antiquity, and should be rejected.
Common work
is
mere
Antique furniture has a
charm when the quality is good, no matter how unostentatious the example, and
it is this quality which should be sought for. A simple piece, well finished, and in its original
peculiar
condition, will be
examples
fine
more esteemed,
after a year or
may
line or
be genuine, but was never
the true collector, sooner or
Almost
of close association,
The former improves on acquaintance
of doubtful quality.
cabinet-making and delicacy of
which
two
proportion more and more.
fine, is
later, will
one appreciates
The
florid piece,
an unsatisfactory possession, and one which
be glad to part with.
at the close of the eighteenth century, lacquer
with the recrudescence of the Chinese
than elaborate
work was again revived,
but the original methods of preparing the
taste,
grounds, with carefully felted coats of varnish, was abandoned in favour of the quicker,
but imperfect, shellac and
spirit varnishes.
This later lacquer furniture has very
little
individuality, although, occasionally, even as late as the Sheraton period, imitations of
bamboo
furniture were
made on wood, and decorated with
the workmanship of which
is
panels in the Chinese manner,
of quite a high order of merit.

375
Generally speaking,

however, the period of EngUsh lacquer work
after
which
latter date
we
find
at imitations of the Oriental
may
mere repetitions
manner which
be said to extend from 1670 to 1740,
of the earlier work, or sporadic
are too rare, or too diffuse, to be regarded
as a definite style.
As a history
growth and decline
of fashions, these later examples,
they
may
illustrate
be,
attempts
of English furniture can only
however
be a chronicle of the
rise,
interesting, individually,
cannot be held to form a section of our subject, as to describe and
every offshoot from the main stem would require an account, descriptive and
pictorial, of practically
every piece of furniture which was
of the eighteenth century,

classification
and would
conflict,
which has been attempted
made throughout
the whole
on almost every page, with the system of
in this book.
As
it is,
the consideration of English
lacquer work has necessitated an incursion into the eighteenth century, whereas the
scope of the book

previous chapter,
may
be said, in every other respect,
to be limited to
the seventeenth.
376
with
the exception of the
INDEX
Adam, Robert,
Adhesives, use
Albans,
his influence in clockcases,

of, sec
St., sec St.
Borrell, see ]\Iarkham, ilarkwick
329
Glue
Boulle work, 258
Bowyer, John, 340

Boxford Church, chest in, 4
Bracket clocks, see Clocks, Bracket
" Braganza foot," on Stuart chairs, 230
Albans
Aldington Church, panellings from, 59

pulpit from, 57, 59
Altars, edict authorising demolition of,
Ambry, or small cupboard, 19,

Anchor escapement, 292, 297
i,
116
Brailes, chest from, 30
20, 21
Brandeston Church, pulpit in, 46

Bridgman, Sir Orlando, 103
Architects, their influence on furniture, 287
Architecture,
becomes
profession,
distinct
with
Brighton, pavilion
Aristocratic
life
in
England, reacts on furniture, 232
Arkwrights, sec Hiichiers

Arnold, Mr. Richard, 303, 306, 340
Ash and elm, suggest Cumberland or Westmor-
land furniture, 115

Astley Hall, Lanes, shuffleboard table
134
Atherington Church, screen
in,
Attleborough Church, pulpit
century, 18
in,
bookcases, 287
Burghley, Marqueterie furniture
132, 133,
Magazine," 154
Bury, Richard de, chest of, 4,
46
see also
Badlake Schools, Coventry, tables in, 102, 103

Badminton, lacquer furniture at, 372
Balusters, split and applied, see Split Balusters
Barking Church, chair in, 174, 175, 176
Barningham Hall, form from, 171
Tompson Clock
in
Pump Room
at,
at,
6,
29
Cabinets
on
spiral-leg stands,
with double C-scroU
Canvey
Carpets,
315
Island, a
278
legs,
283
Dutch settlement, 279
imported
from
Persia
in
seventeenth
century, 240, 241, 370
in the seven-
teenth century, 178, 240

Belton House, chairs from, 217
Benches, see Pews
Carvings in Churches
Bennett, Samuel, a cabinetmaker of Soho, 286, 287
Cassiobury Park
abundance
of in early, 163, 164
the early pictures of the people, 163

chairs from, 213
Bersted, South, chest at, 29
table from, 119, 120
Biddenden Church, pulpit in, 57

Bishop's Farm, Windsor, table at, 102
Bloxham, chest at, 29
Chairs
arch in back
Bolt-and-shutter maintaining power, 298, 299, 302

Bond's Hospital, Coventry, chairs in, 219, 239
3C
277
D'Aungerville
Buxstead, chest
Bedchambers, luxuriously furnished,
at,
" Bitrlington
Aungerville, see D'Aungerville
Bath,
370
Bureaux, 283, 284, 286, 287
30
in,
at,
Broadway, Ilminster, table from, 106

Buckinghamshire and Berkshire types of tables, 118
Buffets, sec Court Cupboards
Building, era of, commences in seventeenth
Inigo Jones, 232
of,
suggests Norfolk and Suffolk,
174
aristocratic types of, 244
377

Chairs
Chairs
from
arms of, cut off, 182

become high and narrow
Berks, 193, 195

Bobbin-turned, 188, 192, 205
of, 145
Kentish, 192, 193
Lancashire type, 178, 185, 203, 205
periods, 238
Middlesex type, 184
Midland type, 178

of hickory, 182
Oxfordshire, no defined type, 193

Portuguese, bulb-turning in, 243, 244
192
copied from Dutch sources, 199
rarity of early, 164, 170
Restoration, construction
often described as Welsh, 199
vmequal
size,
Restoration, nearly always in walnut, 211
i8g
Restoration, upholstery
modified, 183
of,
211
of,
Restoration, nearly always cane-panelled, 212
188, 189
in pairs, often of
construction
Albans, 178, 179
isolated character
circular seated, 198, 199
Commonwealth,
St.
in churches, secular origin of, 179, 180
Bucks, 193
carving on, rare from 1645 to 1660
Cheshire type, 180
child's, 191,
Church,
Hertfordshire, 193, 194, 195

Hertfordshire type, 184
beds, 193, 195
box type, 165, 169

" Braganza foot " on, 230
bridging Stuart and Orange
St. Michael's
from Thorpe Arch Hall, 186
in back, 193, 220, 225
nearly always of
in,
later date, 213
construction of late Stuart, 224, 227, 228, 230,
Restoration, use of crown in carving
232, 236
Coronation, from Westminster Abbey, 150, 154
Restoration, variations in quality
C-scrolled leg on, 220, 228
St.
of,
of,
211
212
Mary's Hall, Coventry, 150, 154, 156, 157,
158, 159
definition of, 145
many lines, 209

development of oak, concluded, 209
bow
228
develop on
Spanish
difficulty of arranging in chronological order,
Sussex type, 193, 194

tables, 181
in,
tall-back Stuart, 244
181
ecclesiastical seat the progenitor of, 145
the attenuated bulb on legs
era of gorgeous fabrics
the real Tudor, 165
in,
215, 216
of,
180, 181
fabrics for,
" tourneyed," 186, 187
fifteenth-century
upholstered, rarity of early, 173, 174, 177, 178

upholstery of back panels of, of French origin,
sometimes imported, 177

Farthingale, 176, 177
Flemish curve in, 219, 224, 226
box
fragile character of, 186,
type, 145
foreign influences in, 214
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
239
Barking Church, 174, 175, 176

Belton House, 214, 216
Welsh county type, 180

Western type, 194
Biddenden Church, Kent, 243

Bond's Hospital, Coventry, 219, 239, 343
wing, 246
Wilts and Somerset, 193

with cupboards under, 167
Cassiobury, 213
with turned legs prior to James

Yorkshire type, 195, 200, 203
Chelsworth Church, 184
Glemham
Hall, 217, 239, 240, 245
Chambers,
Hardwick, 176, 177

Hemsted, 245
construction of early,
from
from
St.
St.
of,
dug-out,
165
Albans Abbey, 182, 183, 185

Mary's Hall Coventrj^, 31
construction
of,
4,
184
Chests
Mary's Hall, 164,
165
construction
174
361
Chelsworth Church, chair from,

St.
rare,
teenth century, 28
Park, 211
Mayor's Parlour,
Sir \\'illiam,
\,
Charity, only begins to become general, in six-
Hessop Hall, Derbyshire, 185
Lyme
187
earliest
known,
early types
French, 18
31
378
3, 16, 21, 25, 31, 32,
of,
33
as " arks," 3, 4
date from thirteenth century, 2
known
at a later date, 34
Index
Chests
Chests
from Alnwick, 30
from Bloxham, Oxon, 29
from Boxford, 4
from Brailes, 30
from Brancepeth, 30
from Buxted, Sussex, 29
from Canterbury (St. John's), 30
from Chelsworth, 4
from Chevington, 30
from Chichester Cathedral, 29
from Christchurch Museum, Ipswich, 17
from Cluny Museum, 9, 11
from Crediton, 9, 17
from Derby (St. Peter's), 30
from Dersingham Church, 9
from Durham Cathedral, 6, 7
from Earl Stonham, 3
from Faversham, 9, 30
from Felping, 29
from Hacconby, 30
from Hereford, All Saints, 30
from Huttoft, 30
from Litcham, 30
from Midhurst, 29
from Oxford (St. Mary Magdalene), 30
from Rainham, 30
Nonsuch type, 34
of doubtful nationality, 17, 18, 39, 40
similarity between examples, 35, 36
some probably used

superseded by chest
system of assigning dates and counties of

origin to, 40, 42
tracery of fronts
St.
Chichester Cathedral, chest

" Chinese Taste,"
361,
370
Chippendale, Thomas, 228, 329, 330, 361, 396

"
see also " Director
Chivelstone, pulpit
Choir
stalls,
at,
43
149
Christchurch Museum, Ipswich, chest
Church,
Church
in, 17
decoration reserved for the, 163
all
stalls
made
in such
numbers
as to establish types,
146
similarity of, to early chairs, 150
the forerunners of chairs, 146
valuable in being types of their districts, 146
South Acre, 30
South Bersted, 29
Church woodwork, rich character
Stansfield,
Clay, Charles, clockmaker, 323
villages,
and Albert Museum,
7, 13,
21
of,
curious labels found on, 343

restoration of, 305
York Cathedral, 29
Clockmakers' Company, 306
from Touraine, 17
Clocks
brass-cased lantern, 289
in thirteenth
and fourteenth
dials of, 294, see also Dials
centuries, i
inscribed " N. Fares," 22, 23, 24

in Victoria
and Albert Museum,
7, 13,
floor,
of,
examples to
collect, 304,
292
311
fusee in spring-driven, 293, see also Fusee
sixteenth century, often credences cut
on the
escapements
exceptional, 329
22
hands
hoods
down, 60
to stand
35
Clock-cases
Wath, 30
of,
small
Clement, William, clockmaker, 297, 299
Westminster Abbey, 99
importance
in
of,
149
Cleveland, Barbara, Duchess
heraldic painted, 4
made
29
pictures on glass, 361, 362
4
Stoke D'Abernon, 29
Stranger's Hall, Norwich, 21
late
in,
China cabinets, early, 2S6
Michael's Church, Coventry, 16
Victoria
with Renaissance ornament, not rare, 33

with tilting scenes carved and painted, 7
Saltwood, 29
front
not found in thirteentli
of,
century, 3
type of the Rye district, 89, 90
used for safe-custody of Church vessels,
Rhine Provinces, 36, 39
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
to contain armour, 7
of drawers, 68
usual during the
whole of the seventeenth century, 68
of,
295, 304, 307
of early,
made
to slide up, 299, 305
late types of, 295
made
making of early, a regular industry, 9

methods of hinging tops of, in thirteenth and
for
Spanish market, 334,
maintaining power
fourteenth centuries, 2
'
579
in,
see
298, 299, 302
f month, reverse winding
of,
298
Spanish

Clocks
Clocks, long-case
mural or
cartel,
spandrels
progression of cases
335
294, 295, 297, 301, 304, 307
of,
striking of, 301
review of styles
subsidiary dials
signatures on dials
of,
297
year, striking, an impossibility, 313
values
306
cease to be
valuable after 1760,
early types
of,
313
often put into long cases, 288,
of,
313
a profitable field for the collector, 288
331
a single chapter on, 288
true bell-top, 334

Clocks, lantern, 335, 338, 339, 340, 342, 343
called " birdcage clocks,"
necessity for condensation, in a single chapter

on, 288
335
by London makers, 339
early, characteristics of,
poor quality of
339
country' specimens of,
very inadequate knowledge

of, 288
340
not always early, 339
the true bracket clock, 335
trains of, planted one behind the other, 335,
33S
342
with balance wheel, rarity
many
288
frets of,
values
289, 306
of, 289, 290, 308

with ij seconds pendulum, rarity
Clocks, long-case and bracket
334
misleading character of the name, 335
early, alwaj^s
of,
289
winding
334
331, 332, 333
inverted bell-top,
rarities in,
of,
wall clocks
basket top,
314
of,
trains of, 290, 297, 298
Clocks, bracket,
forgeries of,
316, 317, 318
of,
regulator types, 328, 329
Cluniac Order, 24, 164

Cluny Museum, chest in,
Coffer fronts, a regular
9,
in the collecting
11
and separate industry,
of,
Coffer,
338, 339
importance of in thirteenth and fourteenth

centuries, i
Clocks, long-case
classes of, 288
Collectors, advice to, 343, 375
dead-beat escapement, 329

decline in favour between 1740 and 1765, 315
depraved examples of, not considered here, 317
duration of, 290, 297, 311
Country Life, 134, 135

" Country Wife, The," Wycherley's play, 241
Court Cupboards
Angle, rarity
of,
cannot be increased, 313

early, always square dials, 289, 295
construction
early 30 -hour, 288

" grandmother," see Miniature
East Anglian,
duration
Adam, 329
of,
of,
89
of,
80
usually from
late,
82
Welsh bordering coun-
68
of, 95
South-western, rich character
318
of, 82,
313, 318
those of three stages, 74

Welsh type, usually with plain balusters,
289
Yorkshire, types
musical, 315, 326, 328, 334

not every 30-hour, single-handed, an early one,
of, 80,
81
Coventry, 156, 157

arms of, 156
288, 295
one-handed, 288
guilds of, 157, 159
pendulums
types of furniture from, 89, 102, 103
of,
84
Welsh type, almost a dresser in form, 74

Welsh type, name of " tridarn " coined
miniature, should be 8-day, at least, 313
motive power
of,
ties,
290, 291
miniature, rarity
86
95
Shropshire types
lacquer, vogue for, 324, 326
of,
Lancashire, types
midland types
plain,
330
increase in height after 1705, 314, 315
of,
of, 85,
fine types of, 85, 92,
northern types, usually
in style of Chippendale, rarity of, 329,
mechanism
of, 80, 82,
Inlaid types, usually late, 78

introduced in the reign of Elizabeth, 60
hoods of early, without opening doors, 299, 305

importance of in furnishings of seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, 288
marqueterie, progression
84
84
East Anglian, Dutch character
of,
in style of
9,
13, 15
of,
291, 292, 297, 305, 334
380
for
-jj
Index
Credition Church, chest
in,
Dials-
Cross-banding, 265
square, hour rings
Crown-wheel, or verge escapement, 293

Crucifex, John, clockmaker,
339
square, review
of,
314
313, 314
square, ringing of winding holes
Crusades, 164
square, spandrel corners
C-scrolled leg, 220, 228, 283, 363
of,
314
314
of,
" Director " of Chippendale,

361
Cupboard
first
of,
Dole Cupboards, 26
appearance
of,
20
Douw, Gerard, 361
rare, in churches, 20
Drapery
Cupboards
in
wood, luiglish and
I'rencli
contrasted,
21
dole, 26,
28
Dudley House, Park Lane, 363
from Burwaston, Salop, 29

small, made in middle seventeenth'century, to
hold food, 63. 64
Durham
standing, 28
Earl
of, 4, 6,
Edward
clockmaker, 297, 306, 330, 331, 335, 338, 339,

342
day-and-night clock by, 331
Darly, Matthias, 370

D'Aungerville, Richard de Bury, chest
Edict of Nantes, 177, 215, 216, 237

Edicts commanding the burning of canonical vestments, I
Day-beds, Restoration
copied from French chaise-longue, 220
copy early chair models, 222, 223
from Gwydir
Stonham Church
East,
of,
6,
chest at, 3, 45
table in, 117, 120
Court, see Court Cupboards.
faulty construction
Cathedral, chest from,
Edicts
222, 223, 224
commanding
the demolition of altars,
Elephant and Castle
Castle, 224
arms
of Coventry, 156
EUicott, John, clockmaker, 326
Dealmore highly esteemed than oak, i

panelled rooms of, referred to in inventories
the time,
of
land, 115
sometimes used instead of oak for panellings,

Definition of Terms, 97, 98, 145, 249
Dersingham Church, chest from, 9
Desks
see
Elm, treacherous character of, 102

Elm and ash suggest Cumberland or Westmor-
Eltham (Sherrard's House), mantels from, 45

" EngHsh Domestic Clocks," 290,
294, 297,
317. 335
Escapement, Anchor,
recoil, sec
early, usually illuminator's boxes, 61, 69
exceptional character
of,
43
useless as guides to fashions, 43
Devonshire woodwork, foreign character
of,
55
arch, early, arch usually added, 315

arch, early, divisions of hours on inside of hour
315
Fairfax-Lucy, of Charlcote, 129

Fashions in London, influence Kent, 113
Faversham Church, chest in, 9, 30
arch, early examples, arch very low, 324

arch, early, fulfils no function, 315
arch, early, in bracket clocks, 333
Felping, chest at, 29
arch, opinions as to earliest date of, 314, 315
signing of
of,
c*
Flemish curve, 219, 224, 226, 238

Flemisli C-scroll, 220, 228
Forde Abbey, 95
303, 304, 311
by makers, compulsory, 30G
skeleton, 303, 304, 311

square, arable numerals
3
Recoil
Exchange Alley a clockmaking centre, 321

Exeter, The Vicars' Hall, iii, 112
Dials, Clock, 294
minute numbering
Anchor
Essex and Suffolk, woodwork from, 40, 42

Essex, Earl of, 213
Evans David, see Higgs cS: Evans
Evenlode, pulpit at, 42
Devonshire pulpits
ring,
see
of clocks, 292
Bureaux
Framing, known
of,
314
in early times, 31, 32
French influences, 90
381
J"/.

Fringes of the seventeenth century, 247
Frittenden Church, Gothic panel in, 56
Herringboning in walnut furniture, 263

Hessop Hall, chair from, 185
Fromanteel, clockmaker, 294

Fulbourne, pulpit at, 42
Higgs
&
clockmakers
Evans,
to
the
Spanish
market, 328
Hofnagle, his engraving of Palace of Nonsuch, 35
Holme Lacy, table from, 130, 131
Holmes, John, clockmaker, 330
Fulford, Great, see Great Fulford
Furniture
a history of, only a review of fashions, 374
development always in direction of lighter
Holywells, Ipswich, table
at,
121
Huchiers or huchers, an inferior class of chest
construction, 104
and quantity, ^^
early, small in variety
makers,
i,
32,
2)?>
Huguenots
increases in variety in seventeenth century,
exp-oJsion
181
{see also
Fusee, in spring-driven clocks, 293
from France
of,
177, 215, 216, 237
Edict of Nantes)
responsible for fine furniture and fabrics in

late seventeenth century, 237, 238, 245
Hussey, Mr. Christopher, 134, 135

George,
St., see St.
George
Huttoft, chest
Gibbons, Grinling, association
of,
with
\A'ren,
in,
30
46
Gilding, early
fine detail cut in the
preparation
of,
355, 356
India Office, clocks
often silvering lacquered, 355, 372
Glemham
of,
described, 249
Ipswich
Christchurch ^Museum
183
Gothic
Mary Quay,
St.
style
difficulties of localising, 56,
Tower Church, pulpit
in,
Great Fulford, bedstead
57
45
at,
46
Ivychurch, Wiltshire, dole cupboard from, 26
46
James
84
Great Hall, decline in fashion of, 131, 132
at,
at, 118,
II
abdication
of,
237
accession of, 236
Grettcn, Charles, clockmaker, 306
Grundisburgh, table
Christchurch)
Ironwork, high quality of early, ig
Gonld, Christopher, clockmaker, 313, 323

Graham, George, clockmaker, 306
Great Bealings, pulpit
{see
pulpit at, 46
St. Nicholas, pulpit at,
fixed association of, with the church, 44
decline of in sixteenth century, 25
woodwork,
329
compared with marqueterie, 39
Hall, 217, 239, 240, 245
Glemhara Hall, chair from, 240

Glover's Roll of Henry IH, 156
Glue, use
at,
Inlay
Glass, pictures on, 361, 362
Jones, Inigo, influence
126
of,
in pulpits, 46
Guilds
importance of early, 33, 164

Kelsale, pulpit at, 43
influence of,
i, 9
King's master craftsmen selected from, 164
Gwydir
Castle,
Kent, French character of furniture
in,
113
Kentish manner in woodwork, 59

Kentish woodwork in churches, not always of local
day-bed from, 224
origin, 40
Kiddal Hall, table from, 122
Hardwick Hall, farthingale

Hemsted, chair at, 245
Knibb, Joseph, 301, 306, 307, 308, 317, 332

Knibb, Joseph, characteristics of clocks by, 307
chairs from, 176, 177
Henley-in-Arden
cupboard from, 88
Labels of clockmakers, 343
pulpit from, 45
Herbert, Cornelius, clockmaker, 313
Hereford
(All Saints), chest in,
Lacquer
best period
30
382
of,
374
Inde^
Lacquer
Langlcy, Batty, 370

Lathe-turning
cabinet bought in America, 363

cabinets, locks of, ^'jz
coincides in revival with
Cinnabar, or red carved, 346

colours of ground
of,
in screen at Chinnor,
344, 364,
known
crazing
methods
imitated,
difficulties of
'^jî
explaining differences
in,
times, 172, 173
63
of,
probably known
decoration, 364
much
earlier, 63, loS,
109
141.-
143
Legs
European, often French polishing, 349

European, some examples of high order, 360,
361
forgeries of, 364, 370,
-:,']2,
cup-turning of, 246

Lcones leopardes, 156
of square section, fashionable before 1700, 246-
z^]^
furniture sent in tea ships to the East for, 344,
Leverhulme, Lord, 361

Lime Street, mantels from, 45
Litcham, chest from, 30
Long Gallery, replaces Great Hall, 131
350
a divergence from the Oriental, 344
bamboo in, 373

importance of climate in the application
imitations of
Lyme
of,
Park, 60, 211, 366
settee from, 245
249. 350
in eighteenth century
in
Tudor
in
revived after 1603, 63

skill in, in late seventeenth century, 140,
eighteenth century, often a mere alternative
of,
Oxon, 63
novelty in Henry VIII period, 6r, 62
344
dual meaning of the term, 344, 346

Eastern superior to Western, 347
history
1X7-
in screen at Southacre, Norfolk, 63
t>1Z
Coromandel, or incised, 344, 346

of,
Commonwealth,
Sheraton period,
known
as Japaning, 346
^'j^
often mere daubing with paint, 364

Manchu, 346, 350, 359
rnetal work on, original, 372
methods in making of, 346
late,
Macquoid, Mr. Percy, 36

Maintaining Power, 298, 299, 302
Markham, Markwick, maker for Turkish market^
Ming, 346, 350
328
of doubtful nationality, 361,
of Japan, 350,
Marqueterie, 39, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255,
364
257, 258, 262, 263, 265, 266, 267, 269, 271,.

273, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 2S4,.
354
often applied on old veneered pieces, 364, 365

Oriental, hardens insolubly on exposure, 347
286, 287
Oriental, very diversified, 344

Oriental, very early. 344
pieces specificalh'
made
for,
at Burleigh, 277,
caul used in laying
of, 252, 253

china cabinet veneered with, 286
364
cleaning up
polychrome, 344
red, of
good
colour, rare in forgeries,
cutting
364
craftsmanship of
hinging
of,
later,
258
and ground separateh% 278
divisions of, 269, 270, 271, zj^, 274, 277, 278,.
360
281, 282, 284, 286
360
Oriental, always
of,
250, 251
cutting of inlay
screens, Chinese, 359

fine
of,
made from
pine, 350,
"
359
sometimes used as an alternative to veneering,
donkey
evolution
" described, 251

in,
267
fashion for, 269
364
described, 262
square cabinets, Chinese, very rare, 356, 364

square cabinets, copied in England, 350, 354,
kinds
laying
of,
355. 363
square cabinets, Japanese, characteristics
laying
of, faults in the,
gum
of a native tree,
252, 253, 254, 255, 257
257
methods of cutting described, 249, 250,
of,
251,.
252, 253, 254, 255, 257, 258
354
square cabinets, made from screen panels, 358
square cabinets, made of door fastening in, 357
the
of,
not of English origin, 266, 267, 269, 270

oyster-pieces used for grounds
prickings
347
383
of,
249, 250, 251
of,
262, 263, 273.
Parqueterie, 249
Paston, Sir William, 171
Marqueterie
sand-burning
251, 252
of,
" seaweed," 271
Pelican, in heraldry, significance
tables veneered with, 281, 282
Pendulums
veneering
hammer
veneering press
for,
for,
and
its use,
duration of swing
257
lengths
255
Marqueterie and inlay, difference between, 249

Margueterie clock-cases, rarely used by renowned
of,
at, loi,
102
at Atherington, 147
at Bradfield St. George, 148
John, clockmaker, 332
at Brandeston, 149
label of, 343
at Coldridge, 146
Master-prickings for inlay, 35, 36

Michelangelo, 18
at
at
where separated,
at
illustrate
and effects,
Mond, Mr. Robert, F.S.A., 29
Monks' bench, a misnomer, 181
of,
buttress type, 148

Devonshire type, 146, 148
rarity of crocketting in ends
25, 26
of,
Morals in time of Charles

Mosley, Charles, label
243
of,
343
Mouldings, complicated mitring
of,
147
types of, 148

with grotesque animals on ends, 148
Pictures or drawings, rare in fifteenth century, 163
Pilton Church, Devon, table at, 112
236
II, 241,
of,
the progenitor of the chair, 149
Square, 286
Duke
147
Rougham, 149
at Stowlangtoft, 148, 149
type of early chair,
149
Monasteries, abolition
Hitcham, 148
Horwood, 146
at Lapford,
Midhurst, chest from, 29

Miserere seats, 149, 159, 163
Italy, 93,
292
of,
Pews
Martin, Jeremiah
Rebellion of
57
291, 292, 297, 305, 307
Penshurst, table
makers, 301
Monmouth
of,
" Flain Dealer, The," Wycherley's play, 241
inspired from
Poppy-heads of pews, 148
94
Portuguese bulb
turning on chairs, 243, 244
Prickings of marqueterie, 249, 250, 251

Pulpits
Needlework, the recreation of titled ladies, 177

Newburgh, Earl of, 183
New Romney Church, Kent, altar rail from, 143
at Aldington, 57, 59
at Attleborough, 46
at Biddenden, 57
at Brandeston, 46
at Earl
Oak
in
Stonham, 45
at Evenlode, 43
at Great Bealings,
Lancashire usually redder in tone than

elsewhere, 80
at Ipswich,
overlaps with walnut, for furniture, in late
at Kelsale, 45,
seventeenth century, 186

persistence of fine traditions in cutting
quartering
of,
79
at St. John's, Henley-in-Arden, 45
93
rarely cut into planks without quartering, 79
Occold, pulpit in, 45
at St. Nicholas, Ipswich, 45

at Stanton, 43
Stonham Aspal, 46
at
" Oyster-pieces," 262, 263,

273
at
at
Upper Winchendon, Bucks, 43

Witnesham, 46
at Yaxley, 45
Devonshire, exceptional character
of, 43, 44
Devonshire, useless as guides to fashions, 44
doubtful if design of, inspired from chests, 59
Panelling
inner-frame type
46
at Occold, 45
of, 92,
inner-frame type
46
Mary Quay, 46
Tower Church, 46
at Ipswich, St.
of, 87,
95
of, earlier in
panellings than
earlv
in furniture, 87
384
at Fulbourne, Cambs., 42
Index
Pulpits-
Saint Albans
exceptional character of Devonshire, 43, 44

from Kent and Sussex, not so defined as in
St. Michael's
Gibbon
none
than fourteenth century, 42
46
in,
chairs from, 182, 183,
of,
185
East Anglia, 56
influence of
earlier
lady chapel in Abbey
Church
chairs from, 178, 179

table from, 130
solid, as at Chivelstone,
43
sometimes hewn from solid trunks, 43
Saint Albans Abbey, 64

Saint George and Dragon, legend
usefulness
Saint Mary's Hall, Coventry
Wren
of,
in indicating localities, 40, 42
t\'pe of,
46
of,
13
fifteenth-century chair from, 31, 150, 154, 156,
Puritan
157, 158, 159
destruction of Church woodwork, 187

destruction of early silver, 187, 188
great hall
furniture, 94
table from, 128, 129, 130
great
in,
window
tapestry
157
in,
in, 157,
157
158
Saint Michael's Church, Coventry, table
Saltwood, chest
in,
122
in,
29
Seignior, Robert, clockmaker, 331
Ouare, Dan, clockmaker, 303, 306, 320, 321, 322

adopts Knibb's Roman numeral striking, 303
Settees
Essex types, 197, 198

Lancashire types, 196, 197
with high backs in Cromwell period, 195, 196
Yorkshire types, 196
buried at Bunhill Fields, 321
Sheraton period, lacquer work
Radnor and Denbigh, high standard

of, in fifteenth
Rainham
Rainham
of
woodwork
Shuffleboard
game
century, 78
Hall, 370
of,
133
Skeleton dials
{see also
Anchor), 292
{see also Dials),
of,
of,
of,
made
for {see also
Spiral turning
55
described, 210, 211
Roe, Mr. Fred, 22, 23, 28
Split balusters, 63, 93, 95, 210
Roman numeral
Standard
system of striking
Bracket clock with, 303
figuring of dials in, 303
of Knibb, 301, 302
Rood
low, in reign of
II,
in,
Staunton, Edward, clockmaker, 330

Stoke D'Abernon, chest in, 29
Stone of Destiny, in Westminster Abbey, 150
Stonham Aspal
Puritans, 147
in churches, almost complete at Atherington
and Swimbridge, 147

Rouen, panelling in St. Vincent, 30
usual floor-covering in
Rushes
240
Stansfield, All Saints Church, chest
Stanton, pulpit in, 42
lofts
of, b}'
of comfort in houses
Charles
]Marsh, character of, furniture of, 89, 90,
destruction
Higgs and
Evans), 334
Spanish stretcher, in chairs, 238, 239
Speakman, Edward, clockmaker, 332
more individual than
with Gothic, 57
of South-West, rich character
210
30
Spanish market, clocks
into England, 30
Kentish treatment
at,
246
303
Slide-rest, a tool for twist turning,
South Acre, chest
influence of, in France, 17
Romne\'
373
Silks with bullion, perishable character of,
Renaissance
introduction
in the,
tables, rarity of, 133
Hall, table from, 104, 105
Reading desks, 19
Recoil escapement
pulpit in, 46
table at, 120
Stools, 176, 205,
207
Stools
seventeenth
described as " coffin," 207

described as " joint," or " joyned," 207
century, 243
Rye, character of woodwork of, 59
Rye Church, burnt by French rovers, 90
from Barningham Hall, 171

385

Sto ols
Tables
from Barningham Hall, dating of, 171, 172

single type of sixteenth century, 172
from Holywells, 121

from Kiddal Hall, Yorks, 122
from Pilton Church, Devon, 112
from Rainham Hall, 104, 105
from Ruckinge Church, Kent, 113, 114
from Stonham Aspal, 120
from Sutton Courtenay, 118
from Vicars' Hall, Exeter, in, 112, 114
usual in seventeenth centurj^ exceptional in

eighteenth, 170, 171, 207
Stool-tables, 208
Strangers' Hall, Norwich, chest from, 21
Strap-and-jewel work, see Split balusters
Strap hinge, Norfolk type
of, 87
Strapwork, feature of Elizabethan work, 31
Strawberry Hill, 370
gate, 135, 136, 137, 139
William III period, 363

String-gauge
described, 265
Stringing in marqueterie, 265, 266
Stretcher,
Cromwell type, 135, 137
gate,
flat, of
gate, size of tops of, limited, 139

gate, with vase-baluster legs, 140
long chests acting
Stuarts, treacherous character of the, 236, 237

Sutton Court enay Church, table from, iiS
made
moulding
shire,
of top-framing of, typical of
Devon-
112
in late sixteenth century.
127, 128
Tables
antiquity
of, in
England doubtful,
spiral-turned leg
gS, 99
at Astley Hall, 132, 133, 134
spiral-turned leg
Bablake Schools, Coventry, 102, 103

at Bishops Farm, Windsor, 102
tripod,
at Cassiobury Park, 119, 120
trestle, 97,
Holme Lacy, 130, 131

Parham Park, 283
types
begins about 1660, 109

rare in eighteenth century,
98
loi
of, 97, 98, 99,
104
types of Bucks and Berks, 118
types of leg-turning
at Penshurst, loi, 102
at St.
of,
of,
109
at
at
106
for
ornamented
richly
at
as, 99, loi,
Guard Rooms, 132

made from fruit-woods, 109, no, 137
long,
of, 143, 144

types of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, 122
Mary's Hall, Coventry, 128, 129, 130
types of Yorks and Lanes, 121
at St. Michael's Church, Coventry, 122

at St. Michael's Church, St. Albans, 130
types of Wârwickshire, 122, 129
bobbin-turning of legs
used as altars in churches, 116

vase-form of leg in, typical of East Anglia, 117
vase-turned leg of, begins about 1645, 109, 135
109,
of,
begins about 1640,
no, 137
found on
bulb-legs, also
bulb-legs of,
become
chairs,
in
with central legs, 97, 98

Tapestry wea\'ing, the recreation of noble
refined in seventeenth
century, 119
bulb-legs of sixteenth centurj', rare,
bulb-legs on,
in,
ladies,
in
Tawstock,
114, 117
Wrey Pew
in,
55
bulbous-leg on, begins about 1575, 109
Terms
cabriole leg on, 143
Thorpe Arch Hall, Yorks, chair from, 186

Thwaites, Aynsworth, of Clerkenwell, clockmaker,
chair-,
97
column-leg on, begins about 1590, 109
construction of, 105, 106, 107, 108, 119, 121,
127, 129, 130, 134
of,
no,
of, 97, 98,
145, 249
329
Timber, rules regarding selection,
seasoning
classification of legs of,
doubtful nationality
used, definition
in
cutting,
and
of, i
Tompion, Thomas, 299, 306, 311, 314, 317, 322

his rejection of marqueterie cases, 299, 301
122
his clock in the
draw-, 97, 105, 112, 114, 128
probably made from solid trunk, 99

East Anglian, rarity of ash in, 115
from Broadway, Ilminster, 106
from Earl Stonham, 116, 117, 120
from Grundisburgh, 118, 120
Pump Room
at Bath, 315
Torrigiano, Pietro, 30
early,
Touraine, craftsmen from, 17

Tridarn, name coined for three-deck cupboards, 74
Turning, known in Tudor times, 172, 173, sec also
lathe-turning
386
Index
Upholstery
Webster, Mr. Malcolm R., 297
fringes of the seventeenth century, 247

of
back panels of
Upper ^^'inchendon,
chairs, of
pulpit
in,
French
origin,
Westminster
239
Tomb
42
Abbey-
Coronation chair
of
in,
Henry VII
150, 154
in,
30
Wetherfield, Mr. D. A. F., 297, 301, 306, 321, 323,

323. 330, 331
Windmills, Joseph, clockmaker, 333
Veneering
hammer and
its use,
257
press,
255
Verge escapement,
see
Crown-wheel
Vicars' Hall, Exeter, table in, iii, 112, 114, see also
Exeter
Victoria and Albert
Museum,
Walnut, rarely used
in sixteenth century, 60
7, 13, 29,
Walpole, Horace, 370
364
Witnesham, pulpit
in,
Woodwork, wealth
of, in
46
small parish churches,
time, 241
Yaxley, pulpit
in,
York Cathedral,
45
chest in, 29
Ward, Sir John H., K.c.v.o., 363

Wath, chest in, 30
Watson, Samuel, 332
Mâtt, Mr. Hansard, 332
Woodworkers, copy methods of stonemason, 62

Worcester Museum, Mass., U.S.A., chair in, 243
Wren, association of, \vith Gibbon, 46
Wrey Pew in Tawstock Church, 55
Wycherley's Plays, reflect spirit and morals of their
Zouche, Lord, of Haryngworth, 283
1344 4
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EARLY ENGLISH FURNITURE

Printed in Great Britain at

The Mayflower Press, Plymouth.

of the Chest and Standing Cupboard

Walnut Chairs from

of the Chest and Standing Cupboard.

chest or coffer was a most important article of furniture, especially

during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, both in houses and

idea has already been given of the

wealth, in carved and decorated woodwork, which must have been

general even in small parish churches, until the

must have been stored

length and breadth of England.

some vague idea

churches throughout the

has not survived are the treasures in the

accounts have been preserved of the wholesale destruction by

ments, banners and altar-cloths.

not only permitting, but

even authorising and commanding the burning of canonical vestments as idolatrous

high altars, and to substitute plain wooden

and was generally obeyed. ^ Parish

of the insensate destruction

which was carried on from the middle

century, at intervals, until almost the end of the seventeenth.

church wealth became almost a profession

safe custody of these rare

and the greatest care was taken

gold and silver,

who were employed

than the makers of purely architectural wood-

Early English Furniture and JFoodwork

which we have any knowledge date from the middle thirteenth

The tops nearly always open on

on two pins fixed at the

in the fourteenth century,

heavy iron clamp-hinges being

the thirteenth-century type of chest, from Great

roughly constructed, yet in a characteristically thirteenth-century

a solid board of oak of great width, roughly finished with the

left in its surface,

tenoned into heavy uprights.

are united from front to back

These project over the ends and

cross pieces, the tenons of

The lower one supports the bottom

through to the front.

from stout wood to carry heavy weights.

and are fixed

of the upright styles

which are carried

are housed into the

9 ins. from back to front.

Early thirteenth century.

been carved with simple cusping.

no attempt at ornamentation, although,

also belongs to the thirteenth century,

formed with very wide upright styles fixed flush

fixed to the sides with

rare, for its date, in being