History Notes

The Evolution of English Furniture Throughout the history of furniture, the changing styles have arrived by the conditions ruling at any one time. These conditions may have been the result of: ,[object Object]

The limits of equipment, only tools and saws

The Availability of Timber, Local supply, only solid timber

Economic Conditions, wealthy or not, changes

Peace or War, determine furniture, immobile, security

Overseas Influences, trade agreements, incentives

A Religious Group Britain had Oak and Beech as it's native timber for furniture production, but with the discovery of new land and the establishment of overseas trade, other timber species suddenly became available: ,[object Object]

Satinwood 1765 Prior to 1500, the Gothic Period, teaching and learning of craftsmanship was mostly overseen by the church. Therefore, most ornamentation on Gothic furniture follows the lines of ornamental stonework from the Gothic Churches and buildings The carpenter, blacksmith and the turner made the furniture. It consisted of tables, forms, stools and chests. The chest was the principal piece as it served not only as storage, but also a seat or table. Tables generally were loose boards on top of trestles. Henry VII, came to the throne following the war of the roses in 1485, and was the first Tudor monarch. During this time Britain had found peace and order not previously known. Henry VIII succeeded his father in 1509, and inherited his accumulated treasures. He continued to change the Gothic style by keeping up his father's interest in foreign artists and craftsmen. More economical printing materials were available which allowed for pattern books from the continent. The wealth of the country increased under the stable Tudor government and a new middle class was formed creating a demand for a new form of furniture. Therefore the 16th Century can be divided into two halves. The first part, furniture consisted of carving on gothic framework, stools and forms were the only form of seating available. The second part, new pieces of furniture evolved were Buffets or sideboards, fold top games tables, taller chests which doors became cupboards or hutches and the draw leaf table which is still common today. Chairs were developed from chests and had upright back legs, heavy turning and often carved panels. -85725501650Tudor Gothic Furniture Characteristics Plank Chest - Simple Plank construction by a carpenter and blacksmith. Metal straps and nails were used to hold the timber together but because of the arrangement of grain the timber often split. They often had handles to carry it. -38100331470 Chest / Partly Framed Chest - This was superseded by the partly framed chest. It used dry pegged construction and panel fitted into the frame allowed for movement without the timber splitting. Panels from riven boards were hand moulded and sometimes carved to give the
linenfold
effect. The board is cut with a wedge and split. Built In Seating - Early settles accommodated up to six people with simple linenfold panels and foot rest rail. -8572536830Wainscott panelwork was used on the walls Joined Chest - Joyned or joined distinguished the work of the joiners from the carpenter Settles - Settles were made more movable. The seat had a lift up lid for stotrage. The arm supports were shaped for added comfort. Some were adaptable into tables as well as seats. Carved linen fold panelCredence - A table to hold bread and wine for holy Communion. Panels carved with bunches of grapes and vines. They often had an overhead canopy Elizabethan 1558-1603 OAK Renaissance ideas were entering Britain during this period. Oak was still the main timber used. Strap work carving was popular and cut directly into solid timber furniture. Furniture legs were mainly bulbous - carved at the top and a gadroon at the bottom with an acanthus leaf. Chairs were either turned or wainscoted. Pewter was displayed in buffets or court cupboards. Beds were very large with carved posts, a canopy and long velvet hangings often with bulbous decoration. Solid top refectory tables replaced the Tudor trestle tables. -85725294640Wealth was reflected in the furniture Elizabethan Furniture Characteristics ,[object Object]

Tables with 4 or 6 bulbous legs with stretcher rails at the bottom as a footrest to keep feet of the floor rushes.

-2895600480695Elaborate four poster beds with solid or draped testers to protect from draughts.

Turning was produced using a foot lathe, producing asymetrical objects.

Court Cupboard - the court cupboard was developed for holding plates and eating utensils. Cupboard space and flat top for serving food. Hardware was handmade and rather conspicous.

Bible box - the bible box appeared, these were small side chests designed to hold the family bible. They were later made with a slopig top to facilitate writibg and reading. It was the forerunner to the writing desk. They were oak, left natural or finished with oils or beeswax.jacobean 1603-1660 OAK Oak was still the timber used during the reigns of James I and Charles I. The furniture retained many Elizabethan characteristics but the ornament gradually became less prominent. The ornamentation became smaller, lighter with flatter carving, and carpets were now being introduced. The changing of women's fashion, in particular their dresses, led to the development of chairs without arms, and upholstery became popular. Chests disappeared and were replaced with chests of drawers, which often had applied mouldings mitred around the drawer front. This was to cover the dovetail joints which were being used for the first time to construct the drawers. Previously drawers were always hidden behind doors. The gate leg table was introduced. Knobs and drawer pulls were often carved. 38100487680Many wealthy left England when the civil war broke out in 1642. The building of great houses halted and many of the household staff left for the battlefield. Until 1660 and the restoration of the monarchy, furniture had been made under the Puritan rule and lacked inspiration and reflected increased simplicity. Plain bobbin turning became popular and upholstery reverted to plain leather that was usually held by heavy brass studs. Farthingdale Chair c 1620Farthingale Chair -this was developed because ladies wore farthingale hooped skirts, a chair was required for the women to be able to sit down. Features of Jacobean Furniture Gate Leg Table - circular, elliptical and rectangular tables made their appearance. Bulbous became oval and left plain before disappearing altogether. Chest of drawers developed with geometrically designed applied mouldings. Families became less wealthy. Simple panel beds.
x
chairs with crossed legs were also common. Bible box has legs added to become a writing desk. Commonwealth Period 1649-1660 Puritan Cromwells overthrew the monarchy, which saw the strict abolition of all frivolity. The Puritan scorned even the subdued richness of the Jacobeans. Therefore function prevailed over decoration. Any mouldings were applied rather than carved. Cromwellean Style Characteristics Furniture followed basic shapes and had to be useful. Furniture with straight severe lines without carving or other enrichments. Simple bobbin turning was most common. For the first time chairs were made in sets with the front stretcher rail placed higher and often with two sets of side stretcher rai Leather was used to replace rich velvet and tapestries. Stuffed seats and backs were far too luxurious to be permitted. Slung seats and backs were used. Open slat chair backs 114300120650 Cromwellian Chair c. 1655 Furniture Restoration 1660-1688 This was the return of the court from its ten-year exile. It brought about an extreme reaction. Charles 11 Chair c. 1685, cresting rail fixed on top of chair back. Now back in England, Charles II and his court surrounded themselves with furniture resembling the most lavish they had seen in France and Holland. This caused an immediate reaction to the stifling restrictions of the Puritans. The upper classes took their cue from the court with much extravagant furniture, and gradually the middle class followed. It was an excessively civilised society, and great ladies rivaled each other in the grandness of their dressing rooms, which created a new demand for items of furniture. 247650-1894840 149542520955 Flemish S Scroll leg for restorationRestoration Early Cane Chair c. 1665 with barley sugar or corkscrew turning The bureau, the bookcase and the Day Bed made their first appearance. The great fire of London was in 1666, and the city had to be rebuilt, smaller rooms were created. ,[object Object],Walnut veneer replaced solid oak timber. Chair frames were sometimes guilded or silvered. Upholstery and silk fringes became fashionable. The wing chair was introduced, upholstered stools and benches in elaborate design were popular. The first bookcase made an appearance. Books were previously kept in a chest or cupboard. Visible Drawers Wardrobes were used to hold rich and varied clothes. The Flemish S scroll. Octagonal shaped panels. Barley-sugar or corkscrew twist turning.
X
shaped curved stretcher rails. Cresting rail fixed on top of chair back. Tall chair backs with weight saving split cane. Smaller gate leg tables with twist turning. ,[object Object]

Inlaid solid timber in recesses, parquetry - geometrical patterns of solid timber.

Marquetry using veneer was not yet used William and Mary 1689-1702 This period was named after the marriage of the English Mary Stuart, the daughter of James II to the Dutch William of Orange. William & Mary Side Table c. 1680 -142875926465The Dutch prince brought with him new ideas of comfort for the ordinary person. The furniture in his reign saw the first beginnings of real comfort. Upholstery became common. The chair backs were shaped slightly to fit the shape of your back and the back legs were splayed out at the bottom to prevent the chair from tipping backward. Bureaux were made strong enough to allow for a bookcase to be added on top for convenience. The Cabriole leg, which is identified with the Queen Anne Period, was borrowed from Holland, which meant the stretcher was gradually phased out. William & Mary Side Table c. 1680 28575282575 The King not only imported ideas from Holland, but the craftsmen who left their mark on English Furniture history. Walnut timber was used for furniture. Oriental lacquer finishes over cheaper timbers became more common. Front fall writing cabinets were developed. Simpler lines with more delicate proportions than before were seen. 40957525400 Elaborate veneering and marquetry replaced carving - using holly, ebony, satinwood and ivory. Features of William and Mary Furniture Upholstery became popular with the stuff over technique. The china cabinet was developed to hold the Queens' hobby, collecting delft and oriental porcelain. The bureau with a bookcase was set on stands. Back legs matched front legs. Feet were simple bun or pear shaped or goat's hoof. First cabriole leg was often left square. Legs often connected with x shaped stretchers with a finial at the junction. Stretchers were left flat with a veneered surface. Smaller dining rooms changed the emphasis on dining furniture. Gateleg tables. Flemish Scroll. Apart from the bed, bedroom furniture had not yet taken. Cabinets, bureaux, day beds, tables and easy chairs were used. There was no dressing table: usually a gilded framed mirror hung over the toilet table. Tallboys began to develop raised off the unusual stand. Inverted cup turning and tapered trumpet. Queen Anne 1702 -1714 The gracious and comfortable furniture from the Dutch influence continued and the English craftsman were developing their own skills. They had learned the foreign techniques and started to create a distinct English style. As the room sizes were now much smaller the pieces of furniture were less massive than those of previous centuries and the comfort was provided for in the chairs. 19050548005The chair is the single item that most typifies any one period and there is no exception with this period. The Queen Anne Chair is very well known and still popular today. Queen Anne Chair c. 1715, note the escalloped shell on the knee and the well proportioned shape.It features curved lines with the top rail flowing into the back legs with no obvious joints. Stretcher rails were omitted, as they were now unnecessary with cabriole legs. Walnut was still the most popular timber being used for furniture making, most of these articles featured cross-grained mouldings, rounded friezes and with many veneered surfaces, marquetry was replaced with fine carving. The cross-grained moulding was a feature that was exclusive to walnut work. It was not practical to make short-grained mouldings in the solid, so a thin layer of cross-grained walnut was glued to a long grained backing. Time was then allowed for shrinkage and any splits were then filled in. -2038350372110A greater leisure time saw the demand for small tables for tea, games etc. The Windsor chair dates from this period also. ,[object Object],Pembroke table pivot top and drawer in end. Dressing mirrors designed to sit on toilet table, or writing table was the beginning of the dressing table. Tall boy - the extension of the chest of drawers, formed by placing one on top of the other. Graduation of drawers was purely English. Writing desk with sloping front and lopers to support. Twin pedestal desk has its origin in the knee hole writing table. The secretaire similar to the bureau in having a vertical front and bracket feet. ,[object Object]

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