3 x Lincolnshire Windsor side chairs by Marsh of Sleaford, with curved crest rail with turned stiles and 5 long spindles x 1, hoop back x 2 with 7 & 6 long spindles, 1 straight sided and 2 bell-shaped seats, ring and cove front leg turnings with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts x 2 H stretcher with 6 bobbin turning x 1 WS 116

3 x Lincolnshire Windsor side chairs by Marsh of Sleaford, with curved crest rail with turned stiles and 5 long spindles x 1, hoop back x 2 with 7 & 6 long spindles, 1 straight sided and 2 bell-shaped seats, ring and cove front leg turnings with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts x 2 H stretcher with 6 bobbin turning x 1 WS 116

All three chairs bear the maker's stamp on the rear of the upper seat: MARSH SLEAFORD. The middle chair is the same as WS 115. These chairs illustrate the beautiful balanced designs of side chairs that these father and son chair turners made. The earliest reference to Thomas Marsh being in Sleaford is 1810 (when his daughter Anne was baptised there) and his son James was still there making chairs in 1870 - a span of at least 60 years!

Right, I hope you are sitting comfortably as what you are about to read has never been published before: it's about Thomas Marsh. He was baptised in Bilborough, Nottinghamshire on 20th August 1779* to parents Hugh and Helen Marsh. I believe he had an older brother Joseph, who was baptised in Strelley, Notts in 1776 and another older brother Hugh who was baptised in 1771 at St. Michael's, Derby. He went on to marry in St Wulfram's, Grantham (which was quite usual for people from Little Gonerby) on 26th July 1802. His bride on that day was Helen Thompson who had been born at Londonthorpe (a tiny village about a mile northeast of Grantham) and on their marriage register they were both noted as living in Little Gonerby. At the time of their wedding Thomas was 22 and Helen 21. Their wedding must have been a slightly sad affair as his mother-in-law had died just the month before and had been buried in Grantham (as she had been a resident of Little Gonerby) on the 21st June 1802. Their union was soon blessed with a child as on 19th August 1803 James was baptised in St. Marys, Nottingham. The next reference that I found for them was at Little Gonerby again when the baptism of their daughter Jane was recorded on the 21st Feb 1808. At some stage they moved to Sleaford as they had a daughter Ann baptised on 11th July 1810 at Quarrington (which is often referred to as Old Sleaford).

This has left me wondering what he was doing living in Little Gonerby, marrying a local girl and then going back to Nottingham. It could be explained if he had gone to do an apprenticeship with a Master as there is a history of chairmakers there. He met and fell in love with Helen but as is usual, he was not allowed to marry until he had finished his time, and then went back to his former home with his new bride. The intrigue does not stop there as the marriage was witnessed by Richard Hubbard and his wife Elizabeth. Richard Hubbard was a chair maker in Grantham - it would be no great surprise if he turned out to have been Thomas Marsh's Master.

Thomas appears to have been a chair maker all his life, eventually being buried at Sleaford on 25th April 1844 at the age of 67.** James was died in September 1870.

Here is a short video on Marsh chairs.

© William Sergeant 2013 and 2020

* and ** This would indicate that he was born in 1777: the baptism at Bilborough in August 1779 is the only Thomas Marsh baptised in the vicinity of Nottingham at around the relevant time.