Lincolnshire high back bow back Windsor armchair stamped SHIRLEY with 3 piercing fleur de lys upper splat and keyhole piercing lower splat, 6 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarm supports, straight seat sides, 3 ring leg turnings with 1 lower ring x 4 H stretcher with bobbin and 2 rings WS 73 & WS 74

Lincolnshire high back bow back Windsor armchair stamped SHIRLEY WS 74

Lincolnshire high back bow back Windsor armchair stamped SHIRLEY WS 73

This chair came out of a house in Nettleton, near Caistor and has a stamp of Shirley. Two things of note about this chair; firstly the underarm supports, the design of which is seen on chairs associated with northeast Lincolnsire and south Yorkshire that makes me believe that they were all made in the chair factory owned by Shirley; secondly the design of the cross stretcher uniting the legs which also seen on some spindle back chairs attributed to John Shadford, which is not surprising as they worked together for a long time. Compare the underarm supports to chairs WS 30 & WS 31. A very similar stamped Shirley chair was Exhibit No 28 at the Alford Manor Exhibition in 2019 and appears here. 

© William Sergeant 2012 and 2020