Lincolnshire low bow back Windsor armchair, probably Hubbard Grantham, with 5-piercing fleur de lys and teardrop piercing splat, 6 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarms, straight seat edges, ring and cove front leg turnings with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher WS 201

Lincolnshire low bow back Windsor armchair, probably Hubbard Grantham, with 5-piercing fleur de lys and teardrop piercing splat, 6 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarms, straight seat edges, ring and cove front leg turnings with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher WS 201

The low profile of the back bow gives this chair a distinctive squat appearance, like no other Lincolnshire chair that I can think of. I knew that they existed as a signed pair are illustrated in published works on vernacular furniture but I had been waiting for years for one to appear on the open market so that I could add it to my collection. It was offered for sale in a Shropshire sale room, with a good description and photos, so I bid with confidence and secured its purchase. After a couple of months the chair was delivered to my home and I was delighted with the overall condition. The seat is of elm, while all other components are made from yew wood with the back legs of ash; a typical combination that is so often found in Lincolnshire best chairs. It has one feature that is so rare on chairs made in the county, that is the incised scratch mark around the edge of the back bow.

This chair is not stamped by the workshop owner but the two that appear in Dr B D Cotton's The English Regional Chair (1990) at figures NE24 and NE25 on p. 118 were stamped clearly HUBBARD GRANTHAM, so I am in no doubt that this chair was produced in the workshop of Richard Hubbard of Little Gonerby about 1807 - 1820.

© William Sergeant 2019