Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped SHIRLEY GRANTHAM with 3-piercing fleur de lys upper splat, teardrop pierced lower splat 6 long spindles, 8 short, turned underarms supports, bell-shaped seat, 2 ring and cove legs with 2 lower rings x 4, H stretcher with darts WS 198

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped SHIRLEY GRANTHAM with 3-piercing fleur de lys upper splat, teardrop pierced lower splat 6 long spindles, 8 short, turned underarms supports, bell-shaped seat, 2 ring and cove legs with 2 lower rings x 4, H stretcher with darts WS 198

Signed chairs by William Shirley senior are so rare that in all the years that I have been searching for Lincolnshire chairs, this is the very first signed armchair that I have ever come across.  When it appeared at the local sale room in Grantham in June 2017, I decided that it should join my collection. You may have noticed that a side chair already exists on this blog, WS 84, and I have another signed SHIRLEY side chair in my collection which is remarkably similar to it. Beside those three, very few have been recorded. There's an armchair in the Geffrye Museum and I know of a couple more. The side chair at figure NE 53 at p. 123 Dr B D Cotton's The English Regional Chair (1990) may be an example but is merely stamped SHIRLEY. This minimal number of stamped Shirley Grantham chairs strikes me as slightly odd as he was a chair maker for some considerable time in Grantham.

William learnt his trade in the workshop of the Taylors, first with John during the years 1808-1811 and then with his younger brother William during the years 1811-1815 after which he became Freeman of Grantham. He advertises in the Stamford Mercury in April 1818, seeking an apprentice and a dish turner. He describes himself as a Turner, Windsor and Fancy and Spinning wheel maker of Westgate Grantham. He places a similar advert in June 1819, giving his address as No. 11 Westgate Grantham. This is of significance as it is the same address as William Taylor used when he advertised in the same paper in Dec 1811, which would indicate that he had moved into the premises once occupied by his second master. He marries in 1816 and at the birth of his son Frederick in 1824, he is described as a chairmaker of Southwark. Also, at the birth of his son George in 1828 he is noted as being a chairmaker of Old Kent Road. He advertises twice in 1834 using the address of Westgate Grantham again.

The chair pictured above is typical of a good quality Lincolnshire chair with underarm support pattern that is used by so many makers. The interesting feature is the design motif for the front legs, it has an extra ring above the usual ring and cove decoration as well as an extra lower ring. I wonder if this a nod to the Victorian trait of incorporating more detail into their furniture and getting away from the classical lines of the Georgian period? The middle parts of the H stretcher are fatter than many Grantham examples.

The seat and the stamp may be admired below.

Fine elm seat of medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped SHIRLEY GRANTHAM WS 198

 SHIRLEY GRANTHAM stamp on upper rear of seat of WS 198

© William Sergeant 2017