Vale of York compound-bent bow back armchair, with 7 long sticks, 8 short, turned underarms, turned front legs, plain back legs and H stretcher WS 217

Vale of York compound-bent bow back armchair, with 7 long sticks, 8 short, turned underarms, turned front legs, plain back legs and H stretcher  WS 217

A few years ago, I quite accidentally became acquainted with a retired antique dealer who lived in a fine Georgian town house in Grantham. I was fascinated by his tales of seeking out items of furniture in Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire and then often selling them on to the London trade during the 1960's & 70's. However, he had kept several choice items for his own house and he kindly allowed me to take some of them back to my photographic studio to record them. The image above is one chair from his small collection.

You will immediately see that I have taken the picture above from the side and I have done so for a very good reason: it clearly shows the compound bend in the steam bent back bow. There is no record of this technique being used by the Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire chairmakers but I knew exactly where it had been made as soon as I saw it: namely in the Vale of York. I knew this because I had read an article by Adam Bowett that appeared in the Regional Furniture 2004. 

Front view WS 217

The house in Grantham has now been sold along with its contents and I am just so pleased that I had the enormous pleasure of meeting this gentleman and also being able to record so many of his fine vernacular chairs. This one appears to have every component made from ash wood with the legs through morticed and wedged into the seat. The design is not the most elegant that I have ever seen but it does have huge amounts of rustic charm.

The photo details above show that these images were taken in September 2015 and why they have been on my computer hard drive for over 5 years without being published is hard to explain. It is a great example of true vernacular furniture, such a recognisable design and a tribute to the craftsmen of Yorkshire. Since I took this picture, I must have seen at least half a dozen being offered for sale, mainly through Yorkshire auction houses and not one has ever mentioned Bowett's article and their association with the county.

Short sticks through-mortised and wedged from above WS 217

Underarm turning WS 217

Front leg turning WS 217

© William Sergeant 2021