Please study the two rush seated chairs which I acquired at completely different times. The left hand one still has large areas of original green paint, very old rushing which has seen much use and a mixture of turned and shaped components. The front leg is rather well produced, with a pronounced offset turning to give a well defined foot. I have seen other similar front legs but had no idea where they were made, though I suspected it was somewhere close to Lincolnshire.
The right hand chair was offered for sale at Golding Young in Lincoln during March 2023 and was knocked down to me for a hammer price of £75. I had not been to the viewings but I was delighted when I collected it next day, even the auctioneer commented that this well made chair had caught his eye. It had obviously come from a good home and been well cared for, being re-rushed a long time ago and well polished. The wood used was either cherry or some other fruit wood and judging by the craftsmanship that was employed to make the turned pieces, it had come from a very accomplished workshop.
I will leave it up to the reader to assess the similarities between the two chairs.
One of the benefits of being a member of the Regional Furniture Society is that most other members are keen furniture historians. It was through the society that I meet Robert Williams, who lives just to the north of Cambridge and we have exchanged information on our respective regional chair collections over many years. A defining feature that he believes is common among his local chairs is the change in diameter of the back leg, above seat level. This is not a feature that I have ever seen on chairs that I associate with Lincolnshire rush seated chairs. He even has evidence to link this design pattern to Mendlesham in Suffolk. His immediate impression, when I shared some images with him, was that it indeed was from East Anglia.
© William Sergeant October 2023
