The earliest depiction of a Windsor Chair? Peniarth MS 28 © Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – The National Library of Wales

Peniarth MS 28 © Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – The National Library of Wales

 

I recently came across this fabulous illustration from the Laws of Hywel Dda in the collection of the National Library of Wales, about which they say: 

"A Latin text of the Laws of Hywel Dda, being one of the earliest, by a single scribe and dating from the mid 13th century. The notes on a piece of paper pasted onto the inside the end cover which is now partly perished have been transcribed by Gwenogvryn Evans.

The 'Laws of Hywel Dda' is the term applied to a system of native Welsh law named after Hywel Dda (died 950) who is credited with its codification. None of the surviving Welsh law manuscripts, however, is earlier than the second quarter of the 13th century. Although they contain law that is of 12th- and 13th-century origin, scholars are agreed that these manuscripts contain a core of matter that is much earlier in date. Most of these books are small in size and were probably designed as 'pocket-books' to be carried about by lawyers rather than to be kept on library shelves. Peniarth MS 28 belongs to this first generation of law-books, being written probably in the middle of the 13th century, a date arrived at by Daniel Huws on palaeographical and physical grounds; this challenges J. Gwenogvryn Evans's dating of the last quarter of the 12th century. However, the manuscript differs from its contemporaries in a number of respects. It is much larger than the other law-books of the period, probably intended for a library rather than the pocket of a lawyer, and it is written in Latin rather than in Welsh. But what singles it out most is the series of illustrations it contains portraying the king and the officials of his household. The conclusion to be drawn is that the scribe of Peniarth MS 28 had been commissioned to write a special copy of the Welsh laws, probably a presentation copy for some dignitary. The fact that it is written in Latin suggests an ecclesiastic rather than a lawyer, maybe a non-Welshman. Textual evidence suggests that it was probably written in south-west Wales."

Note the tapered legs, arm rests and high back. Who knows what woods were used but my money would be on ash and elm?

Bobbin turned side chair - WS229

 

Bobbin-turned side chair, possibly Dutch - WS229

Quite fortuitously I happen to be in Grantham in the middle of January of 2023 and decided to call at Goldings, the Grantham auctioneers, even though it was not a day designated for viewing. I asked if it was possible to view the furniture for the forthcoming sale and luckily my wish was granted. The chair pictured above immediately caught my attention and a few days later, after a bidding battle during the auction, I was delighted to purchase it. 

There is absolutely nothing that I would associate with Lincolnshire incorporated into this chair, indeed I cannot remember seeing another remotely like it before. I had been instantly struck by the amount of work that had gone into its production: the wood used was either cherry or some other fruitwood. Every component was contemporary, though there were two metal brackets to help support the seat rails where they met the back legs. In terms of dating the chair, my initial impression was mid-18th century. The finials at the top of the back legs pointed towards Holland and the Low Countries as chairs made there almost invariably have this feature. However, more research needs to be done to establish its origin.

© William Sergeant 2023

Typical Lincolnshire spindleback chair - WS228

 

WS228 Lincolnshire Windsor armchair with 9 long spindles attributed to Roger and Sophia Taylor workshop

The county of Lincolnshire has a great tradition of making spindleback Windsor chairs. Their understated elegance, economy of design and pleasing proportions make them timeless items of furniture which would grace any room. There are plenty on my Flickr feed to choose from and after many years of researching the tradition, I still find chairs which are new to me. Please take a moment to study this one.

It was while visiting a Newark antique centre that I spotted this one for sale at a very reasonable price. There is no maker's name stamp, every component is fashioned from ashwood and it's in remarkably good condition. Everything points to a standard Lincolnshire spindleback Windsor chair, produced at the beginning of the nineteenth century. But which workshop did it come out of? I knew that I had seen those underarm supports before and after a little bit of research I realised that they were the same as picture WS160, which is signed TAYLOR Grantham. 

What surprised me was the fact that every other signed TAYLOR spindleback chairs have only 8 long spindles and 6 short ones. This is, I believe, the very first time that a 9 long and 8 short spindle pattern has ever been recorded.

I have little doubt that it was manufactured in the workshop of Roger and Sophia Taylor during the period 1801 - 1810.

© William Sergeant 2023

East Anglian chairs - WS 227

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