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

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor spindle back armchair stamped AMOS GRANTHAM, with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts WS 190 & WS 189

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor spindle back armchair stamped AMOS GRANTHAM, with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts WS 190

This is a typical early Lincolnshire windsor armchair. Plain back legs with the front ones having the design of a thin ring above an exaggerated shallow cove, an all-spindle back support and curved underarm supports. This one has an ash seat with yew for the other components. I believe that this is the very essence of a chair that was made in the first period of Windsor chairmaking in the county, namely 1800-1812. 

The name stamp on the edge of the seat is AMOS GRANTHAM, so we know exactly in whose workshop it was made. It came from a house just outside Newark and it had been in the family for many years. It was in a slightly distressed state when I brought it at auction but I got a restorer to make it usable again.

John Amos was a wheelwright and as such ran a business for the first 15 years of his working life making wagons and carts for farmers and merchants as well as servicing ones that were already in use. It was not until 1809 that the first advert by him was posted in the paper searching for journeymen chairmakers. All of the chairs that I have seen from his workshop are of the second period type, which I believe started to be produced in about 1812 but I was not surprised to seen this design by him. This leads me to think that this chair was probably made in the first 3 years of his manufacture, namely 1809-1812.

Bench holdfast marks on medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor spindle back armchair WS 190 stamped AMOS GRANTHAM WS 189

This picture shows part of the underside of the armbow of this AMOS chair. You can see quite clearly the small areas of cross-hatching that are impressed into the surface of the wood. This was caused by bench holdfasts. These have been used by woodworkers since ancient times and are used, as their name suggests, to hold a piece of wood firmly to the workbench. They are the shape of a swan's neck, with the neck part slipped down a hole in the bench and the crooked head part tapped with a mallet to spread the bend and hold the wood secure. They can easily be released with a sideways tap. 

For the holdfast to grip the wood better, there is cross-hatching filed into the end. This is what has left the marks above. The length of yew wood would be soften in the steam box and the placed against the profile form that it is to be moulded around and once bent, it is held firmly in place while it cools by a series of holdfasts. 

© William Sergeant 2017 and 2020

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped BRAND SLEAFORD with 9 long spindles, 8 short, turned underarms supports, bell-shaped seat, 2 ring and cove legs with 2 lower rings, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher, WS 192/199

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped BRAND SLEAFORD with 9 long spindles, 8 short, turned underarms supports, bell-shaped seat, 2 ring and cove legs with 2 lower rings, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher, WS 192/199

At first glance this is a typical Lincolnshire spindle back Windsor armchair. It is stamped BRAND SLEAFORD. The solid thick seat is fashioned from elm, the front legs are made out of cherry and the back legs turned from ash. Every other component is made from yew wood. What makes this chair slightly unusual is the turnery design to the front legs - the element of added decoration. There is a double ring turning above the cove and towards the base of the leg the turnery design is a double ring again. This striking feature is almost identical to the Shirley chair in WS 198.

Chairs by this maker are very rare. This one is the first that I have handled after many years of searching and I was pleased to add it to my collection. I had come across John Brand before - see WS 163 and 164. That chair with the seat stamped BRAND and MARSH proves that they must have been working together for a while.

The tradition of chair making in Sleaford has three names which standout and often appear in the directories and censuses, namely MARSH, BRAND and MASON. While many MARSH stamped chairs have been recorded, very few BRAND stamped chairs appear on the market and not one single chair stamped with MASON has ever been found.  After many years of searching, I was so pleased to find this BRAND chair advertised on the internet by a dealer in the south of the county. We agreed on a price and as he was about to visit the Newark Fair, he offered to deliver it as well.

© William Sergeant 2017 and 2020

Lincolnshire medium bow back Windsor armchair, stamped I * TAYLOR GRANTHAM with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarms, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher WS 211

Lincolnshire medium bow back Windsor armchair, stamped I * TAYLOR GRANTHAM with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarms, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher WS 211

Regular students of Lincolnshire Windsor chairs will have seen the image of this chair before. It is simply remarkable. It appears on p. 138 of Thomas Crispin's The English Windsor Chair (1992) and again in Dr B D Cotton's The English Regional Chair (1990) at figure NE12 on p. 113. Both books show the name stamp of I*TAYLOR which relates to the eldest son of Roger and Sophia Taylor, one John Taylor. Those of you who have seen my lecture at Conway Hall on Youtube will know that he made chairs for only three years, from February 1808 until January 1811, after which he became a mail coach guard for 31 years. The only other recorded I*TAYLOR stamped chair passed through the now closed auction room of Neale's of Nottingham in 2002. 

Detail of upper rear of seat of Lincolnshire medium bow back Windsor armchair, stamped I * TAYLOR GRANTHAM

WS 204 on the left, WS 211 on the right

You may also wish to compare this chair to yesterday's post WS 204, which has no makers mark, but I am sure both were made by the same hand.

The extraordinary fact is that this chair appeared on eBay recently and was spotted by a fellow enthusiast (one Julian Parker) who kindly notified me. The young lady in London selling the chair had seen the name stamp but had been unable to decipher the name. She had acquired the chair off Greenwich market at least 15 years before, besides that there was no other provenance.

© William Sergeant and Julian Parker 2020

Lincolnshire medium bow back Windsor armchair, with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarms, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher WS 204

Lincolnshire medium bow back Windsor armchair, with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarms, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher WS 204

My attention was drawn to this chair, that was advertised on Instagram, by my fellow furniture enthusiast Tim Garland. From the image by the vendor, it was obvious that it was in poor condition with some serious structural issues - also it was said to be possibly from Welsh borders. I recognised it as a typical early spindle back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair, dating from about 1815. There was no indication whether it was marked by the workshop owner. After having completing the deal, the chair duly arrived and the breakages were even worse than I had initially thought, but no matter, as it was soon in the capable hands of Tim. He repaired and restored the chair and the result can be seen in the picture above. He made a splendid job, and we both felt a deep sense of satisfaction of having rescued a valuable historical piece of vernacular furniture.

The maker of this chair remained a mystery to me, but as you may have heard me say before, the maker always leaves his finger prints all over his chairs, if you just know where to look. The give away was the incised ring around the back legs to indicate where the hole needed to be drilled to take the side stretcher. The only signed chairs, that have this feature, are those that are signed TAYLORS, so those made in the workshop of William Taylor. There remains the possibility that those made in his brother's workshop (John), could have the same implicit mark but as I had never handled one, and am most unlikely ever to find one, so the final identity of the marker remains uncertain.

© William Sergeant 2019

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped Brand Marsh Sleaford with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarm supports, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher WS 164 & WS 163

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped Brand Marsh Sleaford with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarm supports, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher WS 164 

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped Brand Marsh Sleaford  WS 163

Many thanks to Robert Williams, a fellow collector of vernacular furniture, for alerting me to the sale of this chair in Bury St. Edmunds. I had missed the pre-auction advertisement and if it not had been for the diligence of Robert this chair could have slipped back into oblivion for ever! What makes this chair so special is that it is stamped BRAND MARSH SLEAFORD, which was fortunately mentioned in the auction notes on this lot. The Sleaford chairmakers John Brand and Thomas Marsh are well known, with chairs stamped by them individually having been recorded, but this is the very first time that one has turned up with both names, indicating that they worked together in partnership for a while.  

Both appear in Pigot's Directory for 1822, John Brand as 'turner & chair maker', Thos. Marsh as 'Windsor chair maker'. Marsh died in April 1844 aged 67 and Brand on 26 March 1850 'advanced in years', according to the Stamford Mercury.  John Brand is shown in the 1841 census as then aged 55, although ages in that census are often not accurate. He seems to have been baptised in 1785 or 1786 and was thus a handful of years younger than Thomas Marsh.

I got in touch with the auction house after the sale and asked for my details to be passed on to the purchaser. In due course we made contact and I travelled to Suffolk to meet the new owner, who now appreciates the significance of this chair and will be a good custodian. I set up an improvised photographic studio in the kitchen and the result can seen above.

Description: thick elm seat with chamfered under-edges grain running from front to back. Bell shaped in plan. Cherry spindles, 8 short and 9 long, one of which is broken. Very delicate bent underarm supports secured by screw underneath. Yew wood front legs with ring and cove decoration. Plain back legs, one of yew and one with an inappropriate later replacement. Yew crinoline stretcher with two ash short connecting stretchers to back legs. There are no securing pins in the top of the back bow unlike Marsh signed chairs were they are always present. 4 pins in the armbow, two to secure the backbow and two to secure the frontmost spindles. Seat dimensions : 19 5/8 by 15 3/16 inches. A fine example of an early Lincolnshire Windsor chair.

© William Sergeant 2015 and Julian Parker 2020

3 x Lincolnshire Windsor chairs by Marsh of Sleaford, one high back bow back, one hoop back side chair, and one medium bow back, with 9, 7 and 9 long spindles, bell shaped seats, turned underarms x 2, ring and cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts WS 115

3 x Lincolnshire Windsor chairs by Marsh of Sleaford, one high back bow back, one hoop back side chair, and one medium bow back, with 9, 7 and 9 long spindles, bell-shaped seats, turned underarms x 2, ring and cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts WS 115

All three chairs bear the maker's stamp on the rear upper part of the seat: MARSH SLEAFORD. This picture demonstrates the interchangeability of component parts: the legs are all identical (accepting that the chair on the left has been reduced in height some time ago). Thomas and James Marsh developed an elegant and balanced turned leg and they stuck by it faithfully through out many years and never went for the two ring motif on later chairs as other makers did.  The underarm turnings are consistent on the two armchairs and all three chairs have the same H stretcher with darts.

© William Sergeant 2013 and 2020

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped MARSH of Sleaford with 9 long spindles, 6 short, crook underarms, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher WS 105

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped MARSH of Sleaford with 9 long spindles, 6 short, crook underarms, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove front legs with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher WS 105

Many thanks to Michael Pashby Antiques in New York City for providing this wonderful image from his stock . It was available along with 9 side chairs by the same maker - all signed. The crook underarm support is the first I have ever seen by this father and son pair of makers - it probably was made by the father (Thomas) and fully deserves to be recorded here. See WS 101 & WS 29 for chairs by the same maker.

© William Sergeant 2013 and 2020

3 Lincolnshire bow back spindle back Windsor armchair by Taylor, Marsh and Hubbard with 8, 9 and 9 long spindles, 6, 8 and 6 short, turned underarm x 2 crook underarm x 1 straight seat sides x 2 bell shaped seat x 1, ring and cove front leg turnings with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher x 3 darts x 2 WS 114

3 Lincolnshire bow back spindle back Windsor armchairs by Taylor, Marsh and Hubbard with 8, 9 and 9 long spindles, 6, 8 and 6 short, turned underarm x 2 crook underarm x 1 straight seat sides x 2 bell shaped seat x 1, ring and cove front leg turnings with 1 lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher x 3 darts x 2 WS 114

These three chairs are all signed by their maker: left, Taylor of Grantham; middle, Marsh of Sleaford; right, Hubbard of Grantham. They just go to show how popular these spindle back chairs were in Lincolnshire. There are many similarities, namely: all have ring and cove front leg turnings and plain back legs, they are made out of ash except two outside ones which have elm for their seats.

© William Sergeant 2020

Lincolnshire medium bow back Windsor armchair by Nicholas Allen of Boston with 9 long spindles, 8 short, turned underarm supports, bell-shaped seat, 2 ring front leg turnings with vase feet, plain back legs with vase feet, H stretcher with dart turning

WS 174 Lincolnshire medium bow back Windsor armchair by Nicholas Allen of Boston

Arm turning detail, Lincolnshire medium bow back Windsor armchair by Nicholas Allen of Boston

Nicholas Allen, son of Nicholas Allen and Mary Allen neé Needlar was baptised on 17 June 1764 at Stainton le Vale in the Lincolnshire Wolds, 6 miles north east of Market Rasen and 6 miles south east of Caistor. On 6 March 1835 the Stamford Mercury recorded the 

"Death at Boston on Wednesday last aged 71 Mr Nicholas Allen, chair turner of Wide Bargate."

The St Botolph's Boston burial register shows that he was buried on 9 March and he is recorded as being 70 years old.

Nicholas was the second of twelve children

There appeared in the Stamford Mercury on Friday 6 August 1790 this advertisement: 

"WANTED IMMEDIATELY, A JOURNEYMAN PIN-CHAIR and SPINNING-WHEEL MAKER.—A good Hand may have constant Employ, and good Wages, by applying to NICHOLAS ALLEN, Chair and Wheel-Maker, of Boston, Lincolnshire N.B, Letters (Post paid) duly answered."

"Nicholas Allen, Pin, Chair & Spinning-wheel maker" is his entry in The Universal British Directory 1791.

On 17 May 1790 the register of St Botolph's Church, Boston contains this entry

"This marriage was solemnised between us 

Nicholas Allen

Frances Harrison + Her mark

In the presence of Us

James Hildred H his mark

John Allen"

The Lincolnshire Marriage Licence Bonds and Allegations reveal that Frances was a widow.

As their son John was baptised at St Botolph's on 27 November 1790 just over six months' later there may have been an element of haste over the wedding.

Masters & Apprentices County Series Vol IR 1/66 Folio 179/52 shows an entry in 1793 as follows: "Master: Nicholas Allen, Turner. Apprentice: Wm Haw 1 16 May 93. 7 yrs fm date. Sum paid £7 7s 0d. Duty paid £0 3s 9d. Date Duty Paid 16 May 1793. Date entered 31 July 1793. Collector: Richd Gibbeson Lincolnse."

On 10 June 1803 the Stamford Mercury advertised:

"To Pin Chair-makers and Bottomers. WANTED, a JOURNEYMAN to each of the above Businesses; who will meet with constant Employment, and liberal Wages will be given, by applying to NICHOLAS ALLEN, Chair and Spinning-wheel-maker, Boston, Lincolnshire. 10th June 1803."

On 11 March 1808 in the Stamford Mercury appeared:

To PIN and FANCY CHAIR-MAKERS . WANTED immediatelv, Two Journeymen Chair-makers Good hands will meet with constant employ and liberal wages by applying to NICHOLAS ALLEN, chair-maker and job turner, Boston, Lincolnshire.—Letters to be post paid. March 10th 1808."

Stamford Mercury - Friday 16 November 1827 contained the following sale:

"BOSTON, Lincolnshire. To be SOLD by AUCTION, At the Red Lion Inn in Boston, Wednesday the 28th day of November instant, at Six o’clock in the afternoon, subject to such conditions of sale as shall be then and there produced, unless previously disposed of by private contract, of which due notice will be given; A Valuable Freehold ESTATE, in Boston. 

Lot 1. A Messuage or Tenement, and Grocer’s Shop, in an excellent state of repair, situate in Wide Bargate, near to Pen-street, with Yard, and Rain Water and other conveniences, as the same are now in the occupation of Elizabeth Moody. 

Lot 2. Allotment of Land in the West Fen, (Tithe-free,) in the parochial allotment to Boston East, containing 4A. 2R. 22P, or thereabouts, lying near to Richardson’s Bridge, and abutting on the Horncastle road on the West, well fenced, and in a high state of cultivation, now in the occupation of Nicholas Allen. 

Lot 3. Piece or Parcel Building Ground, situate on the West side of Pen-street, containing about 200 Square Yards, with a Frontage of 21 feet next the street. 

Part the purchase-money may remain on security of the premises, if required.-—For particulars enquire of Mr Nicholas Allen, the owner ; or at the office of Messrs. Thirkill and Rogers, solicitors, Boston."

In Pigot's Directory 1828-39 Nicholas Allen is recorded as a cabinet maker as he is in the 1835 edition.

On 3 July 1829 the Stamford Mercury records: 

"On Thursday the 25th ult., aged 50, the widow Dawney, cowkeeper, of Boston West. Same day, aged 80, Frances wife of Mr. Nicholas Allen, chair turner, of Bargate, Boston." 

and on 6 March 1835 

"Death at Boston on Wednesday last aged 71 Mr Nicholas Allen, chair turner of Wide Bargate."

Nicholas had a much younger brother, Joseph, the twelfth of his parents' children, baptised at Stainton le Vale on 10 July 1785 who died at Boston on 15 February 1848. He is recorded as a Chair and General Turner in Pigot's Directory 1835 at Cheapside, Boston as as a turner in the 1841 census.  When Joseph married Elizabeth Haw, a widow in St Botolph's in 1814, his nephew John, Nicholas and Frances's son, was one of the witnesses.

John appears at Bargate in the 1841 census as a chair maker: he died on 16 September 1841 and was buried at St Botolph's three days later.

One thing that stands out about Nicholas Allen from the above sequence of advertisements is that had chairs such as the one featured in this post not survived, it would never have been known that his workshop made Windsor chairs.  All the advertisements mention pin chairs or fancy chairs and spinning wheels. Pin chairs are rush-seated - hence the advertisement for chair bottomers in 1803.  

Allen seems to have been a resourceful craftsman with a wide range of output. It is rare in Lincolnshire to find a workshop that made both rush-seated and  Windsor chairs.

© Photos William Sergeant 2020 Text Julian Parker 2020

Unstamped low bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair possibly by Thomas Simpson of Boston with 9 long spindles, 8 short, crook underarm supports, bell-shaped seat, ring and cove front leg turnings with lower ring, plain back legs, H stretcher with dart turning

WS 168 low bow back Windsor armchair possibly by Thomas Simpson of Boston 

I had seen this chair in Newark and on inspection I found there was no makers stamp but I was taken by its unusual form of having a low backbow. Even though I had not seen this design before I decided to leave it. On revisiting the shop several months later it was still there so I was able to negotiate a good deal and it joined my collection. I saw it as a challenge to see if I could work out who had made it. A thorough examination showed facets running along the length of the long spindles indicating that they had been made with a draw knife. I was even more intrigued to find out who the chairmaker was . Another feature was the fact that the two outside long spindles were secured in place by pins that had been driven right through the backbow and were visible from the front and back . This is a rare constructional technique as most makers only leave the pins showing at the back. 

A good indication of the maker is the dimensions of the seat as they used their own template over many years; on measuring this one and comparing the result with all the signed chairs that I have, only two came close . One of these had pins only showing from the back but the other had pins visible from both sides; could that maker have made this one as well? It was a chair that I have had for several years (WS 123) and while I was handling it I noticed for the first time that it too had short spindles shaped with a draw knife, not turned on a lathe. By closing my eyes and using my fingers to feel, the facets running up the spindles were obvious. These chairs surely had to have been made by the same maker. And the name of that maker is T SIMPSON of BOSTON . The only other chair by this maker that I have photographed but was not allowed to touch is in the  V&A and if you read the description of that chair it mentions that components of that chair were made with a draw knife as well. For more details on this maker then please read my notes on WS 123 - there were in fact 3 of them - Grandfather, father and son.

© William Sergeant 2018 and 2020

Lincolnshire bowback spindle back Windsor armchair stamped AMOS GRANTHAM, 9 long spindles, 8 short (some of laburnum), turned fruitwood underarm supports, elm seat, ring and cove front leg turnings with single lower ring, plain back legs, crinoline stretcher

WS 135 Spindle bowback Windsor armchair stamped AMOS GRANTHAM

This chair, mostly made of yew wood, is clearly stamped on the side of the elm seat AMOS GRANTHAM. Everthing about the chair was original and one would not have guessed that it was by this maker, were it not for the name stamp . The underarm supports are not what one would expect: they are not too dissimilar to the pattern used by Taylor and also by Marsh. The front legs are of the common and typical pattern of early Lincolnshire chairmakers and not of the multiple rings that are associated with Amos. This chair had been well used and there were several issues with splits and cracks. The remarkable feature of this chair is the wood used for the short spindles and underarm supports.

WS 134 Detail of spindle bowback Windsor armchair stamped AMOS GRANTHAM

A close-up of these is in the picture above and it is clearly seen that laburnum has been used for the short spindles and a fruitwood, possibly plum, has been used for the underarm support. Many thanks to Christopher Pye for allowing me to photograph his chair. It is rare for laburnum to be used in chair making, certainly in Lincolnshire*, but it just goes to show how these makers would make use of almost any wood that was available on the day.

© William Sergeant and Julian Parker 2020

* Laburnum is not uncommon in Scottish chairmaking tradition.

Unstamped comb back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair; curved cresting rail with turned stiles morticed into the arm bow, turned underarm supports, 9 long spindles, 2 x 4 underarm spindles, ring & cove front leg turning with lower ring & plain back legs, H stretcher with darts, attributed to William Taylor

attributed to William Taylor Lincolnshire comb back WS 180

Comb back windsor armchairs are so distinctive and peculiar to Lincolnshire. They are not easy to find as few have ever come onto the market; they were made by MARSH (SLEAFORD) and CAMM & G.WILSON ( GRANTHAM).  So when I spotted this one for sale at an auction house near Manchester I was intrigued as I did not recognise the maker. I purchased the chair, thanks to being able to bid over the internet even though I had not viewed before the auction. I was not disappointed when I collected it, the chair was in good order, unsigned and every component made from ashwood.

It was not till I got it home that I was able to work out who had made it. The underarm supports were so similar to the ones on the TAYLORS signed chair in picture No 167 and both chairs had the same finish applied, a sort of dark varnish. But the telling detail was the incised ring around the back leg where the side stretcher joins. It's a detail that I have only ever seen on two chairs - both signed TAYLORS and it appears on the comb back chair as well.  So I was in no doubt which workshop this came out of: William Taylor. Moreover, I am able to precisely date this chair as he was only working between 1811 and October 1815. Which makes this chair over 200 hundred years old.

© William Sergeant 2020

James Marsh, Sleaford: stamped medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair, turned underarm supports, 9 long spindles, 2 x 4 underarm spindles, ring and cove front leg turnings with single lower ring & plain back legs, H stretcher with cross stretcher turned with darts

WS 29 Marsh Sleaford

Found this one recently (May 2016) in a local antique centre and I knew immediately that it was a Lincolnshire chair - on closer inspection it became apparent that it was in excellent condition with no play in any joints and little wear for its age. The seat was covered by a red velvet fitted cushion and when I removed it there appeared a dirty mark at the rear of the seat; I rubbed the mark and I then could see letters appearing which spelled: MARSH SLEA.... No one had noticed this so I quickly negotiated the purchase and hurried out the door with it. A little research revealed it to be made by James Marsh of Sleaford. A little bit of history on James Marsh for you: he was baptised James Thompson Marsh in Nottingham in 1803. His parents were Thomas Marsh (from Nottingham) a Windsor chair maker, and Ellen Thompson of Londonthorpe (which is just outside Grantham) and they were married at St Wulfram's, Grantham in 1802. At the time of their wedding they were recorded as living at Little Gonerby (which was a tiny collection of houses on the very edge of Grantham, where the chair maker John Amos lived as well) not to be confused with Great Gonerby or Gonerby Hill Foot. Their wedding was witnessed by Richard and Elizabeth Hubbard  (signed chairs from Hubbard can be seen in Cotton's book) It's hardly surprising that he grew up to be a chair maker.  Compare with No 91.

© William Sergeant 2019

James Marsh, Sleaford: stamped high bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair, turned underarm supports, 9 long spindles, 2 x 4 underarm spindles, ring and cove front leg turnings with single lower ring & plain back legs, H stretcher with cross stretcher turned with darts

WS 91 Marsh Sleaford

This chair has been reduced in height by about 25mm in the past but still makes a lovely chair. It was offered for sale at a Lincoln auction and there was no mention in the description that it was clearly signed on the rear of the seat: MARSH SLEAFORD. This relates to James Thompson Marsh who lived and worked all his life in Sleaford. Compare this with No 29: it just reinforces the fact that chair makers had their own distinctive design features and repeated them faithfully, making it much easier to attribute unsigned chairs to their makers. Extra notes on Marsh: in the 1841 census of Sleaford he is noted as living at Reform Place as a chairmaker with his family and a 20 year old assistant called William. In 1851 he is recorded as being at No 65 Jermyn Street with his family and in 1871 his family are at No 40 Jermyn Strret but no record of him. However there is a reference to him in the Sleaford Gazette in 1870 as a well as a note of his workshop being sold in 1865 which appears to be sited on the West end of Boston road, Sleaford on the north-side. Adverts in the Sleaford Gazette in the 1850s tell of his chairs selling for a few shillings. Recently there came to hand a photograph from the Sleaford History Society of a row of cottages that were in Jermyn St. before they were demolished; it seems James Marsh and his family lived in the end one.


© William Sergeant 2019

15

Windsor armchair, signed HUBBARD GRANTHAM, so made in the workshop of Richard Hubbard, who was the next person to make Windsor chairs in Grantham, after Roger Taylor.

25

Windsor armchair - signed MARSH SLEAFORD, so made in the workshop of Thomas Marsh, or by his son James, between 1810 - 1860 in the town of Sleaford. All components made of ash wood.