Lincolnshire rush-seated ladder back side chair with 4 domed ladders, straight back poles with tapered feet, with Lincolnshire front stretcher, double rear and side stretchers, rushing bars, turned front legs with vase feet morticed into the seat frame

Lincolnshire rush-seated ladder back side chair WS 186

About five years ago I was sent some photographs of two rush seated ladder back chairs that were in a house near to Spilsby. One of them was identical to the chairs in WS 59 and it is of the type that I come across quite regularly. I have been able to trace these sorts of chair to southeast Lincolnshire and I am confident that they were made by the Spikins family of chair makers in Boston and Spalding. The other chair - pictured above - had straight front legs and a front stretcher with the same pattern as the rocking chair in WS 120. Again, I believe that these sorts of chairs come from the southeast Lincolnshire: indeed the rocking chair came out of a junk shop in Bourne.  So the fact these two chairs appeared in Spilsby, an area of the county where I would only expect to find the cabriole front legged chairs like WS 157, got me wondering if I had got my origins of these chairs wrong.

It was after my talk in Spilsby in the spring of 2017 that these two chairs were brought along to my chair surgery open day. I was able to photograph them both and to inquire into their provenance. Their tale was intriguing.

Throughout the nineteenth century there was a successful banking business in Lincolnshire called the Garfit, Claypon & Co Bank that had at one time ten branches throughout the county. In 1891 it merged with another company which was later absorbed into Lloyds. It was at that time when Bartholomew Claypon Garfit - a partner in the business - sold his large house near Boston to buy a large hunting estate near to Spilsby, bringing all his furniture with him. In subsequent years this estate was broken up and part of the furniture found its way into the ownership of a descendant close to Spilsby. It was that family that had brought along these two chairs for me to see.

So my belief that these types of chairs were made in the Boston area was once again re-inforced by the finding out the provenance of them in Spilsby which definitely showed that their history could be linking to the Boston area over 100 years ago.

© William Sergeant 2017 and 2020

1705 John Ashton late of Spalding in the County of Lincoln, chair maker - Inventory

It was pleasing to spot the inventory of the possessions of John Ashton who was in all likelihood one of the earliest Lincolnshire rush-seated chair makers.  The list of contents shows he was most likely a spinning wheel maker as well.

"An Inventory of the Goods of John Ashton late of Spalding in the County of Lincolne Cheare maker deceased Appraised by Us whose hands are under written this Twelveth day of November Anno Dmi 1705

Impris            

In the parlour	£	s	d
One ffeather bed bedstead boulster two pillows two sheetes two blanketts a Quilt & two pillowboards	4	12	6
One fflock bed and blankett	0	3	6
One little Ovell Table one Square Table two Chaires two Stooles One Earthen Mugg 2 Candlesticks and some Glasses upon the Mantle peice one old press a Sault box a Warmeing pan a paire of bellows and a Seeing Glass and Some old Timber	0	11	6
In a little Closett
Three Glass bottles a baskett & Some old bookes	0	2	9
Linnen
One paire of hempen sheetes Three Table Cloaths Tenn pillowboards Eighteene Sheetes One Cubboard Cloath One Table Cloath One dozn of Huckaback Napkins Two fflaxen Table Cloaths Six ffine pillowboards	1	8	3
Three Silver Spoones one silver bodkin and two Gold Rings	1	1	10
Apparrell	1	5	6
One brass pott 2 pewter dishes and two Plates	0	3	0
Tooles in the Shopp 2 vices and two fframes	3	0	0
In the back Shopp 2 fframes and a wheele	0	12	6
In the Chamber over the Shopp
Sixty bunches of wheele Rims	1	4	0
Two old bedsteads and two old Chests	0	4	3
Wheelknaves Spokes and Wheele Stooles	1	7	6
Old Timber	0	5	0
	16	2	1

Richard Arne R his mke Tho: Charlton

Exhibitum fuit huiusmodi Inventarium apud Lincolniam Vicesimo […] die Mensis Novembris Anno Dmi 1705 per administrationem cui &cta menti annexo pro vero et sub quod si ea
(This inventory was presented at Lincoln by the Executors on the 20th day of November 1705 by Adminstration as true & full etc.)"

Reference Name INV/199/55

Name: Ashton, John

Profession: Chairmaker

Place: Spalding, Lincolnshire

Date: 20 Nov 1705

Repository: Lincolnshire Archives [057] 

Original may be viewed here.

© Julian Parker 2020