Lincolnshire bow back spindle back armchair stamped WILSON GRANTHAM, with 8 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts

Lincolnshire bow back spindle back armchair stamped Wilson Grantham, with 8 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts, 3/4 view

Lincolnshire bow back spindle back armchair stamped Wilson Grantham, with 8 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts, view from above

Lincolnshire bow back spindle back armchair stamped Wilson Grantham, with 8 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts, detail of arm turning 

Lincolnshire bow back spindle back armchair stamped Wilson Grantham, with 8 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts, side view

Lincolnshire bow back spindle back armchair stamped Wilson Grantham, with 8 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts, rear view

Lincolnshire bow back spindle back armchair stamped Wilson Grantham, with 8 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarms, straight seat sides, ring and cove front leg turnings, plain back legs, H stretcher with darts, stamp

For a short piece about John Wilson (1779 - 1837) see this post.

© Julian Parker 2021

Lincolnshire hoop back side chair stamped WILSON GRANTHAM with 3 x quatrefoil pierced splat, 6 long spindles, straight seat sides, 4 x ring and cove leg turnings with lower ring, crinoline stretcher, WS 184

Lincolnshire hoop back side chair stamped WILSON GRANTHAM with 3 x quatrefoil pierced splat, 6 long spindles, straight seat sides, 4 x ring and cove leg turnings with lower ring, crinoline stretcher, WS 184

Vernacular furniture is sometimes  referred to, in a slightly disparaging way, as 'country furniture' which carries with it the implication that is not of such good quality or design. When I find chairs like this one pictured above, made probably 200 years ago, I marvel at the superb quality of craftsmanship of these Lincolnshire county makers. My research has been unable to reveal who actually made this chair, whether it was John Wilson himself or a journeyman that was employed in his workshop, but the quality of balanced design along with beautifully executed turnery to the legs just shows what excellent work was being produced.

I had come across this maker at least ten years ago while doing research in to the Grantham chairmakers but he was described as a chairmaker of Little Gonerby and it was unclear as to exactly what type of chairs he was making.  So I was delighted when an auctioneer in the south of the county contacted me to say that a set of 4 side chairs with the stamp of WILSON GRANTHAM had been consigned to his sale. I accordingly secured the chairs as they make a valuable contribution to my museum as well as a graceful addition to my front room.

The seats of all the chairs are made from ash wood while all other components are of yew. I get the impression that the turners liked to use yew as its incredibily tight grain means that wonderful detail can shown in their execution of the leg turnings. That's why the best chairs were made from yew and today command the highest prices.

© William Sergeant 2020

Lincolnshire rush-seated ladder back armchair: 5 ladders with lower indented shape, straight back poles with flattened finials, front legs with graceful pad feet with upper turning joining the arms, Lincolnshire front stretcher turning, double side and rear stretchers

Lincolnshire rush-seated ladder back armchair WS 22

A Lincolnshire rush-seated ladder back similar, but not identical, to one that appears at figure NE189 on page 154 in Dr B D Cotton's The English Regional Chair (1990).  The front legs and turnings are very similar but the arms of NE189 are straight, whereas those in this chair curve and terminate in a flattened rounded saucer shape. This chair is taller and consequently has room for an extra ladder.

© William Sergeant and Julian Parker 2012 and 2020

Lincolnshire bowback spindleback Windsor armchair by Taylor, Grantham in ash with 8 long spindles, 6 short, turned underarm supports, ring and cove front legs, plain rear legs H stretcher with extra rear stretcher

WS 160 Lincolnshire bowback spindleback Windsor armchair stamped TAYLOR GRANTHAM

Every component is made from ash wood, straight sided seat with the grain running from front to back. Steam bent armbow with turned underarm supports. Six short spindles and eight long spindles. Single ring and cove decorated front legs with plain back legs. Plain H-stretcher with extra one joining the back legs .

This is a superbly crafted early chair from the workshop of Roger and Sophia Taylor of Grantham (c. 1802 to 1811), being light in weight and delicate in construction. The underarm supports are let through the top of the arm bow and wedged: a relatively rare technique on a Lincolnshire chair:

WS 159 underarm support through-mortised and wedged into the top of the arm bow 

Square pins have been driven through from the back but not seen from the front; two on the back bow and four on the arm bow. Weight 10.8 lbs .

From the collection of Brian Gray.

© William Sergeant 2020