Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped TAYLOR GRANTHAM, turned underarm supports, 8 long spindles, 2 x 3 underarm spindles, ring and cove front leg turnings with single lower ring & plain back legs, H stretcher with cross stretcher turned with darts WS 85

Medium bow back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped TAYLOR GRANTHAM, 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 85

I happen to find this one at the Newark Antiques Fair and I was convinced it was made by Marsh of Sleaford but on close inspection there is a faint stamp on the rear of the seat which says TAYLOR GRANTHAM. Fortunately no one had noticed this maker's mark and it joined my collection for a very small fee. The underarm turnings are so similar to Marsh of Sleaford that only when they are stood next to each other can you spot the differences. Compare this chair with WS 29 and you will see what I mean.

Other differences are that Taylor has 8 long spindles and 6 short, whereas Marsh uses 9 long and 8 short; Marsh puts a slight chamfer on the underside of the end of the arm bow, absent from the Taylor chair. The ring on the front legs of the Taylor chair is slightly deeper than that on the Marsh.

© William Sergeant 2018 and Julian Parker 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

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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.