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Selected Exhibits From an Exhibition of West Country Furniture 2.

 

Chair (left). Turned wood chair from Devon with three spindles between the back rails. The turned front rail to the seat, the plain front legs and the large knobs are all typical of the type. Cica 1800.

Dresser with Rack. A typical Devon dresser. The shelves are of different widths and the sides to the rack are bowed to match. Other Devon dressers with cupboards below may also be found. North Devon, Oak. Circa 1780.

Ladderback Chair. Turned wood ladderback chair from Devon. The front stretchers spaced widely apart are characteristic as are the plain front legs and the large knobs. The red/brown paint appears to be original. Ash frame and pine seat. Circa 1830.

 

 

 

 

 

Chair. Windsor armchair of Cornish type. The straight front to the seat is characteristic as is the armbow made in three separate pieces. The front supports are often very elaborately turned. Cornwall. Early nineteenth century.

 

 

Box (top). A 'Bible Box' which once belonged to the Dorset poet William Barnes. Though generally known as Bible boxes such pieces were used to keep books and papers of all kinds Barnes' own label on one end reads 'Various writings'. This box is of the typical West Country size and shape (the slope-top variety is unknown in the West Country). Oak. Dated 1753. Courtesy of Dorset County Museum, Dorchester.

Chest. Oak panelled chest with compass incised decoration, the spaces in between painted. One of several known with a distinctive rough hewn support bar supporting the single plank bottom, the grain of both running the length of the chest. A Devon/Dorset type. Circa 1700.

 

 

Yealmpton Windsor Chair. This example with 'colts foot' legs and back struts. The chair has the distinctive feature of pegs passing through the sides of the seat and into the mortices for the bow to provide additional strength to the joint. Nineteenth century.

Clock. Longcase clock from East Somerset. The enamel dial bears the name of Joseph Weare (1796-1886) clockmaker of Wincanton. The movement is from an earlier clock. The whole reached its present form about 1840. The oak case also dates from about 1840 and will have been made locally.

 

 

Child's Windsor Chair from Yealmpton. The bamboo turned legs united by a box stretcher. South Devon. Circa 1820.

Yealmpton Windsor Chair. Again with simulated bamboo turnings to the legs, which are united by a box stretcher. This pattern does not seem ever to have been made with back struts. Nineteenth century.

Round Table. "Cricket" table from Taunton, Somerset. Tables of this type from the West Country invariably have thin tops and a lower shelf. This example is of elm, the frieze is pegged, and the shelf is nailed through the legs. Early nineteenth century.

Yealmpton Windsor Armchair. This example has triple swelling to the legs and back struts. The bentwood arms are a type unique to Yealmpton. Made of ash and elm. Circa 1820.

Stool. Fireside stool, properly called a cricket. This pattern with thick top deeply chamfered below with beaded edge and notched ends is particular to the West Country. Apart from its convenience when cooking on an open fire it was also the traditional seat of the storyteller on long winter evenings. Circa 1800

 

 

 

 

© Regional Furniture Society -  2008