ENGLISH FURNITURE

To a great extent fine homes in Tudor times in England were a more decorative continuation of medieval domestic arrangements. Beds were more highly developed in design and became more comfortable than in earlier times. Four poster beds were often of elaborate design with a headboard of carved panels, posts enriched with carving, a tester and valance of embroidered material, and a coverlet of fine needlework also.

Next comes the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles, which together form a transitional type of art connecting the style of Tudor houses with the Anglo Classic art of Inigo Jones belonging to the early English Renaissance.

Within the period of Cromwellian rule, along with the English Civil War aftermath the era was an grave time and this had a unsurprising effect towards period furniture.

At the end of the 17th Century large numbers of Dutch furniture cabinet makers and craftsmen came with William III to England and worked for him at Hampton Court and Kensington Palace. They tended to be very skilful in the fine arts of furniture design and decoration and lifted the standards of English furniture making and brought it closer into line with the major movements in Europe. This development was maintained well into Queen Anne’s reign.

Mahogany rapidly became popular with cabinet makers in the reign of George I. This was due to its strength and close grained wood that was less prone to infestation. It’s dark reddish colour suited the designs of the early Hanoverian age. The cabinet maker William Kent who was interested in the ideas of Andreo Palledio, Palladianism produced many fine pieces in this style in mahogany.

The Victorian age was a time of revival, past styles of architecture and furniture were adapted and enhanced. Gothic (Tudor) Revival, Greek Revival and Elizabethan Revival were just a few of the period designs details that the Victorian’s made their own and contributed to making this a great architectural and design age.