An extensive burled and figured pollard oak dining table and chairs by Gillows
View Similar Items
An extensive burled and figured pollard oak dining table and chairs by Gillows
About the Item
- Creator:Gillows of Lancaster & London (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 77.5 in (196.85 cm)Width: 68 in (172.72 cm)Depth: 308 in (782.32 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1870
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Lymington, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU973027487512
Gillows of Lancaster & London
It would be difficult to find an antique furniture enthusiast or collector unfamiliar with the name Gillows of Lancaster and London. The British furniture company — which has earned references in the writings of Jane Austen and elsewhere in literature — is renowned for its exceptional quality craftsmanship, and attracted designers such as Thomas Chippendale, Thomas Sheraton and George Hepplewhite in its heyday.
The firm was founded circa 1730 by Robert Gillow (1704–72), who worked as a joiner, housebuilder and overseas merchant before making furniture for homes and export. Gillow established his business in his home city of Lancaster. However, the company later expanded into London in the 1750s after Robert entered into a partnership with his son, Richard, who apprenticed with a London architect and learned the merchant trade in Barbados. Richard had entrepreneurial aptitude — he managed apprenticeships at the firm, ensured that quality materials were a priority, navigated economic hardships, and designed furniture, too. He created seating based on sketches drawn by his cousin, James Gillow, in London.
London’s wealthy upper class took notice of the Gillows’ high-quality furniture, which came to include bedroom furniture, cabinets, a range of seating and other pieces made of rosewood or rich mahogany imported from the West Indies and Jamaica. By the end of the 18th century, the manufacturer was one of the leading furniture makers in Britain. Gillows designed its own furnishings and worked with significant designers; they had in-house upholsterers and cabinetmakers and employed decorative techniques such as “japanning” in their designs.
Gillows of Lancaster and London became Gillow & Co. in 1813 after selling to Redmayne, Whiteside and Ferguson. The company continued to thrive throughout the Georgian era and into the Victorian period, a time that yielded well-known collaborations with Scottish architect and designer Bruce Talbert on a regular basis. High-brow clients of the manufacturer clamored for their inventive and functional designs for tables and writing desks, many of which incorporated whimsical elements such as secret and pop-up drawers. There was also demand for earlier Gillow designs such as Baroque and Gothic Revival pieces as well as adaptations of Chippendale works.
Despite their success, Gillow & Co. entered into financial hardship during the late 1800s with the advent of mass-produced furniture. By 1903, they merged with Waring of Liverpool to become Waring and Gillows and, in 1980, were taken over by Maple & Co. to become Maple, Waring and Gillow. Today, many Gillows of Lancaster and London pieces are in museums throughout the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
Find antique Gillows of Lancaster and London furniture on 1stDibs.
- A George IV highly figured oak tripod side table attributed to GillowsBy Gillows of Lancaster & LondonLocated in Lymington, HampshireA George IV highly figured oak tripod side table attributed to Gillows, the rectangular top made from a single, solid piece of oak, with a frieze drawer on one end, raised on a turne...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century English George IV Side Tables
MaterialsOak
- Fine Quality Victorian Kidney-Shaped Desk in Richly Figured Walnut by GillowsBy Gillows of Lancaster & LondonLocated in Lymington, HampshireA fine quality Victorian kidney-shaped desk in richly figured burr walnut by Gillows, the leather-inset top, above three drawers in the frieze and four graduated drawers in each pede...Category
Antique 1850s English Victorian Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- An oak and pollard oak writing table attributed to George Bullock with designs bBy George BullockLocated in Lymington, HampshireAn oak and pollard oak writing table attributed to George Bullock with designs by draughtsman Thomas Wilkinson, the rectangular top with a small gallery on three sides, the centre with a hinged and ratchetted reading slope, all above a panelled frieze with one long drawer, decorated with asymmetrical pollard oak veneers, with a border of ovals and spheres within crossbanding and ebony stringing, all raised on unusual graduated bead legs...Category
Antique 1840s English Tables
MaterialsOak
- An unusual George IV specimen marble backgammon table attributed to GillowsBy Gillows of Lancaster & LondonLocated in Lymington, HampshireAn unusual George IV specimen marble backgammon table attributed to Gillows. This rectangular table is strongly attributed to Gillows. It has a rectangular top inlaid with a central chess board flanked by two backgammon fields, all inlaid with a multitude of specimen marbles. One edge carved and gilded with the Latin motto ‘Turpe est in patria vivere et patriam ignorare’. The oak base has a drawer for cards and playing pieces, all raised on a square section support with four splayed legs and the original brass castors. English, circa 1830. Provenance: Geoffrey Bennison Ltd, London, November 1983 The Mermaid House Collection, St. John’s Wood, London Property of a gentleman Private American collection The form of the base of this table is related to several known Gillows commissions from the late Regency period and the quality of the cabinet work also suggests that firm attribution to the firm. Backgammon tables, rather than more general games tables, are unusual at this date and the use of inlaid specimen marbles in the top suggests a client of wealth. Additionally, the Latin text on the edge of the table provides further clues. The text, Turpe est in patria vivere et patriam ignorare, translates as “it is shameful to live in your homeland and not know it”. This phrase dates back to antiquity but rose to prominence once again in the mid-18th century when used by the botanist and key Enlightenment figure Carl Linnaeus in his work on the native flora of Sweden. The combination of this phrase and the use of native English timbers and marbles is promoting English raw materials and craftsmanship at a time when the noble and the wealthy were focussed on European pietra dura tables. Mermaid House in St John’s Wood was re-designed by Chester Jones...Category
Antique 1830s English George IV Game Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Nest of Regency Specimen Wood Tables by Gillows of LancasterBy Gillows of Lancaster & LondonLocated in Lymington, HampshireA nest of Regency specimen wood tables by Gillows of Lancaster, each with a rectangular top and rosewood edge, the largest decorated with an amboyna field within rosewood banding, th...Category
Antique 1810s English Nesting Tables and Stacking Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- A Regency extending dining table by Morgan & Sanders, suppliers to Lord NelsonLocated in Lymington, HampshireThis large mahogany imperial action dining table has rounded ends each housing the telescopic action that extends the table to varying lengths, three extra leaves and eight brass clips. It is supported on six turned tapering and reeded legs with brass caps and castors, each end with large brass handle engraved ‘Patent Morgan & Sanders Inventors & Manufacturers, 16 & 17 Catherine Street Strand London‘. English, circa 1815. Height: 28¾ in (73 cm) Length closed: 74in (188 cm) Extended 13ft 4in (406 cm) Width: 59½ in (151 cm) Literature: Nicholas A. Brawer, British Campaign Furniture – Elegance under Canvas, 1740-1914, New York, 2001, pp.192-193, pls.D50-D52 for a very similar dining table. Morgan & Sanders was established in 1800 by Thomas Morgan & Joseph Sanders, both of whom had worked for the cabinetmaker Thomas Butler at 13–14 Catherine Street, London. Initially, they produced campaign furniture, that is, furniture which could be easily knocked down and packed fairly flat, for the use of officers in military service. The Napoleonic War required an ever-expanding British Army and Navy, thus also increasing the demand for all types of campaign furniture, from collapsible beds...Category
Antique 1810s English Regency Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- Restored Antique 1830 William IV Figured Hardwood Extending Dining Table GillowsBy Gillows of Lancaster & LondonLocated in GBWe are delighted to offer for sale this wonderfully restored circa 1830 William IV Figured Mahogany extending dining table after a design by Gillows This table is exquisite with a...Category
Antique 1830s English William IV Dining Room Tables
MaterialsHardwood
- Habitat English Oak Dining Table & 8 Potocco Leather Dining ChairsBy Habitant ShopLocated in GBWe are delighted to offer for sale this very well made, solid English Oak Habitat refectory dining table and eight Potocco leather and oak dining chairs This is a lovely, lightly used suite...Category
20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- Gillows Imperial Patent Mahogany Dining TableBy Gillows of Lancaster & LondonLocated in Folkestone, GBA superior quality extending mahogany dining table firmly attributed to Gillows and conforming precisely to a design in the Lancashire pattern books dated 1804. The reeded-edge top consisting of two hinged ends attached to short beds which join together to form a Pembroke-type table when all of the leaves are removed. The original and complete set of two narrow and two wider leaves are interchangeable and sit on the telescoping bed which is raised on elegant turned and reeded legs with brass castors. The four legs at each corner are fixed and the two central legs screw in when the table is extended. Ref: Gillows of Lancaster and London, 1730-1840, by Susan Stuart, p. 242, pl.241: In identically designed table made for Broughton Hall...Category
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- CRESCENT Oak Dining Table in OakBy Dunleavy BespokeLocated in Caragh, IEExpertly designed and crafted to order by Dunleavy Bespoke in County Kildare, Ireland. This sculptural table is created to sit centre stage at the heart of entertaining and dining. Available to order in Oak or Walnut, this statement table...Category
2010s Irish Dining Room Tables
MaterialsOak
$13,072 / item - 19th Century English Mahogany Dining Table, likely by GillowsBy Gillows of Lancaster & LondonLocated in Charleston, SCImpressive size and scale on this period 19th century English mahogany dining table, likely by made by Gillows in the 1st half of the 19th century. The table comes together similarly...Category
Antique 19th Century English William IV Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- Custom English Pollard Oak 60" Diameter Dining TableLocated in Woodbury, CTExpert meld of country and formal, this table marries two ideologies and makes them get along. Segmented pollard, or burled, oak covers the top and is visually anchored by a cross ba...Category
21st Century and Contemporary British Regency Dining Room Tables
MaterialsOak, Burl
$8,850 / item