Summary:

• Item: Four Regency Gillows Dining Chairs
• Circa: 1830
• Period: Regency
• Provenance: England, United Kingdom
• Quantity: Four
• Wood: Solid mahogany
• Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster
• Scroll top rail
• Shaped fluted rails & back
• Fan shaped ears
• Shaped central splat
• Fluted vertical supports
• Turned & fluted front legs
• Sabre shaped rear legs
• Newly upholstered “stuff-over” seats
• Soft earthy tone colour chenille upholstery
• Stunning quality heavy timbers & large proportions
• Stunning colour
• Excellent condition
• Heavy & solid in joint chairs
• Free delivery to England, Wales & southern Scotland*
• Free 14-day UK returns policy

Description:

This is a top-quality antique English set of four Regency Gillows dining chairs, from the Regency period, circa 1830, attributed to Gillows, which have been newly upholstered to a professional standard, in excellent condition.  These strong, heavy and generously sized chairs, along the exhibit quality carved details lead us to believe these could have been made by Gillows of Lancaster (a lot of their domestic furniture that was commissioned for wealthy customers was not stamped).  The chairs are a very similar model to a set on page 244 of the Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840 book by Susan E. Stuart.  Designed with a shaped top rail, incorporating a decorative central scroll pediment, flanked by fan-shaped carved ears, a shaped central splat, all of which is moulded with fluted moulded rails.

The stuff-over seat frame is raised on elegant ring turned fluted front legs, with sabre legs to the rear.  This set of four Regency Gillows dining chairs, boasts the original polish; therefore, they have a fantastic depth of colour and patination, displaying a lovely rich red and brown colour.  The “stuff-over” seats have been newly upholstered to a professional standard in soft earthy tone colour chenille upholstery, finished with matching braiding.  The upholstery is therefore clean and free from wear and marks. If you do not like the colour/style of the upholstery, we can recover the seats in a fabric of your choice.  If you would like the seats recovered, please contact us for a quote.

These four Regency Gillows dining chairs, would look good in either a traditional or contemporary setting, in a formal setting or for everyday use. They would certainly grace any home or office and are a great investment, as they are extremely functional.

Provenance:

This item for sale is in the “manner” of Gillows of Lancaster, which means that it is not stamped by Gillows of Lancaster. However, the quality of this item does match the quality of similar Gillows items constructed at that time. Although this item is not stamped Gillows of Lancaster, it was most likely privately commissioned for a wealthy customer, rather than being “retailed”. However, not all of their furniture was stamped. Items that were “retailed” by the Gillows of Lancaster usually bore the stamp on one of the drawer linings. Therefore, it cannot be proven that this cabinet-making firm manufactured it.

Robert Gillow founded Gillow’s of Lancaster in around 1730. Gillow had served an apprenticeship as a joiner. He exported mahogany furniture to the West Indies, while importing rum and sugar. The firm established a branch at 176 Oxford Road (now Oxford Street) in London, in 1764. Gillow’s became well known for the high quality furniture they produced. In 1772, the business was taken over by Robert’s sons, Richard and Robert, after his death. In 1897, Gillow’s entered into a loose financial arrangement with Waring of Liverpool, after running into financial difficulty. Gillows continued to enjoy a highly favourable reputation, outfitting luxury yachts and liners, including the royal yacht Victoria and Albert and the liners Lusitania, Heliopolis and Cairo, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. The First World War saw the Lancaster factory turned over to producing ammunition chests for the Navy as well as propellers for the De Havilland DH9 aircraft. By 1932 the loose arrangement that Gillow’s had with Waring’s of Liverpool had evolved into the registering of Waring & Gillow as a company. The Waring & Gillow company would continue producing furniture during the inter-war years. During the Second World War, the company produced parts for gliders and De Havilland Mosquito, as well as kit bags, tents and camouflage nets. Post-war, the business began to decline, with the Lancaster factory closing in 1962. Eventually, Waring & Gillow joined the cabinet-making company Maple & Co, to form Maple, Waring & Gillow.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillows_of_Lancaster_and_London and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waring_%26_Gillow

Condition Report:

This is a top-quality antique English set of four Regency dining chairs, from the Regency period, circa 1830, attributed to Gillows, which have been newly upholstered to a professional standard, in excellent condition.  This is a true set of dining chairs (i.e., not matched together from sets of similar chairs).  Nominal old use marks to the leading edges of the chairs but nothing significant considering their age.  The four Regency Gillows dining chairs have been glued solid in joint.  The chairs frames have been cleaned and French polished in our workshop by hand, to a professional standard, therefore, they the colour and patination is of an excellent standard.  The seats have been newly upholstered to a professional standard.  The upholstery is therefore clean and free from wear and marks. If you do not like the colour/style of the upholstery, we can recover the seats in a fabric of your choice.  If you would like the seats recovered, please contact us for a quote.  These Regency mahogany dining chairs are ready to be used.

Dimensions 

External Height = 84.3cm / 33¼” / 2ft 9¼”
External Width = 49cm / 19¼” / 1ft 7¼”
External Depth = 54.5cm / 21½” / 1ft 9½”
Seat Height (Seat Centre) = 49cm / 19¼” / 1ft 7¼”
Seat Height (Seat Front) = 45cm / 17¾” / 1ft 5¾”
Seat Width = 49cm / 19¼” / 1ft 7¼”
Seat Depth = 43cm / 17” / 1ft 5”
Back Height = 38cm / 15” / 1ft 3”

Terms & Conditions:

Before you purchase this item, please ensure you have read and are in agreement with our Terms & Conditions of Sale. If you have any questions regarding our Terms & Conditions of Sale, please contact us to discuss them, before purchasing this item.

Ref. 81878