Barnsley Workshop Arts & Crafts Cotswold School Walnut Table

An Arts & Crafts Cotswold School Walnut Table by Edward Barnsley and the Barnsley Workshop . A very elegant and striking design indeed made to the standard expected from one of the leading contemporary Arts and Crafts workshops. Oval tables are far more sociable that typical rectangular ones, allowing everyone to see and talk to each other, and this one is extendable giving it great flexibility. Awarded the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers' Bespoke Guild Mark Award [BGM Number 228]. Featuring:

• Made in Solid English Walnut and Oak

• Four interlinked and swept square section supports

• Drop in extending leaf made from two continuous planks of solid English Walnut Oak

• Two sliding oval leaves each made from three continuous planks of solid English Walnut

• Custom made sliding movement in solid oak

• Ebony and boxwood inlay around the edge to the table and apron.

Approximate dimensions are:

• Overall Height 750mm (2 feet 5 1/2 inches) [A standard height for a dining table]

• Overall Depth 1200mm (3 feet 11 inches)

• Overall Length (unextended) 1380mm (4 feet 6 1/4 inches)

• Overall Length (extended) 1880mm (6 feet 2 inches)

1996

The expected post 1948 "Barnsley" stamp (see page 163, Figure 80 in Edward Barnsley and his Workshop: Arts and Crafts in the Twentieth Century by Annette Carruthers, White Cockade Publishing, 1992)

Excellent condition with smoothly sliding extending leaves, tight joints, even colour and original finish.. If you wish to have further specific photographs or talk to us for a more detailed condition report then please do not hesitate to contact us.

A designer and maker of furniture, teacher and important figure in the 20th Century British Arts and Crafts movement. He is widely recognised as one of the most important British furniture designers of the twentieth century who developed the Arts and Crafts traditions established in the Cotswolds by his father Sidney. His work is known for it's clean modern forms with decorative details derived largely from utilitarian elements: exposed joinery, unusual panels, interesting pulls and latches and close to wood grain and pattern. His workshop still produces fine furniture as "The Barnsley Workshop"

Walnut is truly special timber with a delicious range of brown and grey creamy colours. The amount of feature depends on where the tree was grown, the best being English with its decorative grain, deep colouring, lustre and durability. It is highly prized for high class furniture, although its high cost and scarcity mean that solid walnut is only found in the very best items

The Cotswold School was a development of the Arts and Craft Movement started largely by Ernest Gimson and the brothers Sidney and Ernest Barnsley. The furniture is instantly recognisable with its simple lines, attention to the finest of details, and use of beautiful materials. Cotswold School designs were crafted from local materials using traditional tools and techniques and with decorative details derived largely from utilitarian elements: exposed joinery, unusual panels, interesting pulls and latches crafted either from wood or from metal using traditional smithing techniques, and close attention to form as well as to wood grain and pattern. Where decorative details were added they generally took the form of traditional embellishment such as exposed joints, chamfered edges and chip carved edge details. The style was embraced and developed by other designers and craftsmen including Gordon Russell, Stanley Webb Davies in Cumbria, Sid Barnsley's son Edward, Arthur Romney Green in Hampshire, Robin Nance in St Ives and Ambrose Heal are a handful of such men out of many. The best developed their own style within the established tradition.