Martin Lizardman Dutton Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School Oak Extending Table

An Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School Extending English Oak dining table by Martin "Lizardman" Dutton (ex-Mouseman). A very attractive table by one of the early Mouseman craftsmen, with a good rich colour and a very useful size, this table can easily accommodate 8 people when extended, but is just 4 foot 6 inched long without the extensions. This Table was made around 60 years ago giving it a warmth and charm not found in new items It is however still as sound and stylish as it was when made and treated with care it will last many more lifetimes. Featuring:

• Solid English Oak throughout

• Rectangular top made out of just three continuous pieces of solid timber with button screwed English Oak

• Push in extensions at both ends

• Subtly adzed on all visible surfaces (the subtle surface rippling synonymous with Yorkshire School furniture)

• Carved decoration along the edge of the top

• Constructed using true cabinet making techniques such as traditional through tenon secured with hand made pegs

Approximate dimensions are:

• Overall length (extended) 1990mm (78 inches)

• Overall Length (un-extended) 1380mm (54 inches)

• Overall Height 740mm (29 inches) [A standard height for a dining table]

• Overall Depth 755mm (30 inches)

c. 1960

Martin Dutton's carved lizard on one support. Made for Mr & Mrs Dundon of Thirsk and purchased from their family

Very good sound condition with excellent colour, tight joints and no woodworm. Some natural movement in the top and some minor marks and scratches. 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 former Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson craftsman, renowned as a highly skilled cabinetmaker. He was part of a small group of deaf workers at Thompson's during the second world war. He set up on his own in the late 1940s. He is know for his quality work in oak in the Yorkshire School style and trademark carved Lizard. Dutton's lizards and more curved than Derek Slater's

The most British of woods, that can produce really special results. English oak has been used for hundreds of years to construct everything from sea-going vessels to fine furniture. Although oak grows widely across Europe and North America, craftsmen continue to cherish English oak which grows more slowly than its foreign counterparts giving it strength, durability. Quarter sawn boards are very straight grained and have distinctive growth rings and medullary rays that give a very beautiful effect as well as being renowned for their superior stability and strength

The Yorkshire School of the Arts & Crafts movement started with Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson's  transformation from jobbing carpenter to master craftsmen. By the mid-1920s he had adopted his trademark mouse (now world renowned as a symbol of quality furniture) and had his own workshop busily employing several men. As the workshop grew and over the years many of the craftsmen have taken their skills and branched out and adopted a trademark of their own, a fox, a lizard, a fish, a rabbit to name but a few, and whilst some have closely stuck to the Mouseman designs others have taken the style and adapted it. Other craftsmen, unconnected to the Mouseman workshop, have also chosen the classic Yorkshire Oak style as their own. Typical Yorkshire school items are in English Oak, with traditional pegged joints and adzed surfaces