Institute of Carpenters

In Part 2 we looked at the true medieval Gothic furniture and other woodwork. In Part 3 we will study the continuation of the various facets of Gothic style in the period immediately following the medieval.

The Renaissance began in fourteenth century Italy and spread up through Europe reaching Britain via the Low Countries in the late fifteenth century. But initially, British craftsmen did not understand the difference between classical and Gothic forms, so structures were often still Gothic but with classical decoration and motifs. Later on in this period (c1490-1659) the reverse came about – classical structures with Gothic decoration and motifs. This is a generalisation but indicates the type of confusion in style prevalent over these one hundred and seventy years. See diagram 3.1 below which shows Nicholas Hawksmoor’s proposed west tower, nave and transepts, c. 1694, to the medieval Gothic St Mary’s, Warwick.

 

 

The work was never carried out. But although the original remains of the church were Gothic, Hawksmoor did not hesitate to use classical features like the turrets and pilasters instead of counterfort buttresses; and even square ‘Byzantineonion’ tops to the turrets. This era that starts towards the end of the medieval period and continues more or less up to the Restoration of King Charles the Second in 1660 could be called the Age of Joinery.

Compare the two tables in photograph 3.1 (from pages 54/55 of St Michael’s History of Furniture); in the foreground the small table is framed, in the background a large table consists of boards supported on ‘A-frame’ trestles. Both are part of the great Hall, Montacute House, Somerset. The National Trust.

 

 

The trestle table represents the old order of carpentry; the small table is framed with mortise and tenons and a moulding is run on the bottom edge of the rails, which are themselves fixed (by table blocks fitting into a groove on the back of the top rail) to the table top. The entire construction is framed up. In diagram 3.1 the evolution of the jointing of framing is illustrated. In sketch no 1 we have the moulding stopped prior to reaching the joint, in sketch no 2 we have the moulding taken into the joint by carving with a chisel into the corner showing end grain at the top of the muntin producing a mason’s mitre. These, so far, are techniques shared by the carpenter with the mason.

In sketch no 3 in diagram 3.2, we have the moulding on the muntin scribed to fit up to and in some part over the moulding on the rail – in other words scribed over. This is a Joinery technique and is never found in work carried out by the mason. Of course these joint details only apply to work where the vertical and horizontal components share one plane. In the table shown above in photograph 3.1, the top of the legs protrude forward to the face of the rail.

 

 

The stopped and the mason mitred joints show the ruggedness and simplicity which could also be seen as a form of honesty. These factors make them very suitable for Gothic work. In the era we are studying, that follows on from the true Gothic, Gothic techniques like these are still retained – especially in ecclesiastical work. This is coupled with the fact that a large number of woodworkers in all periods are rather conservative and copy features of the previous period.

Gothic Survival

In photograph 3.2, we see a chair that is ‘framed up’ – that is it has panels surrounded by framing. If you look at the joints, especially those at each end of transome rail in the back of the chair, we can see that the uprights at the joint remain the full width of the framing component, following the details in sketch no 1 and no 2 of diagram 3.2. We have here an additional feature which hides some of the joint detail: bolection type moulding which has a rebate and can sit on both the panel and the framing, the difference in plane being taken up by the moulding. These types of moulding create the true mitres at the corners because the moulding, not the framing, is mitred.

 

 

In photograph 3.2, the chair is made in joinery techniques and framed up but the stiles, rails and muntins are jointed in a similar way to sketches 1 and 2 of diagram 3.2 but there are no mouldings worked on these components. The mouldings are planted as shown in the sections in diagram 3.3 in the left hand or central sectional sketch.

 

 

 

Panels of this Period

This same chair shows linen-fold panels which again are typical of late Gothic and of the Renaissance period. Another less common type of panel is the Romayne panel. Romayne panels consist of a relief carved face encased in a round or oval wreath of leaves. This is definitely a product of the Renaissance and is probably rooted in the laurel or ivy wreath awarded to winners in athletic contests. See photograph 3.3. Relief carved panels of flowers and leaves are also common as are scenes of pastoral life or images inspired by classical literature or the Bible. Also heraldic symbols and lettering can be subjects of panel decoration. See diagram 3.4 from Carpenter’s Hall.

 

 

Realistic Applied Wood Carving

One of the definitions of Gothic mentioned in Part 1 of this series (August 2014 Cutting Edge) is the use of inspiration derived from the natural world on the ornament of Gothic. In medieval Gothic this animal or plant based inspiration is in a stylized form and is contained within some geometrical parameter. In the period covered by this Part 3 we have realism taken to its umpteenth degree. And the carver who best illustrates this is Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721). Although most of his work is just outside the set period for this Part, he is worth considering here because of his degree of mastery over naturalistic wood carving. His work can be seen at Hampton Court, Chatsworth House, Petworth House, Lime Park, Dunham Massey and Belton House to name just some of our great stately homes.

Turnery

This period was also a time when the turning of wooden components for seat furniture came into its own. Turnery also found other uses as is shown in photograph 3.5 (opposite right), from a guide to St Alban’s Cathedral.

 

 

Coffers

As Peter Philip says in his article ‘Pre-Renaissance Furniture’:

…the chest was the commonest article of furniture, originally, the term ‘coffer’ (from the French coffre) or ark was used to describe a type of chest with a domed or hipped lid, often without feet and used as a travelling chest – the shape of the top allowing rain water to run off while the vast amounts of baggage that people literally carted about with them were in transit.

As Philip indicates, in the pre-Renaissance period, furniture moved about because of Photograph 3.2 Framed chair or throne. Diagram 3.3 Bolection moulding which can be used to create a heavier appearance. Photograph 3.3 Romayne panels. December 2014 CUTTING EDGE 19 the need for the people to move because of the lack of security brought about by warring factions within the feudal baroncy and fear of invasion from France. The aristocracy lead a very unsettled life. Comfort was very much an issue of less importance in furniture than portability and security. With the coming of the Tudors, believe it or not, life became more stable and secure. This was one of the reasons that Henry VIIIth was so obsessed by his desire to have a secure succession to the throne which he saw as necessary to ensure a secure and prosperous dynastic rule. Castles and stately homes did not have to concentrate on fortification and castellation but became places of richness and comfort. The Tudors may have been tyrants but they issued in a period of peace and prosperity.

The Example of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

Hardwick Hall, in Derbyshire, became the home of the richest woman in England (excluding the Queen) – Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, known affectionately as Bess of Hardwick. Bess was married four times, each time gaining wealth on the death of her husband.

The death of her husband in 1590 made Bess very rich and she started at once to build a new and grander house than the one a few hundred yards distant on which she had been lavishing her attention. Hardwick was built over seven years, Bess moving into it in 1597.

Bess kept an inventory of her furniture, dated 1601. This shows a progression from good quality, but rather plain furniture from her earlier days leading to extravagant richly decorated furniture in exotic woods as she became increasingly richer.

Conclusion to Part 3

In this period of ‘Gothic Survival’ we can see that the old ideals of Gothic are slow to die and never really did; as subsequent Parts to this series will attempt to prove. To recap; we have the ruggedness and the honesty of workmanship and materials so important in the Gothic ideal present in work that is not deliberately Gothic. We also have the inspiration of the natural world and the freedom of expression which is also so very much an aspect of Gothic. The Gothic ideal was adapted to include Joinery and Turnery, it also included a wider range of timbers and other materials. The choice of timbers included ebony, walnut, holly, lime, cedar, pine, sweet chestnut and bog oak as well as the commoner oak, elm and ash. Other materials came into use more slowly and these included ivory, mother of pearl, bone, horn, leather and various other skins and the decorative metals of copper and its alloys brass and bronze.

So even though the Gothic style was seen as old fashioned, it still continued as a counter culture and as flux for the bringing together all these rich materials. So that as the stream of Gothic Survival flows on as a stream of early Gothic Revival, it will again become a wide flowing river of High Victorian Gothic. So Part 4 will look at this early Gothic Revival beginning in the mid-eighteenth century and including Strawberry Hill, Abbotsford and other fantasies clothed in Gothic apparel.

The late Dr Brian K Hodgson, Ph.D, LCGI, FIOC, FFB, MIMWoodT, AIMMM (MIWSc) | North West

References

1 Kerry Downes, Hawksmoor, London, Thames and Hudson, 1969, p. 29

2 Geoffrey Beard, ‘The Classical Revival’, from St Michael History of Furniture, Ed. Sir Francis Watson, London, Orbis Publishing, 1983, p. 54.

3 Nathaniel Lloyd, A History of the English House, Ware, Hertfordshire, Omega Books, 1975, p. 399.

4 Anon, St Alban’s Cathedral, Norwich, 2006, p. 20.

5 Peter Philip, ‘Pre-Renaissance Furniture’ in World Furniture, Ed. Noel Riley, London, Octopus Books, 1980, p 20.

6 Beard, London, 1983, p. 53. Diagram 3.4 – Heraldic and lettered panels. Photograph 3.5

 

This article first appeared in the December 2014 issue of Cutting Edge. As part of the IOC membership, IOC members receive quarterly editions of Cutting Edge magazine and access to all back issues online.

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