Show me:
and
Clear all filters

  • 33 items
  • 25 items Explore
  • 89 items
  • 3,540 items Explore
  • 97 items Explore
  • 14 items
  • 4 items
  • 220 items
  • 13,858 items Explore
  • 211 items Explore
  • 1,225 items Explore
  • 8,754 items Explore
  • 5,063 items Explore
  • 62 items Explore
  • 165 items Explore
  • 13,108 items Explore
  • 13,620 items Explore
  • 4,802 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 5 items
  • 149 items Explore
  • 2,002 items Explore
  • 4,756 items Explore
  • 438 items Explore
  • 267 items
  • 106 items Explore
  • 19,975 items Explore
  • 36 items Explore
  • 1,912 items Explore
  • 1,083 items Explore
  • 5 items
  • 2,166 items Explore
  • 455 items Explore
  • 920 items Explore
  • 1 items Explore
  • 5 items
  • 7 items
  • 20,385 items Explore
  • 800 items Explore
  • 19 items
  • 73 items Explore
  • 33 items
  • 792 items
  • 20 items
  • 4 items
  • 26 items
  • 61 items
  • 28 items
  • 319 items Explore
  • 6 items
  • 44 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 2 items
  • 2 items
  • 9 items
  • 122 items Explore
  • 119 items
  • 1 items
  • 926 items Explore
  • 724 items
  • 95 items
  • 27 items
  • 38,098 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 3,880 items Explore
  • 1,533 items Explore
  • 403 items
  • 125 items Explore
  • 10,750 items Explore
  • 9,682 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 1 items
  • 38 items
  • 3 items
  • 4 items
  • 6,781 items Explore
  • 2 items
  • 7,364 items Explore
  • 4,924 items Explore
  • 2,005 items Explore
  • 1,195 items Explore
  • 23,831 items Explore
  • 3,660 items Explore
  • 17 items
  • 5 items
  • 334 items
  • 106 items
  • 1 items
  • 3,330 items Explore
  • 23 items Explore
  • 374 items Explore
  • 796 items Explore
  • 1,087 items Explore
  • 514 items Explore
  • 1,519 items Explore
  • 89 items
  • 125 items Explore
  • 6,954 items Explore
  • 76 items
  • 108 items
  • 4 items
  • 2 items
  • 63 items
  • 2 items
  • 2,932 items Explore
  • 1,524 items Explore
  • 203 items
  • 90 items
  • 22,304 items Explore
  • 1,340 items Explore
  • 138 items
  • 848 items Explore
  • 32 items
  • 1 items
  • 122 items Explore
  • 40 items
  • 20 items
  • 252 items
  • 313 items
  • 687 items Explore
  • 344 items Explore
  • 2,429 items
  • 2,535 items
  • 3 items
  • 1 items
  • 4,394 items Explore
  • 40,356 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 3,293 items Explore
  • 275 items Explore
  • 8,876 items Explore
  • 31 items
  • 25 items
  • 304 items Explore
  • 776 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 65 items
  • 161 items
  • 50 items
  • 52 items
  • 24,000 items Explore
  • 916 items
  • 66 items
  • 22,648 items Explore
  • 2 items
  • 2,336 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 1,028 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 759 items
  • 499 items
  • 4 items
  • 3,309 items Explore
  • 179 items
  • 59 items
  • 455 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 21 items
  • 90 items Explore
  • 76 items
  • 281 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 6 items
  • 128 items
  • 295 items
  • 447 items
  • 287 items
  • 1 items
  • 906 items Explore
  • 276 items Explore
  • 481 items
  • 11,295 items Explore
  • 755 items Explore
  • 6,020 items Explore
  • 8,302 items Explore
  • 27 items
  • 1 items
  • 5,971 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 3,725 items Explore
  • 9,182 items Explore
  • 7,886 items Explore
  • 182 items
  • 19 items
  • 144 items
  • 7 items
  • 853 items Explore
  • 19 items
  • 8 items
  • 1,096 items Explore
  • 270 items
  • 1 items
  • 2,122 items
  • 1 items
  • 3,543 items Explore
  • 695 items Explore
  • 18 items
  • 134 items
  • 6,738 items Explore
  • 95 items
  • 18,934 items Explore
  • 3,137 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 7 items
  • 10,979 items Explore
  • 37 items
  • 2 items
  • 21,448 items Explore
  • 35 items
  • 13,321 items Explore
  • 3,460 items Explore
  • 5,645 items Explore
  • 33 items
  • 51,852 items Explore
  • 41 items
  • 646 items Explore
  • 417 items
  • 26,949 items Explore
  • 216 items
  • 3 items
  • 1 items
  • 35 items
  • 27 items
  • 445 items Explore
  • 636 items
  • 217 items Explore
  • 13 items
  • 13,766 items Explore
  • 1,360 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 10,260 items
  • 9 items
  • 10 items
  • 14 items
  • 25 items
  • 1 items
  • 4,537 items Explore
  • 913 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 1 items
  • 1 items
  • 318 items
  • 509 items Explore
  • 42 items
  • 2,289 items Explore
  • 1,666 items Explore
  • 15 items
  • 1,877 items Explore
  • 150 items
  • 80 items
  • 766 items Explore
  • 3,102 items Explore
  • 44 items
  • 17 items
  • 12 items
  • 10,670 items Explore
  • 23,753 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 3 items
  • 1 items
  • 41 items
  • 1,374 items
  • 177 items Explore
  • 8 items
  • 92 items
  • 1 items
  • 13,586 items Explore
  • 3,612 items Explore
  • 2,904 items Explore
  • 4,534 items Explore
  • 22 items
  • 30 items
  • 6,911 items Explore
  • 4,842 items Explore
  • 2,300 items Explore
  • 2,818 items Explore
  • 2 items
  • 1,900 items Explore
  • 191 items
  • 223 items Explore
  • 421 items Explore
  • 6,110 items Explore
  • 8,729 items Explore
  • 1,833 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 1 items
  • 5,943 items Explore
  • 3,354 items Explore
  • 11,134 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 84 items
  • 11 items
  • 2,516 items Explore
  • 7 items
  • 24 items
  • 51 items
  • 6 items
  • 1 items
  • 4,291 items Explore
  • 611 items Explore
  • 75 items
  • 17 items
  • 155 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 95 items Explore
  • 458 items
  • 996 items Explore
  • 3,614 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 5 items
  • 2 items
  • 9,671 items Explore
  • 48 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 7 items
  • 42 items
  • 3 items
  • 13,807 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 1,170 items Explore
  • 92 items
  • 10,565 items Explore
  • 1,920 items
  • 18 items
  • 6,727 items Explore
  • 21 items
  • 12,949 items Explore
  • 1,418 items Explore
  • 8 items
  • 6,176 items Explore
  • 14,885 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 1,667 items Explore
  • 181 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 16 items
  • 5,683 items Explore
  • 12,284 items Explore
  • 48 items
  • 25 items
  • 2 items
  • 3 items
  • 7,191 items Explore
  • 357 items Explore
  • 13 items
  • 6 items
  • 103 items Explore
  • 7 items
  • 5 items
  • 485 items
  • 688 items Explore
  • 8,391 items Explore
  • 58 items
  • 1 items
  • 7,347 items Explore
  • 5 items
  • 26 items
  • 4,741 items Explore
  • 428 items
  • 339 items Explore
  • 12,715 items Explore
  • 55 items
  • 20 items
  • 7 items
  • 4 items
  • 325 items Explore
  • 427 items
  • 458 items
  • 1 items
  • 3,694 items Explore
  • 27 items
  • 1,238 items Explore
  • 2,503 items Explore
  • 1,123 items Explore
  • 36 items
  • 1,139 items Explore
  • 97 items Explore
  • 24 items
  • 229 items Explore
  • 80,433 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 3,139 items Explore
  • 2,871 items Explore
  • 24 items
  • 5,352 items Explore
  • 1,831 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 17,515 items Explore
  • 4,931 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 7 items
  • 631 items Explore
  • 85 items
  • 31 items
  • 1 items
  • 76 items
  • 29 items
  • 86 items
  • 3 items
  • 1,176 items Explore
  • 109 items
  • 805 items
  • 13,209 items Explore
  • 27 items
  • 13 items
  • 1,710 items Explore
  • 217 items
  • 17,042 items Explore
  • 85 items
  • 17 items
  • 1 items
  • 8 items
  • 324 items
  • 2 items
  • 631 items Explore
  • 1,592 items Explore
  • 8 items
  • 1,130 items Explore
  • 388 items
  • 1 items
  • 2 items
  • 354 items

Select a time period

Or choose a specific year

Clear all filters

Chair

Thomas Phill (d. 1727)

Category

Furniture

Date

12 Feb 1715 (billed for)

Materials

Walnut, beech, linen canvas worked with wool and silk, later cotton backing, brass studs

Measurements

127 x 60 x 51 cm

Place of origin

The Sign of the Three Golden Chairs, Strand, London

Order this image

Collection

Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire

NT 494468.1

Summary

A chair, or backstool, English, made by Thomas Phill (d. 1727) upholder at the The Sign of the Three Golden Chairs in the Strand, London and purchased by Edward Dryden (d. 1717). One of a set of seven pieces of seat furniture, including six chairs and a probably slightly later sofa [NT 494468.7], and a slightly later firescreen [NT 494468.8]. Magnificently upholstered in contemporary close-nailed linen canvas worked with wool and silk in a pattern of vases issuing bright red flowers and with green and blue leaves. The back of raked rectangular form with raised flat-arched scroll-over top edge, on small turned supports. The seat raised to the front on a pair of angular cabriole legs with a flattened leading edge and block and column-turned raked rear legs, all joined by flat wavy side stretchers and a ball and block-turned central stretcher. --

Full description

The chairs in this set have been identified as the earliest documented examples made with cabriole legs and, as such, are a highly important survival [Bowett]. The form of the back was probably what was then known as a 'scrowle back'. The bill for the chairs, dated 12th February 1714/15, reads as follows: - For 6 wallnutttree back chaire frames of ye newest fashion Stufft up in Lynnen & ye seats covered a 2nd time att 25s p. piece [sic]...£7.10.0 - for green serge for ye backs of ye 6 Chairs...0.5.6 - for making ye needleworke covers and fixing ym on ye chairs & for sewing silke used about ye same...£1.13.0 - for 17 ¼ yds of gold Colour serge for false caises at 22p[er yard]...£1.11.7½ - for sewing silke tapes and making ye 6 false cases at 2s.6d. p[er] piece...0.15.0 There was no charge for the needlework which covers the seats themselves, so it may be that Edward Dryden had this already and gave it to Phill. The chairs green serge backs were replaced with cotton in 1985 and the gold serge 'false caises' (loose covers) are lost. The total cost of these chairs, including false covers, was just under £2 each. Thomas Phill was paid £47 15s 0d for goods supplied to Canons Ashby between March 1709 and April 1715. He mostly supplied bedding, including calico quilts. On his death in 1727, he was described as 'Upholsterer to Her late Majesty Queen Anne and also George I and II. The sofa and the firescreen are absent from the bill, so it is possible that they were made to match at a slightly later date. Indeed, the needlework is stitched in petit point with pastoral scenes and smaller-scale flowers. None of these pieces are listed in the Canons Ashby inventory in 1717 - perhaps because they were heirlooms or were in the family’s leased house on Bolton Street, off Piccadilly. In 1756, they were listed in the Withdrawing Room (now the Painted Parlour) as ‘1 needleworked firescreen with a check cover…6 needleworked chairs, 1 needleworked settee’, where they were still located in 1791 and 1819. It is interesting to note that Thomas Phill's will, written in 1724 but proved at Canterbury in January 1727, left to his 'sister Shephard all my freehold and copyhold estate in the parish of Everdon in the County of Northamptonshire'. After her death, the estate would devolve to William Folwell. Thomas Phill has never been directly associated with Northamptonshire before, despite the fact that two Joiners' Company apprentices called Phill in the 17th century were of Greens Norton. It is interesting to note here that the Dryden family bought furniture from a London upholder who had links to Northamptonshire already. Everdon is only five miles from Canons Ashby. (Megan Wheeler, August 2018)

Provenance

Purchased by Edward Dryden (d. 1717), not listed in the inventory of 1717. In 1756, listed in the Withdrawing Room (now the Painted Parlour) as ‘1 needleworked firescreen with a check cover…6 needleworked chairs, 1 needleworked settee’, where they were still located in 1791 and 1819. In the Tapestry Room in 1921 when the room was photographed by Country Life. By descent, until sold in 1938; purchased by the National Trust in 1983 with the aid of an anonymous benefactor and a grant in aid from the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Makers and roles

Thomas Phill (d. 1727), upholsterer

References

Jackson-Stops, 1985: Gervase Jackson-Stops, “A set of furniture by Thomas Phill at Canons Ashby.” Furniture History 21 1985: pp.217-18. Bowett 2009, Early Georgian Furniture 1715 - 1740 (2009), Illustrated and discussed pp. 151 - 153 and Plate 4:12. Beard, Geoffrey W. Dictionary of English furniture makers, 1660-1840 1986., p. 694

View more details