'refectory' table
Philip Tilden (1887-1956)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1924
Materials
Oak
Measurements
74 x 182.5 x 80.5 cm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Chartwell, Kent
NT 1101664
Summary
A pair of oak 'refectory' tables, English, thought to have been designed by architect Philip Tilden, manufactured by Heals, circa 1924, the weathered oak tops supported on two pairs of turned column legs, each pair of columns on a single sledge foot, each pair of sledge feet joined by a rectangular floor stretcher. Philip Tilden was employed by Winston Churchill to re-design Chartwell to suit the needs of his family. This pair of tables (NT 1101664.1 & .2) and a circular table (NT 1101665.1 or .2) are recorded in the Heal's books 'as sketch' as being ordered for Churchill in 1924.
Provenance
The order for this pair of tables (NT 1101664.1 & .2) and a circular table (NT 1101665.1 or .2) are mentioned in Oliver S. Heal's 'Sir Ambrose Heal and the Heal Cabinet Factory, 1897-1939', p.209, 'Amongst the 1924 special orders were two 6ft x 3ft Weathered Oak tables (at £16 15s od) and one circular table (at £22) 'as sketch' for Churchill.....Sadly no sketch survives as it was presumably done by the architect Philip Tilden for his client Winston Churchill's house, Chartwell in Kent where the tables are still preserved. As is well known, a 6ft 6 in x 3ft version of the rectangular table with its one-and-a-half inch thick top and four inset pillar legs became one of Heal's standard table (model no. '148', £14) and some 57 were made...before 1930.' Chartwell was purchased by Winston Churchill in 1922 and for the next 40 years it was the family home. Presented to the National Trust in 1946, Winston and Clementine Churchill continued to live there until 1965 when it was relinquished to the management of the National Trust. Much of the contents of Chartwell were accepted by the Treasury in payment of death duty and retained in the house. Lady Churchill also gifted many pieces and others are on loan from the Churchill family.
Makers and roles
Philip Tilden (1887-1956) , designer Heals , manufacturer
References
Sir Ambrose Heal and the Heal Cabinet Factory, 1897-1939, 'Amongst the 1924 special orders were two 6ft x 3ft Weathered Oak tables (at £16 15s od) and one circular table (at £22) 'as sketch' for Churchill.....Sadly no sketch survives as it was presumably done by the architect Philip Tilden for his client Winston Churchill's house, Chartwell in Kent where the tables are still preserved. As is well known, a 6ft 6 in x 3ft version of the rectangular table with its one-and-a-half inch thick top and four inset pillar legs became one of Heal's standard table (model no. '148', £14) and some 57 were made...before 1930.'