Corner chair
possibly Philip Speakman Webb (Oxford 1831 - West Sussex 1915)
Category
Furniture
Date
1869 - 1929
Materials
Ebonised beech, rush
Measurements
70 x 38 x 38 cm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Wightwick Manor, West Midlands
NT 1288255.2.1
Caption
The elegant simplicity of this beechwood and rush chair, possibly designed by Philip Webb (1831–1915) for Morris & Co. at the turn of the 20th century, helped this range of furniture to become a commercial success and, ultimately, a design classic. The ‘Sussex’ range included a variety of items, including armchairs, settees and children’s chairs. An advertisement in 1911 for the ‘Sussex’ chair explained the origins of the design, which was copied, ‘with trifling improvements’, from a country-style chair found in Sussex. That county had a particularly strong tradition of chair-making, and the design was heavily influenced by the local handmade furniture found in the parlours and halls of farmhouses, parsonages and the homes of professionals. The chair shown here was part of a set acquired by Lady Mander (1905–88) for Wightwick in 1937, the same year in which she and her husband Geoffrey (1882–1962) donated the house to the National Trust. The set was part of a carefully designed interior that provided a home for their important collection of William Morris designs and Pre-Raphaelite art.
Summary
An ebonised beech and rush-seated ‘Sussex’ corner chair, one of a pair, part of a larger set of seat furniture comprising a settee, two corner chairs, three armchairs and three standard chairs, possibly designed by Philip Speakman Webb (1831-1915), manufactured and retailed by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (later Morris & Co.) from 1869 until the 1920s. Having a back formed of two right-angled sections, each section of three horizontal rails and with four ring-turned spindles. The three rear supports extending to form three tapering legs, joined by a square woven rush seat within an edge of wooden slats. The front leg turned and tapering. The legs all joined by pairs of stretchers set at various heights.
Full description
In 1861, with a group of like-minded friends, William Morris founded Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. They promoted themselves as ‘Fine Art Workmen in Painting, Furniture, Carving and the Metals’. In 1875 the business became known as Morris & Co. Morris divided furniture into two categories, ‘Necessary work-a-day’ furniture which ought to be simple and functional as demonstrated by the ‘Sussex’ range of seating, and ‘state-furniture’. The ‘Sussex’ range was possibly designed by Morris’s close friend and collaborator the architect Philip Webb. who also designed furniture, tapestries, and stained glass. In an advertisement for the ‘Sussex’ range (1911) it states that the design was copied ‘with trifling improvements’ from a vernacular chair found in Sussex, a county with a strong tradition of vernacular chair making. The ‘Sussex’ range proved to be a commercial success eventually including armchairs, settees, standard, corner and children’s chairs. Clearly inspired by the same vernacular chair as the ‘Sussex’ range’s standard chair and armchair, the corner chair may have been taken from an actual model or a variation on the basic design in order to expand the range. Priced at 10s. 6d. in the Morris & Co. catalogue, the corner chair was chosen by the designer W.A.S Benson for his house, Windleshaw, Sussex. The set of which this chair is a part was acquired by Lady Rosalie Mander (1905-88) in 1937, the year in which her and her husband Geoffrey Mander (1882-1962) gave Wightwick to the National Trust.
Provenance
In 1937 Sir Geoffrey Mander and his wife Rosalie gifted Wightwick Manor, its contents and gardens to the National Trust. Sir Geoffrey and his family continued to occupy and manage Wightwick adding to the collection in collaboration with the National Trust. Sir Geoffrey died in 1962 but Lady Mander continued to live at Wightwick until her death in 1988.
Makers and roles
possibly Philip Speakman Webb (Oxford 1831 - West Sussex 1915), designer Morris & Co., manufacturer
References
Edis, Robert William, Decoration & furniture of town houses :, 1881, pp. 27-9 Parry 1996: Linda Parry (ed.), William Morris, London 1996, p. 169 Pennington 1995: J. Pennington, 'Sussex Chairs', Regional Furniture Journal, Volume IX (1995) 81-87