gillows - Lauder and Howard

GILLOWS
of LANC ASTER and LONDON
in pursuit of excellence
Gillows of Lancaster and London were one of the greatest cabinetmaking firms of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Gillows started in Lancaster in 1730 and survived well into the 20th Century but why is their name not
better known? There are several reasons for this: Gillows never published a book of furniture designs and
their designs were jealously guarded. There was a distinct Gillows style and the partners sought to protect
it. Gillows’ clients were routinely asked not to allow their pieces to be seen by competitors in the furniture
trade. Only a small percentage of their output was ever signed.
Further their name has been associated with ‘Waring & Gillows’ whose late reproduction designs cheapened
the firm’s proud name and led to the removal of Gillow signatures from many pieces.
Gillows’ relative obscurity in the 20th Century is also due, partly, to so much of their furniture
having been sold away from its original location.
The large scale of Gillows’ enterprise (the Lancaster branch made over 1,100 chairs alone in 1792) had largely
been forgotten by the mid 20th Century, although their importance was understood by a few connoisseurs.
One of the earliest was Percy Macquoid, who asserted in 1908, that much of the inlaid and satinwood
furniture generally attributed to Hepplewhite, Shearer and Sheraton might be the work of Gillows.
Lindsay Boynton claimed: ‘Sheraton and Hepplewhite in particular have come to be regarded as mere
reporters rather than originators of furniture designs. Indeed Sheraton was recently described as a
‘plagiarising author’. Susan Stuart states in her comprehensive two volume monograph ‘Gillows of Lancaster
& London 1730-1840’: ‘In essence, Gillows made ingenious furniture which occupied the middle ground
stylistically between fanciful whimsy and boring conservatism. The firm’s maxim was ‘design follows
function’, which produced a classical style in the broadest sense. As the survival of a large number of pieces
demonstrates, Gillows furniture was made to stand the test of time.’
Gillows’ London branch, established in 1769, brought in pieces made in Lancaster, where ample
supplies of timber from the West Indies and relatively low wages boosted profitability when sold at ‘London’
prices. The surviving records, held in the Westminster City Library, are almost entirely those of the
Lancaster branch: 197 volumes from 1731 to 1932, including Estimate Sketch Books from
1784 until 1899, containing some 20,000 items.
As Boynton said, ‘Gillows chose to keep their designs private, and it follows that furniture closely matching
these designs is most probably theirs, in any case, the assessment of Gillow furniture depends not only
on style, but also on the quality of wood and workmanship: when all three are satisfactorily present, the
judgement is usually not in doubt’
Cover image. George IIIrd period satinwood dressing chest of drawers c1790,
Attributed to Gillows. A related drawing for ‘Gillows London’ numbered 12,597 in the
Estimate Sketch Books shows a very similar design.
Two George IVth oak ‘chamber writing tables’ attributed to Gillows, c.1825. Provenance: Raby Castle, Co. Durham.
These tables exhibit typical Gillow features such as carved scroll supported trestle ends, cock- beaded reserves on the
frieze, squared floral panels, and a feature, it appears, confined to Gillows, a lift up recess to the back of the table to
hold ink bottles and pens. A similar trestle ended design was first illustrated by Thomas Hope in his
‘Household Furniture and Interior Decoration’ of 1807 and a further version by George Smith in his
‘Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide’ of 1826.
A George IVth mahogany dumb waiter c1825, attributed to Gillows; a stamped dumb waiter of
identical outline, but plainer, has been recorded; a drawing for a dining room,
produced in Gillow & Co.’s design workshop at Oxford Street, London, shows a very similar design.
The use of carved scrolled supports to a trestle end is a typical Gillows decorative feature.
A pair of rosewood and caned dining chairs c1820, attributed to Gillow; chairs of this pattern are known
with Gillow stamps; a variant of this design was produced from 1813 and appeared in the 1823 Sketch Book.
A George IVth period mahogany low wardrobe stamped by Gillows, c1825. This pattern with its central
cupboard with flanking drawers was a popular production by the firm and appears in various forms for
example, in 1818 and 1824, in the Estimate Sketch Books.
A
C
B
A. A pair of George IVth Goncalo Alves dining chairs in the manner of Gillows, c1825; with ogival
‘gothick’ arch panels, moulded back legs and reeded front legs; Goncalo Alves (Albuera wood, or ‘Rio Zebra
wood’) was used by Gillows Lancaster from July 1823, to the mid 1860’s.
B. A set of three Regency period ‘specimen wood’ occasional tables, c1820, in rosewood, amboyna,
figured ash and orange wood; similar tables are illustrated in G Beard & J Goodison’s
‘English Furniture 1500-1840’: supplied by Gillows to William Stenhouse c1810.
C. Detail: George IVth mahogany secretaire drawer
A George IVth mahogany secretaire bookcase c1825, the drawer pulling out to reveal lidded compartments
and a rising writing surface, (see detail opposite). Attributed to Gillows.
The carved, square flower panels and double ogee moulded pilasters are typical of Gillows production.
A
B
A George IVth rosewood tripod table or ‘flower stand’ attributed to Gillow, c1825; perhaps the most
individual table produced by Gillow, this design featured in the Estimate Sketch Books in 1822;
its form owes something to 18th century kettle stands.
A. A Regency rosewood book tray c1820, attributed to Gillows
B. A George IVth mahogany writing table, c1825, attributed to Gillows; bearing a later stamp
‘Edwards & Roberts’. This desk has a number of typical Gillow features: reeded legs, cockbeaded reserves to
the corners and the sides and heavily reeded edge to the top. Edwards & Roberts were leading late 19th Century
London cabinet makers and dealers in fine antique furniture. They sold many Gillow pieces to which they
routinely added their own stamp.
A
A Regency period mahogany armchair c1820 attrbuted to Gillows; the chair has Gillow features
of panelled reserves and floral paterae (the floral paterae are also seen on examples such as the
‘Nelson’ pattern couch at Broughton Hall in Yorkshire)
Details: A. Regency mahogany and caned bergere. B. George IV mahogany ‘Grecian Couch’.
B
A Regency mahogany and caned bergere armchair c1820, attributed to Gillows,
having typical Gillow features of an elegant, sparsely reeded frame, and reeded legs and arms supports
A George IVth mahogany ‘Grecian Couch’ or chaise longue, in the manner of Gillows, c1825; the scrolled
outline is accentuated by reeded frame panelled reserves and spiral reeded paterae
A
B
A. George IVth rosewood teapoy c1825, attributed to Gillows; the first Gillow teapoy was illustrated in the
Sketch Books in 1814; the ‘tea chest’ on a turned and carved pillar was mounted on a cruciform base with
lion paw feet. Two similar designs, both called ‘sarcofagus teapoy’ on pillars and stands were illustrated in
1821. The knulled decoration to the quatrefoil platform is repeated on a mahogany sideboard made in 1828
for Thomas Parr Esq., the gadrooned edge on a folio stand and reading cabinet c1825.
B. Regency rosewood jardinière c1820 attributed to Gillows; showing typical Gillow features such as lobed
melon feet, concealed castors and reeded lotus wrapped column.
A pair of George IVth mahogany chairs c1825, attributed to Gillows,
these chairs appear to be a variant of designs shown in the Estimate Sketch Book in 1823
A William IVth rosewood low bookcase ‘in the commode style’ c1835, attributed to Gillows.
The design was drawn in the Estimate Sketch Books in 1836
A set of twelve Regency mahogany dining chairs c1815, attributed to Gillows;
this design is based on the Edwards’ Dining Room pattern of 1810
A George IIIrd ‘patent extending table’ by Gillows of Lancaster c1800 and stamped
‘Gillows Lancaster’.. Gillows used this mark from about 1789. Stuart illustrates a similar dining table
stamped ‘Reeder Patent Oxford Street’.
A George IIIrd magogany serving table c1800, attributed to Gillows;
the use of the best quality mahogany both in the solid and veneers, together with reeded legs
and ‘tower’ corners are all characteristic Gillow features.
A pair of Regency mahogany dining chairs c1810, attributed to Gillows. This pattern relates closely to the
‘Denison’ pattern which was introduced in 1802. Detail on opposite page.
A Regency mahogany large chest of drawers c1810, attributed to Gillows; the ‘tower corners’ were a particular feature of Gillows’ production from about 1790 onwards, and by the early 19th century were reeded.
The small door to the right has a central sprung catch which is identical in design to that of the well in a
circular library table (‘rent table’) made in 1771.
An early Victorian Goncalo Alves, glazed slim cabinet c1840; attributed to Gillows; the elaborate beading
to the underside of the top and the doors is a typical Gillow detail; Goncalo Alves (Albuera wood, or ‘Rio
Zebra wood’) was used by Gillows Lancaster from July 1823, to the mid 1860’s.
A George IVth mahogany ‘metamorphic chair’ c1825, attributed to Gillows; Morgan & Sanders designed a
library chair, illustrated in ‘Ackermann’s Repository of Arts’ July 1811 and a design for a plain metamorphic
chair, made for Ferguson & Co., was recorded in the Estimate Sketch Books in 1834.
This example has seat rails and a carved central splat similar to stamped Gillow chairs illustrated in
Plates B28, p.255 & GG11, Stuart Vol II, p.368. The top rail has similarities to incised decoration of a chair
illustrated Stuart I, plate 192, page 215 and plate 205, page 221, ‘Kennedy’s pattern’.
A
B
A Regency period pair of Goncalo Alves and ivory caned chairs c1820, in the manner of Gillows.
George IVth brass inlaid rosewood chair c1825, in the manner of Gillows
A, An early Victorian oak and marble topped console table in the ‘Elizabethan’ style, stamped by Gillows of
Lancaster, c1850; unusually for oak furniture, the drawer linings of this piece are of good quality mahogany.
B. A Goncalo Alves gentleman’s press c1825. Goncalo Alves (Albuera wood, or ‘Rio Zebra wood’) was used
by Gillows Lancaster from July 1823, to the mid 1860’s. This low wardrobe is directly related to examples in
the Estimate Sketch Books; the decorative details, such as lobed melon feet, double ogee moulded pilasters,
carved scrolled brackets and beaded mouldings being added or subtracted according to the client’s wishes.
A pair of Regency brass inlaid and carved, caned rosewood chairs, c1815, attributed to Gillows.
The design for these chairs appears in several room designs for a Gillow client; a chair of identical design is at
Tatton Park Cheshire, a major furnishing commission for Gillow, through the architects Samuel & Lewis Wyatt
A pair of George IVth mahogany chairs c1820, attributed to Gillows; this design would once have been described as ‘Victorian’ and illustrates the advanced nature of much of Gillows designs; since they were never
published, they remained unseen by the rest of the furniture trade and thus were not copied, until much
later. The design was created for Lord Bolton of Hackwood Park in 1813,
by George and Richard Gillow of the Oxford Street branch.
A George IVth mahogany and brass mounted mahogany chest of drawers c1825, attributed to Gillows;
the unusual detail of carved capitals to the reeded columns, with ‘tower corner’ are more often seen on chair
or table legs; the reeded melon feet have similarities to feet on a mahogany dressing table c1810, stamped
Gillows Lancaster, in the Judge’s Lodgings Museum, Lancaster.
George IVth Goncalo Alves and brass mounted writing table in the manner of Gillows, c1825.
The hockey stick shape of the legs is a Gillow signature and Goncalo Alves (Albuera wood, or ‘Rio Zebra
wood’) was used by Gillows Lancaster from July 1823, to the mid 1860’s.
George IVth mahogany cabinet, c1825, attributed to Gillows; the use of lobed melon feet and gadroon
carved top edge are typical Gillow features; a portable writing drawer c1810-1820 from
Richard Gillow II’s home Leighton Hall has similar gadrooned edge.
Photography by Michael Wearne
A ‘Gothic Revival’ oak and inlaid fold over card table, stamped by Gillows.
The numbers: ‘6396’ indicate 1878 as the date of manufacture; the design of this table is based on a writing
table produced by A.W.N. Pugin for the New Palace Westminster (the ‘Houses of Parliament’) in 1851.
This page and back cover. A rosewood ‘bonheur du jour’ in Aesthetic Movement taste, stamped
Gillows & Co., the year stamp ‘15730’ is for 1884. The panels finely carved in Japanese style, one of the
principal design elements in Aesthetic furniture. In the style of E.W. Godwin, who worked for Gillows
between 1874 and 1876, and designed items in ‘Anglo-Japanese’ taste.
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