House of The Binns; image: National Trust for Scotland
A family home founded by Thomas Dalyell about 1612, an Edinburgh merchant who made his fortune at the court of King James VI and I in London. Presented to the National Trust for Scotland in 1947 by Eleanor (Nora) Dalyell, mother of the late MP Tam Dalyell. The family retain the right to live there. Much altered and extended in the 18th and 19th century, the house contains an eclectic mix of furniture and works of art from all eras, including political and military memorabilia, associated with its more colourful owners, including General Tam Dalyell who escaped from the Tower of London and fought alongside Peter the Great’s father in Russia.
Kathleen Dalyell and Helen Knox, NTS Manager will be our hosts whilst David Jones has kindly agreed to guide us through the furniture.
Coffee will be provided on arrival. At the end of the visit a nearby venue for lunch will be suggested (not included in the fee). If you are a member of the National Trust or Scottish National Trust, please remember your membership card. If numbers exceed 12, we may need to progress in two parties.
Linlithgow is easily reached from Glasgow or Edinburgh by train. Members with cars will pick up travellers from the station.
If you wish to join the visit, a cheque for £10 a head, payable to Regional Furniture Society should be posted to : RFS Events Organiser, 2 Grove Cottages, Sutherland Road London W4 2QS together with a list of members and friends attending and a mobile telephone number. Alternatively, make a bank transfer to the RFS sort code 30-94-81 a/c 00882432 quoting reference: ‘Binns’, followed by an email to the events organiser, confirming the names of those attending, mobile number and the date of the bank transfer. Closing date for applications is Monday September 4th.
As members may be aware, a tour of the Southern States of America is planned for October 2024, studying the regional furniture, houses and social context of early settlers, later migrants, farmers and tradespeople, plantation owners and slaves during the 18th and 19th centuries.
We will be guided by Dan Ackerman, Chief Curator and Director of Research at MESDA and RFS American Secretary, whose specialist knowledge in this area is based on many years of academic research and fieldwork.
The tour will be over 11 days from Monday 14 October to Thursday 24 October, with flights to and from Charlotte International airport, and starting at MESDA (Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts) and Old Salem Museum in North Carolina, heading north to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, then east to Colonial Williamsburg and from there south down the coast to Charleston, South Carolina, before returning to MESDA. The tour dates are such that if any of us wanted to stay on for the biennial MESDA furniture seminar, which will be on Friday 25 to Saturday 26 October, it would be simple to do so.
The provisional itinerary is attached below.
We provisionally estimate the cost at £2,500 per person, including flights, accommodation (based on 2 people per room), admissions and insurance etc, but not including lunches and dinners, which will be paid for as we go.
If you are interested in joining the tour, please email events.RFS@gmail.com by 15 September 2023. Those members who have already been in touch about the tour need not respond to this call: you are already on the list.
David Dewing, tour organiser
Provisional Itinerary
Flights from UK to Charlotte International airport, arriving Monday October 14 Tour over 11 days (10 nights) Depart Charlotte International Airport, Thursday October 24 Option to stay Friday and Saturday 25-26 for the biennial MESDA Furniture Seminar
Day 1: Monday October 14
Transfer from Charlotte to MESDA and Old Salem Museums, North Carolina, 84 miles Welcome, introduction and first supper Stay 2 nights MESDA, Monday and Tuesday
Period Room at MESDA (Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts)
Day 2: Tuesday October 15
MESDA and Old Salem Museums, sites and collections Research and Conservation facilities
Miksch House, Old Salem
Day 3: Wednesday October 16
Travel from MESDA to Harrisonburg, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, 215 miles Frontier Culture Museum (Staunton, Virginia) Stay 2 nights, Harrisonburg, Wednesday and Thursday
Day 4: Thursday, October 17
Shenandoah Valley Collections Museum of the Shenandoah Valley Two Winchester-area private collections Jeff and Beverley Evans Collection (Dinner)
Frontier Culture Museum, Staunton, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Day 5: Friday, October 18
Travel from Harrisonburg to Williamsburg, Virginia, 180 miles Monticello en route, home of Robert Jefferson, house, gardens and slave quarters Stay 2 nights, Williamsburg, Friday and Saturday
Monticello, Virginia
Colonial Williamsburg
Day 6: Saturday, October 19
Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg Williamsburg houses and sites Research and conservation facilities
Conservation Workshops Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
Day 7: Sunday October 20
Travel to from Williamsburg to Edenton, North Carolina, 111 miles Cupola House Private Collections
Stay 1 night, Edenton, Sunday
Cupola House, Edenton, North Carolina
Day 8: Monday October 21
Travel from Edenton to Wilmington, North Carolina, 177 miles Free time in Wilmington Stay 1 night, Wilmington, Monday
Roanoke River Lighthouse, Edenton
Day 9: Tuesday, October 22
Travel from Wilmington to Charleston, South Carolina, 176 miles Drayton Hall plantation house en route Stay 2 nights, Charleston, Tuesday and Wednesday
Drayton Hall, South Carolina
Day 10: Wednesday October 23
Charleston houses and museums
Nathanial Russel House
Charleston Museum
St. Michaels Church
Slave Mart Museum
Edmonton Alston House, Charleston
Nathaniel Russel House
Day 11: Thursday October 24
Return from Charleston to Charlotte airport, 211 miles Optional: Continue to MESDA for the Furniture Seminar, Friday and Saturday October 25-27
The Annual General Meeting of the Regional Furniture Society will be held at Bangor University in the Reichel Building on Sunday 9 July at 9:00 a.m.
The Agenda, the Minutes of the last AGM and the Annual Report & Accounts for 2022 will be posted on the website a week before the meeting, as well as being available at the Conference on 9 July.
The Annual Report and Accounts for 2022 can also be sent to any member requiring a paper version. They should contact the Secretary to request a copy and should send an A4 self-addressed envelope.
FURTHER UPDATE 14 March 2023: The Judges’ Lodgings in Lancaster have just announced a special exhibition in the summer. Our visit originally scheduled for 11th May, first deferred to Tuesday 25th July, has now been postponed to Thursday 3 August 2023 so that members may meet the Curator. The extended closing date for applications remains June 1st. A revised booking form is available to download here, or you may wish to amend the green paper form enclosed with the latest newsletter.
The visit includes the recently reopened Judges’ Lodgings Museum with its collection of Gillows furniture. We will also visit Lancaster Priory and take a tour of Lancaster Castle including Joseph Gandy’s spectacular Shire Hall, the courtroom, and the basement cells with nineteeth-century restraining chairs (additional fee) and the the Church of St John the Evangelist, recently reopened by the CCT following restoration from flood damage. £15 not including refreshments.
Chair of the month for March is this cane seated fancy chair from Benjamin North and Sons of West Wycombe, made in about 1857.
Most furniture makers were men, so it can be easy to forget that caned seats were often made by women and girls. Caning seats was badly paid. Even working full-time, women were often earning a quarter of male furniture worker’s pay – and they were not well paid! But caning work could be done in the worker’s own home, fitting in around to unpaid tasks such as cooking and childcare. As the local lace industry declined, more women took on caning work, so that by the 1880s most chair caners were women.
This chair can be seen in Wycombe Museum’s exhibition, Hidden Hands, Women and Work in the Chilterns, 7 March – 10 September 2023. The exhibition explores the Chilterns crafts of chair seat caning and matting, lace making, straw plaiting and tambour beading. The exhibition is in collaboration with the Woodlanders’ Lives and Landscapes community history project. Entry to the exhibition and the museum are free.
The story of Benjamin North’s furniture factory, which was established in West Wycombe in 1853 and moved to Piddington in 1902 is told in ‘Piddington & Furniture’ by Simon Cains and Brian Robertson, published by Coval Consulting Publishing, 2022.
Regional Furniture Society Spring/Summer 2023 events are now open for booking.
Please apply for these events by 1st March, using the booking forms available to print from this site. Numbers for all events are limited and allocated in order of receipt. This website will be updated when an event becomes fully booked.
Hammersmith Riverside Arts & Crafts: Friday 21st April 2023
A day exploring the riverside between Hammersmith and Chiswick occupied by disciples of William Morris and later residents connected with the decorative arts. Starting around 11:00 at The William Morris Society at his home, Kelmscott House, Hammersmith Mall, followed by a tour of Emery Walker’s riverside home, largely unchanged since his death. We will lunch at a riverside pub or cafe (not included in the fee) continuing along Chiswick Mall to Fullers Brewery, founded in 1845, where we have the option of taking a guided tour ending with a tasting of Fullers ales. £25 for the morning, and £25 for the afternoon brewery tour, not including lunch. Book on this form.
Gillows and Lancaster: now postponed to Thursday 3 August 2023 (originally postponed to Tuesday 25th July 2023 from Thursday 11th May 2023)
A visit to the recently reopened Judges’ Lodgings Museum with its collection of Gillows furniture. We will also visit Lancaster Priory and take a tour of Lancaster Castle including Joseph Gandy’s spectacular Shire Hall, the courtroom, and the basement cells with nineteeth-century restraining chairs (additional fee) and the the Church of St John the Evangelist, recently reopened by the CCT following restoration from flood damage. £15 not including refreshments.
FURTHER UPDATE 14 March 2023: The Judges’ Lodgings in Lancaster have just announced a special exhibition in the summer. Our visit scheduled for 11th May first deferred to Tuesday 25th July, has now been postponed to Thursday 3 August 2023 so that members may meet the Curator. The extended closing date for applications remains June 1st. A revised booking form is available to download here, or you may wish to amend the green paper form enclosed with the latest newsletter.
John Parry’s Collection: Sunday 9th July 2023 (not 5th)
A visit to John Parry’s latest collection of furniture near Wrexham. The visit is timed to enable those travelling from the conference at Bangor to include it in their itinerary. Priority will be given to those attending the conference. No charge to those attending the conference. £10 for others. Book on the Conference booking form.
North Wales Conference, Bangor: Wednesday evening 5th – Sunday morning, 9th July 2023
Provisional programme: Travelling by coach over the three days, we will explore the coastal area around Bangor including Penrhryn Castle with its slate furniture, and Plas Mawr, Conway. Crossing over to Anglesey we will visit a Folk Museum and have been invited to view a private collection of furniture. The third day will take us eastwards to Gwydir Castle, recently reunited with its panelled rooms sold to Randolph Hurst, and visit a number of churches and chapels whose simple exteriors bely lavish interiors with good woodwork. The day will terminate at Plas Newydd, the eccentric home of the ‘Ladies of Llangollen’. Based at Bangor university, accommodation will be in single rooms. The fee includes all meals from Wednesday evening, with the possible exception of one lunch. £595, with a possible later surcharge of no more than £50. Book on the Conference booking form.
Rachel Sycamore, a furniture maker and restorer since 1995, now specialises in furniture restoration and conservation. In 2021, she completed a Masters by Research in Archaeology at the University of Worcester, researching medieval dug-out church chests in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Since then, she continues to record, research and conserve church chests around England.
Chests were amongst the most important and prevalent form of medieval furniture, with many surviving in parish churches today. Originally, they provided secure containers in which to store valuable church accoutrements. As part of her master’s degree, Rachel Sycamore recorded and photographed over 200 church chests throughout Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Her talk will explain the different types of church chest and discuss their construction, uses, ornament and care. She will reveal why they are significant archaeological artefacts and what they meant to the people who used and depended on them. She will also recount some of the extraordinary and amusing tales of their survival and her quests to record examples in unlikely places. As a furniture restorer and conservator, Rachel hopes to raise awareness of the importance and significance of church chests and ensure that they are cared for in a way that will preserve them for future generations.
Unknown artist, Denham Place, Buckinghamshire, about 1695, oil on canvas, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Members’ attention is drawn to the programme for the next New Insights into C16th and C17th British Architecture Conference which will take place on Saturday 21 January 2023 at the Society of Antiquaries, London, which may be of interest. There are a few remaining tickets left.
Tickets are £56.00 including coffee, lunch and tea, and booking is via Eventbrite. Full details are also available on the website.
Programme:
10:00 Introduction and welcome
Reconstructions
10:15-10:45
Alice Blows: ‘One of those capacious and splendid mansions’: a reassessment of Mells Manor, Somerset
10:45-11:15
Nick Humphrey: ‘Assai Comodo Palazzo’ (‘A Very Commodious Mansion House’): Sir Paul Pindar’s House on Bishopsgate
11:15-11:30 11:30-12:00
Questions and discussion
Morning refreshment
Architectural Traces
12:00-12:30 12:30-13:00 13:00-13:15 13:15-14:00
Dr Patrick Kragelund: A Royal Visit to Stuart England in 1606 Rose Mitchell: Mystery Plans Investigated Questions and discussion Lunch
Constructing Identities
14:00-14:30
Rebecca Shields: On Her Own Terms: Hatton House and the Architectural Matronage of Elizabeth Hatton
14:30-15:00
Melanie Holcomb: House of Commerce or Urban Folly?: Henry Hamlin’s House in Tudor Exeter
15:00-15:15 15:15-15:45
Questions and discussion
Afternoon refreshment
Recovering Lost Buildings
15:45-16:15 16:15-16:45
Struan Bates: Who Built Hampstead Marshall (1662-1718)?
Dr Ann-Marie Akehurst: Pepys’ Stone Feast and the Cutting Ward at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, 1691
16:45-17:00 17:00
Questions and discussion
Conference closes
The conference is organised by Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner and Dr Jenny Saunt
RFS Members are invited to an RFS/MESDA joint webinar via Zoom.
Join Daniel Ackermann, chief curator of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, live from the museum’s galleries in North Carolina as he talks about “Backcountry not Backwards: Working Wood in the Inland American South.”
Along America’s Atlantic coast European-born cabinetmakers often hewed close to their training as they competed with British-made imports. However, further inland, cabinetmakers created distinctive regional styles that reflected their diversity and that of their patrons. Often referred to in America as the “Backcountry,” the furniture made in the inland south was far from backwards.
Images (L-R): Chest of Drawers, Workshop of Gerrard Calvert, Mason County, Kentucky. 1795-1800 Cherry, light and dark wood inlays, poplar HOA: 42 3/8”; WOA: 41 ¾”; DOA: 21 3/8” The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts at Old Salem Museums & Gardens MESDA Purchase Fund (5691.1)
Ladder-back Side Chair, Walton County, Georgia. 1790-1820 Maple and split oat HOA: 36”; WOA: 18”; DOA: 14” The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts at Old Salem Museums & Gardens MESDA Purchase Fund (5560)
High Chest of Drawers, Joseph Ray and John Price, Augusta County, Virginia. 1765-1780 Walnut and yellow pine HOA: 90 1/2”; WOA: 44 1/2”; DOA: 24 1/2” Colonial Williamsburg Collection MESDA Purchase Fund (5749)
Members wishing to join the webinar can do so by emailing Jeremy Bate on events.rfs@gmail.com who will send you the Zoom invitation.
Members may be interested to know that Lyon & Turnbull have a sale in London on 28 October which features furniture by Gerald Summers, founder of Makers of Simple Furniture in the 1930s. A piece by Martha Deese about the furniture may be found here. The furniture may be found here.
Regional Furniture Society 
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