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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Not currently on display at the V&A
On display at National Trust, Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire

Form

1480-1520 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown (maker)
Place of origin
England (made)

In the early modern period, forms, benches and stools were a more common form of domestic seating than chairs which were normally reserved for figures of authority. Forms could be built against a wall, or mobile, to be placed against a wall or used at a table for dining. This bench, although 500 years old and well-used, has survived in part because of its very strong construction, superbly-designed to maintain rigidity. It is dateable on the basis of the carved rail and end supports.

This highly-regarded example is said to have come from Barningham Hall, Norfolk.

On loan to Woolsthorpe Manor (National Trust).


Object details

Category
Furniture
Object type
Form
Materials and techniques
Oak, with carved decoration
Oak
Brief description
English, 1450-1530, oak, Barningham Hall, 78/1629
Physical description
Form or bench. Below the seat on 'front' and 'back' is a rail. Along the front this rail (almost complete but for small losses at both ends), about 22mm thick, is carved in the solid with eight ogee arches, the two central arches further decorated with cusps. The back rail, 10mm thick, is mostly missing except for end pieces that match the front rail. The remains of two pegs at the centre of the front rail appear to suggest that there was a mid-brace between the front and back rails. The solid supports at either end (varying in thickness between 45-51mm) are carved with'buttresses' to the front, and have each an ogee arch (with bevelled edges) below.

Construction
Joined. The oak used is knotty. Each long rail sits in a deep slot cut in both supports, and held with two large pegs at each end. The underside of the bench top (40mm thick) has been ploughed with two grooves to receive the rails (the thick front rail has been rebated to create a tongue). The plank top is morticed to fit over twin shouldered, through-tenons cut in the solid wood of both supports, and pegged from the side into the tenon.

Modifications
Numerous abrasions. Both rails with losses (see above). An iron strap has been nailed on the inside face of one support. The supports are more worn down on the side of the complete rail (the 'front') than the other. This might be explained if it faced away from a long table, with the sitters' back-heavy weight on this side.
Dimensions
  • Height: 52cm
  • Length: 241.5cm
  • Depth: 27cm
Object history
Bought for £20 from J.S. Mott, Saint Mary's, Cromer. See RF 21/1570.
Bernard Rackham (24/1/1924) noted on the RF "...I was at Barningham Hall, near Cromer... to see some stained glass. I casually caught sight of an oak bench, of which the rough sketch I made is attached, standing in a ? outside the kitchen & evidently being used for menial purposes. [Physical description follows] Barningham belongs to Mr J.S. Mott but has been let by him for many years & is now being offered to new tenants. We are in treaty with him through his sol[icitor] Mr E.M. Hansell for the purchase of stained glass & Mr Hansell seemed to think that we might be able to acquire the bench at a fair price." Oliver Bracket (9/3/1921) noted on the RF "It came from Barningham Hall in Norfolk. It is a rare object of which no similar example exists in England, as far as we know."

Barningham Hall is near Matlask, Norfolk; the house was built for Sir Edward Paston in 1612 on land purchased in the 16th century from the long-established Wynter family. An earlier manor house nearby and is said to have been demolished by Paston. The house seen today is the result of renovations, alterations and enlargement carried out in the early 19th century.

On loan to Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire (National Trust), and displayed in the downstairs kitchen, 2014.
Summary
In the early modern period, forms, benches and stools were a more common form of domestic seating than chairs which were normally reserved for figures of authority. Forms could be built against a wall, or mobile, to be placed against a wall or used at a table for dining. This bench, although 500 years old and well-used, has survived in part because of its very strong construction, superbly-designed to maintain rigidity. It is dateable on the basis of the carved rail and end supports.

This highly-regarded example is said to have come from Barningham Hall, Norfolk.

On loan to Woolsthorpe Manor (National Trust).
Bibliographic references
  • Charles Tracy, English Medieval Furniture and Woodwork (London, 1988), no. 322, p 195. 'FORM. The framing below the seat is decorated with eight ogee arches, the two central arches further decorated with cusps; the solid supports at either end are buttressed and moulded and have each an ogee arch below; the back framing is missing (PL.122). From Barningham Hall, Suffolk Oak. Late 15th or early 16th century 53.4 x 236 x 280 cm Mus. No. W.67-1921'
  • Angela Comolli Sordelli, Il Mobile Antico dal XIV al XVII secolo (Milan, 1967), p.5
  • CESCINSKY, Herbert & Ernest Gribble: Early English Furniture & Woodwork. Vol. II. (London, 1922), fig. 216 'The early stools, from the mid-fifteenth to the early sixteenth century, are usually of one type, with solid ends, held together with deep framing-pieces halved into the trestles, and with tops pegged to the framing and supports. Fig. 216 from Barningham Hall is a long stool of this kind, dating from about 1450-60. The front "apron" is cut out in the form of eight ogival arches, the two in the centre, only, being cusped and this is original, no signs being visible of cuspings on the other archings. This form, which was discovered in the stables of the Hall, is very complete for its period. The present building only dates from 1612, but it was erected on the site of a much earlier house, to the furnishings of which this long stool probably belonged, or it may have formed a part of the possessions of Sir William Paston, who acquired the old manor house of the Winter family, on the site of which he erected his new hall. The date assigned to this piece, by the Museum Authorities, that of the late 14th or early fifteenth century, is somewhat early, as the form of the trestle ends is later than the pattern of the cusped arches, and it is the latest feature which establishes a period. The cusping also is more mannered that one would expect, at least in the late 14th century. It is safer, therefore, to ascribe a date towards the middle of the fifteeth century rather than its beginning. The back rail of this form, which is missing, but of which indications remain, was probably a plain board, as the cutting of the back of the trestle ends suggests that the piece was made to stand against a wall.
  • Lucretia Eddy Cotchett, The Evolution of Furniture (London, 1938), plate VI
  • H. Clifford Smith, Catalogue of English Furniture & Woodwork. Vol.II. - Late Tudor and Early Stuart (London 1930), no. 329, plate 54
  • Dictionary of English Furniture (Country Life 1924-7, 2nd rev. ed. 1954), Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards (1924-7), 'Benches and Forms', fig. 2 This bench (c.1400) 'lacks the framing at the back, but is otherwise perfect, the wood being almost in its natural state.'
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
W.67-1921

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O372272/form-unknown/
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