George Bullock originally trained as a modeller and sculptor in Liverpool and moved to London in 1812, where he established his furniture making business in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square. One of his clients was Sir Godfrey Webster who restored the medieval buildings of Battle Abbey, Sussex, originally built to commemorate the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Sir Godfrey commissioned furniture in appropriate Gothic style from Bullock for his home, including a carved oak throne for the Great Hall, and this table, which may have been supplied for the library. The furniture was probably designed by Richard Bridgens (1785-1846) who collaborated with Bullock over several commissions. The use of oak for the table is typical of Bullock's interest in native woods although it is inlaid in ebony which would have been imported.