This wardrobe is a good example of furniture in the Arts and Crafts style. Designers working in this style were committed to honesty and simplicity in design, construction and materials. The solid form, restrained decoration and clearly visible joints of this piece reflect these values. They are also embodied in the oak from which the wardrobe is made. Oak was expensive wood at the time, but Arts and Crafts designers preferred it because it evoked an idealised England of long ago.
This piece was made at the Daneway House Workshops, Gloucestershire. Ernest Barnsley and Ernest Gimson set up the workshops in 1893 to make furniture in the Arts and Crafts style. This piece is an excellent example of the simpler furniture, constructed using clearly visible joints, which Barnsley designed. These pieces often used traditional country methods and materials rather than more refined historical techniques.