Periods & Styles
English furniture styles developed in ways broadly in line with those of mainland Europe, but were interpreted in a distinctive fashion. There were also many regional variations within the British Isles – a term that once encompassed England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
In England itself, regional accents are marked by the differences between, say, North Country chairs and those of the West Country; Salisbury and Norwich were noted centres of production at an early date.
Wales retained the dresser and the press cupboard as status symbols long after they had ceased to be fashionable in England, and further distinctions are to be drawn between those of North and South Wales.
In late-18th C Scotland, Edinburgh was producing sophisticated furniture, some of it with distinctive differences from that of London.
In the mid-18th century, Irish furniture was so extravagant in its use of richly carved mahogany – especially for side tables on cabriole legs – that a whole class is described as ‘Irish Chippendale’.
If you are an American you will find it useful to understand the broad relationships between British and mainland European styles, and of course vice-versa.
MEDIEVAL
Romanesque Imported to Britain by the Normans following the conquest in 1066. Rounded arches – a typical Romanesque feature – occur on chests as late as the 17th Century. But the few examples still in existence which date from earlier than 1300 are simply constructed and mostly carved with roundels bearing little relation to Romanesque architecture.
Gothic About 1300 to 1550. The change from Romanesque was gradual. Panelled construction dates from about 1480, and the panels were often carved with linen-fold. The coronation chair at Westminster Abbey has a back with pointed arches made in 1296 by Master Walter of Durham; it was the first English piece firmly attributable to a named maker. The Gothic style was revived in the mid-late 18th century and again in Regency and Victorian times.
ELIZABETHAN
Renaissance When Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, most furniture was functional and plain. After 1570, a version of Renaissance style owing more to France and the Netherlands than to Italy found expression in fat turnings surmounted by Ionic capitals, solid inlay, carved caryatids, strapwork and split baluster turnings.
JACOBEAN
Strictly speaking, the reign of James I (1603-1625), but also used to cover that of Charles I (1625-1649). Geometric mouldings, split balusters and bobbin-turnings remained popular until about 1720.
RESTORATION
Sometimes known as Carolean, in reference to Charles II, restored to the throne in 1660. Also covers the reign of James II, 1685-1689. The dominant style is baroque, but more Franco-Dutch than Italian. Twist legs, carved scrolls, caned seats and veneering became common. Skilled French workers sought refuge in Britain when Louis XIV of France ceased to protect Protestants in 1685.
WILLIAM AND MARY
More foreign craftsmen, Dutch and French, arrived in Britain following the accession of William of Orange and his wife Mary, the daughter of James II, in 1689. Fine cabinetmaking, walnut and ebony veneers, and floral marquetry became prominent. Legs were turned to trumpet shapes or scrolled, and the scroll developed into the cabriole leg by the end of William’s reign in 1702.
QUEEN ANNE
During her reign, 1702-1714, the cabriole leg dominated. Surfaces were veneered with walnut, but marquetry became less evident. English craftsmen, having acquired foreign skills, adapted these to their own style.
EARLY GEORGIAN
George I and the early years of George II until about 1727; mainly a continuation of the Queen Anne style, but rather heavier. Claw-and-ball feet became the fashionable termination of the cabriole leg. Architect William Kent designed Italianate baroque furniture as a dramatic contrast to cool Palladian interiors.
MID GEORGIAN
George II, 1727-1760, and the first years of George III. Mahogany replaced walnut as the fashionable wood. In 1754, Chippendale’s designs appeared. Ribbon-back chairs, ornate gilt mirrors and console tables expressed the English interpretation of rococo. Some designs loosely followed French Louis XV fashions. The Gothic style was also revived.
LATE GEORGIAN
The George III period lasted from 1760 to 1811, but the term is sometimes extended back to 1730. First came the neo-classical style led by Adam – vertical lines, ovals, circles, columns, urns, disciplined carving, gilding and painting related to the Louis XVI style. Then came the influence of Hepplewhite, 1788-1794, and Sheraton, 1791-1794, providing a domestic, middle-class version of neo-classicism.
EARLY VICTORIAN
Much furniture made in 1837-1850 was still neoclassical, but heavier than Regency, with some affinity to Charles X and French Restoration tastes. Alongside this came the Gothic revival led by Pugin, and the rococo revival by commercial manufacturers making balloon-back chairs and asymmetrical chaise longues on cabriole legs. There was increasing use of machines.
MID VICTORIAN
The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851 brought Continental exhibitors to London, stimulating an eclectic taste for revivals of almost all historic styles, which were then imitated in poorer quality mass-produced furniture. Large dining and bedroom suites became common, while parlour pieces were often more elegant, with some sofas and chairs fringed and deep-buttoned in Napoleon III style. There were also serious attempts to revive medieval craftsmanship by reformers such as Morris, Burgess, Talbert and Godwin, who experimented with Japanese concepts.
LATE VICTORIAN
Heavy Victorian styles persisted until about 1910, along with reproductions of English, French and Italian historic types. However, the Arts and Crafts Movement, led by Mackintosh, Ashbee, Baillie Scott and Voysey, introduced new ideas in sympathy with some aspects of European Art Nouveau. These are often linked with commercial products that were partly an offshoot of the Edwardian revival of Sheraton styles in mahogany with inlaid decoration.
MODERNIST AND ART DECO
The period between the two world wars started with a genuine desire for greater simplicity and honest, economically made furniture of the type produced by Heal’s and Russell, but this existed in competition with mass-produced poor-quality furniture on the one hand and finely made but expensive products on the other.
The term Art Deco – like most stylistic labels – was unknown at the time the furniture was being made. It derives from the 1925 Arts Décoratifs exhibition in Paris, and only came to be applied to the style in the 1960s.
Dates and Periods
1558-1603
Elizabeth I
British Period: Elizabethan
French Period: Renascence
1603-1625
James I
British Period: Jacobean
French Period: Renascence
1625-1649
Charles I
British Period: Carolean
French Period: Louis XIII (1610-1643)
1649-1660
Commonwealth
British Period: Cromwellian
French Period: Louis XIV (1643-1715)
1660-1685
Charles II
British Period: Restoration
French Period: Louis XIV
1685-1689
James II
British Period: Restoration
French Period: Louis XIV
1689-1694
William & Mary
British Period: William & Mary
French Period: Louis XIV
1694-1702
William III
British Period: William III
French Period: Louis XIV
1702-1714
Anne
British Period: Queen Anne
French Period: Louis XIV
1714-1727
George I
British Period: Early Georgian
French Period: Regency (1715-1723)
1727-1760
George II
British Period: Early Georgian
French Period: Louis XV (1723-1774)
1760-1811
George III
British Period: Late Georgian
French Period: Louis XVI (1774-1793)
1812-1820
George III
British Period: Regency
French Period: Restauration (1815-1830)
1820-1830
George IV
British Period: Regency
1830-1837
William IV
British Period: William IV
French Period: Louis Philippe (1830-1848)
1837-1901
Victoria
British Period: Victorian
French Period: 2nd Empire (1848-1870)
Victoria
British Period: Victorian
French Period: 3rd Republic (1871-1940)
1901-1910
Edward VII
British Period: Edwardian
French Period: 3rd Republic
