Windsor Chairs

I make Windsor Chairs which have an open, relaxed style and attractive shape. The Double-bow chairs may be used as dining chairs, with a desk, or as occasional chairs. The chairs provide a comfortable seating position, and also hold the back nicely. The whole chair is hand-carved, but the spindles and bow in particular tend to look slightly different from chair to chair, adding to their character.

The Fanback chairs may be used on their own, or combined with the Double-bow chairs to make a dining set for example.

The Children’s chairs are essentially a smaller version of the Double-bow chairs, and stand about 28″ or 70 cm high.

I source most of the wood used to make the chairs locally. Most of the wood comes from Hardwick Estate, near Mapledurham. My workshop is based on Pierrepont Farm near Tilford, Surrey

Unexpected Beauty

The bowls, platters, trays and other turned objects which I make are of a relatively large size, being anything up to 24″ (60cm) in diameter. Much turned work is considerably smaller than this, perhaps up to 8″ or so. Although not all of my work is intended for practical use, I like to produce things of a size which makes them usable, as well as showing the beauty of the wood to its best advantage. In order to make the larger work, you need a lathe which is capable of handling the force of turning at that size. The lathe I use is the Voisey Buse VB36 lathe, which is a superb bowl turning lathe, being very heavy and equipped with plain bearings. It’s practically vibration-free and a real joy to use. For those interested in earlier rural experiences, it’s worth making a trip to the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) in Reading. On display there is a very basic hand-made lathe which a local bowl turner was using until the early 1960s. Like many aspects of rural life there is a huge contrast to the technology used only 50 – 60 years ago, compared with what’s available today.

The thing which appeals to me most about making bowls is the process of finding a pleasing shape within the available material and the unexpected beauty revealed in carving the wood.