Description
A pair of antique benches, or forms – one 18th century, the other later.
Of rich, golden colour and well-figured.
N.b. 2″ thick solid planks.
Both are sturdy and ready-to-use.
Measures:
L 7’6″ (230 cm)
W 10″ (25.5 cm)
H 1’7″ (48 cm).
These look great en suite with an antique refectory or farmhouse table, for which they would have been originally designed. This type of bench or form would harmonise well in any interior, whether modern or traditional.
During the 16th and 17th centuries refectory tables were often seen en suite with ‘joyned stools’. These would be stored away between the stretchers when not-in-use.
Literature:
A History of English Furniture – The Age of Oak, Percy Macquoid, Antique Collector’s Club Ltd, Woodbridge (1904) originally Vol. I, p. 88, figs. 173, 174, 175, 176 & 177.
The origins of these simple benches, often also referred to as monks’ benches, go back to the 16th century, and were made over a long period of time. Those with bulbous legs and stretchers would generally be of an earlier date.
Ralph Edwards CBE FSA refers to an “oak joyned bench or form” in The shorter Dictionary of English Furniture, Hamlyn, London (Fourth Impression 1972) p. 48, ill. 6. “Joyned” means constructed without nails, pegs or glue.
