Oak armchair with upholstered drop-in seat, design attributed to Edward Barnsley, possibly for Edward VIII’s coronation.

FPF499

Oak armchair with upholstered drop-in seat, design attributed to Edward Barnsley, possibly for Edward VIII’s coronation.

Designed c.1935, made 1936-1952.

An oak armchair with an upholstered drop-in seat, possibly designed for Edward VIII’s coronation in 1937. The design has been attributed to Edward Barnsley.

This oak armchair has a high concave back with four bars, curved arms and arm supports and a drop-in upholstered seat. The design is in the ‘Cotswold’ Arts and Crafts style and with a matching side chair is attributed to Edward Barnsley (1900–1987). It is widely assumed the chair was originally intended for use at the coronation of Edward VIII, which was to have taken place at Westminster Abbey on 12th May 1937. However, Edward abdicated in December 1936, and it was his brother, King George VI whose coronation took place on that day. Some of these chairs were used at George VI’s coronation, and that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, and they were also supplied as office chairs to government departments; this example is marked with a crown and the initials AM under the seat rail, indicating that it was supplied to the Air Ministry.

There appears to be no direct evidence that Edward Barnsley designed this chair, although it is in his style. Neither is there evidence that the design was specifically for Edward VIII’s coronation, although this is a common assumption; see for example, a set of eight chairs of this design offered for sale by Sotheby’s in 1990, described as 1937 Coronation chairs designed by Edward Barnsley (Sothebys sale, 1990).

In a more recent sale, one chair was noted with a George V stamp, meaning it must have been made in 1936 or earlier, another has a George VI Coronation stamp (1937), and yet another was made by R. Foster & Son of Wigan in 1952, which indicates the chair was in production from c.1935 to c.1952 (Bonhams sale, October 2020). In another sale later the same year, a further set of chairs included one stamped GRV and another stamped ER, confirming that the design was manufactured over almost 20 years (The Saleroom, Dec 2020).

Large numbers of the chair may have been commissioned in preparation for Edward VIII’s coronation, but it would appear that following the abdication, they were supplied by the Ministry of Works for other royal and government uses, and further batches were manufactured from time to time up to the early 1950s. Many of the chairs were manufactured by Glenister of High Wycombe (fl. 1830s-1990).

Good. Seat cover replaced.

Oak.
Upholstery.

H. 93
W. 59
D. 56

Marked with the initials 'AM' under a crown in gold paint on the underside of the back seat rail; the number 752 has been impressed into the inside face of the same rail.

Purchased online from a private sale for the Frederick Parker Collection in 2017.

Sources for this piece:
Our Heritage | Edward Barnsley Workshop
Antique Collecting, June 2016
Glenister’s chair factory, Bellfield Road | Wycombe Museum
EDWARD BARNSLEY | SET OF SIX CHAIRS AND TWO ARMCHAIRS | Made in Britain | | Sotheby's
Set of six dining chairs and two armchairs, designed for the coronation of Edward VIII | Bonham's
Manner of Edward Barnsley (1900-1987) A set of six chairs, reputedly designed for the coronation | The Saleroom