In the vernacular of the primitive country, cricket tables – so called because their three legs resemble stumps in the game of cricket – and stick chairs are the mainstays. Oak cupboards and dressers are also a part of it, but it’s the tables and chairs that get the most attention now. ‘It’s hard for case furniture to have a primitive personality because it has to be a bit more functional,’ explains Robert. Made mainly in rural parts of the UK between the 17th and early 20th centuries, these chairs and tables are simple, humble pieces, designed with functionality in mind. ‘They were made using primitive methods by people who were not formally trained, but understood the wood and the tools they had,’ explains Tim. ‘I am amazed at the pieces where someone has taken an ash branch with a slight twist and made it into a chair.’
Many of the pieces come from the West Country, Wales, Scotland and Ireland – faraway places where people, John explains, ‘lived a much older way of life.’ An 18th-century piece, for instance, may represent craftsmanship that is indicative of a much earlier period. Robert suggests that the best examples are from before 1830: ‘After that everything became a bit more generic and the joy of this style is that each piece is individual.’ Texture and color distinguish the piece: ‘It can be wonderfully burnished, or completely raw and washed like driftwood, but neither is better than the other,’ explains Robert. Tim agrees that a large part of the appeal comes from the fact that each piece is unique. ‘The most desirable chairs or tables have a patina from old varnish, paint or the fact that the piece has been sitting next to an open fire for years and takes on this wonderful rustic farmhouse feel.’
These are not pristine pieces and the important thing is that they have not been tampered with. ‘If they’re cleaned up they lose all credibility,’ explains Robert. Historic repairs, perhaps done by the original craftsman, are more acceptable, adding to the layers of the piece. ‘I just bought a four-legged chair where one of the legs was probably replaced by the person who made it, and I think it’s amazing,’ Tim tells me. ‘Winks, splits and shakes are all part of the one piece,’ he adds. The chairs and tables that really speak to me are the untouched surfaces and a certain eccentricity.’
In recent years, wonkier pieces have become the most popular. John attributes this in part to designers such as Axel Verwoerd, who featured in him Internal How a wonderfully rustic piece of furniture can create a clean-lined, white room. ‘There was a time when more sophisticated Georgian The oak cricket table sold best, selling for something like £900, but now it’s all about the more primitive, cheese top style, with a solid thick top and often no stretcher between the legs,’ explains John. ‘These often sell for £2,500 and are harder to come by.’ All dealers note the slight irony that pieces made from the humblest materials now attract the highest prices: ‘They’ve gained more value from the environment in which they were made,’ says John. The fact that the most trivial and least functional pieces have the highest value says a lot: they are pieces of art.
Of all the regions, Welsh local country furniture is the most popular. ‘They tend to be more unique pieces because they are not produced in the same quantities as they are in England,’ explains Robert. Tim, while admitting his own bias as a Welshman who works primarily with Welsh local country pieces, agrees about their appeal. ‘Farms and The cottage There are still pieces like this here, which I think give context,’ he explains. ‘I think there was a long tradition here of people making simple chairs and tables for their homes,’ he explains. His book The Welsh Stick Chair – A Visual Record, Created with his wife Bateson, this is a testament to the popularity of the pieces – they published it in lockdown expecting little interest but by the end of 2020 it was already on its third reprint.
