The Story of English Furniture - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
Medieval and Elizabethan
The emergence of a distinctive English style in keeping with the bold buccaneering spirit of the age.
Jacobean and Restoration
New kinds of furniture appear and English craftsmanship develops apace, influenced by ideas brought back from the East.
William and Mary
Religious turmoil results in an influx of Continental craftsmen who bring their ideas and skills with them - including the art of marquetry.
Queen Anne and Early Georgian
Cabinet makers exploit the fashion for curved shapes - typified by the new cabriole leg -and the splendid decorative effects that could be achieved in walnut.
Thomas Chippendale
The most famous name in English furniture - the 'high priest of mahogany' who saw the potential of the middle-class market and who started a revolution in design.
Robert Adam
There was no designer anywhere in Europe who employed the Neoclassical style with more vitality or distinction.
Elegance and Utility
Gillows, Hepplewhite and Sheraton exploit the trend. New and exotic woods, brought back from voyages of discovery, are used to great effect.
Regency
The pinnacle of Regency splendour - the Royal Pavilion, Brighton.
Victorian
The Great Exhibition, William Morris, Art Nouveau and a stylistic free-for-all; furniture produced on a scale never seen before.
Twentieth Century
The last programme in the series examines the contribution of the present century and ranges from Edwardian furniture through Utility and on to tubular steel. The final part of the programme is a discussion on the present and future prospects for English furniture, featuring Barry Ereolani, John Makepeace, Arthur Negus and Hugh Scully.
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