Stools and benches
Memento Mori bench
Bench top with carved inscription, the legs will have flags. The inscription reads “Memento Mori Ricardo Crisp”. Richard made the bench a few years before he died, I’m carving the inscription as a memorial to him.
Tables
Roman table top and trestles
Table top based on an extant tabletop found in room V, period III at Vindolanda. Pine and clenched nails.
Trestles in pine from a 2nd century tomb carving showing a shop from Cornell & Matthews (1991).
References:
Birley, R. (1994). Vindolanda Research Reports, New Series – Volume 1, The Early Wooden Forts. United Kingdom, Northumberland: Roman Army Museum Publications.
Cornell, T.; Matthews, J. (1991) Cultural Atlas of the Roman World. United States, Virginia, Alexandria: Stonehenge Press.
Trestles – generic pull-apart
A generic tripod trestle that easily disassembles for transport. Covers most of the ancient to medieval period. Stands 860mm high and 540 wide when assembled, footprint 420mm x 500mm.
Cabinets
Elizabethan Revival Dresser
This one was a restoration rather than new build. C.1920s cabinet, made in England, exported to Australia after spending 1940-1970 in South Africa. When I bought it, it had been outside for a few years and was exhibiting water damage. Cleaned inside and out. Replaced failed ⅛” oak ply on top and ¼” shelf with 7mm red oak ply, and delaminating ⅛” oak ply on the side with 3mm red oak ply. Remade all joints using hide glue, replaced missing parts with oak, pine or walnut as appropriate.
Black lead paint on metalwork removed and replaced with water-based metal paint following the original foundry’s advice. Made new cornice to suit thicker top in mountain ash. Planed drawer sides to ease binding.
Renovated lock and replaced levers with new brass. Replaced missing drawer hardware pieces – the drawer pulls aren’t original but are part of the history of the piece because they date from the last restoration in the 1970s.
Colour matched all new wood with van Dyke crystals, then another coat overall to freshen up the old colour. Filled nail holes with home made linseed oil putty coloured with burnt umber. Replaced drawer lining with wool/viscose baize and wheat starch paste. Sealed with shellac and polished with beeswax/turpentine/linseed polish.
Lighting
14th century copper alloy lantern
Lantern inspired by the Smithfield lantern, Museum of London A1365. Copper alloy sheet and rivets. These work better with stubs rather than tall candles.
References:
Egan, G. (1998) Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 6 -The Medieval Household c.1150 – c.1450. United Kingdom, London: HMSO | Museum of London.
Ward-Perkins , J. (2nd Ed 1993) The London Medieval Catalogue 1940 . United Kingdom, Suffolk: Anglia Publishing.
Rawhide paned lamp
My first attempt at a Mary Rose style lantern from a really poor photograph. Rawhide because I couldn’t get horn at the time. I’ll have another go sometime now I have better data.
Gokstad ship candle stands – 9th century
The plain one is as found, the painted one on the left is wild conjecture of how I’d finish it. Made from oak scraps, ochre pigments in linseed oil.
This candle stand is a project in our Historical Replica Constructions – Viking: Volume 1.
References:
Nicolaysen, (1882). Langskibet Fra Gokstad Ved Sandefjord, Cammermeyer, Christiana. p45, p67 and plate 8.
Other furniture
Folding book stand
There are only a couple known of this shape but it’s a really good project for using up scraps from other projects that are too small to otherwise use but too good to throw out. The stiles feature a Guilford/New Haven S-scroll, all the flowers apart from the central white marigold are from the bible, tying it to the planned use as a bible stand. It’s the sort of mad symbolism so loved in the Stuart and Commonwealth period.
A couple of the flowers come from historic examples, the others are my own plausible designs based on the 17th century tools and techniques.
This is made from silky oak offcuts left over from the Romance of Alexander workbench.
References:
Follansbee, P. (2019). Joiner’s Work. United States, Kentucky: Lost Art Press LLC.
Robinson, W. (2020, July 27). Carved bookstand. The Reverend’s Musings. leatherworkingreverendsmusings.wordpress.com/2020/07/27/carved-bookstand/
Buildings
Tudor house of office
This was a group project. We needed a toilet for the camping area at the 2007 conference. This was built from the remains of the frame of our back deck.
Design considerations were that the loo had to be taken to the site in flatpack form and erected (fnarr!) once the hole had been dug. It had to be movable, to slide to a new hole when this one was full; with enough room for a lady in a 17th century skirt to be able to go in and turn around, and; as Routiers aren’t the lightest creatures on God’s earth, the seat had to be strong enough for Damien and me to jump up and down on it at the same time.
Inspiration was from woodcuts of windlass houses over mineshafts in Agricola’s De Re Metallica of 1556, Lady Arabella House in Salem, MA (1620s), Fairbanks House in Dedham, MA (1636), and Plymoth Plantation. The door and door furniture is based more or less entirely on the smaller door to the Riding Range at Bolsover Castle.
Sadly, this building was destroyed, along with the rest of the site during the 2019 bushfires. We constructed another one to the same plan on a farm at Black Springs, which is to be relocated to Hartley some time in 2026.
References:
Robinson, W. (2007, August 14). An Inspired longdroppe. Australia, New South Wales: The Pike and Musket Society. download.
Egan, G. (2005). Material Culture in and Age of Transition – Tudor and Stuart finds c 1450-1700 from excavations at riverside sites in Southwark. MoLAS Monograph 19. United Kingdom, London: Museum of London.
Wood, M. (1985). The English Medieval House. United Kingdom, London: Bracken Books, London.
Worsley, L. (2000). Bolsover Castle. United Kingdom: English Heritage.
