A set of 8 Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School English Oak Chair by Alan 'Acornman' Grainger (Ex-Mouseman) post 1970. A very elegant and well proportioned design made by this top Yorkshire maker, based on an Edward Barnsley design. A very elegant and well proportioned design which was one of the designs by Edward Barnsley featured in the Rural Industries Bureau manual of “Hand-made Furniture Designs”. Featuring:

• Solid English Oak throughout (except the seat pads).

• Delicate spindle backs.

• Drop in seat pads.

• Traditional blind tenons secured with pegs.

• Tapering legs with stretcher free design.

• 2 carvers and 6 dining chairs.

• Rural Industries Bureau manual Not included.

Approximate dimensions are:

• Overall Height 890mm (2 feet 11 inches).

• Seat Height 460mm (1 foot 6 inches) [A standard height for a dining table].

• Overall Width 460mm (1 foot 6 inches).

• Overall Depth 460mm (1 foot 6 inches).

• Overall Width Carvers 560mm (1 foot 10 inches).

• Overall Depth Carvers 520mm (1 foot 8 1/4 inches).

post 1970.

Alan Grainger's inset finely carved signature acorn motif.

Very good condition with clean finish, good colour, firm seat pads and solid joints. A few minor marks and some knocks to a few edges. If you wish to have further specific photographs or talk to us for a more detailed condition report then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Acorn Industries was started by George Grainger, a former Robert "Mouseman' Thompson craftsman, in the mid-30s. He trained his son Alan (and Derek 'Lizardman' Slater) who later took over and developed the business. Renowned for high quality pieces, all hand made, usually from English oak and all bearing the acorn mark.

The most British of woods, that can produce really special results. English oak has been used for hundreds of years to construct everything from sea-going vessels to fine furniture. Although oak grows widely across Europe and North America, craftsmen continue to cherish English oak which grows more slowly than its foreign counterparts giving it strength, durability. Quarter sawn boards are very straight grained and have distinctive growth rings and medullary rays that give a very beautiful effect as well as being renowned for their superior stability and strength.

The Yorkshire School of the Arts & Crafts movement started with Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson's  transformation from jobbing carpenter to master craftsmen. By the mid-1920s he had adopted his trademark mouse (now world renowned as a symbol of quality furniture) and had his own workshop busily employing several men. As the workshop grew and over the years many of the craftsmen have taken their skills and branched out and adopted a trademark of their own, a fox, a lizard, a fish, a rabbit to name but a few, and whilst some have closely stuck to the Mouseman designs others have taken the style and adapted it. Other craftsmen, unconnected to the Mouseman workshop, have also chosen the classic Yorkshire Oak style as their own. Typical Yorkshire school items are in English Oak, with traditional pegged joints and adzed surfaces.