Chairs by Robert Wright, Bond Street, Hull, c.1810-1830
Most furniture made in Hull in the 1800s will never be identified. This is because pieces were not marked with their makerâs name. This chair is unusual because it has the makerâs name and address punched on its frame. The chair was made by Robert Wright, whose workshop was in Bond Street, Hull. The rich, dark wood used to make this chair is mahogany. Mahogany was brought to Hull by boat from South and Central America. Robert Wright was one of many Hull furniture makers in the 1800s. Most of what we know about these makers comes from local trade directories. Trade directories were the old-fashioned equivalent of the Yellow Pages. Robert Wright is first mentioned in the 1791 Hull directory when he was a joiner in Blanket Row. From around 1810 he was a cabinet maker at 20 Bond Street. From 1823-1831 he is listed in local directories at 38-39 Bond Street. After 1831 Wright disappears from local trade directories which probably means that he had died. Although this chair was made locally the mahogany used to make it came from thousands of miles away. Mahogany for making quality furniture had begun to be imported into London from Jamaica, Cuba and Honduras in the 1720s. It was difficult to buy mahogany in Hull with most consignments coming from London via the coastal trade. This changed in the 1770s with increasing demand for mahogany from local furniture makers. The demand encouraged Hull timber merchants to specialise in importing exotic hardwoods from South and Central America. These merchants traded mahogany throughout Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire. They used the network of waterways flowing into the Humber to transport the wood. Purchased by Hull Museums with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
