s Bedroom Chair by Richardson & Sons, Hull, 1871 - Hull Museums Collections

Bedroom Chair by Richardson & Sons, Hull, 1871

Lady Rosina Constable owned this chair. She was a rich woman with an eye for luxury. This dainty chair is much smaller than average, making it ideal for a bedroom. It was probably bought for its ornamental value rather than to sit on. The chair is made from walnut, which was a popular choice for high quality furniture. The carved chair back has been decorated with narrow bands of contrasting wood to make it more eye-catching. Richardson & Sons was Hull’s largest and most prestigious furniture maker in the 1800s. The founder Thomas Richardson claimed to have started the business in 1812. This chair was made by Richardson & Sons for Lady Rosina Constable in 1871. The Constable family of Burton Constable Hall, north of Hull, were one of Richardsons’ major clients. The Constables began buying furniture from Richardson & Sons in 1855. Lady Rosina, wife of Sir Thomas Aston Clifford Constable, commissioned most of her furniture from Richardsons. As Sir Clifford Constable’s mistress before their marriage, she had already filled their villa on the Thames with huge quantities of Richardson furniture. William Richardson, one of Thomas Richardson’s sons, was in charge of modernising the furnishings at Burton Constable for Lady Rosina. He sketched the house’s existing furniture so that new furniture could be made to harmonise with it. William also brought over several fashionable pieces from Paris to be copied for Lady Rosina. Patronage from Burton Constable and other country houses was important for many Hull furniture makers. Familes like the Constables encouraged higher standards of manufacture. They also introduced new and fashionable ideas. Around sixty local makers supplied furnishings to Burton Constable between 1740 and 1870. Purchased by Hull Museums with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund.