Desk by Audas & Leggott, HUll, c.1880
One of Hullâs most important furniture makers made this solid mahogany desk in the late 1800s. The deskâs writing surface is padded with green leather, with a decorative gold pattern around the edge. Hullâs excellent trade links via its port meant that long before 1800 it was the regional centre for furniture making. Previously Beverley and York had been the local centres of furniture production. Many high quality pieces like this desk were made in Hull in the 1800s. Audas & Leggott was one of Hullâs most important furniture makers in the late 1800s. The firm operated from around 1860 to 1889. Audas & Leggott was established by Thomas Audas and George Leggott. The firm is first listed in trade directories (the old-fashioned equivalent of the Yellow Pages) in 1861. The 1861 trade directory tells us that Audas & Leggottâs furniture was made in Naylors Row, Drypool. The firmâs show room was at 9 Paragon Street. Later, Audas & Leggott occupied further premises in Savile Street. From 1867-1889 the firmâs main address was 17 Paragon Street. From 1882 Audas & Leggott was described in trade directories as cabinet makers, designers, carvers and decorators. This shows that the firm had expanded to offer a range of services to customers. According to James Joseph Sheahanâs âHistory of Hullâ (1864), Audas & Leggott opened its Paragon Street show room in 1860. The building that became the show room had been built as a Christian temperance church. It then became a dancing saloon, with a very bad reputation. Sheahan was pleased that Audas & Leggott had taken over the building. The firm must have been well respected in Hull. Audas & Leggottâs status in Hull is also suggested by its commission to make a set of chairs for St Lukeâs Church. The pine communion chairs were made before the consecration of the building in 1862. Unfortunately they no longer survive as the church was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. Purchased by Hull Museums with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund.