Voysey Furniture Repair

In 1904, the celebrated Arts and Crafts architect and designer, Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, was commissioned to design a Miners’ Welfare Institute and housing for colliery officials at Whitwood Colliery, West Yorkshire. This included the furniture for the interior of the Institute.

The Miners’ Welfare Institute closed in 1948, it was bought by Tetley’s Brewery and opened as The Rising Sun public house. The Voysey-designed furniture remained in use on the veranda. This table and three chairs were rescued in 1953 and in 2017 they were acquired by the Museum.

Having been used outdoors, the furniture was not in good condition. Now, thanks to a generous grant from the Idlewild Trust, it has been carefully conserved by Belgrave Conservation.

The furniture has been cleaned and the tabletop lightly sanded to remove water stains. The furniture joints have been injected with fresh glue to strengthen them. Any splits or gaps have been painstakingly filled with oak veneer. One of the chair seats had degraded beyond repair, a new seat was constructed with rushing completed in the traditional manner using hand twisted rushes. The furniture has been given a protective coating of light brown furniture polish.

The aesthetic value of these beautiful pieces has now been restored, and they will be cared for at the Museum to ensure they are preserved for future generations to see. We are excited to put them on display and tell their story.