A set of 8 Alan ‘Acornman’ Grainger (Ex-Mouseman) Arts & Crafts Cotswold School English Oak Chairs made in about 1970. A very elegant design made to a very high standard, from this leading Arts and Crafts maker. Featuring:

• 6 dining chairs and 2 carvers.

• Square section legs with hand chamfered edges.

• Arched top rails over fine square section spindles.

• Solid seat pads.

• Solid English oak throughout.

• Traditional through tenons secured with hand made pegs.

Approximate dimensions are:

• Overall Height 980mm (39 inches)

• Overall Width 450mm (18 inches)

• Overall Width (Carvers) 560mm (22 inches)

• Seat Height 455mm (18 inches) [A standard height for a chair]

c 1970

Alan Grainger's inset finely carved signature acorn motif on the leg of each chair

Very good condition with good colour and grain, tight joints and original finish. 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 then took over and developed the business. Renowned for high quality pieces, all hand made, usually from English oak and 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 Cotswold School was a development of the Arts and Craft Movement started largely by Ernest Gimson and the brothers Sidney and Ernest Barnsley. The furniture is instantly recognisable with its simple lines, attention to the finest of details, and use of beautiful materials. Cotswold School designs were crafted from local materials using traditional tools and techniques and with decorative details derived largely from utilitarian elements: exposed joinery, unusual panels, interesting pulls and latches crafted either from wood or from metal using traditional smithing techniques, and close attention to form as well as to wood grain and pattern. Where decorative details were added they generally took the form of traditional embellishment such as exposed joints, chamfered edges and chip carved edge details. The style was embraced and developed by other designers and craftsmen including Gordon Russell, Stanley Webb Davies in Cumbria, Sid Barnsley's son Edward, Arthur Romney Green in Hampshire, Robin Nance in St Ives and Ambrose Heal are a handful of such men out of many. The best developed their own style within the established tradition.