An Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School English Oak Sideboard most likely by Sid Pollard c. 1970. A classic Yorkshire School design, with trademark adzed finish which has a nice slim depth making it ideal for a smaller room while still providing copious storage. Featuring:

• Solid English Oak.

• Subtly adzed on all visible surfaces (the subtle surface rippling synonymous with Yorkshire School furniture).

• 2 outer with single plank fielded panels surrounded by rails and stiles joined by blind tenons secured with hand made pegs opening to reveal 3 fixed shelves.

• 2 inner doors with glazed panels surrounded by rails and stiles joined by blind tenons secured with hand made pegs opening to reveal 3 fixed shelves.

• Shaped octagonal feet.

• Sides and back made with with single plank fielded panels surrounded by rails and stiles joined by blind tenons secured with hand made pegs.

Approximate dimensions are:

• Overall Width 1440mm (4 feet 8 1/2 inches).

• Overall Depth 390mm (1 foot 3 1/4 inches).

c. 1970.

No critter mark present.

Very good condition with tight joints firmly closing doors and original finish. Some surface dirt and scuffs. 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.

Sid Pollard (Ex-Mouseman): One of Robert 'Mouseman)' Thompson's very early apprentices, who continued making the same style and quality of furniture in his own workshop. He was one of the few apprentices not to chose a trademark animal for his own work, (although some early items reportedly had a rabbit motif) his work is almost always unmarked, preferring to let his craftsmanship speak for itself.

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 Yorkshire School of the Arts & Crafts movement started with Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson's  transformation from jobbing carpenter to master craftsmen. By the mid-1920s he had adopted his trademark mouse (now world renowned as a symbol of quality furniture) and had his own workshop busily employing several men. As the workshop grew and over the years many of the craftsmen have taken their skills and branched out and adopted a trademark of their own, a fox, a lizard, a fish, a rabbit to name but a few, and whilst some have closely stuck to the Mouseman designs others have taken the style and adapted it. Other craftsmen, unconnected to the Mouseman workshop, have also chosen the classic Yorkshire Oak style as their own. Typical Yorkshire school items are in English Oak, with traditional pegged joints and adzed surfaces.