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Page 4 - The Chapel, Main Street, Middleton
Page 5 - Timber as Sustainable Building Material
ITEMS FOR SALE (mainly traditional furniture)
Projects
A few examples of my work
This page first put up 8 March 2001
Bonsall, Derbyshire
The glazing bars had been removed from the windows in this house - a common fashion from about 1890 onwards, as the price of glass fell. The trimmed ends of the removed glazing bars were still visible in the stiles and rails so I could copy the profile when I restored the window to the left.
Matlock Bath, Derbyshire
The original Bay Window was completely missing except for the masonry below and a few bits of joinery which gave some clues to the design. Compact designs like this leave no room in the sash boxes for weights for all the lights so only the front lights are suspended.
Having done several bays including one for my own house I prefer the drained roof variation where the lead flat is formed into a shallow tray with a drain hole and pipe. This isn't too difficult to do; it saves the window itself and the flower beds from drips.
Matlock, Derbyshire
The design for this 7ft high gate was based on the only available evidence - a 19th century photograph of the street, from the Local Studies Library. All that remained of the original were the pintles (hinge pins) fixed to the stonework, which indicated the thickness of the woodwork (ex 2 1/2 inches).
The two projecting stones at floor level were intended to guide the wheels of horse-drawn vehicles away from the walls, so avoiding scratch marks from the iron tyres. This feature is seen often, especially on bridges (e.g. Cromford Bridge) and narrow passages.
Matlock Bath
The heavily moulded surround is a precise replica of the original, involving careful spindle-moulding work with our own hand-made cutters and jigs. The door itself was missing so this design was derived from an existing internal door
Unitarian Chapel, Belper, Derbyshire
Three windows here were completely replaced, with the design details derived from the best of the existing windows which were all slightly different from one-another, having been replaced at different times. An earlier set were said to have been made of oak. Perhaps the first set were cast-iron, this chapel having been built by the Strutts; cotton manufacturer, mill owners, machinery designers and famous in the early days of the industrial revolution. 
Kitchen Table
This design is a loose copy of a Welsh 19th century original from a photograph in a book.
The top is sycamore - the traditional material for kitchen tables, being close grained and easy to scrub clean. British sycamore is superior to imported maple being harder and often having more figure. It is less consistent in quality and less easy to work and so not favoured by mass producers of furniture.
It was introduced to Britain in the 15th century and not indigenous. It is flourishes well and can dominate woodland so some regard it as a weed to be removed, on the other hand it grows quickly, coppices well, burns well and makes excellent furniture and musical instruments - the preferred material for the backs, sides and necks of the violin family.
The underparts and the two drawers are painted redwood. The construction throughout is completely traditional with pegged mortice and tenons, hand-cut dovetails to the drawers and solid wood drawer bottoms.
Same design in white. The drawers are not deep and have knee-room under for a seated person. The same basic design could be adapted to many other configurations, e.g. higher top and deeper drawers for a kitchen table for standing at, different colours and materials etc. I am making more of these for sale - about £700 inc ex-works for the design as shown here.
Back to TOP of this page
Back to HOME PAGE
Back To PAGE 1
Back to PAGE 2 for notes on DOUBLE GLAZING (waste of money), DESTRUCTIVE PROCESSES to be avoided, LINKS and other stuff
Page 4 - The Chapel, Main Street, Middleton
Page 5 - Timber as Sustainable Building Material