A Characterful and Unusually Wide, 10-12 Seater, Vernacular Trestle Table oak and pine, England, 19th century 244 cm (8 ft) long; 87 cm (34 in) wide;
11938
A substantial and highly characterful 19th-century English vernacular trestle table of notably generous proportions, capable of seating 10-12 people with ease. The table is distinguished by its unusually wide top, constructed from three single planks of pine, each exceeding 11 inches in width, a feature that is increasingly rare and indicative of early access to large, high-quality timber.
The surface bears a rich and evocative patina, enlivened by numerous carved initials incised by generations of schoolboys. These informal markings form an authentic and irreplaceable record of the table's long institutional life, lending it a compelling sense of continuity, use, and human presence rather than detracting from its appeal.
The top is supported on a robust oak frame with well-proportioned trestle ends and a pegged central stretcher, the exposed joinery reinforcing the table's honest, utilitarian construction. The form is both practical and visually assured, combining structural clarity with a quiet, understated elegance typical of English vernacular furniture of the period.
Provenance
Private Collection, Scotland.
Acquired from Mostyn House School, Parkgate, Cheshire, a Grade II listed building and former boys' boarding school built in 1855 in the historic coastal port of Parkgate. The school closed in 2010, and the buildings were subsequently redeveloped as Mostyn Place.
The table would have served as a communal furnishing within the school, likely used for dining, teaching, or supervised study, its scale and durability reflecting its institutional purpose.
Dimensions
Length: 244 cm (8 ft), Width: 87 cm (34 in), Height: 75 cm (29½ in), Top thickness: 3 cm
, Width: 87 cm (34 in), Height: 75 cm (29½ in), Top thickness: 3 cm){kind=link}