16th century style carved oak livery cupboard

Chalvington Oak Range

A handmade and hand carved oak livery cupboard, styled from the 1500's. The origin of the word livery is derived, not so much from the actual piece, but more likely from its purpose. That is the storage and distribution of household food and drink, i.e. bread and wine. In this case, it would have been from the enclosed cupboard section of the piece, with the drawers below providing a home for small utensils, or such like. The open potboard section could, it has been suggested, have been a useful storage area for food related utensils such as ewer and basin. See Victor Chinnery, 'Oak Furniture - The British Tradition'.

A truly bespoke piece, this was specially designed and made to fit against a short wall section, in our clients hallway. In the main, originals were of greater depth, usually with just one door and drawer. However, so as not to impede through traffic, between our clients entrance hall and kitchen, we reduced the depth from the norm. The dimensional consequence of this modification, was a lengthening of the front face, making it necessary to now have two doors and, pro rata, two drawers. Although rare, a similarly configured original can be seen in Victor Chinnery's book, 'Oak Furniture - The British Tradition'.

With these size constraints taken into account, the actual design was created by our Managing Director, Nicholas Berry, using the same constructional format of late Medieval livery cupboards and incorporating detail elements from furniture of the period. This actually makes our clients piece unique. Not a direct copy, per se, but currently the only one in the world! Nick's experience, plus our library of reference books collected over thirty odd years, provides the opportunity for us to do this with our bespoke early style furniture, and still remain true to the period. Our client has told us they've lost count of the number of visitors, who can't believe it's not 500 years old!

In the photos, you can see some of the above mentioned period details. For example, hand carved parchemin panels (both plain and decorated), heavily moulded framework edges with masons mitres, segmented pendants, open ogee arched panels and similar blind treatment to the drawers. Note that there are no drawer knobs. The front is deeper than the actual drawer box, so can be pulled out from underneath.

The top, waist and plinth mouldings (including the plinth shaping), are typical of those on standing cupboards of the 16th century. 

The doors locks are operated by discreet old fashioned style keys. Our skilled blacksmith hand forged the hinges. Note also, the random width planked back and pegged construction of the carcase framework.

Bear in mind that this is a bespoke piece, made specifically to fit our clients available space. It was finished in our standard 'Warm Chestnut' colour and 'Medium Aged' (see these options below). As with all our bespoke pieces, the stated size and design is not fixed in stone (although it may, nevertheless, still work for you), but is there as a useful starting point, as well as a guide to pricing. Please feel free to consult with us with your own individual requirements.

To see this amazing cupboard in our clients home, click:
C16th style carved oak livery cupboard in clients hallway
C16th style oak canted livery cupboard in country house

For detail shots, see:
Hand carved parchemin panel doors on oak livery cupboard
C16th style livery cupboard pendant detail
Medieval type ogee arched furniture panels
Hand forged strap hinges for C16th style livery cupboard
16th century style oak livery cupboard frame detail
C16th style oak livery cupboard cornice detail
16th century style oak livery cupboard drawer detail