Antique Victorian Pollard Oak Wellington Chest by Edwards & Roberts 19th C

Edwards & Roberts 
The firm Edwards & Roberts was  one of the best English antique furniture cabinet makers of the second half of the eighteenth century. The company was founded in 1845 and by 1854 was trading as ‘Edwards & Roberts’, 21 Wardour Street, Antique and Modern Cabinet Makers and Importers of Ancient Furniture’. By 1892 they occupied more than a dozen buildings in Wardour Street, where they continued to trade until the end of the century.

They became one of the leading London cabinet makers and retailers producing high quality furniture and working in a variety of styles, both modern and revivalist. Their business also involved retailing, adapting and restoring the finest antique furniture and there are many examples of their earlier furniture with later embellishments bearing their stamp. The quality of timber used was always the best quality with fine burr walnuts and lighter toned satinwood as they specialised in marquetry, inlay and ormolu.


Pollard Oak
Pollarding is a pruning system in which the upper branches of a tree are removed, promoting a dense head of foliage and branches. It has been common in Europe since medieval times and is practised today in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a predetermined height. The bole of the tree, constantly cut back over a period of years, will eventually form a lump, or ‘burr’, which when sawn for veneer, gives a lovely grained, swirling figure.
The effect is similar to that of burr walnut with its distinctive speckled grain. Burrs, or ‘burls’, are growths which appear on the side of tree trunks, resulting from a tree undergoing some form of stress. They may be caused by an injury, virus or fungus.
During the 19th century great strides were made in the mechanisation of cabinet making. Marc Isambard Brunel [ Isambard Kingdom’s father] built the first steam driven saw mill, and invented a circular saw that could be used to cut veneers thinly and evenly for the first time. He also developed the first hydraulic veneer press. The figured wood cut from burrs and pollards is notoriously difficult to cut and lay: the wild grain which makes it so attractive results in a very delicate, brittle veneer. The new machines enabled the Victorian craftsmen to make the most of these beautiful timbers.