ANTIQUE FURNITURE RESTORATION SERVICE

The Arts & Crafts Home is fortunate to be closely associated with the workshops of AD Restoration, a team of highly skilled and experienced antique furniture restorers, based in Brighton.

We are leading specialists in 19th and 20th Century furniture restoration and renovation, working with Arts & Crafts furniture, Gothic Revival and Aesthetic Movement designs.

We can offer FREE advice and FREE valuations for the repair, renovation and restoration of all your Arts & Crafts furniture.

We have recently been commissioned to repair and renovate a unique group of furniture, designed by Sir Robert Lorimer, and made by Whytock and Reid.

Sir Robert Lorimer and his Furniture

Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer (1864 - 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.

Lorimer was born in Edinburgh, the son of James Lorimer, who was Regius Professor of Public Law at Edinburgh University from 1862 to 1890. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy and later at Edinburgh University. He was part of a gifted family, being the younger brother of painter John Henry Lorimer, and father to the sculptor Hew Lorimer. In 1878 the Lorimer family acquired the lease of Kellie Castle in Fife and began its restoration for use as a holiday home.
Lorimer began his architectural career working for Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, and went on to form his own practice in 1893. He was influenced by Scottish domestic architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries and the Scots Baronial style of Kellie Castle where he had spent much time as a young man. Early in his career, Lorimer became influenced by the ideas of William Morris, and went on to become a committed exponent of the Arts and Crafts style of architecture. He assembled a collaboration of artists and craftsmen and, collectively, they exhibited furniture at Arts and Crafts exhibitions in London. In 1896 he was elected to the Art Workers Guild.

Lorimer designed a series of cottages in the Arts and Crafts style in the Colinton area of Edinburgh, the so-called “Colinton Cottages”. Constructed using traditional methods and materials, each cottage included a garden layout and interior design, including furniture, in keeping with the Arts and Crafts concept. By 1900, eight cottages had been built and four others were under construction. The decline in popularity of the Arts and Crafts movement from 1900 saw the direction of Lorimer’s work change, and he undertook several large scale country house commissions, mainly designed in the Scots Baronial style. Ardkinglas, 1906, on Loch Fyne is a particularly notable example of a Scots Baronial country house.

The outbreak of World War I restricted the demand for large new houses and his attention shifted to restoration projects. He already had a reputation as one of Scotland’s leading restoration architects following the restoration of Earlshall in 1899 and Hill of Tarvit in 1905, both in Fife. He went on to carry out significant alteration and restoration works at Lennoxlove House in East Lothian and Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland.

Although much of his work, and reputation, was in the sphere of domestic architecture, Lorimer also carried out significant public works. Principal amongst these include his design for the new chapel for the Knights of the Thistle in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh in 1911. He received a knighthood for his efforts and went on to gain the commission for the Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle in 1919, subsequently opened by the Prince of Wales in 1927.
After working with Sir Rowand Anderson in Edinburgh and G.F. Bodley in London, Lorimer set up practice for himself in 1893 at 49 Queen Street, Edinburgh. The principal source of Lorimer’s inspiration was Scottish domestic architecture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The first work that brought Lorimer to public notice was the new chapel for the Knights of the Thistle, St Giles Cathedral, 1911, for which he received a knighthood. There is no doubt that the success of the Thistle Chapel prompted his selection to design the Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle in 1919. After some alterations to the original plan this building was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1927.

During his early career, Lorimer, influenced by the ideas of William Morris, became an exponent of the Arts and Crafts style of architecture. He gathered around him in Edinburgh a talented group of artists and craftsmen and together contributed furniture to the Arts and Crafts exhibitions in London. In 1896 he was elected to the Art Workers Guild.
Lorimer designed a series of cottages in the Arts and Crafts style in the Colinton area of Edinburgh and also the Roman Catholic Church of St Peter, Morningside. These ‘Colinton Cottages’ were built using traditional construction methods and materials. They came with a package of garden layout and interior design, including furniture, all contributing to the overall arts and crafts concept. Examples of these cottages include ‘Westfield’, 40 Pentland Avenue and ‘Binley Cottage’, 42 Pentland Avenue. In 1900, eight cottages had been built and four more were under construction.

However by 1901 the impetus for the Arts and Crafts cottage movement was waning and Lorimer started to work on a series of large scale country house commissions in a Scots Baronial style: Brackenburgh, 1901-3; Rowallen, 1902, Ardkinglas, 1906 and Formakin, 1908. With the outbreak of World War 1, the demand for large new houses declined and Lorimer’s practice concentrated on restoration projects. Lorimer had already established a reputation as one of Scotland’s leading restoration architects following the restoration of Earlshall in 1899 and Hill of Tarvit in 1905, both in Fife.
Lorimer managed to impart an essence of Scottish spirit in all he designed and was an ardent nationalist. His influence spread well beyond the confines of Scotland.

His most eminent pupil Percy E. Nobbs called him ‘the last of the great Romantics’ so while one may admire the Thistle Chapel and the Scottish War Memorial it is perhaps his domestic architecture and designs which have the most influence.
Lorimer became President of the professional body in Scotland, the Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, and it was during his tenure in office that the body received its second Royal Charter, permitting use of the term ‘Royal’ in the title. He died in Edinburgh in 1929.

Source: www.news-antique.com