Regency furniture

The term “Regency”, when applied strictly, refers to the nine years between 1811 and 1820 when King George III’s eldest son ruled as the Prince Regent during his father’s mental incapacity. When the king died in 1820 the Prince Regent became king in his own right as George IV.

However, the Regency period is often taken to mean a wider span that includes the whole time during which Prince George was a major influence on taste and style, thus going back to at least 1800 and also including the years of George IV’s reign (1820-30). It should be remembered that the archetypal palace of the Regency, namely the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, was begun as far back as 1787 and not completed until 1823. Indeed, the period might even be considered as lasting until 1837 when the accession of Queen Victoria brought with it a very different era in British style and attitudes.

In terms of architecture and furniture design, the Regency period was one of considerable elegance and refinement, but with elements of the bizarre that could sometimes stretch good taste to the limit. Alongside the splendid terraces designed by John Nash one must set the Brighton Pavilion which brought India and China to the Sussex coast. Or, to quote Sydney Smith: "It looked for all the world as if the Dome of St Paul's had come down to Brighton and pupped."

One strong element in furniture design was the introduction of ancient Egyptian features that followed the discoveries made in that country during the late 18^th century. This trend had come via France, especially during the short period after 1802 when England and France were at peace. For a time everything was adorned with sphinxes, sun-discs, draped heads, papyri, crocodiles and lotus buds, with copious use of hieroglyphs although nobody had a clue what they meant.

The designs of George Smith, published in 1808, were highly influential on furniture makers, and included elements from Greek, Roman, Chinese and Gothic sources as well as Egyptian. Some extraordinary pieces were produced that included crocodiles and dolphins as structural elements of couches, tables and chairs.

The Regency period was one in which many people were able to better themselves by succeeding in the trades and businesses that the Industrial Revolution had engendered. The new middle class sought to use its modest wealth by copying the aristocracy and therefore provided a ready market for furniture designers who could combine utility with elegance, but the smaller homes of the merchant class were not suitable locations for the extravagances that the Prince Regent and his circle would have commissioned. Some of the best Regency taste is therefore seen in items such as pianos of various shapes and sizes in which veneers and brass inlays add considerable beauty given that this popular item of the middle class drawing room was also a substantial piece of furniture.

Brass was indeed a popular feature of Regency furniture, especially in the latter part of the period. Brass decoration was used in thin string-lines and beading and also in broader panels and floral forms, developing eventually into full panels of brass marquetry. By 1820 brass had virtually replaced boxwood and ebony for inlays on furniture of all types.

After 1815, with the final defeat of Napoleon, French taste was again welcome in England, and furniture makers began to make pieces in imitation of Louis XIV and XV styles. This trend was led by a decided shift in attitude on the part of the Prince Regent himself, and ironically this was to lead to the demise of a distinctive Regency style.

One aspect of this process was the use of native timbers in preference to exotic veneers, with solid oak now often being used. This led to furniture with a much heavier appearance which was therefore less frivolous than what had gone before. The foundations of Victorian style were thus being laid even before the Prince Regent had succeeded as king.

Examples of Regency furniture can be seen, not surprisingly, at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, as well as at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. There are also some excellent specimens at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham.

© John Welford