A rare mid-16th century joined oak food cupboard, English, circa 1550
The top formed from two overlapping boards and with a projecting chamfered front edge, the cupboard with mason's mitre jointed rails secured with double-pegs, having two central doors cut from the solid and pierced with ventilation holes in an off-set grid pattern, flanked by similar fixed panels, the sides with plain panels, above an arched apron held within grooves on the extended stile supports, 126cm wide x 59cm deep x 117cm high, (49 1/2in wide x 23in deep x 46in high)
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Provenance:Reputedly Ludlow Castle, ShropshireMrs A. Richards, Presteigne, WalesFrom 14 April 1966 with Roger Warner, Burford, OxfordshireSold Christie's, South Kensington, 20 - 21 January 2009, Lot 417Exhibited:The Merchant's House, Marlborough, Wiltshire, 2009-2018Ludlow Castle was an important Yorkist stronghold, coming to the Crown in 1461 when Edward IV seized the throne. It was the seat of the Council in the Marches of Wales and was re-furbished several times in the 16th century. Edward IV sent his sons - the tragic 'Princes in the Tower' - to live there when they were young, instituting a tradition whereby the heir (or heirs) to the throne had a household there. Thus, Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII, took up residence there with Catherine of Aragon in 1501. Ludlow Castle was the residence of Sir Henry Sidney from 1560, and he remodelled and rebuilt the family apartments, fitting them out with - amongst other things - a fountain, a real tennis court and a viewing platform. A Royalist stronghold during the Civil War, the Parliamentarians took it after a siege and sold off the luxurious contents (many of them to a Mr. Bass) in 1650. The inventory or catalogue of the sale, however, does not list items in enough detail to identify this cupboard. Presteigne is only 15 miles from Ludlow as the crow flies, so it is not implausible that a cupboard from the castle finished up there. In the late 17th century and early 18th century, several people called 'Richards' (also Rickards) lived in the town. Herbert Richards, a gentleman, is named in the rent roll of 1705, as is a Peter Richards 'Esq.' The will of Mary Richards of Presteigne was proved in 1823 and the coroner held an inquest into the death of Eliza Richards, also of Presteigne, just two years later, when she died after her clothes accidentally caught fire (Herefordshire Archives & Records Centre, Coroner's Papers, A95/V/W/e/29). Mrs A. Richards, from whom Roger Warner purchased this cupboard in 1966, has not been traced. He purchased other items from the town, however, such as two spectacle cases from the shop of Newell, ironmonger, at Presteigne (1772 - 1974), now in the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford (1977-18 & 1977-19), and attended an auction at Hampton Court, a manor there, in 1972.A celebrated Tudor joined oak cupboard with carved open-work panels, known as 'Prince Arthur's Cupboard', displayed at Hampton Court, Surrey, from the collection of The Victoria and Albert Museum, London [Museum No. W.15-1912], also has a Shropshire provenance. The cupboard was found at a farmhouse near Burwarton, Shropshire. See also a food cupboard in the Burrell Collection, Glasgow [Museum No. 14.410], again with a paired door and fixed panel arrangement, over arched aprons, and dated to circa 1520-40.