A Fine 17th Century Oak Court Cupboard.

Recently aquired from an East Sussex estate where it has been in daily use  since 1981,this fine cupboard previously sat in the banqueting hall of Gwydir Castle in the Conwy Valley Wales from the 1940's up until the sale of  contents in 1981.

See image 3 which was taken by Mr G.B.Mason in 1951 showing the cupboard in situ,this image was used as a postcard and a crumpled up colour copy was found in the cupboard stuck under the top boards..

Gwydir Castle is regarded as one of the finest Tudor houses in Wales, the castle was formerly the ancestral home of the powerful Wynn family.

The original contents and panelling were sold at Auction in 1921 and from 1922 the castle was abandoned, remaining unoccupied until 1944 when it was then purchased by Mr Arthur Clegg who spent 20 yrs restoring parts and who brought this cupboard and other oak furniture to Gwydir ,so cutting a long story short this is the who ,what ,why,when and how section of  this cupboards past history and provenance.

The Castle is now owned by Peter Welford and his wife, Judy Corbett see link attached .

http://www.gwydircastle.co.uk/

Now the cupboard.

It is constructed in one piece as opposed to two sections the top cornice is a seperate section that lifts off to reveal the original wide boards nailed to the edge, over a plain central panel that is flanked by a pair of plain panel doors the bottom part with  a pair of  large central doors consisting of four plain panels flanked by a twin panel section,with panel sides 

A mellow dry country colour and surface with a deep patina in all the right places.

Condition is very good the hinges and middle shelf  (which is a single plank) are later the rest is all original ,there are signs of old worm to the facing left hand side base rail this is all stable and this solid chest has been in daily use in the kitchen for the past 36yrs.

Dimensions are

67.5" (172cm) Wide

58"    (148cm) High

22"    (56cm)  Deep.

Please get in touch for further images and information that may be required of this fine country cupboard.