Linenfold panelling was popular from the end of the Gothic period throughout the Tudor and Elizabethan periods, it was used for wall panelling (wainscoting) and used for of semi movable furniture, coffers, chests, choir pews, etc. Originating from Northern Europe the style crossed over into England through the Flemish craftsmen who where influential at the time.

The linenfold style, meaning a fold of parchment or draped linen, was simply an imitation, in carved oak, of hanging drapes and tapestries. They were developed to replace these expensive fabrics, entire walls would have been clad in wood panelling, often from floor to ceiling, insulating a room from draft and creating warmth.

The oak panelling or wainscoting was constructed using the frame and panel technique. This was a method where a frame was constructed using pegged mortice and tenon joints and panels would be slotted into a groove and held into place by the frame.

Linenfold panels are a simple type of relief carving, usually they would be rectangular panels and the carving would have a vertical fold that swept out to rolled scrolls on each side. The pattern could be as complicated or as simple as was required and varied from region to region. These panels were relatively simple to make requiring basic carpentry skills, they would of been made by using a carving gouge and different shaped planes, to shape the folds. The shape could be drawn on the end of the panel and then planed down to size to create the undulating effect, the ends were finished of with a chisel and sometimes punched to echo stitching. The real attraction to this style was its decorative and the easy to produce these panels on mass in the workshops.

The real attraction to this style was its decorative look and the ability to produce these panels on mass in the local workshops.

Linenfold panelled rooms were widespread throughout the 15th and 16th centuries but eventually they succumbed to the more sophisticated flat fielded panels where the carving  details were featured in a surmounted frieze or around a door. However they did become popular again in the 19th century with the Tudor and Gothic revival periods and briefly again in the 1920s.

Top image -The Linenfold Parlour of Sutton House Built in 1535 by prominent courtier of Henry VIII, Sir Ralph Sadleir, Sutton House retains much of the atmosphere of a Tudor home. Photograph © Delaina Haslam, 10 July 2011.

This period was given the name of Regency, as George was made Regent during his fathers mental illness. George was very extravagant and able to indulge his love of design and luxury. During the war with France the influence Napoloeon’s Empire filtered through and together with Egyptian and Greek Revival styles (although very diverse) were embraced and then evolved into what we now know as Regency. The Brighton Pavilion, built for George when Regent is a great example of these opulent times.

Georgian architecture is characterised by its sense of proportion, balance, symmetry and adherence to classical rules. This style succeeded the Baroque and was initiated by Andreo Palladeo, it was the equivalent of the European Rococo styles – and from the mid 1760s the range of neoclassical modes associated with the British Architects William Kent, Robert Adam, James Gibbs, Sir William Chambers, James Wyatt, and Sir John Soane .

In the colony of America this style was broadly called Colonial and later Federal after the war of independence 1775 – 1782.

This stability in design resulted in many fine furniture makers becoming world renown, including Thomas Chippendale in George II reign and George Hepplewhite in George III. Mahogany became the main material for Georgian furniture and was imported from south America .

Blenheim Palace was created in the reign of Queen Anne for John Churchill, Ist Duke of Marlborough as a reward for his services to crown and country in fighting the French. Built in the Baroque style the architect was Sir Jan Vanbrugh. The splendour and tranquillity of the acres of landscaped parkland and the formal gardens are unrivalled anywhere in Britain and the Palace interiors beautifully balance the delicate with the awe-inspiring, from the imposing vastness of the Great Hall, to the intricate detailing of the Red Drawing Room.

After Anne the throne passed to the Elector of Hanover, the grandson of Charles I sister.

A lot of the Dutch influences started to show within English life , especially in the area of William & Mary period furniture. When William 111 came to England alot of Craftsmen & Dutch furniture cabinet makers followed him, together with influential designers such as Gerrit Jensen and Daniel Marot. In 1689 William III purchased Nottingham House and commissioned Christopher Wren to extend and improve, this then became Kensington Palace, the favourite London palace of successive monarchs until George 111 .

Although a very short period this was influential in changes to interiors , chairs became taller and had matching stools and settees, often upholstered in rich Genoa velvets.

The Commonwealth

1649 – 1660

In 1642 war broke out between the English Parliament led by Oliver Cromwell and King Charles 1st. Cromwell established a republic which lasted from 1649 – 1660. This was an extremely austere time which resulted in sharper more angular furniture with less decoration and little use of upholstery. The Puritan furniture in Cromwell’s England was a country farmhouse style, produced in a Calvanistic atmosphere where utility took precedence over comfort. The inevitable reaction against it came in the Restoration period.

English Restoration & Carolean Period

1660 – 1685

Opulence and innovative styles were embraced on the return to the throne of King Charles II. Whilst oak was still used for country furniture the restoration period saw very fine, decorative cabinetry and veneered furniture made in walnut with marquetry in olive, white cedar, kingwood, yew and coromondal, amongst others. Their was an influx of Dutch and French immigrants many of whom became the manufacturers of veneered , gilded, marquetry and laquered furniture. They also introduced their French and Dutch Baroque tastes to London .

Furniture craftsmen in the Carolean era specialised in exquisite designs of flowers with birds , cupids and acanthus leaf motifs Wood carving was once again celebrated and Grinling Gibbin was a master carver of the time specialising in carving of fruit, birds and flowers.

After Charles II death his brother James II succeeded to the throne, only to loose it to his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange in 1688.

The Jacobean era is named after James 1st and his son Charles 1st who belonged to the Stuart family.

The Jacobean furniture period inspired much of the early American furniture of the pilgrims. Although similar to Elizabethan furniture in that it was still largely made in oak and of solid sturdy construction, its ornamentation became less prominent and applied in a more ordered fashion. A highlight of this period was the upholstered chair in particular the Farthingale joined back stool and an upholstered lounge chair to seat 2-3 , made between 1610-20 at Knole House in Kent which became the prototype for a style that became known as the Knole Settee. Also carpets were introduced from Persia and Turkey adding another element of comfort to the Jacobean interior.

Charles 1st was more cultured than his father and took much interest in the furnishings of his palaces and mansions and especially in the collection of great art and paintings. Included in this collection were
Portraits by Van Dyke, Vermeer and Rembrandt, many are still held in the Royal collection as a great reminder of the Stuart dynasty.

The Renaissance lead gently into the Elizabethan period, when architecture and interior design became more elaborate, but also incorporated elements of comfort. Classic Greek and Roman architecture was admired by the Elizabethans and sometimes great columns framed the entrances of many Elizabethan houses.

One of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture is the magnificent Hardwick Hall. This palacial building is four storey’s high and much is made of the fine plasterwork and the many glass windows. Hardwick Hall was built by the Countess of Shrewsbury , the second most powerful woman in Elizabethan England.

Whilst the wealthy used stone and brick for their houses timber and wattle was still used for the lower class houses.

Elizabethan furniture underwent a steady change from the Gothic tradition, which was very dominant in Tudor furniture, into an adopted English version of the Renaissance style, particularly the Renaissance style that had developed in Northern Europe.

Similarly toTudor Interiors, walls were still being clad with frame and panel joinery. Furniture and the wall panelling received much more detailing than tudor times,  enthusiastic craftsmen and carvers were wanting to leave their unique mark. The plain linenfold panelling of early Tudor times was supplanted by strap-work ornamentation, lozenge decoration, masks, grotesques, and fruit and flower motifs, particularly grape and vine leaf ornament.

Elizabethan palace interiors and furniture were opulent and lavish. It has been noted in the past that at Theobald’s palace in 1592 there was “painted and gilt ceilings, tables of inlaid work and marble of various colours.” Hampton Court Palace had “masterly paintings, writing tables inlaid with mother of pearl.” All the apartments of the palace were said to be “hung with rich tapestry of pure gold and fine silk”. At Windsor palace, the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth 1 had a “table of red marble with white streaks. The royal beds of Henry VII and his Queen, of Edward VI, of Henry VIII, and of Anne Boleyn – all of them eleven feet square.”

At the end of Elizabeth’s time a highly decorative and architectural style had been developed, which was established among the wealthy and fashionable people. Inspired from the Renaaissance of mainland Europe but applied with perhaps less knowledgeable artistry.

Two substantial innovations during the second half of the 16th century, were dovetail joints, and veneering and inlay – the basis of what came in the 17th century to be called cabinet-making.

The late 15th & 16th Centuries were, in many respects, the most remarkable in the advance of design. This Renaissance which had previously swept the Continent had now reached England. Its effect on architecture and interior treatment of rooms was brought about partly through increased communications with the continent and the marked preference shown by Henry V111 for foreign skilled craftsmen.

Its early influences were confined to the decoration of existing buildings or those being built in the traditional gothic manner, which was still the only one known to the English. The motifs introduced by foreign workers were imitated by native craftsmen.

Most of a joiner’s technical skills were well established before 1500, based on the tight-fitting mortice and tenon joint, the basis of panelled construction. Joiner made products included wainscot and other fixed woodwork and temporary architecture supplemented by a repertoire of mouldings and carved ornament.

One of the finest examples of architecture of this period is Hampton Court Palace, built by Cardinal Wolsey between 1514 and 1528. This was an early example of Symmetry being displayed in both the architecture and gardens. In building his palace, Wolsey was attempting to create a Renaissance cardinal’s palace featuring rectilinear symmetrical planning with grand apartments with classical detailing. It is likely that Wolsey had been inspired by Paolo Cortese’s De Cardinalatu, a manual for cardinals that included advice on palatial architecture, published in 1510.

The architecture is an excellent and rare example of a thirty-year era when English architecture was in a harmonious transition from domestic Tudor, strongly influenced by perpendicular Gothic, to the Italian Renaissance classical style. Perpendicular Gothic owed nothing historically to the Renaissance style, yet harmonised well with it.

This blending of styles was realised by a small group of Italian craftsmen working at the English court in the second and third decades of the sixteenth century. They specialised in the adding of Renaissance ornament to otherwise straightforward Tudor buildings.

A little-known fact about Mary, Queen of Scots was that she enjoyed sport. Mary would swing a golf club or tennis racket from time to time and she was a spectator at sporting competitions. But did she also play football – Scotland’s national sport?

During an excavation project inside Stirling Castle in the mid-1970s, workers came upon a small round object tucked behind the thick oak panelled walls of the bed chamber once used by Mary. What they found was a leather ball, slightly larger than a softball. But it was not just any ball.

This little grey orb has been determined to be the oldest football in the world – dating back to the mid-16th century and signifying the earliest known reference to the sport and royalty. While horse racing has long been known as the Sport of Kings, perhaps football was once the Sport of Queens.

Artefacts recovered from historic sites – such as Stirling Castle – often eventually end up in the nearest museum. In this case, the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum became the proud owner of this mystery ball where it sat hidden away in a storage vault for nearly 20 years.

On a visit to the gallery, a member of the National Museums of Scotland noticed the ball – collecting dust in storage – and thought it might have some intrinsic value. Indeed it did.

After having it examined by historical experts, the ball was confirmed to be from the period between 1540 and 1570, the same time the wood panelling was installed in the bed chamber and in sync with Mary’s reign as Queen. The ball, dated to be at least 436 years old, is clearly one of the greatest finds in Stirling’s recent history.

I didn’t realise that people would go bonkers over the football. It was just a ball – originally. But it’s extremely rare. – Michael McGinnes

News of the discovery first appeared in 1999, shortly before the ball was put on display. A junior reporter for a local newspaper wrote a feature article about the find and within a day the national media were on the museum’s doorsteps wanting a look for themselves, recalls Michael McGinnes.

The well-crafted ball has stood up to a pretty good beating. A cricket ball is at its centre and it is housed within a pig’s bladder to allow for inflation; this is known as a bladder ball. The cover for the ball is made of thick leather and stitched from the inside to make for a smoother bounce and roll. However, the surface now includes stitching following necessary repairs. Size comparison on right.

Historians believe the ball was likely used between soldiers and staff in the castle courtyard in an activity more closely resembling handball than football. But how do we know for sure that this was a ball used by the Queen? Well, we don’t.

“We would have to do MRI scans, X-rays, testing the materials to understand the surface,” says McGinnes. “That would cost thousands of pounds and we just don’t have that kind of money.”
Information on the Queen’s sporting life is a bit lacking. Historians believe Mary, far from a regular participant, played tennis at least once at Falkland Palace, moving about in only her breeches to avoid tripping over her dress. And there is evidence that she swung a golf club or two on the Scottish links. So it should not be too surprising to learn the the Queen liked a bit of footie.

But how can we explain hiding the ball behind a thick oak wall? One theory offered by McGinnes involves, of all things, witchcraft.

Fast fact
The football is on display at The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum for a few more weeks before it goes on tour.

Centuries ago it was common to hide a personal possession in the home. The item could be a locket, a ribbon, or even something like a football. If you believe in witchcraft and all things mysterious, then the thinking goes evils spirits would be attracted to the personal object while keeping the individual out of harm’s way. The Stewart family, Mary included, were like many people at the time, a respectful believer in these superstitions.

In truth, we’ll probably never know how the ball got there. To be sure, there wouldn’t have been a ball in the Queen’s chamber without Mary coming in contact with the object. No-one else would have been permitted in the room, at least not without risking life and limb.