Husband and wife team Martin and Sue Garnett of Framework Studios in Chenies are expert framers who specialise in display of all kinds. They have just completed a display table for Chenies Manor.
It might have taken a year on and off to complete, but the task of renovating the glass topped display cabinet and securing artefacts inside was one of the Garnetts favourite jobs to date.
The items, all found in the grounds of Chenies Manor, ranged from a nineteenth century lead toy rabbit to a clog fastener, musket balls, harness fittings, pewter spoon bowl, log fastener, George V breeches buckle and Mary Tudor Groat, and were fixed on a velvet background after first being measured and positions planned to the millimetre.
The oak cabinet was carefully restored before the objects were arranged,
“ I found the table in the little antique shop that was near Chorleywood Post Office for a short while.” says Elizabeth Macleod Matthews of Chenies Manor, “The table was badly cracked and the leg was damaged but it was just what I needed. I had accumulated so many bits and pieces that had been found in the grounds of the Manor over the years and was always on the lookout for something to show them off. I gave the whole lot to Martin and he has done a marvellous job and made it like new.”
While Martin does the intricate repairs and cutting of wood, Sue does the restoration. The layout was teamwork.
“ Trying to work out where everything should go was not easy but it was interesting to do” says Sue, “The eighteenth century thimbles fascinate me, I can’t help thinking about a lady sitting sewing in a field in the sunshine. Then there are Tudor buckles, bells from horses harnesses that still ring, huge cartwheel pennies from the 1700s that must have been so heavy to carry around and a massive brass ring – the man must have had such big fingers!. Everybody loves the tiny lead rabbit and the whistle. The oldest object is a Roman coin.”
Martin’s favourites were the musket balls dating back to the civil wars in the time of Oliver Cromwell.
“ There was actually a battle at the Manor in the 1640s”
When war broke out there was a Roundhead regiment stationed in the house and a skirmish took place in 1642.
“ It was a privilege to be able to bring all these small objects together that are part of the colorful past of the manor and of the history of the country” adds Martin, “I’m not sure what we will do if more artefacts are discovered though!”
Framework Studios, The Old Milking Parlour, Chenies Manor, 01494 766686
See the table in Chenies Manor House Exhibition Room
Photos © Chorleywood Magazine
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