THE POXWELL MANOR REFECTORY TABLE: AN IMPORTANT OAK AND ELM ...

Hammer

£20,000

THE POXWELL MANOR REFECTORY TABLE: AN IMPORTANT OAK AND ELM "MONASTIC" REFECTORY TABLE, 16th century, with old repairs and replacements, with a single plank rectangular top on two openwork elm trestle supports in the form of flying buttresses with down-curved legs, 78.5cm high x 104cm wide x 365cm long. The top is 9cm deep

This monumental refectory table is a remarkable survival. It represents the earliest form of English dining table and may be compared to depictions of similar tables in late medieval manuscripts.

Provenance: Until the 1970's the table was at the ancient Manor of Poxwell (Pokeswell) having descended in the Trenchard family. In the Middle Ages the manor was in the possession of Cerne Abbey and, by tradition, the table was moved from the Abbey at the time of the Dissolution under Henry VIII. A new house was built for the Poole merchant, Thomas Henning, in 1613 and it passed to Elizabeth Trenchard (née Henning) in 1699. The table was acquired by the family of the present owners when the descendants of the Trenchards sold the manor house in the 1970's.

Poxwell Manor served as a place of rest for King George III on a number of occasions when he visited Weymouth during the latter part of the 18th century. Later the house was visited by Thomas Hardy and it is believed it was the inspiration for Oxwell Hall in "The Trumpet Major" published in 1880.