Oak is one of the oldest and most enduring timbers used in English furniture-making. Hard, strong, and widely available, it dominated English joinery and cabinetmaking throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, before walnut and later mahogany came into fashion. Early country furniture, court cupboards, refectory tables, and carved chests were almost invariably made in solid oak, often richly decorated with carving.
Oak in the 17th and 18th Centuries
In the 17th century, oak was the principal timber for both rural and formal furniture. Panelled oak chests and dressers were staples of households across England. By the late 17th and early 18th centuries, however, tastes shifted toward finer veneers in walnut and later exotic imports such as mahogany. Even so, oak continued to play a vital role in English furniture-making, most often as a carcass timber beneath fine veneers. Its durability and stability made it the hidden structure behind countless veneered walnut and mahogany chests, commodes, and cabinets of the Georgian period.
Decorative Oak: Burr and Pollard
While plain oak was valued for its strength, decorative cuts were also prized. Burr oak, with its swirling knot clusters, was used for veneers in the late 17th and 18th centuries, producing richly figured panels comparable to burr walnut. Pollard oak, cut from pollarded trees with distinctive mottled grain, was used particularly in the 19th century for veneers, admired for its dramatic and irregular figuring. These cuts demonstrate that oak could be as visually striking as imported exotics when used imaginatively.
Makers and Styles
Even as walnut and mahogany rose to prominence, leading cabinetmakers continued to exploit oak. In the 18th century, Thomas Chippendale used oak extensively as a structural carcass timber beneath his finest veneered and carved creations. In the 19th century, George Bullock produced remarkable furniture in oak, often incorporating pollard and burr veneers, blending neoclassical and Regency aesthetics with inventive materials.
Legacy of Oak
Oak’s role in English furniture history is twofold: as the primary visible timber of the 16th and 17th centuries, shaping the robust and often carved character of Tudor and Stuart interiors; and as the silent carcass timber of the 18th century, underpinning the veneered elegance of walnut and mahogany. Its enduring appeal lay in its strength, versatility, and ability to showcase both plain solidity and striking decorative grain when cut as burr or pollard.
