In April 2015 Her Majesty the Queen celebrated Maundy Thursday here in Yorkshire at Sheffield Cathedral. We were honoured to have been asked to make a special set of ceremonial chairs for the occasion. The commission followed our involvement with the cathedral’s centenary Gateway Project (RIBA National award winners 2015). The cathedral felt it was […]
In April 2015 Her Majesty the Queen celebrated Maundy Thursday here in Yorkshire at Sheffield Cathedral. We were honoured to have been asked to make a special set of ceremonial chairs for the occasion.
The commission followed our involvement with the cathedral’s centenary Gateway Project (RIBA National award winners 2015). The cathedral felt it was very important to incorporate steel from Sheffield and to have the chair made here in Yorkshire. We worked closely with architects Thomas Ford Architects who designed a chair for the Queen to use during the service that is in keeping with the refurbished interiors of the cathedral.
Working from their pencil drawn sketch, we have used our knowledge of proportions and engineering skill to transform it into an elegant and ergonomically structured chair. We manufactured three ceremonial chairs in the same style, one of which was used by the Queen on Maundy Thursday. We made the chairs in English Oak and incorporated stainless steel from Sheffield into the arm rests for a contemporary look.
The chairs were manufactured in our own workshops here in Yorkshire from carefully selected quarter sawn English Oak. Geometrically precise geomtery and seat shape were cut into the oak using state of the art CNC technology. Jointing of the legs to seat and backs was achieved using traditional mortice and tenon, reinforced with steel. The hand-finished assembled chair was then finished in a durable satin sheen ready for delivery.
