A quality oak headboard with attached bedside cabinets made by Brynmawr Furniture. Each bedside cabinet with an open shelf below the top and a cupboard beneath. Oak panel sides to the cabinets and headboard. The company’s white and black ivorine label to the back. Made to traditional furniture making methods and so excellent construction and quality. This item has been professionally waxed and polished and is in excellent condition.
History.
Brynmawr , South Wales was an unemployment blackspot in the late 1920s. The Quakers sought to bring aid to the area along with new skills and employment which became known as the ‘Brynmawr Experiment’ between 1929 to 1940.
Paul Matt (1901 – 1987), a skilled designer and cabinet maker from London, was inspired by the experiment, which led to development of Brynmawr Furniture Maker Ltd in 1931.
He was able to design furniture that was simple to construct (and was greatly inspired by the work of Gordon & Don Russell) using imported Northern European Oak and finished with a coat of clear wax giving the overall look of the furniture a simplicity and solidity in appearance in line with the Quaker philosophy.
Promotional literature emphasised the high quality of the design of products and affordability whilst providing employment for the local community. This appealed to the middle and professional classes of the 1930s. The furniture could be purchased from large department stores in Cardiff, Birmingham & Manchester as well as having its own shop in Cavendish Square, London.
Pieces of furniture were named after welsh place names eg Cwmbran chest.
The events of the second world war led to materials being difficult to import and the company ceased trading in 1940.
Height of headboard: 102.5cm
Width of headboard: 179.5cm
Width of bed space: 106.5cm
Height of each bedside cabinet: 78cm
Width of each bedside: 33cm
Depth of each bedside: 41.5cm

Internal Ref: PAD1258