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Collections Items on Display

The must-see collection items displayed at Hall's Croft

An oak tester bed with red hangings; the canopy has a gold-coloured fringe. There is a white bolster at the head, and a beige blanket is turned back over a red bedcover. Behind the bed is a wooden chest of drawers on which stand a stone jug.

Oak Tester Bed

This is an example of a tester bed. The word tester refers to the canopy above the bed which was typically made of carved or cloth-draped wood. The bed was often the most significant and expensive single item of furniture in the house in the 1500s. Beds were usually listed first in inventories and bequeathed in wills from generation to generation. As well as being functional they served as an outward expression of status.

You can find this item in the Bedchamber.

To learn more, read about this item in our online catalogue: SBT 183 – Oak tester bed

The dark-brown chair has long legs (waist-high to n adult); the front legs end in carved finials, and between the legs is the rest for the child's feet. The back legs rise into the back which has 5 highly-carved uprights and a carved top.

Child's Turned High Chair

This highly decorative, turned high chair is made out of ash and dates between the years 1580 and 1640. It would have been made by a turner and features elements that would have taken great skill and experience to produce. Meal times in early modern England were an important household activity and the fact that even the youngest member of the family could have a seat this spectacular suggests the family who owned it must have been wealthy.

You can find this item in the Parlour.

To learn more, read about this item in our online catalogue: 1993-31/22 – Child’s Turned High Chair

All the family are dressed in brown with white ruffs. On the far right is a servant dressed largely in white. The window is on the far left behind the family. The table has a white cloth with blackwork embroidery, and holds a large joint of meat

A Family Saying Grace Before a Meal

This painting is an early example of the Christian family portrait. It features a family at prayer sitting around a long refectory table draped with a damask tablecloth. It is rich in biblical symbolism with the view through the open window showing a tree by a river which is symbolic of a good family man, and a vine growing against a wall which symbolises a fertile housewife.

You can find this item in the Parlour.

To learn more, read about this item in our online catalogue: 1990-49 – A Family saying Grace Before A Meal

The cupboard has two pairs of plain doors at the bottom, above which are two carved panels and then carving running the entire length under the shelf, formed by setting back the highly carved top section,.. A pillar at each side support the carve top.

Warwickshire Press Cupboard

This oak press cupboard is dated 1673 and is thought to have been made here in Warwickshire. The press cupboard is a development from the court cupboard which essentially acted as the sideboard of the period. Cupboards like this were used to display the master’s “plate” of gold, silver or pewter.

You can find this item in the Parlour.

To learn more, read about this item in our online catalogue: 1993-31/265 – Warwickshire Press Cupboard

The top of the stand is square, with corners curved inward. In the centre is a heraldic design, and round it are two rows of blue decoration, circles and triangles; and alternating borders of beige, blue on white, and beige each with geometric designs.

Maiolica Stand

Maiolica is a type of clay pottery that was typically painted with vibrant colours and tin-glazed. It is usually associated with Italian workshops in the 1500s. This stand featured in the Hall’s Croft entrance hall shows how well the colours and glaze last under the test of time.

You can find this item in the Entrance Hall.

To learn more, read about this item in our online catalogue: 1993-31/218 – Maiolica Stand

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