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Wainscot panelling

The term Wainscot originally applied to high quality riven oak boards produced in medieval Poland and adjacent areas and exported to many parts of western Europe. The etymology of the term is confused; the Oxford English Dictionary states that it derives from the medieval Germanwagenschot, meaning ‘wagon board’. However, wainscot was far too valuable to be used in making wagons, and all 18th and 19th century sources concur in deriving it from wageschot or ‘wall-board’. Johnson’s Dictionary defined it thus:

Wainscot [wageschot, Dutch], the inner wooden covering of a wall.

To wainscot [waegenschotten, Dutch], to line the walls with boards

A ‘wainscot’ was therefore a board of riven (and later quarter-sawn) oak, and wainscotting was the panelling made from it. The reason why wainscot was preferred to home-grown oak for this role, especially in Holland and Great Britain, was that it was a far superior product. Wainscot oak came from large, slow-grown forest trees, and produced boards that were knot-free, low in tannin, light in weight and easy to work. They were also dimensionally stable. During the 18th century oak wainscot was almost entirely superseded for panelling in Europe by softwoods (mainly Scots pine and Norway spruce), but the name stuck:

‘The term wainscoting, as applied to the lining of walls, originated in a species of foreign oak of the same name, used for that purpose; and although that has long been superseded by the introduction of fir timber, the term has been continued notwithstanding the change of material’.^[1]

Also in the 18th century, the style of panelling changed from a floor-to-ceiling covering to one in which only the lower part of the wall was covered. Hence wainscot or wainscotting became a panelling style applied to the lower 90 to 150 cm (3 to 5 ft) of an interior wall, below the dado rail or chair rail and above the baseboard or skirting board.^{[citation needed]} It is traditionally constructed from tongue-and-grooveboards, though bead-board or decorative panels, such as a wooden door might have, are also common. New manufacturing techniques are capable of milling large panels from one sheet, reducing seams, caulking and expansion/contraction cracks that have plagued traditional construction. Wainscoting may also refer to other materials used in a similar fashion.

The original purpose of wainscoting was to cover the lower part of walls, which, in houses constructed with poor or non-existent damp-proof courses, are often affected by rising dampness.^{[citation needed]} Its purpose is now decorative.

Wainscot Panelling

French polishing is a wood finishing technique that results in a very high gloss surface, with a deep colour and chatoyancy. French polishing consists of applying many thin coats of shellac dissolved in alcohol using a rubbing pad lubricated with oil. The rubbing pad is made of absorbent cotton or wool cloth wadding inside a square piece of fabric (usually soft cotton cloth) and is commonly referred to as afad (also called a tampon or muñeca, Spanish for “rag doll”).^[1]

“French polish” is a process, not a material. The main material is shellac, although there are several other shellac-based finishes, not all of which class as French polishing.

The finish is considered to be one of the most beautiful ways to finish highly figured wood, but it is also recognised to be fragile. It is softer than modern varnishes and lacquers and is particularly sensitive to spills of water or alcohol, which often produce white cloudy marks. However, it is also simpler to repair than a damaged varnish finish, as patch repairs to French polish may be easily blended into an existing finish.

French Polishing

About BAFRA

History of BAFRA

The British Antique Furniture Restorers’ Association was founded in 1979 by a group of graduates of West Dean College, Sussex, England, they having all completed the BADA Diploma course in Antique Furniture Restoration and Conservation (BADA, The British Antique Dealers’ Association).

This was a period of a spiraling antique furniture prices and the proliferation of unqualified and unskilled “Antique Furniture Restorers”.

BAFRA’s founders felt strongly that the public and antique trade needed some form of protection for their furniture as did the established craftsmen.

Objectives of BAFRA

The objectives of BAFRA were clear from the moment of inception:

• The maintenance of the highest professional standards in furniture conservation and restoration.
• The promotion of the study of and research in furniture conservation and the advancement of public education in these fields.
• The stimulation of the public awareness of the association.
• The dissemination of information and techniques amongst its members.

Development of the Conservation Profession

The 1980s saw the start of the development of the Conservation Profession of which furniture forms a large part in terms of our “moveable cultural heritage” and BAFRA shortly became the sole representatives in this specialist area. Since those early days BAFRA has grown in size and stature and is now widely recognised as the authority on furniture conservation and restoration in Britain. From the start BAFRA demanded high achievement in terms of craft skills and knowledge of furniture development and design and to this end put in place an Assessment Procedure which aims to achieve the highest standards.

BAFRA

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RICS/SPAB Lecture 2011