Gillows of Lancaster (England) furniture

Gillow & Company were an English furniture company, founded by Robert Gillow (1704-72) in Lancaster about 1727. Robert's younger son, also named Robert, (1745-1795) established a branch of the business in Oxford Street, London around 1769. In 1813 the firm was taken over by a partnership of Redmayne, Whiteside and Ferguson but continued to trade under the Gillow name.

During the nineteenth century, Gillows became the leading manufacturers of furniture for the rising middle and upper class market due to the quality of the materials used and craftsmanship in manufacture. For major clients it was supplying complete interior decorating schemes including metalwork, stained glass, wallpapers and the whole range of upholstery and soft furnishings as well as furniture

The company encountered financial difficulties towards the end of the 19th century and this led to a loose association with Waring of Liverpool from 1897. In 1903, Waring took over more... Gillows, and Waring & Gillow was established, marking the end of the Gillow name as a benchmark for quality.

Trading as Waring and Gillow the firm survived the depression and in 1962 it was taken over by Great Universal Stores. It merged with Maples in 1980 and in 1990 maple Waring & Gillow as it was then named was taken over by Allied Maples Group.

Gillow furniture is keenly sought by enthisiasts, not only because of its fine quality, but because many of the pieces they manufactured were signed with the Gillows name. The Gillow orders and designs were recorded in the "Estimate Sketch Books" which are preserved in the City of Westminster archives enabling historians and collectors to establish a provenance, the who and when, of some pieces that come onto the market. In 2004 Christie's London held an auction of "The Glory of Gillows and Fine English Furniture" which included 81 lots by Gillow.

In July 2008, Bonhams London held a sale of "Fine English Furniture and Works of Art including the Bracewell Collection of Furniture by Gillows and Holland & Sons", which included 43 lots by Gillow, of which 35 were sold at the auction. less...