The Important Poxwell Manor Trestle Table. Early 16th Century. Circa 1500

The important Poxwell Manor trestle table. Early 16th century. Circa 1500.

This monumental table is a remarkable survivor, it represents the earliest form of English dining table and maybe compared to depictions of similar tables of the late medieval manuscripts. It has a single plank of oak top of 12 feet long x 41” wide x 3.5” thick. The top stands on two openwork elm trestle supports in the form of flying buttresses. Wonderful colour and patination.

Provenance- originally the table came from Cerne Abbey which owned Poxwell Manor and the table was taken to Poxwell Manor at the time of the dissolution under Henry VIII, it remained in the Henning / Trenchard family until the 1970s when the present owners bought the manor.

In the Middle Ages, Poxwell or Pokeswell (the name being derived from Puck’s Well), was a possession of Cerne Abbey. Following the Abbey’s dissolution, it was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Thomas Howard of Lulworth and Bindon. He sold it to John Henning, a merchant from Poole, who built the house circa 1600. His son became Sheriff of Dorset in 1609. The property belonged to the Hennings until 1695 when it passed by marriage to the Trenchards family of Lytchett Matravers and Wolverton and remained in the ownership of their descendents until its sale in 1977. It is understood that King George III visited the house on a number of occasions when visiting Weymouth. The renowned author Thomas Hardy used the Manor as Oxwell Hall in “The Trumpet Major”.

Dimensions

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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