Oak Furniture

I love hearing stories like the one below. A couple that love old Oak furniture, collect many items and sell them on to others.

If the antique Oak furniture market stays buoant then there will be no need to cut down new oak trees, which gives hope to restoring our English heritage.

a sale of exceptionally well-travelled English oak furniture by a couple of Anglophiles.

Sandy and Stuart Moss amassed their collection of early English oak over a period of three decades, shipping it back piece by piece to their home in Chicago.

Stuart, a medical equipment manufacturer, was a regular visitor to conferences in the UK and his wife made frequent buying trips for her early English oak shop in Illinois. Over the years, they quietly amassed a houseful of a commodity that was becoming increasingly fashionable and valuable - and ever scarcer in its native habitat.

In 1987, the furniture made its second transatlantic crossing. The Mosses had spent five years pursuing another dream - setting up an English vineyard - and they finally found a suitable location: Nyetimber, near West Chiltington, Sussex. Their 15th to 17th century furniture had never looked quite comfortable in their US pied-a-terre, which Stuart describes as "a 1926 mock-Tudor building". When they brought it all back to its roots and placed it in the medieval embrace of Nyetimber, he says "the furniture seemed to smile".

The first record of Nyetimber, which means "new timbered house", was in the Domesday Book in 1086, when it was given to William the Conqueror. The soil in the area turned out to be perfect for viticulture: in fact, in the 12th century, the monks of the Priory of Lewes grew grapes there. Although the Mosses had no experience in winemaking, and despite losing 700 trees in a hurricane two weeks after moving in, they made a cork-popping, award-winning success of the vineyard.

Now, this irrepressible couple are leaving behind both house and collection and making a fresh start: "Who knows what we will do next."

They hope every piece will go to homeowners who will enjoy them as much as they did. Stuart says, cheerfully: "It's nice to sell it now rather than making people wait until we die."

He relishes the thought of being able to tell future owners about the provenance and history of each piece, and is firmly of the opinion that English oak needs to be used in an ordinary family environment: "If you drop a glass of something on a piece of oak furniture or put a small nick in it, it just adds to its interest and patina."

From small acorns The 330 lots include art, metalwork and oak and country furniture, plus some ceramics, glass, arms and armour. Estimates start at [pound]100 and work their way up to [pound]20,000 for historic pieces, such as a 16th century walnut and oak refectory table from Thorney Abbey in Cambridgeshire, bearing a stamped H (for Henry) and a crown.

At the lower end are many curios and practical pieces for the private bidder. There is a collection of more than 50 rushlights: wroughtiron holders for

rushes dipped in animal fat which were used by cottage dwellers unable to afford wax candles. A 17th century English oak relief panel carved with vines and hops ([pound]300-[pound]400) should attract plenty of local interest.

There is also a pair of English triple-reeded pewter dishes ([pound]200-[pound]300), dated circa 1690 and a handsome pair of George IV brass ejector candlesticks ([pound]100-[pound]150).

Of course, the way to get the most oak for your groats is to shop around: while extravaganzas such as Nyetimber are not to be missed, remember the regular oak sales at Phillips in Chester. An attractive 18th century oak desk with eight pigeon holes and three drawers is estimated at just [pound]250-[pound]300 in the next Phillips sale. Don't be put off by the out-of-town venue: ring up for condition reports and place a commission bid.