At Okeover is perhaps the best collection of the work of the Derbyshire smith, Robert Bakewell, who was active in the first years of the eighteenth century.
Through the years we have been working steadily through the various pieces, restoring them to 'as new' condition. In some cases leafwork had been missing for years and we have had to copy Bakewell's style in the replacements, using our own charcoal iron. Chemical dipping was used to strip the old paint, resulting in the exposure of the original surface, with all the archaeological evidence it carries, enabling us to understand the various previous restorations.
Client: The Okeover Estate. Subcontractor: Yesterday's Furniture.
