Bath Cabinet Makers
Bath Cabinet Makers factory in Bellotts Road, Twerton. Built 1895.
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Native name
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Bath and West Co-operative Cabinet Makers Ltd |
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| Privately held company | |
| Traded as | Bath Cabinet Makers |
| Industry | Furniture makers |
| Founder | Charles A Richter |
| Headquarters | Twerton, Bath, England |
Bath Cabinet Makers Ltd. traded for sixty-seven years (1892–1959) in a city, Bath, Somerset, England, with a history of furniture-making. Under management of Charles A Richter (1876–1945) until 1934, its work was regularly illustrated in The Studio and the company soon began to receive international prizes. A variety of styles was produced, from Parisian-inspired versions of 'Adam' to Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Arts and Crafts and streamlined Modern in a huge range of woods, solid and veneer. Important contracts included furniture and fittings for Cunard's luxury liners, the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. A proportion of its output was mass-produced for cheaper markets although the workmanship was always of a high standard.
Built in 1895, the factory on Bellots Road, Twerton was one of the largest and best equipped in the country. Bath Timber Supply Ltd and Bath Guild of Handicraft and Design were set up in the 1920s to support Bath Cabinet Makers. George Montague Elwood was responsible for many of the Art Nouveau pieces around 1899–1900, but most of Bath Cabinet Makers's furniture was designed by the Richter brothers, Charles Augustus (1867–1946), Herbert Davis (1874–1955) and their team. Charles Richter became president of the National Federation of Furniture Trades and was appointed to Lord Gorell's Commission on improving the standard of art in industry. In JC Rogers' Modern English Furniture (1930) he is one of forty-two designers listed beside the better-known Barnsleys and Edwin Lutyens.
Bath Cabinet Makers owed its existence to a strike at F and A Norris Brothers' Bath's Albion Cabinet Works in December 1891. The following year, Charles Richter, an employee at Albion, launched the Bath and West Co-operative Cabinet Makers Ltd. The intention was determinedly idealistic; men needed jobs and the city provided enterprise. Shareholders were represented by a committee five members, one of whom was the influential Cedric Chivers from the bookbinding family. Richter was elected general manager the following month, and work began in rented accommodation.
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