A rare Victorian walnut desk made in Yorkshire is being offered for sale by the Ripon auction house Elstob & Elstob.
The desk is essentially a self-contained office, with an array of drawers and pigeonholes, revealed when the piece unfolds on its hinges, and is based on a style made famous by the North American Wooton Desk Manufacturing Company (1874-1890) of Indiana.
Made by renowned Halifax cabinetmakers T Simpson & Son in 1870, the ‘Wooton’ desk carries a guide price of £1,000 to £1,500 and is part of Elstob & Elstob’s online Antiques Sale that runs until Sunday, January 8.
The brass maker’s label showing the desk to have been made by T Simpson & Son of Halifax.
Auctioneer David Elstob said:
“This is an absolutely stunning piece of furniture.
“The original American Wooton desks are known as the kings of elaborate folding desks and are much-prized amongst collectors, but this rare Yorkshire version of the design will be even more sought after.”
He added:
“Overall, it is an ingenious desk, with a metamorphic cabinet full of storage space. What’s more, it is tidy when unused, making it a perfect blend for today’s modern homes.”
Thomas Simpson & Sons was one of the largest and most prestigious furniture makers in the north of England, its origins dating back as far as 1798. In its Victorian heyday, the business had a grand showroom in Silver Street in Halifax, as well as a steam cabinet works in Corporation Street, which contained the steam-powered machinery used to manufacture its trademark pieces of furniture.
A T Simpson & Son invoice header from 1884, showing the company’s various premises.
This particular desk has a gilt-tooled leather-lined hinged and ratcheted top above a swing-out front that opens to reveal multiple drawers and pigeonholes. The writing surface, with leather skiver, can be lifted at the back and set at various fixed angles. On the top of the cabinet under the lid is the stamped metal maker’s plate ‘T Simpson and Son, Steam Cabinet Makers’.
Mr Elstob said:
“Inspection of known examples would suggest these desks were made to order with some bespoke elements – such as the choice of materials and the arrangement of internal compartments.”
Bidding is now open on the sale, which contains a large range of furniture, ceramics, glassware, wines and spirits, and Chinese works of art. All items in the sale can be viewed online at www.elstobandelstob.co.uk as well as in person at the saleroom on Friday, January 6 between 10am and 4pm.
Harrogate street named second most expensive in region
Fulwith Mill Lane in Harrogate is the second most expensive street in Yorkshire and the Humber, according to mortgage lender Halifax.
A survey of the UK’s most expensive streets revealed the average price of a home on Fulwith Mill Lane, on the edge of Crimple Valley, is £1,770,000.
Only Manor House Lane in Leeds, where properties fetch on average £2,367,000, ranked higher regionally.
However, even the highest amounts paid around here are small beer compared with Phillimore Gardens in the London borough of Kensington, where an average house will set you back £23.8 million — more than anywhere else in the UK.
The 10 most expensive streets are all in London.
Kim Kinnaird, mortgages director at Halifax said:
“For almost all of us, these homes and their eye-watering price tags are the stuff fantasy house hunts are made of.”
Halifax closure leaves Ripon with one remaining bank
Following this afternoon’s closure of the Halifax, Ripon will have one remaining bank and no access outside shopping hours to city centre cash machines.
The closure comes less than three months after the long-established Barclays branch closed its doors on August 25, leaving HSBC – which has no external cash machine – as Ripon’s only bank.
The Barclays bank Ripon branch closed in August.
Cash machines are available during shopping hours at Sainsbury’s on Market Place East and Booths at the Marshall Way Retail Park.
Announcing its branch closure in July, Halifax said in a statement:
“Like many other high street businesses, we’ve seen people using our branches less frequently in recent years as more customers choose to do most of their everyday banking online.
“We’re responding to the way our customers use our branches. We’ll continue to invest in our branch network, but we have to make sure our branches are where customers need and use them most.
“As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to close this branch because customers are using it less often. In addition the majority of customers are also using alternative ways to bank.”
A report produced by Barclays in May to explain the rationale behind its closure decision, showed that more than 3,000 customers visited regularly for personal or business banking purposes in the last year.
But the bank added that only 121 customers use the branch exclusively for banking. Eighty percent of customers also use online and telephone banking.
The report said 41% of Ripon customers also use nearby branches, such as Harrogate and Thirsk.
Police searching for a missing Halifax teenager have said she might be in Harrogate.
Officers are asking for the public’s help to trace Monika Molnar, 14, who was last seen leaving her home on Monday at about 8.40pm.
Police describe her disappearance as out of character.
A West Yorkshire Police statement today said:
“Extensive enquiries have been made since Monika was reported missing and she is known to have links to the North Yorkshire area and Harrogate in particular.
“It is believed she may have travelled to that area.”
Monika was last seen wearing black trousers and trainers and a cream coat. She was carrying a large dark blue rucksack.
Detective Inspector Simon Archer, of Calderdale District Safeguarding, said:
“It is now been nearly three days since Monika went missing and we are becoming increasingly concerned for her.
“I want to appeal directly to Monika or anyone who sees her or who has information about her to get in contact.”
If you have any information about Monika contact Calderdale CID via 101.
Knaresborough’s last bank to close on Monday
Knaresborough’s 15,000 population will be left without a bank on Monday when the final branch closes.
The Halifax said it was closing its Market Square branch because of changing customer habits.
The branch was meant to close in May but stayed open to support the town during the pandemic.
This decision means the nearest banks for townsfolk will be in Harrogate and Ripon, although they can withdraw money or check their balance, as well as pay in cheques and money, at the town’s High Street post office.
A Halifax spokesperson said:
“We have made the difficult decision to close Knaresborough on March 1 due to the changing ways customers choose to bank with us, which means the branch is being used less often.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.”
News of the bank’s closure prompted 1,200 people to sign a petition to keep it open.
Kala Timson, who runs children’s shoe shop Stomp in the market place, said the closure would be a “big loss” to Knaresborough. She said:
“We don’t use that branch for the business but I use it for my personal banking. We now have to use the post office.
“It’s overstretched as it is and over the pandemic they’ve worked so hard but queues have been going down the street. It will affect an awful lot of people.”
The Halifax cash machine will also be removed, leaving the town with only two other cash points in the town centre.
Harrogate Borough Council ran a consultation until January 7 to gather views on Knaresborough banking services. The results are yet to be published.
The outcome will inform discussions between the council, community leaders and banking providers.
Councillor Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, said:
Knaresborough to lose its last remaining bank next year“Sadly, we can’t stop them closing and we can’t promise anything in the future, but what we can do is put pressure on banking providers and show them that there is a need in the town.”
Knaresborough is set to lose its only bank next year as Halifax announces it is planning to close the branch in spring.
The Halifax bank on Market Square was the town’s last remaining bank.
When the news of the bank’s closure broke earlier this year 1,200 people signed a petition to encourage Halifax keep it open. But the bank has said due to a decline in use it has to close.
This decision means local people and businesses will have to travel into Harrogate and Ripon to bank their money.
A Halifax spokesperson said:
“In January this year we announced that the Knaresborough Halifax branch would be closing due to a decline in use. We paused the closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and, after careful consideration, the planned closures will take place between March and April 2021.”
The cash machine will also be removed leaving the town with only two other cash points in the town centre. The Knaresborough Chamber of Trade has said it is looking into potential locations for another cash machine.
It said the loss of this bank will be a “major blow” for town, the chamber’s president Steve Teggin said:
“This is a sad set of affairs, it will be a major blow for the town. We have so many new businesses that have opened up recently and they have been let down by the banking system.”
Read more:
Harrogate Borough Council has said it will be launching a survey asking for residents’ views on the current banking services available in Knaresborough.
Cllr Graham Swift said “we can’t promise anything in the future” but says it is essential residents fill out the survey to show what facilities they think are necessary for the town.
Residents can fill out the survey, here, from today.
Knaresborough’s only bank to remain open for time beingThe last remaining bank in Knaresborough, Halifax, was expected to close on 13 May but will now stay open if it attracts enough customers.
The initial decision to close the Halifax was made due to a 10% reduction in customer counter transactions from 2019. It sparked real concern in the town and a campaign was launched to stop the closure.
However following the pandemic the bank remained open to support local customers. Halifax has told The Stray Ferret that they plan to keep the branch open during the pandemic but will continue to review its position in the future.
A spokesperson for Halifax said:
“We do not intend to permanently close any branches in the midst of this challenging period. Our priority at this time is keeping as many branches as possible open, so that customers can continue to access cash, and ensuring that those who are vulnerable or in financial difficulty can speak to colleagues.
We continue to review our presence to ensure that our branches are located in the right places and any future closure decisions will be driven by customer behaviour.”
The future of this bank will be “driven by customer behaviour”.
This decision will come as a relief to local residents as the closure of the Halifax bank would have left the town with no banks and only three cash machines within the town.
The Knaresborough Chamber of Trade were pleased to hear of this development. Its president Steve Teggin said:
“The towns people will be elated with the news as we’ve saved a bank and now we still have one in the town. It’s a triumph for us but we’ve also saved a cash machine too. Halifax have now got to give us some confidence that they will stay and I think that will encourage people in Knaresborough to open up accounts with them. But for residents and traders too this is great news.”