The English firm of Holland & Sons (1803–1942) became from 1843 one of the largest and most successful cabinet makers, and a rival to

Gillows of Lancaster and London Gillows of Lancaster and London, also known as Gillow & Co., was an English furniture making firm based in Lancaster, Lancashire, and in London. It was founded around in Lancaster in about 1730 by Robert Gillow (1704–1772). Gillows was owned b ...

. The company's labelled Day books are now housed in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Archive of Art and Design where they present a virtual "who's who" of nineteenth century society.Elizabeth Lomas, ed. (2001). Guide to the Archive of Art and Design, Victoria & Albert Museum. Routledge / Taylor & Francis The company was established in 1803 by Stephen Taprell and William Holland, a relation of the architect Henry Holland. Always on the leading edge of fashion, Holland & Sons employed some of England's foremost designers and participated in all of the International Exhibitions of 1851, 1855, 1862, 1867, 1872 and 1878. Holland and Sons also participated in many of the leading international exhibitions including London in 1862, Vienna in 1873 and Paris in 1867 and 1872. After a brief period in which the company was known as Taprell, Holland & Son c.1835-43, William Holland gained sole command after the senior partner Taprell's retirement. From 1843 onwards they were known as Holland and Sons. The relationship between builder and cabinet maker is similar to another leading Victorian firm, Trollope and Sons. Their earliest known commission was to furnish the

Athenaeum Club, London The Athenaeum is a private members' club in London, founded in 1824. It is primarily a club for men and women with intellectual interests, and particularly (but not exclusively) for those who have attained some distinction in science, engineerin ...

, 1824- 1838. They also worked alongside the prestigious firm of Thomas Dowbiggin at

Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house himself, in t ...

, and eventually took over their premises and business at 23

Mount Street, London Mount Street is an east–west, quite narrow, archetypal street in the Mayfair district of the City of Westminster, London fronted by many mid-rise buildings, mostly of a narrow frontage. The sides of two very grand hotels flank part of either ...

in 1851 and 1853 respectively. In 1851, when the company was based in Mount Street and employed 351 people, they won a prize at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

for a bookcase. By then, after being granted a

Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom) Royal warrants of appointment have been issued since the 15th century to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal famil ...

early in the reign of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, they had already taken a leading part in the decoration and furnishing of Osborne House,

Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a estate ...

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

and the apartments of the Prince and Princess of Wales at

Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It was built in 1711 for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marl ...

, executing numerous exceptional pieces of furniture. Holland and Sons also executed over three hundred separate commissions for the British Government, including the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and oversaw the State funeral of

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

. One of their celebrated private commissions was a suite of bedroom furniture for the late Sir Harold Augustus Wernher, 3rd Baronet at

Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and Estate (land), estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Old English language, Saxon word wikt:hoo#Etym ...

. During the latter half of the 19th century, Holland and Sons also supplied furniture for such notable London clubs as the

Reform Club The Reform Club is a private members' club on the south side of Pall Mall in central London, England. As with all of London's original gentlemen's clubs, it comprised an all-male membership for decades, but it was one of the first all-male cl ...

and the

Oxford and Cambridge Club The Oxford and Cambridge Club is a traditional London club. Membership is largely restricted to those who are members of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, including men and women who have a degree from or who are current undergraduates ...

. They shared the commission for the new

with Gillows. A pair of Royal Victorian gilt-bronze mounted tulipwood, yewwood, amboyna, harewood, and ivory marquetry center tables sold for US$1,052,500 at Sotheby's in 2011.

References

{{Reflist Defunct furniture manufacturers Furniture companies of England British furniture makers Defunct manufacturing companies of England