Royal Oak’s variety

Open once more to visitors, the showroom of Royal Oak Furniture, just outside the Yorkshire Dales village of Grassington, is an eye-catching showcase for the beautiful hand-made pieces which are the hallmark of this family business.

Not that last November’s shutdown – nor, indeed, the period when the doors were closed in spring 2020 – was a quiet time at Royal Oak’s Moor Lane workshop, for orders continued to arrive and the team of craftsmen continued to create bespoke furniture for customers across Yorkshire and beyond.

“We’ve been really lucky in that we’ve been continuously busy with furniture orders since the end of the first lockdown and we’re now scheduling orders into spring 2021,” says Royal Oak’s Joanne Kent.

“Thanks to our spacious workshop and dedicated craftsmen, we were able to keep on making and delivering throughout that difficult period and we’re very grateful for their efforts.”

If spring seems a long time to wait, however, the showroom has a selection of ready-to-buy furniture pieces, from beds and dining tables to bookcases and coffee tables, each one skilfully hand made

Joanne’s principal role is running Royal Oak’s shop, located a short distance from Grassington’s village square, which also reopened its doors last month.

“The shop is the perfect place for gift shopping with plenty of smaller items made in the workshop, including chopping boards, lamp bases and candle holders,” she says.

“Alongside our own products, it also stocks a selection of beautiful homewares and gifts by carefully-selected British designers and makers.”

Royal Oak has been creating beautiful bespoke furniture for more than 40 years, during which time the results of its handiwork have found their way into everything from country cottages to the apartments at 10 Downing Street.

Its craftsmen are equally adept at creating intricately-decorated traditional pieces or bold, contemporary designs: from hand-carved four-poster beds and timeless farmhouse tables to sleek mid-century inspired walnut and oak cabinets.

Each piece of furniture made at Royal Oak starts the same way: English timber, whenever possible, arrives at the workshop with the bark still intact. There it is matched for grain and colour before the team of craftsmen set to work to get the very best out of each piece of wood.

Not only do these pieces look amazing but they are built to last, too, with timehonoured techniques, such a dovetail and mortise and tenon joints, going alongside more modern methods to create quality furniture that stands the test of time.

“Our aim is to create whatever furniture a customer wishes, starting from as little as an outline idea or a rough sketch, and then working with the client to create their perfect piece,” says Joanne.

■ For more information, including current showroom and shop opening times, go to www.royaloakfurniture.co.uk or telephone 01756 753378.

Be it bespoke furniture or affordable gifts, the company has much to offer.

Royal Oak has been creating beautiful bespoke furniture for more than 40 years…