I have been writing this post on-and-off for about a year (oh my), but the research kept leading me on to different angles. It’s a tale of a little-known business that has spanned centuries called France & Banting.
It all starts with William France Jnr, the second son of John France and nephew of William France Snr (Upholsterer & Cabinetmaker). His elder brother Edward was formally apprenticed to his uncle William France Snr but there is no evidence to suggest that William Jnr was, and when his uncle died in 1773 William was not left a share in the business, perhaps because he was only 14 at the time.
The business was divided between his father and brother, John and Edward (not Jedward) and by the time they had both died in 1775 and 1777 respectively William Jnr had inherited the whole business. As he was not of full legal age, trustees were appointed and Thomas Beckwith (who had worked for Thomas Chippendale), joined the partnership which traded as Beckwith & France.
Furniture fit for King George III
Thomas Beckwith was married to Jane Donowell, whose father was the Lord Chamberlain from 1783 and in 1784 Beckwith and France received the Royal Warrant as cabinetmakers and upholsterers to King George III. The partnership supplied a vast number of items to the royal household, not only for the use of George III but for his children, court officials and increasingly government departments.
In 1787 William France married Phillis Beckwith (a cousin of Samuel Beckwith who was Thomas Beckwith’s son). They had seven children the eldest son William Beckwith France was destined to join the business. Thomas Beckwith died in 1804 and the business was split between William France and Beckwith’s son Samuel who continued to trade from St Martins Lane. Whilst France, who continued to hold the Royal Warrant, moved to premises at 31 Pall Mall, convenient for St James’s Palace where the Lord Chamberlain’s offices were located.
France & Banting
In 1807 William Beckwith France joined the firm and in 1809 they started trading as William France and Son, however in 1812 William Beckwith France left his father who replaced him with Thomas Banting and the firm’s name changed to France & Banting. The business continued working for the Lord Chamberlain’s office, although its style changed as new family members joined.
Banting & France also created furniture for Ickworth House, Suffolk over a period of twelve years, from 1817 until 1829, submitting accounts totalling more than £5,000. Much of the furniture they supplied remains at Ickworth to this day. This pair of pole-screens was acquired from the private collection of the antique dealer Reginald Nunn who had bought them from the Marchioness of Bristol, prior to the transfer of Ickworth House to the National Trust.
The Bedroom at Ickworth House. The mahogany bed was supplied to the 1st Marquess in 1829 by Banting, France & Co.
The rectangular tilt-top on ring-turned part-ebonised baluster columns, and a concave-sided platform with foliate mounts, on hipped square tapering downswept legs, brass paw caps and castors.
The drawing-room/library table is designed and ormolu-enriched in the early 19th Century French/antique fashion popularised by R. Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, 1809-1828.
A George IV brass-inlaid and mounted rosewood circular centre table attributed to Banting & France, circa 1820.
The circular tilt-top with a plain frieze and grained baluster shaft with four giltwood flowerheads, on a concave-side canted triangular plinth with scrolled feet and sunk castors
Today, the company known as France & Bating has evolved to become a funeral directors, something that the company had much experience of, including a ceremony for Lord Admiral Nelson as an extraordinary sendoff by tens of thousands of mourners at a lavish ceremony on the banks of the Thames on January 8th 1806.
The company is now named A.France & Son and has been in existence since 14/12/1938 at 45 Lambs Conduit Street.
I’ve just read your ‘Furniture fit for a king’ article and I was pleased to see the France family of cabinet makers getting some exposure.
Mainly because they are my ancestors and a great deal of what is written in all the main reference works is incorrect. Much of what you’ve written is from the entry I am in the process of creating for Wikipedia, but I’m glad it’s already being reproduced in the public domain. William France’s Uncle, William France Snr was also a cabinet maker to George III and may also be of some interest to you – entry already up on the Wikipedia website and hopefully more to come. He was a contemporary and neighbour of Chippendale and worked with him and Robert Adam on many projects, being entrusted on one occasion with holding Chippendale’s fee to ensure he completed the work as he was notoriously unreliable.
Jack Ross
Thank you for commenting Jack. It is nice to hear that you read it and enjoyed it. As you say, a lot of it was taken from the Wikipedia page and the story pulled together with other images etc. Your work has been really useful in helping me piece it all together.
I am really fascinated by their story and especially as they are relatively unknown yet have had such a strong influence in the past to their customers.
Thanks man. It is nice hearing
We must thank my distant relation, Jack Ross, for the hard work he has put into the France family entries in Wikipedia. We have been cooperation on our research into the family for a number ofyears and I have spent many hours in the National Archives reading through all the Lord Chamberlain’s account books. In the past much incorrect information has been published on the France family especially Edward who died in 1777 and it was his younger brother, William, who was in partnership with Samuel Beckwith.
The Bantings were in business until about 1923 and were the royal undertakers up to then, George V being the first Royal funeral not dealt with by a France/Banting since the 1760’s. The A France and Sons of Lamb Conduit St are another branch of the family being, we believe, decended from a Robert France a brother of the first William. They may have helped with Nelson’s funeral but it was William junior who delt with the Greenich part of the funeral, the London end being done by Charles Elliot.
For more details of the France family see my article in the 2005 Journal of the Furniture History Society.
Thank you Geoffrey. I was really conscious when writing this that my sources were not widepsread, so it is great to get comments to help clarify the points. I am more than happy to update the blog post if there are errors that you can clear up for me.
That was a very interesting read, I am part of the Banting family and am keen to find out more about Thomas Banting. He must have been a master carpenter in his own right and established, before going into business with the France family.
So thanks for bringing this into a forum where I might pick up more useful insights.
This coment is for Helen Banting. You may know that Thomas Banting entered into partnership with William France junior in 1811. This is when France’s eldest son William Beckwith France decided the business was not for him.He was my 3 great grand father. Thomas Banting had been France’s foreman for some years before this. I think he was born in Bampton Oxfordshire. When William France retired in 1825 a new partnership was formed between Thomas Banting and his two sons William and Thomas plus John Hale France a son of William, each partner having 25% of the buisness and William France was tobe paid an annuity of £500p.a. The firm was to trade a Banting, France and Banting. However by 1831 there had been a serious fall out between the Bantings and John France, who complained that the Bantings excluded details of much of the business from him and traded as Banting and co. John sued the Bantings . I am unaware of the outcome but John left the business. I have the impression that Thomas was a bit of a bully and perhaps John a bit of a wimp.
I have just read your interesting article Furniture fit for a king I am descended from William France’s daughter Phillis and hope to be able to view some of their furniture and read up on their history in a trip to the U.K this year. There is very little information on them out in New Zealand. I hope to be able to read Geoffrey Castles article when I am over.
Thanks.
Hi Nancy. Thank you for commenting. I must say that I’m overwhelmed by reading comments from ancestors. It’s really nice to see the blog giving a place to discuss France & Banting. There does seem to be very little on the web about the two families. I have seem some of the furniture in National Trust homes so you may well find that you can get up close on your next visit.
Hi Daniel
Just see what you’ve started! I am intending to write some articles on the Bantings on http://www.bantingfamilyhistory.com during this summer and if I can unearth anything further on the France Banting partnership, I will feed it in. Thanks Geoffrey for the extra information, sorry I’ve only just picked it up. Happy to pass on all I can find.
Helen
For Geoffrey Castle where will I be able to read your article in the 2005 Journal of the Furniture History Society when I am In U K. We were always told we had something to do with Lord Nelson thanks to genealogy and a great grandfather being named Henry France Wilson. The family migrated to Australia in 1849 and our branch in N Z. I do hope to do research and see some of his furniture in one of the great houses
Thanks
Nancy