Town guide / Wirral and Merseyside
A press cupboard in a Bebington home
Bebington takes in Port Sunlight, the village Lever Brothers built for its workers, alongside streets of interwar semis and older cottages. Each kind of house asks something different of a tall, two-stage cupboard.
i.
The houses
Port Sunlight's houses wear elaborate fronts, but many are cottage-scale inside, and staircases can turn tightly. Interwar semis elsewhere in Bebington usually have a straight stair and a hall wide enough to manoeuvre, though their ceilings sit lower than a Victorian villa's. The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight, whose collections include English furniture, is a good place to study how tall case pieces were proportioned before you choose one.
ii.
Press cupboards in that setting
A press cupboard has a cupboard base with an enclosed upper stage set back above it, often under a projecting cornice; Welsh two-tier examples are often described as a cwpwrdd deuddarn. Because the top usually lifts off, the useful figures are the height of each stage and the depth of the base. Ask Sara for both, plus the cornice height, and compare them with your ceiling.
iii.
Buying from Caernarfon
There is no Life: Full Colour showroom on the Wirral. Sara is based in Caernarfon, down the M53 from Bebington and then west along the A55.
Buying works the same way from anywhere: find a piece, ask Sara about it by the enquiry form or on 01286 400155, and buy through Creative Caernarfon.
Visiting and delivery
Life: Full Colour is based at 9 Segontium Terrace, Caernarfon LL55 2PN. Ask Sara whether delivery or viewing is possible for a particular piece.
iv.
Questions for a Bebington buyer
A Welsh dresser normally has an open rack of shelves above a base of drawers and cupboards. A press cupboard is enclosed: its upper stage has doors and is set back from the base, leaving a narrow ledge at the front. Both often separate into two parts, which helps a great deal with stairs and doorways.
It can, provided the height works. Press cupboards were made for farmhouses that were not always lofty, so some are fairly compact, while others are tall. Measure floor to ceiling, allow a little clearance for lifting the top stage on, and ask Sara for the overall height including any cornice.
Oak gives up moisture in warm, dry air and can shrink, which may open small gaps in panels or change how doors fit through the year. Keep the cupboard away from radiators and direct sun, and avoid sudden swings in temperature. Many owners prefer a traditional wax to modern spray polish.
Compare its colour, grain and wear with the stage below, and look at how it is fixed. Cornices are often the first part to be replaced or cut down, so a slightly different timber is a clue. Check the height against your ceiling too.
Check that the upper stage sits properly on the base, with matching timber, colour and wear where they meet. A mismatched depth or a poor fit can suggest a later pairing. Ask Sara whether the two parts are thought to have started life together.
Sometimes. Look for shelves with the same age and wear as the sides, held by old fixings or housed in grooves, while very clean new wood or bright screws point to later shelving. It is good to ask what is original inside.
Hidden surfaces get less light, handling and polish, so they show more of the original timber colour. Compare the inside of a door with the front: a big difference may be normal ageing or a cleaned exterior. Ask Sara what she can tell you about the surface.
Iron reacts with the natural tannins in oak, especially when damp, and leaves dark stains around nails and old fixings. These marks are normal in old oak and often add character. Large spreading stains, or soft wood around them, are worth a closer look.
A slight curve, called cupping, is common in wide solid boards as they react to moisture over decades. If the top sits flat enough and has no splits, it is more a feature of old timber than a defect. A steep bow or open split is worth examining.
It means the marks you would expect on an old piece: softened edges, small dents, faded colour and signs of past use. It is not a promise of perfect condition, and it does not name particular faults. Ask what the wear and any repairs actually are.