In 1960 the Barnsley Workshop made a suite of office furniture in Cuban mahogany for David Eccles, the then Education Minister. The suite included a large desk, a meeting table for twelve people, bookcases, chairs and occasional tables. The furniture was subsequently used in different government departments. In recent years some of the furniture was loaned back to the Barnsley Workshop, where we displayed it and used it for meetings. In 2015 the Department for Education asked for the return of the furniture. It is now once again being used for its original purpose by the Secretary of State for Education.
In October 2015 the Workshop staff and apprentices were invited to meet Secretary of State Nicky Morgan and Skills Minister Nick Boles in the Education Department and see the furniture in use. It is wonderful that the furniture has stood the test of time is still being used and appreciated fifty-five years after it was originally made.
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Bert Upton marking out chair components on a board of Cuban mahogany
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Job book showing itemising the hours taken by various craftsmen on the suite
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We were honoured to be invited to meet the Rt Hon Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, in London in 2015.