At Nicholas Anthony, we feel extremely privileged to have a heritage that spans more than 60 years, beginning with the founding vision of Tony Nicholas Snr, who set up a DIY store in Chelmsford in 1963 to supplement the income of his professional football career at Chelsea FC.
At a time when footballers were not paid very much, he proved that necessity is the mother of invention, and that that’s something to be proud of. It’s often under pressure that the best ideas are forced to germinate, and it was the family’s key skills in craftsmanship that enabled them to see an opportunity in the shifting market and to develop a specialist niche in kitchens and bathrooms that were based on quality design and materials.
Today, products made in Britain carry a well-deserved kudos, with a reputation for setting a trusted standard for excellence. That reputation has endured for generations and is enjoying something of a renaissance today. With that in mind, we wanted to take a moment to explore the history that underpins the high regard for British design.
What it means to be British
British design goes back centuries, and as with most design, there is a confluence between need and desire that is almost always the instigator for creation. Quintessentially British craftsmanship comes in many forms, associated with things like joinery (Buckinghamshire and London), textiles (London’s Savile Row), tweed weaving (the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland), embroidery (Honiton in Devon), fine china (Stoke-on-Trent), glassblowing and engraving (Stourbridge), silversmithing (Sheffield), blacksmithing (West Midlands) and more.
However, the emphasis on quality is a real trademark of the UK, which can perhaps be best defined by the Worshipful Companies, or Livery Companies, especially the historic trade guilds in the City of London that originally regulated competition and trained apprentices in different crafts.
While livery companies are not limited to the City of London, that distinction in itself has been historically considered a measure of prestige because of the City’s status. Even so, Guilds have been a measure of quality for centuries. A popular British idiom, to be ‘sent to Coventry’, for example, relates to a historic idea that if a Liverymen was expelled from a London Guild, they were sent to Coventry because it was a ‘free-town’ beyond guild control.
Today, there are 114 recognised Livery Companies in the City of London, with craft-focused ones including the likes of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters, the Worshipful Company of Joiners & Ceilers, the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers, the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths, and more.
A fusion of heritage and forward vision
Perhaps one of the greatest facets of British design that contributes to its ongoing reputation for excellence, is its unique combination of heritage and vision. In a country with a global reputation for tradition, that dynamism is something that’s not always given due credit, but the UK has a unique willingness to embrace new technologies and ideas in design, whilst also having a fierce reverence for the ways of the past.
It’s an alchemy that has resulted in notable design movements, providing space and opportunity for endless evolution without loss of style. One might consider the shift from English Baroque towards the Palladian elegance of the Georgian era, and the electric style of the Victorians as the industrial age took hold. Not limited to the distant past, there’s the Arts and Crafts Movement epitomised by the likes of William Morris and John Ruskin, the Art Nouveau period giving rise to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the geometric shapes of Art Deco, and the Brutalist forms pioneered by the likes of Alison and Peter Smithson.
The plethora of design visionaries is not solely amidst architecture and furniture either, in fashion, Mary Quant, Vivienne Westwood, and Alexander McQueen have defined the ages, while engineering draftsman Harry Beck honoured form, function, and user experience when he created the London Underground Map in 1933. Then there’s graphic designer, Peter Saville, who can be credited with putting a visual expression to the punk movement thanks to his distinct album covers.
International influences
Another unexpected influence on British Design, which can certainly be considered a great asset, is the integration of other cultures and ideas from around the world. Maybe it is colonialism, the Commonwealth, or a deep-rooted tradition for immigration stemming back to the likes of the Romans, the Vikings, and the Normans, but while British design often has an unmistakable look and feel, its staying power is almost certainly linked to a malleability that takes note of different ways of thinking and viewing the world.
In 1851 The Great Exhibition, spearheaded by Prince Albert, and held in Hyde Park, was a testament to that tradition, showcasing global industrial, technological, and cultural achievements, in a spectacular structure known as the Crystal Palace, designed by architect Joseph Paxton. The building itself was a lesson in creative thinking, a one-of-a-kind temporary building made of modular parts in iron and glass, while the event was intended to put the UK on the map as an industrial leader on the world stage.
Architecture Today writes: “Joseph Paxton’s pioneering Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851 marked the end of millennia of masonry and timber construction, ushering in a new era of light, span and prefabrication that would redefine architecture in the age of industry.”
Part of the legacy
Today a reputation for quality, integrity, timelessness, and distinction continues to underpin British design. There’s a thread of continuity that links the oldest to the most contemporary ideas and it is integral to the DNA of the ‘made in Britain’ designation.
That reputation is upheld by institutions like The Design Council, The Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Society of British and International Interior Design and educational leaders like the Royal College of Art and the University of the Arts London, which have consistently proved to be incubators for the innovators of tomorrow.
At Nicholas Anthony we are proud contributors to that legacy, unequivocally committed to quality, timelessness, and the piquant vivacity of pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. In doing so, we don’t merely aim to create spaces, but living entities that stand the test of time.
Find out more about working with Nicholas Antony