Lawrence Neal

Master craftsman Lawrence Neal has been handcrafting exquisite ladder back chairs for over half a century based in his workshop in Stockton, Warwickshire. Lawrence started making chairs in 1966, apprenticed to his father Neville Neal in the very same workshop and worked alongside his father until his death in November of 2000. Lawrence became the sole custodian of this historic craft and continued making chairs in the style and tradition of lineage before him.

Fortunately in 2017, with the help of Hugo Burge and the Heritage Craft Association, and on the back of short film produced by Hugo about Lawrence, a search began for an apprentice to continue his legacy. The applicants were whittled down through a careful selection process, two candidates emerged and were apprenticed to Lawrence in 2018.

While we have moved to launch The Marchmont Workshop, Lawrence is still making limited numbers of chairs to this day in his Stockton Workshop