The UK is incredibly lucky to have such a rich, well-preserved design heritage. Our ancestors still stand in bricks and mortar along the Thames, pockmarked and glistening; they still tower above the cities, perched upon high baileys, and nestle into the ancient ripples of hillsides. Within their walls are the treasures of the nation; the preserved and restored relics of generations past from the floors its inhabitants have always walked on to the seats they have always sat on. In some rare instances, the companies who furnished these very buildings still lend their services to the current owners. In others, modern-day suppliers are taking great care to produce furniture and fabrics in the spirit of the tradition.
One such example is the work of Luke Hughes, an English furniture designer who specialises in creating furniture for public buildings, including five Royal palaces, 54 Oxbridge colleges and 200 churches. Hughes first set up his studio, Luke Hughes and Company Limited, in the early 1980s, having worked as a carpenter around London for projects including the manufacture of a series of bookcases for Inns of Court lawyers. In the late nineties, the company pioneered the concept of stacking pews in the ecclesiastical world, and in 2011 designed the furniture used for the Royal Wedding ceremony for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey.
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