O-7746

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chair (Speaker's)

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1916-1917 The Honourable Albert Sévigny

Speaker Sévigny's Chair

This chair was created for Albert Sévigny, who became Speaker of the House of Commons in December 1915. On February 3, 1916, a fire destroyed most of Canada’s original Parliament Building. The House resumed sitting the next day, at its temporary home in Ottawa’s Victoria Memorial Museum. Sévigny presided there for less than a year, resigning from the speakership in January 1917 to become Minister of Inland Revenue in Sir Robert Borden’s conservative government.

The chair is made of oak in a gothic revival style that takes its cues from medieval libraries and cloisters. It was crafted at the Bromsgrove Guild’s workshop in Montreal, based on designs supplied by the Chief Architect at the Department of Public Works. Its elaborately carved back reaches over two metres in height. At the top, a shield fringed with maple leaves is flanked by plant emblems associated with England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. On each side, a squirrel clutches an acorn.

Bromsgrove Guild

The Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts was founded in 1898 in Worcestershire, England, by a group of artisans associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. In the early 20th century, the guild established branches in major centres in England and Scotland. In 1911, it opened a workshop in Montreal, which was managed by architect E. Lawrence Wren and staffed mostly by British artisans. The Bromsgrove Guild (Canada), Ltd., specialized in handcrafted furniture and plaster models used for carving or casting. Among the company’s major commissions was an order for furniture and architectural sculptures for the Saskatchewan legislature building.