The Renaissance - England - Part 9

In the second half of the 16th century it was becoming increasingly common to place the cupboard in the dining room. It was either a structure of three open shelves on carved supports, or a combination of shelves and a cupboard as we know the term today. usually it was of oak, although examples in solid walnut are not unknown.
The open type, known sometimes as a buffet or a court cupboard, usually had three open shelves, the lowest being supported on short block feet. The back supports were plain, being hidden when in use by the display of plate. The front supports were heavily carved in Elizabethan days and much play was made of the huge bulbous shapes which by then were decorating table legs. The Elizabethan oak court cupboard and its later Jacobean descendants are beautiful pieces of handmade furniture much in demand today.

All these types of fitted and non fitted furniture were intended for the display of plate and other items used at meals. In addition there was the livery cupboard, placed in the sleeping quarters and containing refreshments which could be taken after retiring. In order to provide ventilation the front was carved in tracery or pierced with a network of holes through which the air could pass. Some hung on the wall, while others were placed on small stands. Similar food hutches stood in the dining and kitchen quarters of Tudor England. As so often the requirements of the church had a hand in their development for they were widely used for the storage of communion wine and bread.