A Rare Regency Cabinet Made from the Waterloo Elm

1st June 2026

Object of the month for June is a remarkable Regency collector's table cabinet fashioned from the celebrated Waterloo Elm, possibly by Thomas Chippendale the Younger, circa 1818-20, which will be offered with an estimate of £15,000–20,000* in the upcoming Fine Furniture & Collections sale on 30^th June and 1^st July.

The historic elm stood on the battlefield of Waterloo and is believed to have marked the spot from which the Duke of Wellington surveyed Napoleon’s forces before his decisive victory in 1815. The tree soon became a celebrated landmark and a powerful emblem of Liberty. Patriotic visitors made pilgrimages to the site, often removing small fragments as keepsakes. By 1818, the once-mighty elm had been reduced to little more than a stripped trunk.

The surviving timber was acquired by antiquarian John George Children, who commissioned Thomas Chippendale Junior to create furniture from the wood. Among the pieces produced were a triumphal throne for the Prince Regent, a second chair for Children’s daughter, Anna which was later presented to the Duke of Wellington. Children also sold portions of the remaining timber to the Duke of Rutland who commissioned another chair, now preserved at Belvoir Castle.

The present cabinet is thought to be one of these rare commissions. Anna Children recorded that at Halstead Place, Kent, her father kept; ‘a small stand made … out of the portion of the tree with the bark on … a work table and a cabinet for minerals’ all fashioned from the historic elm.

Following Children’s death in 1852, Anna inherited the estate. Halstead Place and its contents were dispersed in 1920 and, though no surviving inventory lists the furnishings, the present cabinet was originally acquired at a house sale in Kent in the 1920s. The stand and work table mentioned by Anna remain untraced. This cabinet (lot 683) remains a remarkable survivor of one of Britain's most evocative historical relics.

Furniture specialist Mark Yuan Richards said, "Few pieces of furniture can claim such a direct connection to one of the defining moments in British history. Fashioned from the Waterloo Elm itself, this cabinet is both a rare work of craftsmanship and an extraordinary historical relic."

Comparable Waterloo Elm furniture has achieved strong results at auction, including a cabinet sold by Christie's in 2000 for £25,580* and a reading table sold in 2006 for £38,400* (both including premium).