Pam Alison Knits

Retirement has brought with it many visits to stately homes and as I look around I have fun spotting desks and writing accessories. We recently visited Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire and I was pleased to see these pen trays – I would almost call them pen valets – in some of the rooms.

Pen trays of this particular type range from pretty basic to very ornate indeed. Generally, they seem to be made of wood, though I wonder if there might be some papier maché ones lurking around. They usually feature some kind of handle, either hinged or fixed, which is centrally placed on the top of the box. The surface has shaped areas to hold pens and inkwells. Below this there is usually a drawer which would probably hold paper and envelopes. They almost invariably sit on small feet to raise them slightly off the desk surface.

My first photo shows the most fancy of the pen trays I saw at Belvoir Castle, but it did follow the general layout I would expect to see. This one has two handles and that incredible stag is a candlestick, useful to add some illumination to your evening writing session. Whilst the top includes very ornate metalwork, the base is quite plain apart from the large scrolled metal legs. I fear this is the kind of stand you’d be most likely to own if you lived in a castle and even then you’d probably have received it as a gift or had it commissioned to commemorate a particular event.

The mid-range at the castle is represented by this, perhaps my favourite of the three I picked up on. This one has the hinged handle often favoured, three smaller slots to hold inkwells and two long pen slots. Like its more expensive cousin, it has a metal faceplate on the top, but this time the smaller claw-shaped feet are part of a metal rim which skirts the base of the wooden box shell. This one features a pretty ring-style pull-handle to open the drawer.

Here we see the least decorative of the three stands, though it’s interesting that this one includes inkwells. The handle in this instance is fixed and the wood is blackened with lacquer or paint. The feet are simple, resembling buttons, and a very plain knob is used to open the drawer. This is being used as a decorative item in one of the castle’s bedrooms, but the lack of ornamentation makes it feel more as if it belongs in an estate office.

The reason these particular stands caught my attention was that I have one of the lower-end pen stands myself. I saw it in our local Sue Ryder vintage shop one day as I was walking over to my sister’s house and I couldn’t leave it behind.

It has certainly seen better days and I have kept it just as it was when I brought it home. As you can see, it’s serving a slightly practical and slightly decorative purpose at the moment. Seeing those versions at Belvoir Castle, though, has me thinking I’d like to do some restoration, perhaps lightly sand it and apply a coat of varnish (this sounds so unlike me that I doubt I will ever do it, but a girl can dream). It is stamped with the initials VR so it dates from some part of Victoria’s reign. I very much imagine it being part of some kind of municipal office to begin with. If I felt it had historical value I’d be more inclined not to do anything beyond a polish, but there are a reasonable number of this everyday-style around.

Do you like to spot stationery items when you are visiting historic places? I’ve seen another interesting item which I’ll blog about soon, though I’m sad to say it’s not one where I own something similar.