Richard La Trobe-Bateman Finally Sits at the Pembroke High Table

Richard La Trobe-Bateman and his wife Mary La Trobe-Batemen OBE visited Pembroke College recently and dined at the high table - or rather we should say, at his high table, as it was he who designed and made the table and its accompanying set of 26 chairs in 1984.

The 7 metre long table is made of just four English oak boards and supported on a distinctive truss structure which has kept it flat and true for the past 32 years.

Nowadays, Richard is known for his inventive and elegant bridge structures, principally made of wood, but he started out studying sculpture under Anthony Caro at Central St Martin’s, moving on to the Royal College of Art where he completed the furniture design course with David Pye.

Combining design and construction in his own workshop and always seeking to simplify the process, Richard established a reputation for his chairs and tables.

Richard won the competition to design Pembroke’s high table and chairs. This was a big step up in scale from his previous work, and through it he found that his real interest was in structures and how they express mechanical and sculptural qualities. This led him to explore the design and construction of small bridges, exhibiting his first bridge in 1987.

As he said in a recent article, ‘Once I had done the first bridge... I knew what I wanted to do, even if it had taken me twenty years to get there.’

Richard subsequently designed many remarkable footbridges, while continuing to produce innovative tables and chairs. His work is in several public collections, including the V&A.

Visit Richard La Trobe-Bateman’s website for examples of his work.

Article: Dr Tim Brindley