SK14 · 8 min from workshop
Upholsterer in Mottram.
Mottram-in-Longdendale is the closest of the Longdendale villages to our Stalybridge workshop, about eight minutes' drive. Old stone houses here often hold furniture with a family history, so this page is about deciding whether an older chair or sofa is worth rebuilding, and how we go about it when it is.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 0161 303 0769
Services for Mottram
Route
8 minutes from our Stalybridge workshop
Postcodes
SK14
Quotes
Free, in writing
Services in Mottram
What we do for Mottram customers.
Services for SK14. All services.
Armchair and wing chair reupholstery
Wingback armchair from £450, plus fabric.
Read moreSofa & suite recovering
Corner sofa from £1200, plus fabric.
Read moreRepairs and restoration
Broken frames, sagging seats, snapped springs, torn leather, missing buttons, recliner mechanisms: fixed properly, not patched.
Read moreOn the floor
Examples of our work: armchairs and repairs
The detail
Upholstery in Mottram: the detail.
Older furniture in an old village
St Michael and All Angels Church stands on the hill above Mottram, and much of the old village around it is stone-built. L. S. Lowry lived in Mottram for the last decades of his life. Older houses tend to hold older furniture: a wingback that belonged to a grandparent, a Victorian nursing chair, a solid mid-century three-piece that nobody makes the like of any more. Those are the pieces this page is written for, and at eight minutes away, Mottram is the easiest place in Longdendale to bring one in from.
Is it worth rebuilding?
The frame decides. A hardwood frame with sound joints is usually worth recovering, even when the fabric, springs and stuffing have all gone. A chipboard frame that has already cracked usually is not, and we will say so. Once a piece is in the workshop we strip enough to see what is underneath, and if we find more than the photos showed, we tell you before going further. Our guide on whether it is worth reupholstering a sofa goes through the same questions for larger pieces.
Sentimental value counts too. A chair can matter more to a family than to any valuer. The wingback we covered in a late father’s police uniform wool came from just down the road in Stalybridge, and it is a fair example of what a piece with a story can become when the frame is worth saving.
Traditional or modern methods
Many older chairs were built with webbing, hessian, hand-tied springs and horsehair, and when a piece was made that way we can restore it the same way. It is slower and the materials cost more, but it keeps the shape and feel the chair was made with. Where a piece was built with modern foam and serpentine springs, or where the family simply wants it comfortable for everyday use, modern materials are the sensible choice. We recommend one or the other for each piece rather than applying a single rule. Repairs and restoration lists the traditional work, and reupholstery and rejuvenation covers full recovers from bare frame up.
Choosing the fabric
A period chair can take a heritage weave, a velvet or a modern plain, and the choice changes the piece completely. We have a fabric showroom at the workshop and supply fabric from the mills we buy from, so it is worth bringing a cushion or a photo of the room and holding it against samples before deciding. You can browse our fabrics first to get a sense of the range.
Most domestic jobs take two to four weeks. Restoration in traditional methods can take longer, and we will give you a realistic date in the quote rather than a hopeful one. Send photos by WhatsApp or ring 0161 303 0769 and we will usually reply with a written quote the same working day.
Jobs we would point you to from Mottram
- A chair from SK14 with a good frame: reupholstery and rejuvenation, in a fabric from the showroom.
- Not sure if it needs a repair or a recover: repairs and restoration, and the quote will say which is better value.
- A sofa or suite from SK14 with a sound frame: sofa and suite recovering, starting with a frame check.
- Working to a designer’s brief in Mottram: interior designers and specifiers, using their fabric and drawings.
Covering Mottram (SK14), including around Mottram-in-Longdendale, St Michael and All Angels Church, Mottram Moor.
From Mottram to the workshop
- Bring it in
- 40–42 Grosvenor Street, Stalybridge SK15 1RR
- Collection
- Around £55 + VAT both ways (nearby SK and M34), around £75 + VAT elsewhere in Greater Manchester, further out by distance
- Open
- Mon to Fri 08:30 to 17:00; Sat 10:00 to 14:00
- Prices
- Price guide · Past projects
“Excellent service from Valley Upholstery. They re-upholstered our 3 piece suite and did a fantastic job, it now looks better than when we bought the original suite! Basically a brand new suite using the old frame. Attention to detail is exceptional particularly in matching the patterning on the various parts. We're very pleased with the result and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.”
Proof of work
Similar jobs from the workshop.
Stalybridge
Riser recliner floral recover
Full recover of a worn riser-recliner wingback: mechanism kept and serviced, new floral body fabric, plain footrest panels, finished in the Stalybridge showroom.
Stalybridge
The police uniform wingback chair
Customer Lindsay Yates brought us her late father's wingback armchair and asked whether we could cover it in his Greater Manchester Police service uniforms. Featured by the Guild of Master Craftsmen.
Local FAQs
Common questions from Mottram customers.
- Do you cover Broadbottom and Hollingworth as well as Mottram?
- Yes. Both villages are in Tameside and share the SK14 postcode district with Mottram, and we regularly work for SK14 customers. Collection from Mottram is around £55 + VAT both ways; for Broadbottom and Hollingworth the collection charge is confirmed in your quote. Bringing a piece to the workshop yourself is free.
- I have inherited an old chair in Mottram. Can you tell if it is worth restoring before I commit?
- Usually from photos. Send the front, side, underneath and any damage, and we will say whether the frame looks worth rebuilding and whether traditional or modern methods suit it. Some older pieces need seeing in person. Once a chair is opened up in the workshop, we tell you what we find before doing more.
Bring your Mottram furniture back to life.
Free, no-obligation quotes by phone, WhatsApp, in shop, or on site. Collection from SK14 is priced in your quote before booking.