Ever wondered about the history of your handwoven chair?
The first chairs were in fact three-legged stools, designed to accommodate the rough floors of basic cottages. Four-legged furniture, now commonplace, will balance only on an even floor.
Stools and benches were the standard seats in Medieval England with the occasional chair reserved for dignitaries and the head of the household. More like a small wooden chest or bench, with a straight back and maybe arms, these early chairs were heavy and costly. Few survive today.
The desire for comfort ensured that over time methods were developed to produce softer durable seats, and gradually the difference between the furniture of the aristocracy and that of the workers grew more visible. Regional chair makers used local materials to weave into seats and backs, such as:
- rush (freshwater or saltwater) also known as Scirpus Lacustris the British bullrush
- willow (whole or skeined) also known as the genus Salix
- bark strips
- grasses
- oat straw used in the Orkney Islands
- straw or rye rope used in Irish Sugan chairs.
Handwoven objects have been made for millennia.
Examples of rushwork found in Britain date from the fourteenth century, while the earliest evidence has been found in Ancient Egypt. Rushes and willows for chairseating come from the marshes and wetlands of northern climates like our own. Cane for chair seating comes from the climbing rattan palm which grows in the tropical forests of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. Seagrass is imported from shallow saltwater beds around the world.
In the seventeenth century cabinet makers, influenced by ideas from the Continent, began using a greater variety of woods and shapes, embellishment and woven cane in seats, backs, bedheads, tabletops and daybeds. Fine furniture continued to evolve through the eighteenth century and onwards, with makers like Chippendale bringing grace and elegance to their designs.
Rush and cane seated chair production increased with the growth of urban populations in the Industrial Revolution; all requiring work and furniture. Rush seaters were known as 'rush bottomers' or 'rush matters' and each region had their own common features, including many variations of spindle backs, ladder backs and locally, Dales chairs. This period represents regional chair making at its peak. A deep appreciation of vernacular chairs and seats remains, and many can be seen in private homes and auction houses to this day.
For further information visit:
The English Regional Chair exhibition archive, 2005, published by the Geffrye Museum
The English Regional Chair by Bernard D. Cotton, published by Antiques Collectors' Club Ltd.
Geffrye Museum, London
Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes
The Museum of English Rural Life, Reading
Wycombe Museum, Buckinghamshire; specialist furniture industry collection including Windsor chairs.
Design Museum, London; particluarly informative on late 19th and early 20th century chairs.
