Windsor chair
- Place of origin:
England, Great Britain (made)
- Date:
late 18th century (made)
- Artist/Maker:
unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Yew and elm, carved and turned
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by Mrs S. I. Woodley
- Museum number:
W.12-1940
- Gallery location:
In Storage
Windsor chairs are characterised by having turned legs and back-frames, which are dowelled into a solid wooden seat. Their name probably derives from the town of Windsor in Berkshire, which is situated on the river Thames and was ideally located as a distribution point for chairs made in the Thames Valley region, where many chairs of this type were made. Windsor chairs, however, were also produced in many other areas of Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. The back and legs of this chair are made of yew, with an elm seat carved in a saddle shape. Better-quality 18th-century Windsor chairs often had cabriole (or S-shaped) front legs, as in this example. The back-splat is carved to resemble the tracery of a Gothic church window.
