Chair (or back stool) with leather covered seat and back panel

Joined chair (back stool) with leather seat and rectangular back panel. Above the seat the uprights are slightly raked. The front legs and front stretcher (at mid-height) are bobbin turned. Brown leather covers, with brassy, round-headed nails, is applied over the the seat (nailed onto the outside faces of the chair rails), back panel and back uprights where they are exposed between the seat and back. The oak appears to be wavy-grain, fast growth. In fair, restored condition.

Modifications
Back right upright with modern scarfed repair at mid-section.
Rails at front and sides show previous nail holes for a seat cover.
Notable wear on front stretcher.
Leather covers have been conserved (and mounted on oilcloth in places), with new webbing and basecloth underneath. The round-headed brass nails (of two sizes) appear to be modern.

Two leather covered chairs (W.9-1923 and Circ.216-1923), purchased for £9 from Miss A.M. Lyster,
The Old Homes Art Bureau, 16, Eccleston Street, London SW1 21/2/23. RF 23/1569
'Leather torn, repaired'

On loan to Woolsthorpe Manor (upstairs chamber), 2014.

Notes from R.P. 23/1408 & 23/1569
Listed on form
As "1 Chair Cromwellian covered in leather - £9"

Minute Papers
Record their condition as "chipped,…..leather worn & damaged".

23/2/23 H Clifford Smith
supports purchase stating "These Cromwellian oak chairs belong to a type which is inadequately represented in the Museum. They are in original condition & have their old leather covers".

On loan at Tamworth Castle from 19xx to 2009
On loan to Woolsthorpe Hall, Lincolnshire (National Trust) from c2011

Chinnery, p. 278 suggests that the postioning of the front stretcher at mid-height indicates a date after 1660.

A leather-covered chair of similar form, but with an arched back, was sold from the Butler Collection by Bearnes, Hampton Littlewood, 10 March 2020, lot 499. This had a similar form of stitching on the centre of the seat and it was noted that it 'bears evidence of original grass stuffing in the upholstery'.

This kind of chair was known in 17th century Britain as a 'backstool' - literally, a stool with a back attached. It was the standard type of seating - often fitted with textile or leather covers - from 1615 until about 1670, when fashionable chair-backs became higher and the back legs were raked backwards for greater stability. This chair is raked above seat level but the back legs are vertical. The sturdy construction and leather covers would have made it practical piece for regular domestic use.

The upholstery of such seats is simple in construction, with webbing and base cloth nailed to the frame, padding of grass or horsehair (sometimes stitched to help keep it from forming lumps), and a top cover of leather nailed around the seat rails. Best quality 'Russia' leather (from calf or cowhide) had an impressed pattern and was found in red, green and yellow as well as brown.

On loan to Woolsthorpe Manor (National Trust).

CIRC.216-1923