Windsor Armchair
1770-1780 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Labelled Windsor chairs are rare, and in this case the label tells us both the name of the maker, Richard Hewett, who was also a wheelwright, and the place it was made, Slough, Berkshire, in the Thames valley. Many such chairs were made in the Thames valley, an area around the river to the West of London, where plentiful beech woods provided the raw materials. The name probably derives from the town of Windsor, situated on the river Thames and therefore ideally located as a distribution point. Windsor chairs were, however, also produced in many other areas of Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. A Windsor chair is characterised by its construction; the seat is of solid wood, with legs and arm-supports dowelled into it. Relatively cheap to make and light to move, Windsor chairs were made from the early 18th century but in greater numbers during the 19th century. Early Windsor chairs can sometimes be seen in paintings of gardens dating from the mid-18th century. For outdoor use they were usually painted for protection from damp, and would have been stored under cover.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | The elm seat shaped with an adze; the beech spindles shaped with a draw-knife, the beech top rail carved: the mahogany splat carved; the walnut arm bow shaped with a draw-knife and steam bent; the beech legs turned and carved |
| Brief description | A comb-back Windsor chair. The central splat of vase form, with the label of Richard Hewett, Slough underneath. 1770-1780 |
| Physical description | A Windsor armchair of comb-back form, the front legs of cabriole form, terminating in pad feet, the back legs turned and tapering with ball turnings just below the stretcher. The stretcher, of H-form, shows swelling shapings in the centre of each stretcher. The chair-back has a horizontal, shaped cresting rail, with circular shapings at each end, and a vase-shaped central splat, with three long spindles on either side. Each arms is supported on five short spindles, the arm supports at the front being of narrow boards, cut with a curved recess on the front edge. The solid seat, of elm, is D-shaped, with the front carved in a saddle shape. The maker's label, damaged from wear, is pasted on the underside of the seat. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | RICHARD HEWETT/CHAIR-MAKER,/At Slough, in the ...ar Windsor,/MAKES and sells Forest Chairs/and all sorts.. (On pasted paper label fixed to the underside of the seat.) |
| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the Brigadier Clark Fund through Art Fund |
| Object history | It is rare for an English Windsor chair to be labelled. Hewett is known to have died in 1777. He was described in church registers as a 'wheeler' (wheelwright). |
| Subject depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | Labelled Windsor chairs are rare, and in this case the label tells us both the name of the maker, Richard Hewett, who was also a wheelwright, and the place it was made, Slough, Berkshire, in the Thames valley. Many such chairs were made in the Thames valley, an area around the river to the West of London, where plentiful beech woods provided the raw materials. The name probably derives from the town of Windsor, situated on the river Thames and therefore ideally located as a distribution point. Windsor chairs were, however, also produced in many other areas of Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. A Windsor chair is characterised by its construction; the seat is of solid wood, with legs and arm-supports dowelled into it. Relatively cheap to make and light to move, Windsor chairs were made from the early 18th century but in greater numbers during the 19th century. Early Windsor chairs can sometimes be seen in paintings of gardens dating from the mid-18th century. For outdoor use they were usually painted for protection from damp, and would have been stored under cover. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.9-1988 |
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| Record created | December 17, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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