Antique Chairs
We try to stock a wide range of antique dining chairs including French Dining Chairs, Oak Chairs and Windsor chairs as well as antique stools and benches.
The Windsor chair is recognised as one of the classic designs of English country furniture. Ideal ideal for both traditional or contempory settings and perfect around a country farmhouse table. The style emerged in the early 18th century and they were manufactured in large numbers in the Thames Valley in Buckinghamshire. Windsor was the centre for distribution and this gave the chair its name. Windsor chairs were made in a wide range of styles. There are distinct regional variations from all over Britain and the USA where the form was equally popular. The styles include slat backs, stick backs, Oxford scroll, hoop backs and Windsor wheel backs.
They were often made by village craftsmen in native woods like elm, ash, beech and yew. The principle design of the chair is where the legs and the back are both socketed into a solid seat and this form of construction proved so practical and popular that it was widely adopted not only by country craftsmen, but for mass production in factories during the early 20th century. Windsor chairs are still being made in the traditional way today.
Whatever style of English Windsor chair you look at there is an undoubted level of craftsmanship involved in its design. The seats are comfortably moulded to provide the best degree of comfort. The spindles on the back of the chair are thin but no less solid for that. Some parts of the chairs are gently curved to provide the distinctive look and feel that is indicative of this design.