A Windsor chair is a chair built with a solid wooden seat into which the chair-back and legs are round-tenoned, or pushed into drilled holes, in contrast to standard chairs, where the back legs and the uprights of the back are continuous. The seats of Windsor chairs were often carved into a shallow dish or saddle shape for comfort. Traditionally, the legs and uprights were usually turned on a wood lathe. The back and sometimes the arm pieces (if arms are present) are formed from steam bent pieces of wood.
Whilst the origins of the chair are not clear, it is thought that they were made as early as the 16th century. It is thought the design was probably a development of West Country, Welsh and Irish 'stick-back' chairs, but the evidence on origin is not certain. There has been some evidence to suggest the first Windsor chair made its appearance in the county of Buckinghamshire, where the main centre of production eventually moved to High Wycombe. The first Windsor’s were of the comb-back variety. By the 18th century steam-bending was being used to produce the characteristic "bow" of the Windsor chair. The first chairs made this way were shipped to London from the market town of Windsor, Berkshire in around 1724. There is speculation that the chair derives its name from the town of Windsor, which became the centre for the trade between the producers and the London dealers. Thus, the name "Windsor Chair" is more about the style of chair than where it was made, with many diverse forms of Windsor chair being made worldwide.
It is understood that traditionally there were three types of craftsmen involved in the construction of a Windsor chair: there was the chair bodger, an itinerant craftsman who worked in the woods and made just the legs and stretchers, on a wood lathe; Then there was the benchman who worked in a small town or village workshop and would produce the seats, backsplats and other sawn parts; The final craftsman involved was the framer. The framer would take the components produced by the bodger and the benchman and would assemble and finish the chair.
English settlers introduced the Windsor chair to North America, with the earliest known chairs being imported by Patrick Gordon who became lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in 1726. There is speculation that the first American Windsor chair, based on the traditional British design, was made in Philadelphia in 1730.
There are about seven distinctive forms of Windsor Chair. These include:
Sack-back (pictured)
Hoop-back
Comb-back
Continuous arm
Low back
Rod back
Fan back
Early British Windsor’s were often painted with later versions being stained and polished. American Windsor’s were usually painted, in the 18th century they were grain painted with a light colour, then over-painted with a dark colour before being coated with linseed oil for protection of the fragile paint. In the 19th century settlers from the mid-west of America to Ontario, Canada would coat their chairs with the solid primary colours of milk paint: a mix of buttermilk, turpentine and cow's blood.
During the early 19th century the United States produced vast numbers of chairs, in factories, and it was reported that an experienced factory painter could paint a chair in less than five minutes. By mid-century, to save production costs, the chair was painted in solid colours with some simple stencilling being the only design.
With wear in use, the paint wears off around the edges and displays a characteristic wear pattern that reveals the paint colours underneath. As for any antique, this original finish often survives best in unworn areas such as the bottom of the seat or around turnings. Later repainting, even well-intentioned restoration, will diminish the value of an original finish.
The Windsor always makes its own statement – what do you think?
