The Wycombe Pitt Chair

When this chair was made chairs were a luxury item. This chair was a precursor of affordable mass-produced furniture.This chair is an early Windsor chair from the Chilterns region made by John Pitt of Upton-cum-Chalvely (now part of Slough) in the 1740s. Decorated with the Coat of Arms of Bath, it was probably ordered during a travel break on the main London - Bath route. During the 1800s, a massive chair industry emerged around High Wycombe changing the Chilterns forever. Before this, the beech woods were mainly coppiced, allowing sunlight in. By Victorian times, chair making demanded full-grown trees leading to a decrease in the biodiversity of plants and animals. Windsor chairs were probably the first mass-produced piece of furniture that ordinary people could afford. Previously, poorer people sat on stools, benches, stones or the floor. By Victorian times Windsor chairs could be seen in almost every farmhouse, cottage, pub and tea-room in the country. Emigration also took Windsor chairs to America where they became very popular.

When this chair was made chairs were a luxury item. This chair was a precursor of affordable mass-produced furniture.