Our Chair of the Month for February is this beautiful child’s chair made in Rockley, Nottinghamshire around 1835-1850. It is just 68cm high and is made from yew, elm and ash woods. At first glance it looks very like Windsor chairs from the High Wycombe area. Without the ‘Nicholson Rockley’ stamp behind the seat, how could we know that it was not local to High Wycombe? There are some design differences to look out for.

The easiest to spot is that with chairs from Nottinghamshire, the bow back (curved back piece) tapers before it joins the arm or seat. In chairs from High Wycombe, it doesn’t. Compare this chair to our Chair of the Month from October 2024 to see what we mean.

Learn more about how to identify locally made Windsor chairs as well as other ‘Chair Expert’ tips in Wycombe Museum’s recently upgraded Chair Galleries.