Chairs made in Sussex and the William Morris Sussex Chair

• Published in: Regional Furniture Vol. 37; p. 87
• Main Author: Poulter, Guy
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Leeds Regional Furniture Society 01.01.2023
• Subjects: Antiques; Chairs; Furniture; World War I
• ISSN: 0953-0800

Poulter discusses the use of the term "Sussex" chairs in the antiques trade and the origins of the design elements of the Morris and Co. "Sussex" chair. He states that the design was based on earlier regional rush-seated chair-making traditions and was manufactured by Morris and Co. until at least World War I. He also explores the lack of specific information on chairs made in Sussex and the confusion surrounding the term "Sussex chair." He discusses other chair designs attributed to Sussex and the decline of small-scale chair makers in the late nineteenth century. He describes the features of the Morris and Co. Sussex chair and its contemporary copies by other furniture makers. He also mentions the existence of a thriving chair-making industry in Sussex in the first half of the nineteenth century, although little is known about the chairs made during that time.