Superb 18th Century Irish Hedge Chair

We are delighted to introduce an antique 18th Century Irish hedge chair with wonderful historic leather repair.

This chair is without doubt the best we’ve ever owned. It’s got everything we love in a chair, great size, fantastic colour, beautiful historic leather repair, thick slab seat, and an incredible shape and atmospheric presence. I love it so much I got a tattoo of it. Chairs like this don’t come along very often. In our house which is full of chairs it’s referred to as ‘the chair’. As good as it gets if you’re into vernacular furniture.

Measurements: 61 x 59 x 46 cm

Historic leather repair

What is a Hedge Chair?

Hedge chairs are a form of primitive chair that originated in rural Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Their name derives from the fact they were created by hedge carpenters, who, unlike traditional carpenters, were untrained, and tended to approach chair-making by choosing wood that had naturally grown in the required shape, rather than cutting the timber to fit an established design, saving time and effort.

Quite often, the most suitably shaped pieces were found in hedges, which is why so many hedge chairs are made from mixed woods. This way of working was considered to be inferior at the time, but the method means that every hedge chair is wonderfully unique, and today their individuality and humble construction makes them hugely sought after by collectors.