Take a seat!

There is an enormous amount of wood at Oxburgh - floors, ceilings, wall panelling, stairs and banisters, and, of course, furniture. Much is very ornately carved but this afternoon I was struck by the simplicity of this chair made of English oak in the early 17th century. The skill required to produce the perfectly matched turned spindles (see extra) with hand tools then was different from, but equal to, that used for intricate carving. Imagine how many people have sat on this chair in the past 400 years!