High Wycombe Chair Making Museum
Small guided-tour museum at Kraft Village about the Windsor chair makers of High Wycombe; currently closed.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
High Wycombe and the surrounding Chilterns were once the centre of English chair making. By 1875 the town and its neighbourhood were producing about 4,700 Windsor chairs every day. The work was divided between three groups of craftsmen. Bodgers worked in the local beech woods, felling the trees and then splitting, shaving and turning the round parts of a chair, mainly the legs and stretchers. Benchmen made the remaining parts in wooden sheds and workshops, often in their back gardens. Framers then assembled the parts into finished chairs.
The museum at Kraft Village explains this trade through a guided tour. Original tools, illustrations and exhibits show how each group of workers did its job, and different examples of Windsor chairs are displayed and explained. The museum is run by the woodturner Robert Bishop, who trades as Kraftinwood, and has since been set up as a not-for-profit community interest company, High Wycombe Chair Making Museum CIC. Its income depends entirely on entrance fees and donations. The aim of the company is to tell visitors about the area's chair-making heritage and to demonstrate the old techniques with original tools.
The museum is currently closed while the neighbouring Kraftinwood art gallery holds a closing-down sale, and the owners hope to reopen it when the sale is finished.
Highlights
- Guided tour about bodgers, benchmen and framers
- Original chair-making tools and illustrations
- Examples of Windsor chairs from the High Wycombe trade
- Operated by
- High Wycombe Chair Making Museum CIC
Admission & discounts
The museum is closed during the closing-down sale of the Kraftinwood art gallery; the owners hope to reopen it afterwards.
Accessibility
The museum is closed during the closing-down sale of the Kraftinwood art gallery; the owners hope to reopen it afterwards.
Kids & families
The museum is closed during the closing-down sale of the Kraftinwood art gallery; the owners hope to reopen it afterwards.
Getting there & parking
By car
Free parking
Free visitor parking spaces are available; visitors should ask for a parking permit.
Follow the brown tourist signs for the "Chair Making Museum" to Kraft Village (HP12 3AJ).
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
Kraft Village has a craft gift shop and an art gallery. DVDs and USB sticks of the museum tour are sold.
Events & venue rental
The museum is closed during the closing-down sale of the Kraftinwood art gallery; the owners hope to reopen it afterwards.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The museum is visited on a guided tour that explains the tools and the work of the bodgers, benchmen and framers. |
