History of Rocking Chairs

Researching the origins of my new (yet very old) rocking chair, I learnt that the humble rocking chair has quite a past. The rocking chair (also known as a rocker) seems to first appear in England during the 1700’s and around 1745 was used primarily as garden chairs! The origins of the rocker is pretty murky as the original inventor remains unknown however recognition goes to England’s North American colonies who designed the well known American Windsor Rocking Chair (named after it’s English counterpart that was first built near the Windsor Castle in the early 18th century).

There are dozens and dozens of styles, shapes and sizes made of different woods and materials. I found a website that details over 30 different chairs, their histories, what they’re made of and where they come from with full colour pictures. If you don’t know what type of rocking chair you have then I recommend you have a look. What type of rocking chair do you have? Where did it come from? What personal history does it represent? Never before has a piece of furniture had so much depth to it. It’s pretty cool.