This armchair is part of the popular Morris & Co. ‘Sussex’ range which also included a settle, corner chairs and single chairs (without arms). The range was made and sold from 1869 until the 1920s and was inspired by a late-Georgian country chair found in Sussex. The chairs were most likely designed by Philip Webb.
As well as being commercially successful, the chairs were also used by partners of Morris & Co. in their own homes. William and Jane Morris used ‘Sussex’ chairs in their first family home, Red House, and in their final London home, Kelmscott House in Hammersmith. Edward Burne-Jones also used ‘Sussex’ chairs in his garden studio at The Grange, Fulham.