This settle is part of the popular Morris & Co. ‘Sussex’ range which also included armchairs, 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 ‘Sussex’ range was 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.