The original Anglo Saxon church at Southwell was mostly rebuilt by the Normans on the site of an earlier Saxon church and even earlier Roman villa, later becoming a Minster. The Minster is famous for the octagonal chapter house built in the thirteenth century with its naturalistic stone carvings of foliage and including several green men – the Leaves of Southwell. Southwell was where King Charles 1st was captured during the English Civil war.
As part of the seating reorder Treske were asked to develop a chair with a wooden seat that was comfortable and would be easy to clean. Treske designed and made Southwell Minister two hundred chairs in the style of the chair that was used (the St Wilfrid chair) at Ripon Cathedral but with a ply form seat instead of the standard rush seat. The ply form seat is made from beech sandwiched between oak outer veneers, giving a very strong seat. Obtaining the correct seat shape was important to make the chairs comfortable – so the shape gently folds from front to back with a soft valley shape at the centre of the back.
