The Sussex chair was designed by Philip Webb for Morris & Co., c.1860s. The ebonised turned wood and rush seating was adapted from a traditional vernacular pattern and made in large quantities by Morris & Co. from the 1860s onwards. This example was one of a quantity of such ‘Sussex’ chairs purchased from Morris & Co., c.1890s for use in the common rooms and students’ room by Newnham College, Cambridge.
