Some of the chairs of the time of James I were much like those of Louis XIII, having the short back covered with leather, damask, or tapestry, put on with brass or silver nails and fringe around the edge of the seat.  The chief characteristic of the chairs of this time was solidity, with the ornament chiefly on the upper parts, which were molded oftener than carved, with the backs usually high.  A plain leather chair called the “Cromwell chair,” was imported from Holland.  The solid oak back gave way at last to the half solid back, then came the open back with rails, and then the Charles II chair, with its carved or turned uprights, its high back of cane, and an ornamental stretcher like the top of the chair back, between the front legs.  This is a very attractive feature, as it serves to give balance of decoration and also partly hides the plain stretcher from sight.  A typical detail of Charles II furniture is the crown supported by cherubs or opposed S-curves.  James II used a crown and palm leaves.

Grinling Gibbons did his wonderful work in carving at this time, using chiefly pear and lime wood.  The greater part of his work was wall decoration, but he made tables, mirrors and other furniture as well.  The carving was often in lighter wood than the background, and was in such high relief that portions of it had often to be “pinned” together, for it seemed almost in the round.  Evelyn discovered Gibbons in a little shop working away at such a wonderful piece of carving that he could not rest until he had taken him to Sir Christopher Wrenn.  From this introduction came the great amount of work they did together.  The influence of his work was still seen in the early eighteenth century.

The room at Knole House that was furnished for James I is of great interest, as it is the same to-day as when first furnished.  The bed is said to have cost L8,000.  As it is one of the show places of England one should not miss a chance of seeing it.

Until the time of the Restoration the furniture of England could not compare in sumptuousness with that of the Continental countries.  England, besides having a simpler point of view, was in a perpetual state of unrest.  The honest and hard-working English joiners and carpenters adapted in a plain and often clumsy way the styles of the different foreigners who came to the country.  Through it all, however, they kept the touch of national character that makes the furniture so interesting, and they often did work of great beauty and worth.  When Charles II came to the throne he brought with him the ideas of France, where he had spent so many years, and the change became very marked.  The natural Stuart extravagance also helped to form his taste, and soon we hear of much more elaborate decoration throughout the land.