Settles

The earliest settles were probably fixed close to the fire place as a piece of built-in furniture. They were high and box-like to exclude draughts. By the end of the seventeenth century the settle was a popular piece of furniture and it was made throughout the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century, particularly in country districts. Dating it thus is only approximate, as with other country furniture. Prices vary fairly widely as this is very much a specialist market.