This magnificent chair was made in 1690 from the trunk of an oak tree that grew in the park surrounding Beaumanor Hall in Woodhouse, Leicestershire.
The Beaumanor Estate was owned by the Herrick family and the buffalo head and shield painted on the chair are both symbols from the family's crest. It is believed that the chair was embellished with rose buds and a spear by a tenant farmer called John Farnham in the 1790s as payment to the Herrick family for his rent.
Beaumanor Hall remained in the Herrick Family until 1946 when it was purchased by the War Office who had used the estate during World War II as a listening station.
The property was later purchased by Leicestershire County Council.
