This object is a birthing chair designed to help women labour in a natural and helpful upright position, assisted by her midwife and gossips (closest family and friends). It dates from the late 17th century and is possibly the only birthing chair on display in the country at the moment. The pink silk upholstery tells us that this is an object used by women in a very wealthy family. The chair could be adjusted to tilt further back. The hinges near the arms meant that the chair could be folded and stored away when not needed. The labouring woman would have her feet firmly on the ground in the 1600s and hold the handles to help her push. The holes in the legs were added in the 1700s, when raising a woman’s legs aided more intervention in her labour.

Find out more about Childbirth in the Civil War Era in a fascinating presentation from Dr Sara Read of Loughborough University here.