Through collaborative projects, 3D models have been made of two chairs in Wycombe Museum’s collection.
3D scanning allows the public to explore these museum objects in a way that isn’t possible in the real world. You can pick them up, spin them around, and enjoy them from all angles.
Explore our 3D Models
Wheelback Windsor Chair
A humble object, but the archetype of High Wycombe chair production. 3D model created by Buckinghamshire New University as part of their 2026 ‘Reviving the Wycombe Chair’ project.
Child's Coronation Chair
A rarer, more ornate creation, showcasing the skill of local craftspeople. 3D model created by the National Paralympic Heritage Trust as part of their 2022 Digital Explorations project.
Wheelback Windsor Chair 3D Model
In collaboration with Buckinghamshire New University, 2026
About the chair
This is a typical Wycombe-made Wheelback Windsor chair, made in about 1840. It has an elm seat, beech legs and ash bow.
This is the type of chair that most people picture when they hear the term ‘Windsor’. However, that name describes the method of construction, rather than a specific design. The simplest definition of a Windsor chair is that it is ‘a stool with a back added’. On a Windsor, the pieces making up the back of the chair (and the arms, if the chair has them) could be removed entirely without breaking or cutting any of the component parts. After they had been removed, a stool would remain. The legs and the stretchers – the bars between the legs – slot into holes in the seat from underneath. The chair back (and arm supports if there are any) slot into holes in the seat from above. See our blog article ‘What is a Windsor Chair?‘ if you would like to read more.
Unusually, it has a label under the seat with the retailer’s name – A Jessop. Ann Jessop was a retailer based in Sheffield in the 1840s. This chair is one of many that was made in High Wycombe but sold much further away. Travelling salesmen took chairs on heavily laden wagons from Wycombe factories to shops and retailers in the midlands and north.
This chair is on display in Wycombe Museum’s ‘A History of Wycombe in 10 Objects’ galleries.
About the ‘Reviving the Wycombe Chair’ project
Researchers from Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) have collaborated with Wycombe Museum to explore how 3D imaging technologies can help preserve and promote heritage at risk. The BNU team was awarded funding by Research England to kick off the exploration of documenting and archiving culturally important artefacts in accessible, sustainable and replicable ways.
The team consisted of architect and associate professor Dr Liana Psarologaki, furniture designer maker and senior lecturer Scott Harper and 3D technologies research assistant Harry Aldridge.
The project started with a contextual and archival survey at Wycombe Museum and the Special Collections of London Metropolitan University, followed by a systematic selection of chair designs that hold regional manufacturing significance and potential pedagogical value. These were then assessed against material integrity and mobility.
The research team in collaboration with museum director Roz Currie and curator Dr Catherine Grigg selected the Victorian Wheelback Windsor as the chair for the project – the design most associated with High Wycombe. It is made from locally grown timbers. The label underneath the seat tells us that the chair was sold in the northern town of Sheffield. There was no railway yet and High Wycombe was on a major coaching route between London and Oxford, with access to the fast turnpike routes (toll roads) to London, Midlands and the North. This chair shows just how effective these transport networks were.
To produce this 3D model, the museum’s chair was scanned in the 3D lab at BNU’s High Wycombe Campus in May 2026. The chair was handled by trained museum volunteers and scanned three times. Each scan required multiple tests and took between forty-five to ninety minutes as required to capture the chair from different angles and sides.
The initial high-quality scan includes detail of texture and colour up to 0.5mm and preserves the essence of the chair as a carefully crafted and heavily loved object. This includes the patina, curly grain, imperfections and wear and tear.
A free digital download package of the Wheelback Windsor chair (including 3D object files and contextual information) will be available here soon.
If you wish to know more about the project or interested in a collaboration, please contact the project lead Dr Liana Psarologaki at liana.psarologaki@bnu.ac.uk.
Dr Liana Psaralogaki works to produce the 3D model for the Windsor chair.
The chair is scanned from all angles in BNU’s High Wycombe labs.
Museum volunteer Edmund is responsible for its safe handling during the 3D scanning process.
Child’s Coronation Chair 3D Model
In collaboration with National Paralympic Heritage Trust, 2022
About the chair
This ornate child’s chair was made by George Arthur Lane of High Wycombe in 1953 to mark the Coronation of Elizabeth II, and is carved with lions and swans.
High Wycombe has a strong tradition of making chairs to commemorate royal coronations, with several local manufacturers having been tasked with producing chairs and stools for lords and ladies to sit on for multiple monarchs. Glenisters made rush seated chairs and stools for Edward VII’s coronation in 1902; Bartlett and Skull produced chairs and stools for George V in 1911; Hands produced chairs and Glenisters produced stools for George VI in 1937; Hands made chairs for Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
George Arthur Lane worked for Parker Knoll in High Wycombe between 1912-1966. However, this chair wasn’t a product of Parker Knoll. George made this chair as a personal project in his own time.
This chair is on display in Wycombe Museum’s chair galleries.
About the Digital Explorations project
Wycombe Museum worked in collaboration with our colleagues at the National Paralympic Heritage Trust (NPHT) to produce a 3D model of our Child’s Coronation Chair.
The work was done as part of the NPHT’s Digital Explorations Project, a scheme that helps to train a group of participants from local disability organisations to use 3D photography, sports journalism, and research, and even deliver this training in school workshops. Through a series of professional training sessions and historical research work experience, the group recruited disabled individuals from across Buckinghamshire to build skills in digital 3D object scanning, photogrammetry and editing, to record objects and their stories. The group meticulously captured over 60 artefacts across several museums that were previously uncatalogued and too delicate to handle. Thanks to the training and work experience these individuals received, many went on to take paid roles within the group, sharing their new skills with students in Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) schools across Buckinghamshire. You can see photographs of the scanning and modelling process below.
Digital Explorations Project is funded by Rothschild Foundation, National Heritage Lottery Fund and National Paralympic Heritage Trust with support from Heart of Bucks.
Project participant Ben and Project Leader Maddy doing the 3D scanning for our Coronation child’s chair.
The 3D model being worked on behind the scenes.
Search Our Chair Collection
Search through a selection of the museum’s chair collection database, which has never previously been publicly available.
