The Chilterns Chairs Festival Celebrates Local Heritage in July 2024

Celebrate the unique heritage of the local area with The Chilterns Chairs Festival, taking place throughout July. With a varied programme of events, discover how the chairmaking industry grew from the local landscape into thriving furniture production which proudly continues today. Join in to celebrate the stories, the chairs and the surroundings which make up our history.

The festival will run through July 2024, and includes a wide variety of events held at venues across the Chilterns. From family fun days to factory tours from big names like Ercol and William Hands, there’ll be interpretive dance, woodland workshops, and all manner of things in between. And what’s more, all of the festival events are free to attend.

Running alongside the festival’s event programme is The Art of the Chair, a special exhibition at Wycombe Museum, exploring the art, design and marketing of chairs. From drawings and prints, to chair templates and catalogues – discover the designs that made Wycombe chairs known around the world. The Museum’s furniture galleries will also feature upgraded displays for the Festival launch in July.

Museum Director Roz Currie says: ‘We’re thrilled to be putting the spotlight on the fantastic chairmaking heritage of High Wycombe and the Chilterns. It is wonderful to have so many local organisations involved in this project – it really shows how much the area still feels connected to its chairmaking legacy.’

For a full programme of festival events, and to find out how to get involved, go to wycombemuseum.org.uk/chilterns-chairs-festival.

The Chilterns Chairs Festival is being organised by Wycombe Museum, with activities being delivered by 14 partner organisations from around the Chilterns. The festival is funded by the Chalk, Cherries & Chairs Landscape Partnership. CCC is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and is hosted by the Chilterns National Landscape.