Drawing the stately lines, elegant spindles and distinctive woven seat from Morris & Co’s celebrated Sussex chair, the Wycombe bench embodies the Arts & Crafts movement’s respect for nature and dedication to simplicity, with a refreshed, contemporary approach. Designed with longevity in mind, its unstained oak frame and quietly patterned woven paper cord seat tell the story of honest design sentiments, traditional woodworking techniques, and a commitment to the environment.
Design & engineering
The materials: oak
The subtle knotted grain of solid white oak coupled with its sense of tradition makes it our go-to timber. It’s also incredibly strong and most importantly, made to last. By nature, timber expands, contracts and shrinks due to changes in humidity, but we’ve used specialist joinery techniques to keep this movement as minimal as possible. For additional protection against everyday wear, we’ve coated this piece with Natural Oak IsoGuard – our VOC-free, oil-based formula that doesn’t mask the timber’s character.
The materials: woven paper cord
Traditionally, rush is the material of choice for woven seats like the ones in our Wycombe collection. But, for ours, we’ve chosen to use a cord material made from wood pulp paper. Paler and more uniform in colour than rush, this paper cord complements Wycombe’s light oak and clean lines (it was also favoured by mid-century designers such as Hans J Wegner for his Wishbone chair, and so is often known as Danish cord). It’s just as strong and durable as natural rush, and we’ve coated it in wax that makes it spill resistant – don’t worry, this won’t come off on clothes.
Design detail
To make your furniture as long lasting as possible, we’ve added gliders to the feet. So, when you move the piece around, these will help to keep the grain on the legs intact and they won’t damage the floor.
Doing the right thing
Our furniture uses wood from the Appalachian Mountains, a region where for every tree harvested or decaying, 2.4 naturally grow back in its place which supports forest regeneration. In fact, this has increased the Appalachian forest by more than 300,000 acres in the last 25 years.
The wood then goes to our production house, where a dedicated team is leading us towards becoming the most sustainable home and lifestyle brand by 2030. Not only is the production house powered by highly energy-efficient heat pumps, it also reuses and recycles as many by-products as possible to reduce waste and thereby, do what we can to take some of the pressure off our planet.
Wycombe's design story
The Wycombe collection is one of our most versatile, including fixed and folding chairs, stools, benches, armchairs and tables. The collection’s pared-back, simple design is rooted in the traditional influences of the 19th-century Arts & Crafts movement. Read more about Wycombe on our journal.
Free delivery for all orders over £100 (or €100 in Ireland).
For orders under £100 (or €100 in Ireland), it’s £6.95 (or €18 in Ireland).
If your order is available now for UK mainland delivery, we’ll deliver it within 7 days. Otherwise, it’ll arrive in the estimated time frame stated above and at checkout. We’ll be in touch nearer the time to confirm your delivery date.
Orders to mainland UK or Northern Ireland will arrive via our white glove service. We’ll unbox and position your items, assemble anything that’s needed and take away the packaging for recycling.
If you’re ordering outside mainland UK or Northern Ireland, items will be sent through our international delivery partners.
We’ll happily take back most pieces within 28 days of delivery.
For courier delivered items bought online, returns are free of charge.
A £29.95 collection charge applies to all furniture returns delivered with our white glove service.
If you cancel your order within 24 hours, we can refund the full amount.
These terms don’t affect your statutory rights. For our full returns policy, please click here.
Care & need to knows
Natural timber will expand and shrink as the temperature and humidity in your home changes, but we've used specialist joinery techniques to minimise the movement. You might see a some movement in the timber over the seasons, but it won't change drastically.
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From the Journal
Wycombe bench: a balance of beauty and utility
‘William Morris put it brilliantly, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful.” At Neptune, we take this a step further with designs that provide beau...