In urban contexts, the tradition of the turned chair morphed into the Windsor chair.  Following English fashion for flexible – often outdoor or garden – furniture, Windsor chair makers set up shop in Charleston, South Carolina as early as the 1760s.

This Windsor bench is one of the “2 Portico Settees” purchased by Sir Peyton Skipwith for his house, Prestwould, near Clarksville, Virginia.   Skipwith ordered the settees from Raleigh, North Carolina Windsor-furniture maker David Ruth who seems to have executed them to custom specifications.  This settee’s short stature may have been to accommodate the space between the floor of Prestwould’s portico and its windows and porch railings.