HJ Berry

Heritage

H J Berry & Sons Ltd, the oldest chair manufacturer in England and the UK, have been making fine 

chairs and tables in Chipping, near Preston in Lancashire, since 1840.  The business that was 

founded by John Berry and named after his son, Henry James Berry, is still situated in the ancient 

village of Chipping, nestling below the fells close to Bowland Forest.  

 

John Berry saw an opportunity to bring together the chairmaking skills of the cottage industry in 

Chipping and the fine woods found in the surrounding Forest of Bowland to establish a small workshop.

 

By 1880 the business had expanded so much that it needed a new site in Chipping, as the founder’s 

entrepreneurial son, Henry James Berry, bought the local cotton mill, known as Kirk Mills.  The mill 

is still used today by the company and the original Arkwright water wheel that powered the machinery 

until 1940 is still in place.

 

Today, specialising in the production of fine chairs, tables and stools, the fifth generation of the Berry 

family still uphold the integrity and authenticity of that tradition. H J Berry still relies upon its employees 

to be craftsmen and draw on the skills of previous generations, handed down from the cottage industry.  

 

This is demonstrated in the production of our timeless and enduring rush seated chairs, a traditional style 

from the Lancashire region.  Each individual seat takes three hours to “bottom” by hand using only the 

finest rushes.  

 

Our rush seated chairs are not only renowned for quality, but they are a piece of British regional history as 

shown when they were displayed in the Geffrye Museum in London in 2005.