Monks bench explained

A monks bench or hutch table is a piece of furniture where a tabletop is set onto a chest in such a way that when the table was not in use, the top pivots to a vertical position and becomes the back of a Settle, and this configuration allows easy access to the chest lid which forms the seat of the piece.^[1]

Overview

Percy Blandford notes that "whether monks ever used such a bench is debatable, but it is an attractive name".

A monks bench was a useful form at a time when many homes had a large room used for multiple functions, because it allowed a large dining table to swing up and out of the way.

See also

• Onit chair

References

• Book: Blandford, Percy W. . 1982 . Constructing tables and chairs - with 55 projects . illustrated . Tab Books . 978-0-8306-1424-0 . 132.
• Book: Carney, Clive . 1950 . Furnishing art and practice . Oxford University Press . 97.
• Book: Pearson, Lu Emily Hess . 1957 . 1985 . Elizabethans at Home . Stanford University Press . 978-0-8047-0494-6 . 39.
• Strickland . Calton . March 1953 . The Early American Hutch Table . Popular Mechanics . 99 . 3 . 0032-4558. Hearst Magazines . 165–167.

Notes and References

1. monks bench (British English) or hutch table (American English)