Reclining chairs which had a back hinged with a metal hinge at seat level and with metal ratchets attached to the arms and back uprights to hold the back at different angles, were made in East Anglia during the late 18th century and into the first half of the 19th century. See Dr B.D. Cotton, The English Regional Chair, Woodbridge, 1991, pages 231-232, figs EA56, EA57, EA58 and EA60 for examples.

However, all of the examples recorded to date from this tradition are jointed chairs, that is to say, utilising largely sawn parts and mortice and tenon joints, often with the addition of some turned parts, and made by makers who described themselves as 'cabinet and chair makers'. This example has the characteristics of turned ladder back chairs from Lincolnshire, and is a rare, perhaps unique, example of the reclining form being made in this tradition. Given the close proximity of Lincolnshire and East Anglia, it is tempting to visualise this design being observed and translated in to a different regional style.