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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ladybranch, post: 160472, member: 44&quot;]Just a bit more to add to the history of settles. They date back to medieval times. They were common in colonial America. Following is a description of one of their uses from the <i>Old Sturbridge Village</i> website with a pic of one of them at that wonderful colonial museum.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;A more well-equipped kitchen might boast an ironing settle, such as the one described by Catherine Beecher in her Treatise on Domestic Economy in 1841. [slide] This is essentially a dual purpose chair table with a large rectangular top hinged on the arms of the seat. In the winter it could be moved in front of the fire with the top tipped up to block drafts and &#039;[was] a comfortable seat, protecting the back from cold.&#039; [slide] With the top down it &#039;[became] an excellent ironing table.&#039; The seat was hinged, and the storage space below held the irons, ironing sheets, and other necessary equipment.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>BTW, they are sometimes referred to as hutch tables because of the storage compartment in the bench. Nowww yours is definitely not of the colonial era. I just wanted to add a little history to settles.</p><p><br /></p><p>--- Susan</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;The seat lifted up to reveal more storage space. I’ve found quite a few pictures of these sort of combination tables.</p><p>&quot;Here’s one I found in a kitchen at the Sturbridge Village museum.</p><p><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8Mva9I-cdIU/SohZJ0-0SUI/AAAAAAAAGTg/-obXgRpgYBg/s400/FITCH_KIT_TABLEBENCH.JPG" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Stools would have been the first things the colonists made to sit upon. Benches probably came next. Benches could be sat upon, or you could use them to set things on. A bench could be backless, just a long plank that sat on a couple of supports, or it could have a back to lean against, and maybe side panels to shelter you from drafts.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s a reproduction of a fixed settle bench that dates from the mid 20th century:</p><p><a href="http://www.pookandpook.com/cat/2015-01-19/2126" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.pookandpook.com/cat/2015-01-19/2126" rel="nofollow">http://www.pookandpook.com/cat/2015-01-19/2126</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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