These chairs were commissioned for John Rowntree’s café in Scarborough, where Walton set out to reinterpret historical forms through a more contemporary lens. He drew on the French 17th-century caquetoire chair, a Renaissance type that had been widely adopted in Scotland from the 16th century onwards. Owing to the close cultural ties between France and Scotland, this form remained in use well into the 17th century and could still be found in more aristocratic Scottish interiors as late as the 19th century.

With these chairs, Walton takes that familiar silhouette and reworks it with a lighter touch. By introducing rush seating, he softens the solidity of the original construction, creating chairs that feel less formal and more suited to a social, public setting, while still retaining a clear dialogue with their historical sources.