The poor Tudors could not afford the luxury of individual chairs, in fact, chairs did not become common items of furniture until the seventeenth century. Wooden benches were the more commonly used furniture to sit on. Individual chairs were therefore rare and were designed with high straight backs. The seats and arms were sometimes stuffed with rushes. The type of chair most associated with the Tudor era are the 'settle chairs' Settle chairs had high straight backs and a panelled storage space was built into the bottom of the chair.