History of Chesterfields

This is a question I am often asked; the answer is I’m not sure! I have customers the world over who have their own ideas; my Canadian customers like to think that Chesterfield is a Canadian word although they refer to any sofa as a Chesterfield. I have done a little research and according to Robert Hendrickson in the Encyclopedia of word and phrase origins, the term chesterfield is commonly applied to a sofa in honour of Philip Stanhope, the forth Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773). However, Hendrickson points out that it is more likely that a latter Earl of Chesterfield invented them, which earl he does not know. At any rate, according to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), it was used to refer to a couch in 1900.

According to Carver in American Regional Dialects the term appears to have come into use in Canada around 1903 and in Northern California about the same time. The Jrnl. Canadian Linguistics Association (qtd. in OED) notes chesterfield seems to be in general use throughout Canada, though the usual American sofa is also known and used [3]. Almost everywhere in the U.S chesterfields are cigarettes and nothing more. Here in England, a davenport couch was sometimes referred to as a chesterfield but this is obsolete.

In present day England a Chesterfield is now generally accepted to mean a deep buttoned leather sofa with arms that are of the same height as the back of the couch.

I would like a definitive answer to the origins of the Chesterfield sofa, can you help?

If you have any ideas about the origins of the word 'Chesterfield' or if you have any interesting Chesterfield facts Contact Us and we may give you a mention on the site.