Monks bench

A monks bench configured as a table.

A monks bench configured as a settle.

A monks bench or hutch table is a piece of furniture where a tabletop is set onto a chest in such a way that when the table was not in use, the top pivots to a vertical position and becomes the back of a Settle, and this configuration allows easy access to the chest lid which forms the seat of the piece.^[1][2][3] Percy Blandford notes that "whether monks ever used such a bench is debatable, but it is an attractive name".^[4]

A monks bench was a very useful form at a time when many homes had a large room used for multiple functions, because it allowed a large dining table to swing up and out of the way.^[5]

Notes

1. monks bench (British English) or hutch table (American English)
2. Pearson 1985, p. 39.
3. Carney 1950, p. 97.
4. Blandford, p. 132.
5. Strickland 1953, p. 165.

References

• Blandford, Percy W. (1982). Constructing tables and chairs— with 55 projects (illustrated ed.). Tab Books. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-8306-1424-0.
• Carney, Clive (1950). Furnishing art and practice. Oxford University Press. p. 97.
• Pearson, Lu Emily Hess (1985) [1957]. Elizabethans at Home. Stanford University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-8047-0494-6.
• Strickland, Calton (March 1953). "The Early American Hutch Table". Popular Mechanics (Hearst Magazines) 99 (3): 165–167. ISSN 0032-4558.