Cromwellian chair,sturdy, squarish chair with a leather back and seat, studded with brass-headed nails, made in England and in urban centres of colonial America in the mid-17th century. They were popular during the Puritan period and were named after Oliver Cromwell. Because luxury and almost any kind of ornament were shunned in the prevailing climate of austerity, the only decoration was the pattern of bright nail heads and bobbin turning, a series of small bulbs, or bobbins, applied particularly to legs and stretchers. Such chairs were modified versions of the more comfortable Farthingale chair, a design popular in the late 16th century.