An oak chair with a remarkable connection to one of England's most historical moments is set to be auctioned off today at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury.
The piece of furniture once belonged to John Bradshaw, the judge who presided over the trial that condemned King Charles I to execution.
Auctioneers anticipate the rare item will fetch between £1,500 and £2,500 when bidding takes place this Tuesday.
Bradshaw's verdict against the monarch in January 1649 marked the conclusion of the English Civil War and represented an unprecedented moment in constitutional history.
The chair belonged to John Bradshaw, who sentenced King Charles I to execution
|WOOLEY & WALLIS
The chair's authenticity is supported by an inscription on its underside, which identifies it as having belonged to Bradshaw of Bradshaw Hall in Derbyshire.
It was the first occasion in British history that a reigning monarch had been held accountable by a court operating under parliamentary authority.
The trial took place at Westminster Hall, where Bradshaw found Charles guilty of treason and ordered his execution.
This verdict fundamentally altered the trajectory of British constitutional development.
The inscription beneath the chair reads: "This chair belonged to John Bradshawe of Bradshawe Hall Derby SH presiding judge of the trial of King Charles I."
Such table chairs are themselves uncommon survivals from the period, making one with documented links to the regicide judge particularly noteworthy.
The chair also can be turned into a table
|WOOLEY & WALLIS
The piece offers tangible evidence of a pivotal chapter in the nation's past, connecting present-day collectors directly to the tumultuous events of the mid-seventeenth century.
Bradshaw himself died in October 1659, but the restoration of Charles II the following year brought grim retribution.
The new king declared Bradshaw a regicide, and his corpse was exhumed alongside those of Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton.
LATEST ROYAL NEWS:
His remains were subsequently hanged from gallows, decapitated, and his head displayed on a spike before being reburied.
Furniture specialist Mark Yuan Richards described the chair as "a powerful survival from one of the most turbulent moments in British history."
King Charles I was sentenced to death in January 1649
|GETTY
He noted that table chairs are rare in themselves, adding that "one with a direct and explicit association to John Bradshaw is exceptional."
"Objects like this bring history off the page and into the room," Richards commented.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter