To refer to backless and elongated wooden seating, the words 'bench' and 'shape' can be used interchangeably. A bench may have originally been freestanding and movable, whereas a shape refers to a bench mounted to the wall. In addition, the word "bench" has gained the extra sense of a work surface, such as the workbench of a cabinetmaker.
In the days when chairs were reserved for the most important people (hence the word "chairman"), the bench was the typical seating type. The early styles, consisting of a plank supported by solid ends linked by brackets or a stretcher, were quite simple.
Later inventions included benches, similar to an elongated joint stool, with joined legs. The legs were stretched up past the seat at a certain point in order to form sides and a back. This new type was known as a settle, thought to have been created for homes lacking the linenfold frame-and-paneling that was prevalent as a wall covering.
In the days when chairs were reserved for the most important people (hence the word "chairman"), the bench was the typical seating type. The early styles, consisting of a plank supported by solid ends linked by brackets or a stretcher, were quite simple.
Later inventions included benches, similar to an elongated joint stool, with joined legs. The legs were stretched up past the seat at a certain point in order to form sides and a back. This new type was known as a settle, thought to have been created for homes lacking the linenfold frame-and-paneling that was prevalent as a wall covering.