The Eastbourne Chair was a style of invalid chair invented by a Sussex doctor, Astley Carrington Roberts and Fanny Sophia Smith.  They were both named in the patent which was granted patent number 22,790 in 1899.  The chair had wheels but also curved rear brackets which made it easier to get up and down stairs. (Easier but probably not easy!)  

The seat and back were made of rattan cane. The chairs were manufactured by the company of R.H. Woodland and Son in Commercial Road, Eastbourne.   

Several versions were made some had four wheels, others two or three and there was also a self-propelled model that could be moved by the occupant using handles attached by chains to the rear wheels. 

Dr Astley Carrington Roberts was born in Eastbourne in 1862, the son of local doctor Bransby Roberts. (1830-1919). He lived at Badlesmere a large house in Seaside Road (now Trinity Trees) It was his parent’s home and he lived there for his whole life. In 1896 Roberts  joined the 2^nd Sussex Artillery Volunteers under Colonel William Cardwell (The head of the Star Brewery and later Mayor of Eastbourne.) At the outbreak of war in 1914 Roberts saw service, firstly in India and later in northern France. He left the army with the rank of full Colonel. He was later a Special Constable, an active member of the Hartington Lodge Freemasons and the local British Legion. He died during an operation in London in 1942 and is buried at Ocklynge Cemetery (X1593)

The manufacturers of the chair were R H Woodland & Son.  Robert Henry Woodland (1859-1939) and his sons had a workshop at the east end of Commercial Road, Eastbourne (near the Cavendish Road Railway Bridge roundabout)  He first lived in Bedfordwell Road and later at 6, Gore Park Road. He was originally an upholsterer by trade. Woodland knew Doctor Roberts well as he was a Captain in the same brigade as the doctor. He was a member of the St Andrews Presbyterian Church for over 50 years. In the Great War he served in the Royal Amy Medical Corps and in Eastbourne was a long-standing member of the Red Cross.  Eastbourne Local History Society have a collection of photographs taken within the workshop and I was pleased to see that a couple show an Eastbourne Chair being made. 

Sadly I have not been able to find any information about Dr Roberts co-inventor Fanny Sophia Smith. 

Seaford Museum have an Eastbourne Chair on display but it has upholstered leather seats.  The chairs occasionally come up for auction and make between £50 and £150 depending on their condition.