In the backs of his shield chairs there is often a reminiscence of Chippendale's jar-shaped splat, and a very frequent detail is the festooned drapery or ' dish-clout 'ornament. This often spreads across the whole back, being caught up at the outer corners of the back and in the centre, where there is very commonly an urn shape. Little riband bows are sometimes used as a finish in the centre of the upper rail. Wheat-ears are also commonly found.

In the open square-backed chairs the same ornaments are employed, together with considerable diversity in the shape of the upright bars. These have their straightness broken in the centre by small circles with little rosettes in relief upon them. Where the bars are not straight they are sometimes terminal-shaped, and there are frequent cases of ovals and straight bars alternated, ellipses alone set side by side, interlaced round arches, and even pointed arches interlaced.

In the oval-backed chairs especially, a very common form of splat consists of four, five, or more curved bars spreading outwards into a fan shape at the top and often at the bottom. The most successful are those chairs in which the fan is wider above than below. These bars are best when fluted on their surfaces above and reeded below - a hollow, that is, contrasting with a round. The open divisions between the bars have rounded ends. This fan-barred splat is used in one of the few chairs by Heppelwhite in which he seems to have taken a hint from Chippendale as to the construction of the back. There is a type of Chippendale chair in which the Greek anthemion or 'honeysuckle' pattern adorns the centre of the top. Heppelwhite has replaced this by his dropping husks. In a second instance, however, where Heppelwhite has brought the splat down to the chair seat, he has filled up the whole of his splat with four honeysuckles of varying sizes, one above the other, and bounded by continuous interlacing straps.

In some chairs, especially those which have upholstered square backs, the upper rail is made four or five inches deep, and affords room for a considerable amount of inlay or painting. Festoons of flowers, laurel wreaths, and bow and arrow trophies are to be found, together with circular or oval medallions, with figures in the style of Cipriani and Angelica Kauffmann.