Stretchers, braces, or rails were used in very remote times to connect and strengthen the legs of chairs, tables, etc. In England in early Jacobean times, stretchers between all four legs were usual, and so arranged as to support the feet and keep them off the damp floor, or the marsh," as the rush-strewn floor was sometimes called. In the Restoration period, when the surroundings were improved, furniture was made lighter, and the foot-rest was no longer needed, much attention was given to the stretcher. It appeared in flat upright form, carved and sometimes recessed, and later the hooped stretcher of Spanish, the scrolled of Flemish taste, and the saltire or X-shape of Italian origin, made their appearance. Numerous other kinds, turned and carved, upright, flat and serpentine, were made to accord with the other features of the chair or settee of which it formed a part. The stretcher continued very fashionable until the Queen Anne period, when it was dispensed with, and was not used again until the Chippendale and later periods. Much ingenuity was then again expended on its contour and decoration.