Are You Sitting Comfortably?
HAZELLE JACKSON investigates that most commonplace item - the humble park
bench.
The magnificent cast-iron camel-styled benches on the Victoria Embankment
Sponsor a Bench in Battersea Park
As part of the HLF-funded restoration of Battersea Park, over 200 benches
were installed, in traditional Victorian style, to make the park a
pleasant
place to rest and relax. In 2002 the LB Wandsworth introduced a scheme
for friends and admirers of the park to sponsor a bench with a plaque
as "a lasting and memorable contribution to this much loved and well-used
park."
LPGT member Jen Ullman was Chief Parks Officer at the time for the LB
Wandsworth. Jen recalls: "It went really well. We relocated
most of the old benches in the park to non-restored areas, contacting the
original donors when we had the information.
Two Styles
"We had two styles of bench to sponsor. The style was originally
location-dependent and cost either £500 or £750, including
a plaque. (Prices has recently been increased to £750 and £1000 to cover
inflation costs in manufacture and materials.)
"In the first year we took £20,000 in donations, the riverside proving
the most popular location. it trailed off a bit after that but is
still tremendously beneficial to the Park.
"The donors receive a letter of contract that says that the park will
replace a bench if it is damaged within three years of the donation. The park
endeavours to keep each bench in the place of donation, but reserves the
right to move or remove if necessary.
Database
"All the information is kept on a database so that the park can contact
the donor in case of damage or problems. So it works well."
» Further information
The two styles of bench used in Battersea park. The cast-iron bench
design (left) was at its height during the mid 19th century. Very few
benches from that
period survive. The design for the Battersea Park cast-iron bench was
copied from this photograph, brought back to life for the restoration of
the park. This
style of bench is used in the more formal areas of the park, including
the Riverside Promenade, the Sub-Tropical and Rosery Gardens and on
Central Avenue.
The steel strap bench (right) can be seen in early photographs of the
park. Some of the original strap benches survive and have been
refurbished. New
benches are exact replicas, except the wood used is from sustainable
sources, rather than the teak used on the original benches. The strap
bench is used
widely throughout the park, except in the formal garden areas.
Public parks were an invention of the Victorians. New parks for the urban
masses demanded new forms of mass seating - and public seating was
tackled with the same energy as other innovations of the age. The latest
technology was eagerly harnessed by the Victorians, who used both cast
and wrought iron to create the exuberant swirling seats so typical of a
Victorian park. The magnificent cast-iron camel-styled benches shown here
are reproductions from the original designs dating from 1877 and are
located on the Victoria Embankment.
Much decorative ironwork used by the Victorians in their parks was lost
when it was recycled, along with park railings, for the war effort during
the Second World War. Modern reproductions are widespread.
The Edwardians liked rustic designs and materials and used a lot of
wooden park furniture including benches made from knobbly tree branches,
probably built by the park staff. The circular tree seat was also very
popular with the Edwardians, built of wood or metal around the trunk of a
substantial tree.
In the early twentieth century parks had plentiful supplies of
wood-and-metal folding chairs, often used
around bandstands. Such a resource was only possible when plentiful park
keepers were also available to put them out and put them away and
keep order genera1ly.
A popular style of bench which endured well into the
twentieth century was made of wooden slats fitted round a curving
S-shaped metal frame. This type of slatted bench features on many comic
postcards, which show unwary sitters getting up from a newly painted
bench with fresh paint stripes on their clothing.
Many of the mature trees in our parks are now well over 100 years old and
increasingly vulnerable to high winds. In some woodland areas, the
trunks from fallen trees have been carved into basic seating.
Wooden benches remain a mainstay of public parks but increased demand for
hardwood timber and a diminishing supply meant a shortage of
durable oak. Imported teak became a popular alternative.
Never out of Style
The classic wooden bench never goes out of style and wooden benches are
often donated by friends and family in memory of a deceased relative,
with a small dedication mounted on a metal plaque or carved into the wood
on the back.
Some benches even utilise modern technology from
the digital age. In 2001 the family of punk singer
lan Durie unveiled a solar-powered bench
dedicated to the star in Richmond Park. The
bench lets visitors plug in a set of headphones
and listen to eight of his songs, as well as an
interview, although sadly it is often vandalised.
Not to be outdone, famous
dogs also have their own Dog Walk of Fame in Battersea Park.
Unveiled by the Kennel club in November 2007,
this takes the form of a plaque and bench for
each dog, sited around the park's bandstand,
honouring such canine stars as lassie and
Gromit.
With park keepers thin on the ground and
greater pressure from an expanding
population, not all well intentioned, vandalism,
graffiti and theft are ongoing problems and
modern park benches have to be resilient
enough to resist ill treatment
and need to be firmly anchored down. The
traditional bench in metal and wood still
survives, reproduced from the original designs,
in many restored Victorian parks, while forms of
contemporary metal seating are also
widespread. Modern parks like Mile End Park
have adopted resilient stainless steel seating.
And, with the popularity of recycling, the new
Northala Fields park alongside the A40
in West London has benches are made from
gabion baskets of recycled material including
crushed concrete from the old Wembley
Stadium, topped by hardwood
slats for the seats.