Yealm Hotel Development Benches

In August of this year I was invited to submit a proposal for sculptural garden benches for the community garden at the new Yealm Hotel Development being undertaken by Red Earth Developments. The garden benches would be used by residents of the new studio apartments, and would be situated in front of a stunning “feature wall” built by local stonemason Jim Ware.

This photo, by Lee Pengelley shows the grandeur of the place, and its stunning location.

I agreed with Simon, the developer, that putting a back on a bench would interfere with the sculptural qualities of the wall behind, and we agreed on two benches, either side of the hole in the wall. I templated the wall in card, and designed some pleasing curves for the shapes of the seat slabs.

The seat slabs were cut from local sweet chestnut which had been stored locally for 7 years - very well seasoned! As in all my work, texture and surface finish is really important. I used hand-tools throughout to achieve the feel I wanted - a travished top surface, blending into a spoke-shaved “pebble” edge. This gives them a beautifully tactile feel. The legs were cleaved from sweet chestnut trunks, rough shaped then allowed to dry for three months in front of the bio-mass burner. Then the tenons were cut, and fitted to the garden benches.

The benches being boomed over a pile of building materials against the backdrop of the Yealm Estuary.

The benches were installed in early February 2020, and secured to the ground and wall with steel pins. They have been left unfinished to allow them to age gracefully. Sweet chestnut is a (nearly) native species which is extremely durable and will last for over twenty five years buried in the ground.

I teach all the skills I used in making these benches on my Introduction to Green Wood Furniture Course.

Click for more information about commissioning work.