Victorian cast iron and timber park bench restoration and reproduction by Lost Art Limited from a Carron Company original bench

The Carron ‘Mystery Bench’

Stages in the restoration of the ‘Mystery Bench’
The large image below shows the original state of the better of the bench ends obtained by Lost Art. The top image shows detail of the bench end once cleaned. The middle shows the cleaned end with the addition of a carved replacement for the missing foot and the bottom picture shows a finished resin mould, ready to produce a pattern for the first casting of the new bench ends.


		Research by Lost Art revealed the origins of the Mystery Bench. The original drawing for this design was registered at the Public Records Office on 26^th of January 1885 by the Carron Company, based near Falkirk in Scotland. Sometimes referred to as ‘The Coalbrookdale of the North’, this was a huge company producing a diverse range of iron goods. Unlike Coalbrookdale, seating did not feature highly in their product range, with many of their products being for military purposes.
	This included the famous Carronade, a short naval cannon, so effective in close quarter sea battles that it was nicknamed ‘the Smasher’.
The image opposite shows the original drawing of the bench, submitted to the patent office by The Carron Company in order to register the design. At the time of the submission, copyright laws were much less strict than today, and although they had been tightened up a few years previously, designs still only had a short period of copyright and so benches were soon reproduced by other foundries and in other countries. Designs produced in the UK were soon found in the USA and Australia.
		The image shows the first casting taken from the pattern produced from the resin mould shown above. The skill of the pattern maker is demonstrated by the high definition of the casting produced and of course the fact that you ‘cannot see the join’ where the replacement foot has been added. The Carron ‘Mystery’ bench is exclusive to Lost Art and is now available to order. We have also produced a pattern for a central support which means that the bench can be produced in a variety of lengths from a single seat to an 8 foot length and beyond according to your requirements.
Fully assembled and prepared for delivery, the first new production of this bench for around 100 years. Suitable for installation in a private garden or in a public space as part of a restoration or regeneration project, a wonderful example Victorian design, which properly appreciated will last into the 22nd Century and beyond.


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