Garden furniture is seating, tables and other furniture designed for use outdoors in gardens, terraces, conservatories and parks. Historic garden furniture was made from materials able to withstand the weather, including stone, wrought and cast iron, wirework, teak, oak, painted pine, rustic wood and, later, aluminium.
The great eighteenth-century landscape gardens featured carved stone and painted timber benches, often designed by architects such as William Kent to complement temples and vistas. The nineteenth century transformed garden furniture through cast iron, as foundries such as Coalbrookdale produced ornate benches in fern, nasturtium, serpent and Gothic patterns, while lightweight wirework chairs and plant stands decorated conservatories. Rustic furniture made from branches and roots suited picturesque gardens, and teak steamer chairs and benches became popular later. Antique garden furniture is valued for its design, durability and weathered patina. When buying, check for rust, cracks in cast iron, rot in timber and later replacement slats, and look for maker's marks and registration numbers.
