Great Yorkshire Show: The Seat Project - July 2010

Past demonstrations at the Show have included permanent walling part way round a small wildlife pond by the Brown gate entry to the site.

This year we were asked to build something different and after due consultation a double curved ‘love’ seat design was agreed upon. The site chosen for it was in a prominent position on the President’s lawn next to the bandstand, in full view of the main stand at the Show ring. It is also opposite the Pavilion rooms, now a popular wedding venue; we hope the seat will be used accordingly.

The photos are largely self explanatory, but some construction details may be of interest. Newly quarried stone was used, this time supplied from Windy Hill Quarry near Darlington; 10tonnes was delivered and even at that we were short of some top stones. The seat slabs are of Indian sandstone, supported under their front edges on 50x50mm galvanised angle irons.

The base width is 2 feet tapering to 1 foot at the top, but being of low height compared to a standard wall the batter is much more pronounced. It was quite a challenge to maintain the ‘lighter’ effect and avoid producing a stone sofa from DFS