The Folklorians Bench — A Story Still Unfolding
Historic timber, contemporary craftsmanship and a place in a Gold award-winning garden. Now looking for its next home.
A seat with a story
Some timber carries more than its grain.
The Folklorians Bench is handcrafted from reclaimed pitch pine, bringing together London’s transport heritage, botanical folklore and the skills of four creative collaborators. Its sweeping curves invite people to pause, gather and share a space — giving old timber a new purpose, with its history still very much present.
From London’s tramways
The bench’s timber was reclaimed from the former Poplar Tram Depot on Leven Road in East London, which opened in December 1906.
Once part of a building that served generations of London’s transport network, this pitch pine has been carefully worked and finished to reveal its warmth and character. Even the steelwork beneath the seating offers a nod to the tram lines that inspired its story.
At the heart of The Folklorians Garden
Created for Kate Patrick’s Gold award-winning Folklorians Garden at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2026, the bench belonged in a setting where plants told stories of myth, medicine and wonder.
Pitch pine brought a folklore connection of its own: a Highland tale of a Norse princess, enchanted forests and a character known as Pitch Pine.
The bench was developed collaboratively by Kate Patrick, Mike Petersen of Blunt Axe Design, Ben Duncan of Deadhead Studio and Lewis Bond of Anvil Design & Fabrication — bringing garden design, woodworking and metalwork together around one shared idea.
Take a seat at The Farm Shop
For its next chapter, the Folklorians Bench will provide seating in The Farm Shop, the main talks space hosted, designed and built by Appetite Me at the 2026 farming innovation event.
Here, its six curved sections will be used separately, showing how a piece originally conceived for a circular garden can find a fresh purpose in a different setting.
If you’re sitting on it while you read this, welcome. You’re already part of its story.
A permanent home,
or the beginning of something new
The Folklorians Bench is now available to purchase, either as a complete piece or in smaller groupings of its six sections. We’d love to find it a permanent home where its craftsmanship, character and history can be enjoyed for years to come.
And its story needn’t end with this particular bench. At Blunt Axe Design, we’re always interested in exciting projects that call for thoughtful woodworking, distinctive materials and close collaboration. From a farm shop or hospitality space to a private garden, we’d love to hear what you have in mind.
Could this become part of your space?
The original Folklorians Bench is looking for a permanent home, either as a complete piece or in smaller groupings of its six curved sections.
It could also be the starting point for something uniquely yours.
A commissioned design would be developed around your setting, how people use it and the atmosphere you want to create.
Dimensions, curves, configuration, timber, metalwork and finishes can all evolve as part of the process — whether for a private garden, courtyard, farm shop or a place where visitors gather.
The Folklorians Garden inspired this bench. Your space could inspire the next.
Let’s talk about what you have in mind.