This beautiful Clerkenwell bench is a beam section left over from the construction of 15 Clerkenwell Close, London.
The stone’s deliberately rough surface is called ‘rustication’, initially a ‘found’ then decorative masonry technique used in the classical world, particularly by the Romans, with the renaissance applying it across the whole façade and during the C20th by architects such Luigi Moretti at Casa Il Girasole, Rome.
This stone column reveals ammonite and coral fossils, which are often cut away to create clean blocks onto which a ‘natural’ finish effect is applied. The unfinished nature of this stone not only displays the inherent beauty of the material but the element of craft undertaken by quarry masters, stonemasons and engineers.
The Clerkenwell bench is part of the New Stone Age, an exhibition and associated public programme curated by the Building Centre exhibitions team with Amin Taha + Groupwork, Steve Webb and Pierre Bidaud. Supported by the Built Environment Trust.
We would like to thank our headline sponsors Polycor and The Stonemasonry Company Ltd.
