Ridgeons has unveiled its specially commissioned curved bench at the newly-opened Pocket Park, situated at the heart of Brookgate’s CB1 redevelopment project in Cambridge.

The space features a variety of Ridgeons-orientated public art commissions, including the seven-metre-long timber bench that also functions as a bike rack. It was designed and crafted by artists Jim Partridge and Liz Walmsley and is a centrepiece in the park showcasing Ridgeons’ hundred-year history,

The artists have worked together designing and making furniture for the last 22 years and their work ranges from very small to huge outdoor pieces. Their studio furniture is often carved from blocks of green oak, which is scorched and polished to a glossy black finish, and appears in public collections across the world – including the V&A in London and Manchester Art Gallery.

The bench will sit alongside a sunken carved roundel marking where a Ridgeons time capsule is buried, crafted by professional lettering artist Tom Perkins. The park was designed by landscape architect Robert Myers Associates and constructed by Wates.

Ridgeons’ director Gordon Ridgeon said: “We hope that visitors to the Pocket Park will enjoy having a peaceful moment on this fantastic new bench in the heart of this lively redevelopment.”