• Chilstone

About Chilstone

Chilstone create beautiful garden ornaments, from fountains to statues and planters. Each piece is hand crafted and increases in value as it weathers. We also make bespoke items to order for gardens and house building as well as restoration projects.

The late Michael Dibben founded Chilstone Garden Ornaments in 1953 after extensive research into the field of garden decoration and especially the need for a material to closely resemble natural antique stone. Chilstone began its long history at Great Linford Manor in Buckinghamshire and in 1976 the company moved to Sprivers, a beautiful National Trust property in Kent.

In 1996 the business consolidated its show gardens and manufacturing workshop at Langton Green near Tunbridge Wells, Kent. These formal show gardens were designed by Anthony Du Gard Pasley, a renowned landscape architect, and opened by Alan Titchmarsh. In 2007 Chilstone was sold to an entrepreneur who has invested significantly, improving the showgrounds, offices, moulds, and infrastructure of the business.

Our Process

  • Chilstone staff removing cast stone urn from mould and finishing the stone edges in the workshop

Chilstone Garden Ornaments specialise in reproducing with complete accuracy and attention to detail some of the most beautiful and elegant antique and contemporary garden ornaments. Many of our historic ornaments can be seen in existing gardens, including Hever Castle, Kensington Palace and Kew Gardens. As an example the Chilstone Vine Urn originates from Holker Hall, the 17th century Lancashire home of the Cavendish family.

Each and every Chilstone ornament is handmade by our craftsmen in cast stone by a special process developed over our long history to ensure a finished texture virtually indistinguishable from natural stone. The colour & texture is a close approximation to natural Portland stone and its composition encourages the spontaneous growth of mosses and lichens, which rapidly give it the antiqued appearance of an original. This ensures that each ornament blends in harmoniously with its setting. Once the ornament has taken on an antique patina it generally increases in value. It should be noted that several Chilstone pieces have been sold at Sotheby’s for many times their retail value, making it a practical and excellent investment.

Chilstone can also be made in a variety of colours – we also offer a colour matching service if you require new stone to match existing stonework. Samples are available on request. Chilstone has one of the biggest collections of ornamental and architectural moulds in the UK. We specialise in copying and originating ornaments and architectural components. We welcome commissions to meet clients’ bespoke needs and have produced a multitude of these over the years. As an example a client commissioned two heraldic lions to be used at the entrance gates of an hotel, one left facing and one right facing, creating an impressive and imposing entrance to their property. In addition, contemporary projects are also undertaken as our versatile material can be moulded to virtually any shape. Our team of dedicated craftsmen have over 140 years combined experience with some of their highly skilled work on show at our extensive showgardens near Tunbridge Wells.

Chilstone has thousands of customers all over the world and in the UK. Our ornaments are extensively displayed in many famous locations including Kew Gardens (London), The Laskett Gardens (Herefordshire), Simonstown in Eire, The Longleat Estate (Bath), Barakura Gardens (Tokyo, Japan) and Hammenhog in Sweden.

We export our unique garden ornaments worldwide including to the USA, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Asia, Dubai and throughout Europe. We can organise shipping and secure packing of any product to any location in the world.

working in partnership with Mumford and Wood

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