Best antique and classical-style garden urns

By Rachel Nott

Published: Wednesday, 01 June 2022 at 12:00 am

What is the difference between an urn and a planter?

An urn is essentially a large container with a distinctive bowl shape which tapers to a stem with a larger base to create an elegant curving shape. They usually have some decorative swags and floral elements for an ornamental flourish. Garden urns are staples of stately home driveways and gardens, often seen in pairs for a pleasing symmetrical effect and raised on plinths to add grandeur at the bottom of a sweeping set of steps up to the main house.

They are often based on classical shapes and forms, but can also be plain, and are usually made from materials such as terracotta, concrete, composite stone or limestone. Because they live outdoors and therefore become weathered and covered in moss fairly quickly, it’s notoriously difficult to date an antique urn.

Planters are a more general term which includes urns, and covers all sorts of shapes and styles, from deep rectangular troughs to round pots.

The Clarence Urn, £159, Haddonstone

The elegant Clarence Urn features leaf moulding around the rim and ornamental decoration (gadrooning) to the bowl. Inspired by the designs of the Regency period, the urn has been carefully crafted by Haddonstone and comes in a range of colours. It is also frost proof and will weather beautifully over time.

Pair of mid-Victorian-style garden urns, £3,500 the pair, LASSCO

This stately pair of urns in the manner of the Victorian ornamental terracotta manufacturer John Marriott Blashfield have a stylised lotus-leaf shape on a pedestal plinth base. They have been cast exclusively for LASSCO in a weather-resistant patent stoneware.

Large antique Mediterranean urn, £395, Home Barn

Antique urns like this were originally used for storing olive oil. Their sculptural form means they look beautiful left empty within your home, but can also be used outdoors as a planter for a small tree or trailing plants. In winter, simply turn them upside down so that they can’t fill with water which will then freeze. Each pot is around 70-100 years old with a pleasingly patinated look which will vary from pot to pot.

Classical-style composite urns, £160 each, English Salvage

These sturdy urns have bulbous bodies and heavy rims and are attractively weathered with lichen.

French Medici urns, £518 for two, Vinterior

This gorgeous pair of urns date to the 1800s and are the perfect containers for flourishing French lavender.

Draped urn, £350, Burford

If you’re after an urn with plenty of decorative flourishes, this could be just the ticket. Featuring a mighty lion and gentle swags, along with a lid topped with leaves, this urn errs more towards the sculptural. The lid is removable and inside you’ll find plenty of space to use this as a planter.