The lion above is not made of stone, nor of concrete. It was cast in an "artificial stone" known as Coade stone. Coade stone was quite popular in the 18th and 19th centuries for its quality and versatility. Two hundred years after it was sculpted, this lion still shows no cracks or corrosion. They don't make statues like that anymore.
Coade stone looks and feels exactly like worked stone, but it isn’t stone at all. It is a type of ceramic called stoneware. Ceramic, as you know, is just baked clay, but depending on the type of clay and how intensely they are fired, the kiln will produce different types of material. Low temperature firing results in earthenware (terracotta, pottery, bricks etc.). These are fragile. Higher temperature causes vitrification of the clay and results in a much tougher material called porcelain. An even higher temperature is needed to produce stoneware. These are dense, impermeable, noncorrosive and resistant to scratching.
At the time Eleanor Coade set up her “Coade's Artificial Stone Manufactory” in Lambeth, there were many businesses manufacturing artificial stone in England. Eleanor Coade, the daughter of a wool merchant, in all likelihood, knew next to nothing about making artificial stone. On the contrary, she sold linen. But towards the end of the 1760s, she had the fortune of meeting one Daniel Pincot, who was already into the business of making artificial stone but was having difficulty keeping up with the finances. Eleanor Coade had the money and Daniel Pincot had the formula, and together they opened a factory on the south side of Thames where Waterloo Station stands today and began producing an unusually high-grade material. Coade originally named her stone Lythodipyra, which was Greek for “twice-fired stone”, before rebranding it to the punchier “Coade stone.” Within two years, Eleanor Coade had fired Daniel Pincot and nothing more is known about him.
So what made Coade stone so special? Find out at Amusing Planet, and you'll know why they don't make 'em like they used to.
(Image credit: Jonund)