Temple Newsam: Mum of Leeds chef dedicates memorial bench to her son who 'lived life to the full'

Nathan Jones died on July 6, 2019, at the age of 30. His mum Terry Chapman said her eldest son had been out drinking with friends and was found dead in the early hours of the morning with GHB in his system.

Terry said: "It wasn’t a drug he took. He wasn’t a drug addict. He just loved to party, he was a bloody party animal.”

She had the idea of dedicating a bench to celebrate her son’s life after watching the television show The Afterlife with Ricky Gervais, a dark comedy which tackles issues such as mental health.

The 57-year-old said: “Our mental health went through the roof – well it still is – when we lost our son. He was everybody’s ‘go-to’ if anything was wrong, everyone always rang my son or went to him.

“I wanted a place for someone, where they can go if they need help and sit there. The idea is that people will know that they need someone to talk to and somebody will stop at a bench and speak to them.”

As Nathan spent much of his childhood at Temple Newsam, Terry wanted the bench to be in the Leeds park – and for it to be colourful. Her friend, street artist Nicholas Dixon, brought her vision to life.

Terry said: “Nathan always wanted to buy a piece of his artwork and obviously never got to buy it. So I asked him if he'd do a piece on the bench. My son would absolutely love it – and I love it. I know that my children love it and my husband loves it. It's a bright, colourful bench and my son's life was very colourful. He just lived life to the fullest.”

Leeds bar Distrikt, in Duncan Street, also has a memorial garden for Nathan, who worked there as a chef before his death. Terry said: “He was everyone’s best friend. He was just well-loved, everybody loved him. They called him the ‘prince of Leeds’.”