how heavy is a cast iron garden urn?

Weight depends heavily on the thickness of the casting. A standard nineteenth-century cast iron vessel on a plinth can easily weigh eighty kilograms. You should always secure the base properly when placing them. The bowl is quite top-heavy once filled with soil and plants.

I have an old copper one with a tap at the bottom, did they actually put boiling water straight into these or just warm wine?

These domestic examples were designed for boiling water. The hostess kept it on the table to dilute tea or wash cups during service. Some featured a central metal sleeve inside. The staff would drop a red-hot iron heater into this sleeve to keep the surrounding water hot without filling the room with smoke. Wine coolers are a different form and rarely have spigots.

what is the green crust on bronze?

That crust is a natural patina called verdigris. It forms when copper alloys react with moisture over decades. Most collectors prefer to leave this surface undisturbed.

My lead garden vase is starting to lean to one side and the base looks a bit squashed, is this normal for lead pieces?

Lead is a soft metal. Large antique metal urns cast in lead have a tendency to slump under their own weight over the centuries. This slumping is a common structural issue rather than a defect in the original casting. Heat from the sun softens the metal further, accelerating the lean on exposed garden pieces.

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Antique Metal Urns

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Antique metal urns are substantial vessels, usually cast with twin handles and a pedestal base, which served either as classical ornamentation in formal gardens or as functional hot water dispensers in grand Georgian dining rooms.