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J Bacon
John Bacon junior (1777-1859) was trained by his father of the same name and at the RA Schools. His father was highly successful and after he died in 1799, the son took over the business. He produced mostly busts and memorials, but after his pupil Charles Manning (1775-1812) became a partner in 1808, followed before 1818 by S Manning (1788-1842 - his precise relationship to Charles Manning is uncertain, but most probably a brother), he gradually withdrew from active participation in the business, though under the partnership agreement only his name was used to sign their works. After 1823 he retired to various places outside London and by 1829 he played little part. The propriety of this was doubted and may explain why he never became a Royal Academician, unlike his father, though in addition his (or more properly the Mannings’) work was widely criticised for being dull and repetitive – Margaret Whinney comments that much is old fashioned and hearkens back to the baroque. The business was located in Newman Street, London in 1811 and 1829.
Lit: DNB
Memorials: Chichester, - St Mary, Rumboldswyke (S Manning); Cuckfield; East Lavington (S Manning); Peasmarsh (two); Rye (two - one with S Manning); Trotton (two - S Manning); Wartling (S Manning)
P Bacon P Bacon and Brothers
Percy Charles Haydon Bacon (1860-1935) was born in Ipswich the son of a boot closer. After his father died the family moved to London, where in 1881 he was apparently in business in Charlotte Street, despite his youth. By 1892 he had a studio at 11 Newman Street, London, where the business continued until 1931. In that year it moved to 4 Endsleigh Gardens, WC1, but disappears from KD/L after 1933. In later years it also operated out of Reading, where the firm lasted until after World War II. In 1901 Bacon called himself artist, painter and sculptor and was in business with his two brothers. The firm’s work was influenced by C15 glass and a liking for elaborate decoration. It also employed outside artists, including E A F Prynne and Bacon himself worked for other makers, notably J Powell and Sons.
Glass: Bexhill, - St Peter; Bognor, - St Wilfrid; Crawley, - St Margaret, Eastbourne, - St Michael, Willingdon Road; - St Peter (formerly); East Preston; Hadlow Down; Harting; Hastings, - All Souls; - St Clement; Ifield; Milland; Tillington
T Baillie and Co Baillie and Lutwyche Baillie and Mayer E Baillie
The firm that became known as Thomas Baillie and Co, which was primarily a manufacturer of stained glass, was founded in 1832 by Alexander Benjamin Baillie (1787-1864), a Scot who was involved in the production of stained glass before his move to London in 1829; his first address was in Cumberland Market, but by 1850 directories show he was in Wardour Street as well; in 1869 this became the sole address. His elder son Edward (1812-56) was involved from the 1850s with George Mayer (1822-84), a partner from 1854. Some windows signed by Edward (EB) are known. Thomas Baillie, a younger son (1815/16-83), joined Edward in 1853 and took over in 1856. In 1861 he employed 20 men and 5 boys. He used C E Kempe in the late 1860s as a designer before he set up on his own. By 1881 Thomas was living in Ealing and the firm was smaller, though still in Wardour Street. It continued after Thomas died and became known as Baillie and Lutwyche after William Lutwyche (1840-1908), in 1881 a decorator in Hackney, became a partner. The company appears to have retained also the name of Thomas Baillie and Co down to 1897, when as the latter it appears for the last time in KD. For the previous few years it had been listed under glass stainers rather than artists in stained glass, suggesting they had reverted to being mainly involved in the manufacture rather than the design of stained glass. Only one window at Oving (1891) is credited with certainty to Baillie and Lutwyche. Their window in memory of Thomas’s parents at Lyminster suggests a Sussex connection.
Glass: Bepton; Burpham; Burwash Weald; Buxted, - St Margaret (EB); Hurstpierpoint, - St George; Lyminster; Nuthurst; Oving (also B and Lutwyche); Ovingdean (Kempe); Rusper; Sayers Common; Scaynes Hill (EB); Staplefield (Kempe); Worthing, - St Andrew, West Tarring
E Baily
Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1867) was born in Bristol, where he worked initially in a counting house, before taking up sculpture under a local wax modeller. He entered the RA Schools in 1809 and may also have been a pupil of J Flaxman; he became an RA in 1821. He produced much sculpture for public buildings and similar projects, including Marble Arch and Buckingham Palace and, above all, the figure of Nelson on the column in Trafalgar Square. He was also an accomplished designer of silver for such makers as Paul Storr, presumably a legacy of his early training in wax modelling. Notwithstanding these successes, his financial affairs were disorganised and he was twice adjudged bankrupt.
Lit: DNB
Memorial: Patching; Petworth
R Baines
Richard Baines studied painting at the Regent Street Polytechnic and Goldsmiths College. He was for many years a lecturer at the London School of Fashion and is a past President of the Royal Society of Oil Painters, who paints in a realistic style. He has lived in the Hastings area since at least 1968, when he first held an exhibition there.
Painting: Fairlight
F Baker
Fred Baker designed glass for Maile Studios during the period after World War II and his work is distributed quite widely over southern England. However, it has not so far been possible to find out more about him.
Glass: Hastings, - Emmanuel
J Baker
John Baker (b1934) has designed glass and had pupils, as well as writing about mediaeval stained glass and its conservation. He lives in Weston-super-Mare, where the business he founded in 1955, John Baker Stained Glass Ltd, still exists. As well as new work, it undertakes repairs to glass as well as advising on protective measures.
Glass: Climping; East Wittering
R Baldwin
Robert Lane George Baldwin (1900-91) trained and then worked with Clayton and Bell. After returning to them briefly from World War II, he formed a partnership with A Lucas around 1946 in various parts of north west London, which still existed in 1971. He also made designs for Maile Studios and Shrigley and Hunt.
Glass: Aldwick; Ashington (for Maile Studio)
M Balfour
Maxwell (known as Max) Balfour (1874-1914) was born in Valparaiso, Chile, where his Scottish father was a railway engineer, but was in England by 1881. After school at Clifton, he studied at the Slade School. His paintings were both topographical and military and he served in the Army during the earlier part of the Boer War. Despite his youth, he had provided illustrations for the first volume of The Survey of London on Trinity Hospital, Mile End Road (1896 - the originals are in the British Museum), which was written by the Arts and Crafts architect C R Ashbee. In 1901 he was living in a studio in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, designed by Ashbee, but married the following year. He also rented the old Clergy House at Alfriston from the National Trust, though his main residence appears to have continued to be in London. His early death at Wandsworth was due to TB.
(My thanks to Jennifer Cross, who made me aware of Balfour's work at Alfriston and passed me a note about him by his grandson, Christopher Balfour, from which much of the above information comes)
Glass: Alfriston
G F H Banks
George Francis Hampton Banks (1870-1960) was the son of the rector of Worth and the circumstances of his training and early career are unknown, though he was living with his mother in Worth in 1901. Between 1911 and 1930 his office address was 18 High Street, Crawley (KD) and he died at Horsham, having like his mother attained the age of 90. A statement in SAC 55 attributing all the C19 additions at Crawley church to him is clearly erroneous.
Restored: Crawley, - St John Baptist (1911)
R R Banks
Robert Richardson Banks (1812/13-72) was a pupil of William Atkinson, an architect who specialised in country house projects. Banks became assistant to Sir Charles Barry (see this section below) in 1838 and in this capacity he designed much of the detail for the Palace of Westminster. At Sir Charles’s suggestion he became partner of Charles Barry junior (see this section below) between 1847-72. Most of their buildings were country houses or public buildings, including the remodelling of Burlington House in Piccadilly.
Lit: BAL Biog file
Designed: Sayers Common (1850 with C Barry Junior – unexecuted)
A Bannerman
Lady Arabella Diana Bannerman (1835-69) was the youngest daughter of the 5th Earl de la Warr and her maiden name was Sackville-West. She married in 1860 Sir Alexander Bannerman (1823-77), 9th Baronet of Elsick, Kincardineshire, Scotland at Withyham, where her brother R Sackville-West was rector of the family living and where he was instrumental in restoring the church. In the course of this, he produced some wall paintings for the church and, not long before her early death, so did his sister. However, scarcely anything remains of her work, so it is impossible to know whether her skills as an artist exceeded those then expected of a woman of her position.
Painting: Withyham, - St Michael
L Barnard
Lambert Barnard (d1567/68) did much work for Bishop Sherburn (1508-38), notably in Chichester cathedral. Little is known of his life, but stylistically, if not by birth, he had Netherlandish links.
Lit: E Croft-Murray: Lambert Barnard: an English Early Renaissance Painter, AJ 113 (1957) pp 108-25
Painting: Boxgrove, vault decoration
Sir C Barry
Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) was the ninth son of a prosperous stationer and was articled to a firm of surveyors in London in 1810. From the age of 17 he was an exhibitor at the RA and within six years he had risen to become manager of the firm, but a timely inheritance allowed him to travel for three years to Italy, France, Greece, the Middle East and Turkey. He was largely self-taught as an architect, especially during this period. After his return in 1820 he briefly contemplated emigration to the USA, but soon achieved success. His buildings included London clubhouses and country houses, but his later career was dominated by the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster. This was gothic and owed much to his collaborator, A W N Pugin, whom he met in 1835, though he had built quite a few gothic churches in his earlier career, which show growing confidence. However, he had little sympathy for new liturgical developments and his work at Westminster ruled out most further church building.
Lit: DNB; A Barry: The Life and Works of Sir Charles Barry, 1867
Designed: Brighton and Hove, - St Peter (1824-28); - Holy Trinity, Ship Street (1826 – attributed); - St Andrew, Waterloo St, Hove (1827-28); Hurstpierpoint (1843-45)
Restored: Petworth (1827)
C Barry junior
Charles Barry junior (1823-1900) was the eldest son of Sir C Barry (see immediately above), whose office he joined in 1840 and where he concentrated on the Palace of Westminster, especially the detailing, though he preferred the Italianate style in which his father was also proficient. He is said to have designed the hands of the clock at his father’s church of Hurstpierpoint. His father encouraged him to go into partnership with his assistant, R R Banks (see above), which lasted from 1847 to 1872. His best known work was on the Dulwich College estate and he became President of the RIBA, where he strove to enhance the Institute’s role in training. He died at Worthing and is buried at Broadwater.
Lit: J Piggott: Charles Barry Junior and the Dulwich Estate, 1986
Designed: Sayers Common (Unexecuted designs with Banks (1850) and by himself in 1879-80)
Altered: Brighton and Hove, St Andrew, Waterloo Stret, Hove (1882)
Barton, Kinder and Alderson K Barton C Kinder A E Alderson
Kenneth M Barton (KB - fl 1942-76) went into partnership with Claude Kinder (CK - 1897-1949), who is known from at least one window in his own name, and Albert E Alderson in Hove around the end of World War II. All three previously worked for Cox and Barnard and the firm and later its surviving partners produced a fair quantity of glass, mainly in the south east. After Kinder's early death, Barton continued in Brighton as Kenneth Barton Studios, which may be connected to Roger Barton Studios (see below). Alderson remained in business in Hassocks until about 1977 and glass was produced under the names of all three until at least 1967. All the partners designed glass and they also employed F Skeat (FS), C Knight (CK) and J Blackford (JB) as designers.
Glass: Ashington; Brighton and Hove, - Good Shepherd (CK); - St Mary (KB); - St Matthias, Preston; - St Peter, Preston; Chichester, - St Paul (JB); - St Peter-the-Great; Crawley, - St Peter (FS); Eastbourne, - Holy Trinity; Hastings, - St John, Hollington (CK); Horsted Keynes (CK); Keymer (CK); Midhurst (CK); Rusper; Seaford; Slindon; Upper Beeding; Worthing, - St Botolph, Heene; - St John, West Worthing; - St Symphorian, Durrington
R Barton Studios
References to Roger Barton Studios exist between 1980 and 2004. They may be connected with the earlier Kenneth Barton Studios of Brighton and thus, in turn, with Barton, Kinder and Alderson (see immediately above).
Glass: Jevington
G Basevi
George Basevi's (1794-1845) parents lived in Hove and his mother was related to Disraeli. A pupil of Sir John Soane, who also attended the RA Schools, his good connections brought him numerous commissions to design churches, country houses and other public buildings, including work at Oxford and Cambridge – his finest building is the Fitzwilliam Museum at the latter. He undertook the completion of Belgrave Square in 1825 and the success of this led to other major developments in London. Like most of his work, such projects were classical in style, though in later life he turned increasingly to the gothic. His death followed a fall from scaffolding at Ely cathedral, when advising the dean, a friend, about restoration work, and he is buried there.
Lit: BAL Biog file; DNB
Reconstructed: Brighton and Hove, - St Andrew, Hove - old (1833-36)
W Bassett-Smith
William Bassett-Smith (1830/31-1901) was born plain Smith and added the Bassett (or, less commonly, Basset) around 1882. He was a pupil of R C Carpenter and later was briefly the partner of his fellow-pupil W Slater. Bassett-Smith became a prolific church architect, particularly in the Midlands. His son Walter (d1933) was working at Chichester Cathedral in 1881 and moved to Buenos Aires in 1889. Between 1883 and 1885 William was in partnership with E J Munt (KD/L). His name was continued after his death in the partnership of W and C A Bassett-Smith (the latter presumably another son or relative), which is to be found at 10 John Street, Adelphi down to 1920 (ibid).
Lit: BAL Biog file
Rebuilt: Lewes, All Saints (1883 – as Bassett-Smith and Munt - and 1898)
B Batt
Barbara Mary Batt (b1909) was the daughter of a London vet who studied under K Parsons and later assisted him briefly at the Glass House (see under Lowndes and Drury). By 1940 she had moved to Buckinghamshire and she was still to be found in Oxfordshire in the 1970s. Her married name was Waller and she was assisted by her daughter Lynda (later Claydon), whom she trained.
Glass: Lewes, - St Michael, South Malling
J Battcock
John Battcock (b1713) was a bricklayer of Storrington, whose work is known only from his rebuilding of the church in 1754. The name is common there – in 1793 William Battcock leased some land to the parish as a graveyard (WSRO Par 188/4/1) and seven of the name subscribed to the restoration of Storrington church in 1842.
Rebuilt: Storrington (1754)
J Bedford and Sons
The London firm of John Bedford and Sons, which had an address in Oxford Street, is to be found between 1809 and 1898. According to PD 1839, the firm was then known by the name of a later member of the family, Thomas Bedford (1796/97-1875). He had prospered sufficiently to live in Park Lane and was still there in 1851, whilst his works remained in Oxford Street, where he was employing 10 men. He subsequently moved to Sutton, Surrey, where he appears in 1861, no longer a statuary etc but a proprietor of houses.
Memorials: Battle; Bramber; Worthing, - St Mary, Broadwater (two)
W Behnes
William Behnes (1795-1863) was born in St Marylebone, though as his name suggests, he was of German ancestry. He spent part of his youth in Dublin, where he first studied drawing. On return to London he spent some time at the RA Schools and turned to sculpture, becoming principally known for his portrait-busts and public statues, though he also executed memorials. In later life he experienced major problems, affecting both his health and finances. The latter led to insolvency in 1861.
Memorials: Northiam
A Bell
For Alfred Bell see under Clayton and Bell.
D Bell
Daniel Bell (1840-1904) was the younger brother of Alfred Bell of Clayton and Bell, with whom he was living and assisting in 1861. His first partner from 1868 was James Redfern, followed by Richard Almond (b 1841, described as an architect in 1881), making glass and church fittings. In 1871, when Bell was a glass and mural painter, the company employed 16 men and 11 boys, but in 1875 he parted from Almond and in 1878 was working by himself in Margaret Street (KD/L), moving two years later to Bolsover Street, not far away. In 1881 he was working on his own as a painter with nine children to support. In 1901, now calling himself an ecclesiastical artist, he was working from home.
Fittings: Brighton and Hove, - St Paul, wall paintings; Midhurst, reredos; Newtimber, reredos
Glass: Midhurst; Wivelsfield
J Bell and Son
The firm of Joseph Bell and Son was founded in 1840 and was unconnected with other glassmakers called Bell. As their works were in Bristol, most early work is in the West Country, though Joseph Bell (1810-95) was originally a pottery painter from Stoke-on-Trent. His early work was naively pictorial and his colours were often garish; by the late 1840s he took more account of mediaeval models. Bell was involved in the restoration of mediaeval glass in Bristol cathedral and elswhere and travelled widely to study it. The firm stayed in family ownership until in 1923 it was acquired by Arnold Robinson (AR) (1888-1955), a former pupil of C Whall. In Whall's studio he met E Woore, who worked with the company, especially during World War II. From 1956 Robinson’s son, Geoffrey, who had learned the craft from J E Nuttgens, ran the firm until it closed in 1996. He both designed new work and restored old glass.
Lit: J Cheshire: Joseph Bell and the Revival of Glass-Making in the Nineteenth Century, JSG 22 (1998) pp31-50
Glass: Burwash (AR); Worthing, - Christ Church
M C F Bell
Michael Charles Farrer Bell (1911-93) was the son of R O Bell (see below) and studied at the Edinburgh College of Art. Initially, he had his own studio but in 1950 he took over from his father at Clayton and Bell. As well as stained glass, he designed widely, including stamps, and was an accomplished engraver and painter.
(See under Clayton and Bell for works)
Q Bell
Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell (1910-96) was the second son of Clive and Vanessa Bell (see below) and studied painting in Paris and Rome. He later took up both the design and making of pottery and was active in left wing politics, primarily in the 1930s. He wrote extensively, including a biography of his aunt, Virginia Woolf, and was professor of fine arts or art history at several institutions, culminating in the University of Sussex. While there, he lived at Beddingham and later West Firle.
Obit: The Times 18 Dec 1996; DNB
Paintings: Berwick
R O Bell
Reginald Otto Bell (1886-1950) was the son of Clement Bell and the third generation of his family to run Clayton and Bell, which he joined in 1907. He was responsible for moving the firm out of London after bomb damage in 1941. He was a fine draughtsman with a particular interest in heraldic glass.
(See under Clayton and Bell for works)
S Bell
Nothing is known of an S Bell beyond two mentions in 1874 in connection with St Bartholomew, Brighton. A link with one of the other Bells active at the time is likely; possibly the initial as given in The Builder was a misprint.
Fittings: Brighton and Hove, - St Bartholomew, cross and altar-painting
V Bell
Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) was born Vanessa Stephen, the sister of Virginia Woolf. Vanessa was a painter and one of the key figures in the so-called Bloomsbury Group, which appeared after Vanessa and others of her circle settled there. After study at the RA Schools, where she came under the influence of J S Sargent, she married the critic Clive Bell, who was a great admirer of the Impressionists. She was also closely involved with the critic and founder of the Omega Workshops, Roger Fry, but was closest to D Grant, with whom she mostly lived for the rest of her life, though she remained close to her husband. Much of this was at Charleston, now open to the public. She is buried at West Firle, where her son Quentin Bell (see above) lived.
Lit: R Shone: The Art of Bloomsbury, 1999; DNB
Paintings: Berwick
Bell and Davidson
They were described as glassmakers of London in the only known reference to them in 1892, but they are not otherwise recorded, though it is conceivable that there is a link with the firm of Bell and Beckham (artists in stained glass) of 98 Great Russell Street, which is found in KD/L between 1887 and 1910. It is not known whether they were linked to any other glassmakers called Bell.
Glass: Climping
S H Benham
Samuel Henry Benham first appears as an architect with an address in the High, Oxford in 1823 (Pigot's Directory) and there are references to him in Colvin (4th ed p119) down to 1835, when he produced a design for the new Palace of Westminster. According to Colvin, the Benham family were builders and carpenters in the Brighton area at the time, so the Samuel Benham, whose address there in 1832 was 25 St James's Street (Pigot's Directory), may well be the same. That could explain his work at New Shoreham, but an alternative explanation is his known links to Magdalen College Oxford, which held the living. Nothing is known of his training or later life.
Altered: New Shoreham (1829)
Sir H Bennett
Sir Hubert Bennett (1909-2000) trained at Manchester University and worked as a lecturer until he went into local government. He rose to be from 1956 to 1971 architect to the London County (later Greater London) Council, for which he designed public housing and other large projects. On retirement, he moved to Liphook, Hampshire, near the Sussex border.
Obit: The Times 15 Dec 2000
Restored: Milland (old) (1993-98)
J F Bentley
John Francis Bentley (1839-1902) was Yorkshire-born and the son of a wine merchant. He was inspired by Sir George G Scott ’s rebuilding of Doncaster parish church and, aged 16, went to London to learn the building trade. He then became a pupil of H Clutton and a devout Roman Catholic, before in 1862 starting his own practice at 14 Southampton Street, where he worked mainly on churches, including fittings for them, but also some secular work. Most of his work was for the Catholics, notably Westminster Cathedral, but he had a few Anglican commissions and was a member of the Art Workers Guild. The houses on which he worked included Heron’s Ghyll outside Uckfield, which he adapted in 1866 for the poet Coventry Patmore. The Catholic hierarchy in England came to prefer the Renaissance and later the Byzantine style, so Bentley moved away from the gothic. By 1901 he was in poor health and pre-occupied with the Cathedral, so his son, Osmond, also an architect, may have handled a small commission like Bolney. Curiously, though in 1901 his office was at 13 John Street, the CDG reference to Bolney gives his address as 14 Southampton Street.
Lit: W W Scott-Moncrieff: John Francis Bentley, 1924; DNB
Restored: Bolney (1901)
C M Benyon
Caroline Margaret Benyon (b1948) is the daughter of C J Edwards and from 1973 worked with him at the Glass House in Fulham, before in 1993 moving her studio in Hampton, Middlesex, naming it after her father.
Glass: Bexhill, - St Mark, Little Common; Lyminster
J Berry
James Berry junior (1795/96-1877) is listed with his father as James Berry and Son of Malling Street, Lewes, builders, in 1823 (PD). In 1839 he was alone as James Berry junior, described as architect and surveyor, though his father did not die until 1847. In 1861 and 1871 he was living in Eastbourne, but he died in Lewes. A Lewes firm of builders called Berry, which appears several times in the trade press in the 1870s may be connected, as may Charles James Berry (b 1822/23), architect and surveyor in the Lewes area, though he was not a son.
Refitted: South Malling (1836)
P Berry
Peter Berry studied at the Swansea College of Art before he established his own glass studio in Wiltshire in 1990, where he remains active.
Glass: Nutley
J C N Bewsey
John Charles N Bewsey (1881-1940) was the son of a farmer in Somerset and became a pupil of C E Kempe. He designed some glass for Shrigley and Hunt between 1904 and 1909, but his career is said to have been affected by heavy drinking. His address in 1920 was in Abbey Road, London NW8 (CCL) and his small output was mostly in the idiom of C15 English glass. During the later part of his career he had a close association with the leading Scottish architect, Sir Robert Lorimer. In view of his date of birth, a window at Heene that is dated 1892 and is ascribed to ‘Bewsey’ is unlikely to be by him, unless it in fact dates from considerably later.
Glass: Bexhill, - St Augustine, Cooden; Brighton and Hove, - St Bartholomew; Hurst Green (ascribed); Worthing, - St Botolph, Heene (ascribed)
A Billing
Arthur Billing (1824-96) was the son of a Reading surveyor and brother of John (see immediately below). He was a pupil of B Ferrey and worked in P C Hardwick’s office. With his partner, A S Newman, he built mainly warehouses and churches in London, though their restorations were geographically more widespread. He wrote a book about mural painting and the decoration of churches.
Lit: BAL Biog file
Restored/extended: Sedlescombe (1866-67)
J Billing
John Billing (1816-63), the brother of Arthur (see immediately above), initially stayed on in Reading, where in 1841 he was with his father as a builder and in 1851 was Borough Surveyor and Architect. By 1861 his practice was in Abingdon Street, London, where he lived and was a churchwarden.
Lit: BAL Biog file
Restored/extended: Hastings, St Leonard, Marina (1862 – destroyed); Heathfield, All Saints (1860-61); Seaford (1860-62)
G B Birch
The London statuary of this name signs one monument at Etchingham, but is otherwise unknown - he is not listed in Roscoe. The date next to his signature is 1859, though as the original subject had died in 1823, the monument is likely to have been made after the death of his son in 1857.
Memorial: Etchingham
M F Bishop
Maude F Bishop lived in Ovingdean, where she designed figures for the reredos. She can be traced between 1951 and 1956, when she was an associate member of the Society of Master Glass Painters (this category of membership usually signified activity as a designer or maker of stained glass), but none of her work has been identified in Sussex.
Fitting: Ovingdean, reredos
E L Blackburne
Edward Lushington Blackburne (1803-88) was a pupil of J H Taylor and a founder-member of the then IBA, who was born in Portsea, Hampshire and practised in London for over 60 years before retiring to St Cross, Winchester. He was diocesan surveyor of Norwich and designed several schools, as well as churches. He wrote on mediaeval art.
Obit: The Builder 54 p229
Fitting: Brighton and Hove, - St Peter, reredos (formerly)
J Blackford
James Blackford designed glass for Barton, Kinder and Alderson (see above) in the early 1950s, before moving to St Louis, USA, where he became a prolific designer for the Jacoby Art Glass Co. He may be related to (or could even be the same as) another Blackford (whose first name is unknown and who was probably born c1900), whom D Hadley has identified as employed by J Powell and Sons from 1915.
Glass: Horsham, - St Mary (by Powell's)
Also see under Barton, Kinder and Alderson
W H R Blacking
William Henry Randoll Blacking (1889-1958) was a pupil of Sir J N Comper, who started to practise in 1919 after war service. He shared Comper’s taste for elaborate liturgy and the requisite fittings and designed many of the latter for Wippell and Co, as well as decorating churches. He was consulting architect to the ICBS and Chichester Cathedral.
Lit: BAL Biog file; Obit: The Times 29 Jan 1958
Designed: Bexhill, - St Augustine (1934); Littlehampton, - St Mary (1934)
Restored/altered: Brighton and Hove, - St Andrew, Waterloo St, Hove (1925); Eastbourne, - St Saviour (c1946); Willingdon (1953)
Fittings: Aldwick, reredos; Brighton and Hove, - Good Shepherd, numerous fittings; - St Peter, reredos; - St Thomas, fittings; Wisborough Green, altar; Worthing, - St Botolph, Heene, altar
J Blackman
Four persons called James Blackman are listed in Rye in PD 1823. Of these the most likely to have worked on the church would be either a bricklayer and builder of the High Street or a carpenter of the same name. One of these is likely to be the person of the name who died in the town in 1839, though another, a shoemaker, was still living in Mint Street in 1841. Whichever one it was, he signed the plan for work at Rye church in connection with the application to the ICBS. Given the firm rules of the ICBS on the use of architects, this could suggest he was more than just the builder.
Refitted: Rye (1839)
T Blackmore
Thomas Blackmore (1792/93-1858) was the estate carpenter at Uppark House. His address in 1851 was 19 North Street, Harting.
Constructed: Harting, stair
W Blaker W L Blaker
William L Blaker is probably William Lamport Blaker (1819/20-65), who in 1851 was a builder, architect and surveyor of Park House, Broadwater, where he lodged with his younger brother Frederick, an ironmonger. In 1855 he was an architect living at Ambrose Cottage, Worthing (KD) and is listed as a builder and surveyor at that address in 1858 (Melville’s Directory). He was a member of the Sussex Archaeological Society from 1851 to 1860. He was the son of William Blaker, born at Sompting in 1786/87 and a carpenter in Chapel Street, Worthing in 1828 and 1839 (PD) – in 1851 he was a builder in Paragon Street. Though neither can be the Mr Blaker, builder of Worthing, who worked on Ferring church in 1894, a connection seems likely. The name was quite common in the Worthing area and W L Blaker alone had three sons.
Designed: Withyham, - St John (1839)
Restored: Sompting (1826 – certainly Blaker senior, but not carried out)
R K Blessley
Robert Knott Blessley (1833-1923) started his independent career with an office at 8 Furnival’s Inn, London. By 1866 (KD) he had moved to Eastbourne and by 1878 he was in partnership there with H Spurrell, (ibid). A pupil of J Messenger, he was architect to estates there and also designed the Grand Hotel and at least two nonconformist chapels. He also worked in Hailsham and had an office in Lewes; his membership of the RIBA lapsed after 1876. In 1901 he had retired to Brighton at 1 Norfolk Terrace. In addition to Spurrell he was a partner of ---- Field (probably William Chapman Field of Eastbourne who in 1886 received a certificate of competency as a building surveyor (Proc RIBA) and in 1890 (KD) was at Westham).
Designed: Polegate (1874-76)
Extended: Eastbourne, - St Anne (1883 – dem)
A C Blomfield Sir A W Blomfield and Sons
Arthur Conran Blomfield (1863-1935) was the second son, pupil and from 1890 partner of Sir A W Blomfield (see immmediately below), after studying at Haileybury and Cambridge and a spell on the continent. His brother C J Blomfield (see below – also a partner) and he continued their father’s practice. He followed his father as architect to the Bank of England and designed banks and houses; in Sussex he worked on Warnham Court.
Lit: BAL Biog file; Obit: The Builder 149 (1935) p959
Designed: Brighton and Hove, - St John, Preston (1900-02); Forest Row, unspecified church (nd (probably Coleman’s Hatch – see under C J Blomfield))
Altered/restored: Bexhill, - St Barnabas (1908); Eastbourne, - St John Meads (1911 - bombed); Warnham (1907)
Sir A W Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield (1829-99) was the son of C J Blomfield (pronounced Bloomfield), Bishop of London. He studied at Cambridge and was a pupil of P C Hardwick, primarily a classical architect. Blomfield set up on his own in 1856 and, no doubt thanks to his good connections, soon had a large practice, which was almost entirely ecclesiastical. Following the taste of the times his churches were gothic, though his preferred style (which he could use seldom until his later years) was Perp, but his early training meant that when, like Hardwick, he became architect to the Bank of England, he worked competently in the classical style expected. Most of his other buildings were schools or were otherwise linked to the Church, like the former Church House in Westminster. According to his nephew Reginald Blomfield (see below), he was a generous man, the quality of whose work was affected by taking on too much, sometimes poorly remunerated – he had a reputation for giving good value for money, though his churches seldom excite. On his death, the then President of the RIBA, Sir W Emerson praised his ‘quiet refinement’ and ‘total absence of affectation’. He became a member of the Committee for the Restoration of Chichester Cathedral shortly before his sudden death playing billiards at his club. This indication of conviviality is borne out by a liking for amateur dramatics. He was interested in new methods of construction, such as the use of iron and concrete, and took great care over quality of construction – the carpentry in his buildings is especially fine. After his death, his practice was taken over by his sons A C Blomfield and C J Blomfield (see immediately above and below), who continued it as Sir A W Blomfield and Sons.
Lit: BAL Biog file; obit by A E Street: RIBAJ 7 (1899) pp19, 37-38; The Builder 77 (1899) pp418-19; DNB
Designed: Bexhill, - St Barnabas (1891); Bognor, - St John Baptist (1882 – dem 1972); Brighton and Hove, - Chapel Royal (1876-96); - St George, Kemp Town (1890 - attr); - St Luke, Queen’s Park (1882-85); Eastbourne, Ocklynge (1892 – design requested – probably unexecuted); Hastings, - All Souls (1890-91); - Christ Church, St Leonards (1875-95); - St John, Upper Maze Hill (1880-83, bombed); Hunston (1885); North Bersted (1894 - attr); Roffey (1878); Worthing, - St Andrew (1886-88)
Restored/altered: Brighton and Hove, - St Stephen (1890); Easebourne (1876-77); Felpham (1885); New Shoreham (1895 – report); Ninfield (1885-87); North Mundham (1883); Warnham (1885-86)
Fitting: East Grinstead, - St Swithun, screen; Felpham, reredos
C J Blomfield
Charles James Blomfield (1862-1932) was another son of Sir A W Blomfield (see immediately above), whose pupil and, from 1890, partner he was. He also attended the RA Schools. He went to Charterhouse and after his father died, he and his brother A C Blomfield (see above) continued the practice as Sir A W Blomfield and Sons with few changes. Charles was a prolific designer of public schools including work at Eton and Wellington College. He also restored churches and was architect to Chester, Southwark and Salisbury cathedrals.
Lit: BAL Biog file; Obits: The Builder 143 (1932) p968, RIBAJ 40 (1932) p143
Designed: Brighton and Hove, - St John, Preston (1900-02 - with A C Blomfield); Coleman's Hatch (1913 - with A C Blomfield)
Fitting: Battle, reredos and altar (1929)
Restored/altered: Bexhill, - St Barnabas (1908); Eastbourne, - St John Meads (1911 - bombed)
Sir R Blomfield
Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (1856-1942) was a grandson of Bishop Blomfield of London and his father was also a clergyman. After Oxford he was articled to his uncle, Sir A W Blomfield (see above) and studied at the RA Schools - he later became an Academician. He started his own practice in 1883 and became closely associated with M Macartney, though they were never partners. He also wrote about architecture and another more senior close associate was R N Shaw. It is thus unsurprising that Blomfield was a founder-member of the Art Workers Guild, very much linked to the circle around Shaw and of which he was secretary. Much of his early work, especially his houses, is in the so-called Queen Anne style, but as he became increasingly involved in large, public projects, he changed to a classical style close to Wren. For a short time he was involved in a company, Kenton and Co, designing and making furniture; other members included Macartney. Most of his churches were early and his better known secular work, as well as houses, included the replanning of Regent Street and war cemeteries, together with the Menin Gate at Ypres, Belgium. Despite an uneasy relationship with the RIBA, from which he resigned for a time over the issue of architectural training, he became President. His wife came from Rye and he had a house nearby.
Lit: Sir R Blomfield: Memoirs of an Architect, 1932; R A Fellows: Sir Reginald Blomfield, an Edwardian Architect, 1985
Designed: West Grinstead, new church (1889 (probably Partridge Green – not executed))
Restored/extended: Beckley (1885); Portslade by Sea (1889-91); Warnham (1886 - doubtful)
E Blore
Edward Blore (1787-1879) was one of the most prolific architects of the early gothic revival, designing both houses and churches; foremost among the former was the new front wing for Buckingham Palace and in Sussex his most prominent work was the virtual reconstruction of Wiston House. He also restored many mediaeval buildings, including several Oxford colleges. He was too early in date to have restored many cathedrals, since like other architects of his generation who specialised in the gothic, he retired relatively early, in 1849. However, he designed fittings at several, incuding Durham, Winchester and Norwich, as well as Westminster Abbey. Blore came late to architecture, having trained and worked as a topographical draughtsman and artist. His work tended to the ponderous and the Ecclesiological Society had little time for his work on churches. He had a large office, where his pupils included W Burges, H Clutton and F Marrable.
Obit: The Builder 37 p1019; Lit: DNB
Restored: Easebourne (1834-36)
R Blore
Father and son, both called Robert, worked together from premises in Piccadilly, producing a wide range of memorials and tablets. The father retired around 1820 after being declared bankrupt and his son continued alone until his death in 1838.
Memorial: Burwash (by Blore junior)
G F Bodley T Garner Bodley and Garner
George Frederick Bodley (1827-1907) was born in Hull, but his doctor father retired to Brighton, from which his mother came. He was connected by marriage to Sir George G Scott, whose first pupil and then assistant he was from 1845-50. After this he set up his own practice, initially in Brighton and then in London. He was one of a number of architects who sought to give new direction to the gothic revival, reacting against the ‘rigid convention’ of Scott, as Warren puts it, and working in craggy High Victorian brick in an often simplified form of French Gothic – St Michael, Brighton was his first complete church. He employed Morris and Co and made several designs for them, but changed to more biddable designers and manufacturers, as he believed that their work should be subordinated to the architect’s overall vision of the building. In 1869 because he had so many commissions, he took Thomas Garner (1839-1906), a fellow pupil of Scott as his partner. Their partnership lasted until 1897, though the two often worked independently in later years. Even before its start, Bodley had moved towards a more elegant, smooth style based on early C14 English Decorated, a development with which Garner was in sympathy. Haywards Heath was an early example of his new found concern for elegance and restraint; Danehill shows his mature late work, when, despite severe lameness, Bodley maintained a high rate of work. He was elected a full RA as late as 1902.
Lit: E P Warren: Life and Work of G F Bodley, RIBAJ 17, pp305-36; DNB
Designed: Brighton and Hove, - Annunciation (1864 – attr, probably incorrectly); - St Mary Magdalene, Bread Street (1864 – dem 1950); - St Michael (1858-61, later extended); - Danehill (1892); Haywards Heath, - St Wilfrid (1863-65)
Restored/altered: Brighton and Hove, - St Paul (1865-74); Cuckfield (1855-56 and 1880); Hurst Green (1906 – supervised); New Shoreham (c1876 – report); West Blatchington (1855 - not executed)
Fittings: Brighton and Hove, - St Barnabas, reredos; Buxted, - St Mary, reredos (gone); Cuckfield, screen
C B Bone
Charles Belfield Bone (1862-1942) was a London architect, who was probably of Devon origin, since after schooling at Radley he was articled to the Exeter practice of Hayward and Son. After that, he worked in the office of Sir T G Jackson and then became a partner of F A Coles and H C Rogers. He continued the practice after the others died and spent the last years of his life at Budleigh Salterton, Devon.
Lit: BAL Biog file
Altered: Brighton and Hove, - St John, Palmeira Square, Hove (1906-07)
A Booker
Alexander Booker (1842-1914) was born in Liverpool. In 1878 he was working on his own at 64 Portland Road, Notting Hill and between 1880 and 1894 in Euston Square (KD/L). In 1881 he was unmarried and living with his brother, Eustachius (1854-1931), who was also a stained glass artist and subsequently spent at least some years in Chicago, Illinois (US Census for 1910). After 1894 Alexander disappears from KD/L though at some point, possibly as late as this, he worked for Cox, Son and Buckley. In the late 1890s Alexander is known also to have been active in Bruges, Belgium.
Glass: Westfield
J Booth
John Booth (1759-1843) was the son of a bricklayer who became a London architect, specialising mostly in domestic architecture. He is likely to be the John Booth, surveyor, shown in a directory of 1811 at 33 Devonshire Street, Queen Square. Pigot’s Directory of 1839 lists him as surveyor and architect at 34 Red Lion Square and in 1841 he is described as ‘independent’.
Extended: Ore (old) (1821)
H T Bosdet
The unusual surname of Henry Thomas Bosdet (1855/56-1934) derives from his Jersey ancestry. He was born there, but lived from an early age in London; his father was a sea captain. He studied painting at the RA Schools, where he was for many years Curator of the Life School, but also taught at Islington College of Art and designed glass. He was living near Staines in 1891 and by 1901 in Chiswick, where he had his glass-making studio. After returning to Jersey in 1920, he spent a few years in Provence before returning once more to Jersey where he died. He had always kept up his connection with the Channel Islands and much of his glass is found there. The presence of his glass in three relatively nearby churches in Sussex suggests a common link that is now lost.
Glass: Easebourne; Midhurst; Terwick
H Braddock
Henry Braddock (1900-75) was a student at the Architectural Association from 1919 and taught there for five years. He then entered the office of Frank Verity, who was known mainly for his theatres and cinemas. Braddock worked on these and met A W Kenyon, who like him was to design a church in Crawley. Together they worked on plans for Greater London. In 1950 he set up in practice with D F Martin-Smith and from at least 1955 until 1970 they were in the east gallery of St John’s church in St John’s Wood, London. Braddock retired to Dumfries, where he took up painting.
Lit: BAL Biog file; Obit: RIBAJ 82 (April 1975) p9
Designed: Crawley, - St Mary (1958)
D Brandon
David Brandon (1813-97), was a London architect, who was articled to George Smith and studied at the RA Schools. From 1838-51 his partner was T H Wyatt, a major restorer of churches in the west, especially Wiltshire, though both did most of their work independently. In addition to churches, he designed many houses in the Elizabethan style, including Bayham on the Kent/Sussex border, and clubs.
Lit: BAL Biog file; Obit: RIBAJ 4 (1897) p144
Restored: Salehurst (1861)
E F Brickdale E Fortescue-Brickdale
Mary Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale (1872-1945) (both versions of her name are found) was the daughter of a barrister, who trained as a painter at the RA Schools and exhibited extensively, chiefly as a watercolourist and illustrator. Despite lingering doubts at the time about the propriety of a woman earning her living in this way, she was prolific and the books she illustrated were highly regarded. From 1902 she had a studio in Holland Park until the end of her career, which was cut short by ill health. Her style could fairly be described as in a languid late Pre-Raphaelite idiom, though she was too young to have had direct contact with the founders of the Brotherhood, and at her death many saw her as the last of the pre-Raphaelites. As well as illustrating books and painting, she designed tiles and stained glass, the last of which was made by Burlison and Grylls (see below), though it is not known whether she had any contractual relationship with the firm; it is to be found amongst other places in Bristol cathedral.
Lit: NAL Information file; http://www.john-howe.com/news/index.php/site/comments/the_stuff_of_dreams/ [A lengthy and thorough account of her life and work, for which the research was done by Ann Carling]
Glass: Little Horsted; Newtimber
D Briggs
Douglas Briggs has given his name to a practice at Bosham, Douglas Briggs Partnership. Previously he worked as an architect for West Sussex County Council, with a special interest in conservation. According to their website, the practice has worked on the restoration and extension of several churches in West Sussex, but no specific examples are given.
Extended: Appledram (2008 - planned)
E P L Brock Habershon and Brock
Edgar Philip Loftus Brock (1833-95) came of an old Guernsey family and from 1851 was a pupil of W G and M E Habershon. When the brothers' partnership ended, he became managing clerk and partner of M E Habershon, who on retirement in 1879 made over the practice to Brock. It is not always clear which buildings before this date are by Brock alone; those dating from later do not reveal great talent. For works which were definitely or probably done in conjunction with M E Habershon, see under his name.
Lit: BAL Biog file; Obit: Arch J 2 p221
Designed: Copthorne (1877-80); Hammerwood (1878-80); Iping (1885); Iping Marsh (1878 – demolished); Newhaven, Christ Church (1880 – dem 1965); Ore (new) (1869)
Restored/extended: Broadwater (nd); Dallington (1864); Southwick (reports – 1876 and 1885)
J Brooks
James Brooks (1825-1901) was born near Wantage, a centre of Tractarianism. Initially he helped on his father’s farm and developed several new pieces of agricultural equipment, but became increasingly interested in architecture. He moved to London, to the office of the little known Lewis Stride, whom he continued to assist until he started his own practice in 1853, though Baggallay suggests he was a pupil of T L Donaldson and he also studied at the RA Schools. His first works were mostly houses, but he was increasingly influenced by W Butterfield (see below), G E Street and W White (all of whom he knew) and designed his first church in 1860. Soon after he evolved the type of church, which filled the rest of his career – large town churches, mostly of brick, in a simple Gothic based on C13 French work. They were well suited to the High Church ritual with which he sympathised and were mostly in poorer areas, notably in East and North London. He lived in Stoke Newington in a house he had designed. Brooks was admired for his ability to design churches cheaply, though they were well built. He never changed his C13 sources, perhaps because his emphasis on line rather than decoration already looked ahead to the late Victorian period. He was Diocesan Architect of Canterbury and a consulting architect to the ICBS.
Lit: I Mills: The Craftsmen of St Margaret’s, 2006 (Chapter 5); BAL Biog file; Tribute by F T Baggallay in AR 10 pp218-24; DNB
Designed: Hastings, - St Peter (1883-85)
W Brooks
William Brooks signed an application to the ICBS in connection with work at Westhampnett in 1831, together with someone calling himself simply Pelham, who was probably a builder or carpenter. The name William Brooks is too common to allow any of the men of that name in Sussex in 1841 to be identified as the same.
Altered: Westhampnett (1831-32)
R Brough
Robert W Brough (1912-94) was a chartered architect of 13 Ambrose Place, Worthing. He first appears in a directory in 1951 and the last definite reference was in 1978. However, he is clearly the architect who designed an extension for St Botolph Heene in 1982. He also worked on at least two nonconformist chapels in the Worthing area in 1958 and 1968 (Elleray (2004).
Extended: Worthing, - St Botolph, Heene
A Brown
Alexander Brown is described as a surveyor on application to the ICBS for the extension of Lodsworth church in 1842/43. On that occasion he was working with a local builder, J Grist, and it is likely that he too came from the area. The most likely person was a land agent of the name who was born in Scotland in 1802/03 and was living in Easebourne as late as 1861. However, no one of the correct name and occupation is listed in directories covering the area for the period.
Reconstructed: Lodsworth (1842)
F M Brown
Ford Madox Brown (1821-93) was born in Calais, but trained in Belgium as well as Paris as a painter; he was also influenced by the German Nazarenes. After returning to England he became close to the Pre-Raphaelites, though he was never a member of the Brotherhood. His acquaintance with D G Rossetti led to him meeting W Morris and was one of the founders of Morris and Co. He designed glass and furniture for the company, but ceased to be involved with it after 1874. His subsequent career was uneven and he spent several years in the 1880s in Manchester, where he worked on murals for the new town hall.
Glass: Brighton and Hove, - St Michael
J W Brown
John William Brown (1842-1928) was born at Newcastle upon Tyne and trained as an artist. Around 1870 he moved to London, where he may have been associated with Morris and Co, but in 1874 he joined J Powell and Sons and was active as a designer from 1875. He was a painter as well as a designer of glass, whose style was close to that of the Aesthetic movement. He left the company in 1886 to establish his own studio, but continued to provide designs for them on a freelance basis until 1923, including windows at several cathedrals, notably Liverpool. However, during this later period most of his designs for others were for H Holiday.
Glass: Aldingbourne; Burpham; East Hoathly; Newick; West Firle
R Brown
Robert Brown is known between 1823 and 1857, with an address at 58 Great Russell Street London. He worked in both the classical and gothic styles and though the monument signed 'R Brown' at Horsted Keynes is not recorded by Roscoe, the date of 1854 leaves little doubt that Robert Brown is the sculptor. One in the gothic style in Sunderland Minster bears the latest date of 1841. This too is not in Roscoe and the considerable spread geography suggests that Brown's output was prolific and that other works by him are waiting to be identified. One R Brown of Drury Lane, London, known from a single monument of 1827 in St George, Bloomsbury, London (Roscoe p148). is unlikely to be the same as the address overlaps with Robert Brown's known dates in Great Russell Street.
(My thanks to Ian Stubbs for telling me about the monument in Sunderland Minster)
Monument: Horsted Keynes
Browne and Co
No London mason of this name is known to have been in business in 1807, the date of the memorial signed by this name at Mayfield. However, there is Joseph Browne, who first appears in 1814 and disappears after 1845. He seems the most likely on the assumption that the monument was supplied later, as was not uncommon. He was a supplier of marble who was involved in the fitting out of Buckingham Palace in the 1820s and also produced quite a few monuments, which are widely spread over the southern half of England.
Monument: Mayfield
---- Brunton
Nothing is known of this purveyor of ornamental glazing of Kensington, beyond the single reference in 1880.
Glass: Hammerwood
H Bryans
Herbert William Bryans (1855-1925) was educated at Haileybury and Cambridge before spending 10 years as a tea-planter in Ceylon and two further years making wine in France. Only then did he become a pupil of Clayton and Bell. He was also close to C E Kempe, to whose work his glass is very similar and most easily distinguished by his greyhound rebus. His business address from 1898 to 1911 was 38 Chester Terrace, NW after which he moved to 12 Mornington Crescent (KD/L). From 1924 he is listed with James Bryans (KD/L), his son, and the company continued in the name of both until at least 1928, three years after the father's death. It is unlikely that James Lonsdale Bryans (1893-1981) was very active in the business, since he was a keen traveller and Fascist sympathiser. During World War II he aroused the suspicion of both the Foreign Office and MI5 because of his attempts to promote a negotiated end to the war. Between 1902 and 1921 H W Bryans had worked with E Heasman, much of whose work is also signed with the greyhound, and who later became partner of G Webb, but there is no reference to this partnership, if it was ever formalised, in KD/L.
Glass: Horsham, - St Mary; Lewes, - St John, Southover; Streat
W Bryder
William Bryder was the surveyor responsible for work at North Chapel in 1833. He was probably local, but no such person is given in contemporary directories. However, Mrs Harriet Bryder of North Chapel, (1786/87 or 1789/90-1882), a widow and giving her profession as builder in 1841, is likely to be connected. By 1851 she was a farmer and remained so until 1881. Others of the name in the parish, e g William Bryder (b1822/23), a carpenter in 1871, are probably relatives, though his father was called Thomas.
Altered: North Chapel (1832-33 - mostly replaced)
C A Buckler
Charles Alban Buckler (1824-1905) was the son of J C Buckler (see immediately below). Interested in heraldry and church history, he became a Roman Catholic in 1844. His reconstruction of Arundel Castle (1874-1905) accounts for his work on the Fitzalan Chapel. He designed four other Roman Catholic churches and two convents in the county.
Lit: BAL Biog file.
Restored: Arundel - Fitzalan Chapel (1885-1902)
J C Buckler
John Chessel Buckler (1793-1894) belonged to a family of architects - both his father, whose practice he took over in 1826, and his son, C A Buckler (see immediately above) belonged to the profession. J C Buckler worked mainly in and around Oxford, including church restorations as early as 1831, and also restored Lincoln and Norwich cathedrals. He won second prize in the competition for the new Palace of Westminster and is said to have practised until his 90th year, though his obituary called him primarily ‘a well known Oxfordshire antiquary’ – he was also an accomplished artist and wrote on mediaeval architecture. His later work appears to have been mainly in this area for according to the DNB he produced little architecture after 1860. Much of his secular work was in the Tudor style. For a short time he advised the Cambridge Camden Society, notably when he worked with J M Neale on the restoration of Old Shoreham.
Obit: The Times 12 Jan 1894; DNB on his Father (John Buckler)
Restored: Old Shoreham (1839-40)
M J C Buckley
Michael Joseph Cunningham Buckley (1848/49-1905) was of Irish birth and in part at least trained at Louvain, Belgium. He was in London, calling himself an artist in stained glass, in 1873 with an address in the New Road. KD/L 1879 reveals him in partnership with someone called Thomson at 72 Wigmore Street and 69 Wells Street. Nothing is known about this brief episode, for in the following year he appears at the same Wigmore Street address by himself. In 1881 became a partner of Cox and Son, which was renamed Cox, Sons, Buckley and Co, and in 1891 was living as an unmarried lodger in Buckingham Street, Westminster, describing himself vaguely as 'in manufacture' and an employer. The firm experienced financial problems in the 1890s and after it had been bought out, Buckley returned to Ireland and established a stained glass and metal works, using in part Belgian workers. A window of 1903 in Burgh Castle, Suffolk, is signed ‘M J C Buckley, Youghal’, but the venture was cut short by his relatively early death.
Lit: Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940 [on-line version]
Glass: Slaugham
J S Bucknall
John S Bucknall (1917-89) was the great nephew of Sir J N Comper, with whom he worked from 1936, installing most of his glass. He took over Comper's studio and produced glass in a very similar style until 1968.
Glass: Pulborough
K Budd
Kenneth George Budd (1925-95) trained at the Royal College of Art. He was a mosaicist as well as designing stained glass. He lived for a while in Westerham, Kent and in 1963 established a workshop for mosaics in Robertsbridge. In 1980 this was taken over by his son, Oliver, under whom it still exists.
Glass: Portslade, - Good Shepherd, Mile Oak
W Burges
William Burges (1827-81) was the son of a wealthy engineer in London, who was articled to E Blore (see this section above) before joining the office of Matthew Digby Wyatt. He had an informal partnership with H Clutton from 1851 and was heavily influenced by A W N Pugin. He had links with the Pre-Raphaelites and used their glass and fittings in his churches. He also designed furniture, plate and jewellery, as well as being responsible for laying out the Mediaeval Court at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London. One of the most imaginative of Victorian architects, he could design on the grandest scale and more simply. His work shows much subtle variation of detail, e g the design of tracery. He travelled extensively and his designs show much French influence.
Lit: J M Crook: William Burges and the High Victorian Dream, 1981
Designed: Crawley, Lowfield Heath (1867-68)
Extended: Brighton and Hove, - St Michael (designed 1865 and built 1893); Eastbourne, - Holy Trinity (1861)
C Burgess
Clement Burgess was established as a statuary and architect in Petworth by 1828, where he is known to have provided work for the house. He died in 1855, though he does not appear either in PD 1840 or in the censuses of 1841 and 1851.
Memorial: Fittleworth
N Burgis
Norman Leslie Sewell Burgis (1912-79) was a long established architect in Ringmer. He was celebrated in the hunting community for the pack of basset hounds that he kept and hunted.
Repaired: Brighton and Hove, - St Matthias (1966-67); Coldwaltham (1967-71)
Burke and Co W H Burke and Co
William Henry Burke (1836/37-1908) was in 1871 a marble manufacturer with works at 17 Newman Street, London, where he also lived. Ten years later he was a marble merchant at Ampthill Square, St Pancras. In fact by then he specialised in mosaic flooring and he wrote a Short History of Marble Mosaic Pavements, published in c1900. In this he claimed that his firm had laid over 1 million square feet of pavements throughout Europe and the USA, employing artists including Millais and Leighton as designers. He called himself the ‘parent of modern mosaic in England’, though at his death he left the modest amount of £1565. The firm also produced memorials and there is a record of one in Roscoe as early as 1820, in which case the firm lasted for at least two generations, though Burke's father was in a different line of business.
Fittings: Brighton and Hove, - St Mary, mosaic floor; Worthing, - St Andrew, West Tarring, mosaics
Memorials: Hastings, All Saints; Nuthurst
Burlison and Grylls
John Burlison (1843-91) and Thomas John Grylls (1845-1913) became partners in 1868, with an address at 23 Newman Street (KD/L). Both trained at Clayton and Bell and their partnership was instigated by Bodley and Garner (see above), who subsequently patronised them; they also made glass for Sir George G Scott and George G Scott junior. They were one of the leading late C19 studios and, like Kempe, found inspiration in both late mediaeval glass and contemporary art. The firm continued under John's son H Grylls at a studio in Great Ormond Street, London until his death in 1953. During this time they used outside artists such as E F Brickdale (see this section above).
Glass: Arundel; Battle; Bexhill, - St Peter; Bolney; Brighton and Hove, - St Mary; - St Peter, West Blatchington; Crawley Down (attr); East Grinstead, - St Swithun; Eridge Green; Groombridge; Haywards Heath, - St Wilfrid; Hastings, - Christ Church, London Road; Linchmere; Midhurst; Mountfield; Warbleton; West Lavington; Willingdon; Woodmancote
T Burman
Thomas Burman (1617/18-1674) was apprenticed to E Marshall and was a successful carver of tombs and metal engraver. After a difficult period during the Commonwealth, he had a sizeable workshop in Covent Garden, which was taken over by his widow. Only three confirmed monuments survive, but others can be ascribed with confidence on stylistic grounds. Amongst his pupils was J Bushnell (see this section below), who was also responsible for a monument at Ashburnham.
Lit: DNB
Memorial: Ashburnham (attr)
Sir E Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833-98) was born in Birmingham, the son of a carver and gilder, and came under the influence of the Oxford Movement whilst still at school. With a view to ordination, he studied at Oxford, where he met W Morris and, after encountering the Pre-Raphaelites, found himself increasingly drawn towards becoming an artist. After some training from D G Rossetti, he was quickly successful, first as a painter and then a designer of stained glass. His earliest glass dates from 1856 and was made for J Powell and Sons and a little later for Lavers and Barraud, but in 1861 he moved to what became Morris and Co, of which he was a partner and designed almost all their glass until his death, as well as tapestries and book illustrations. At the end of a successful career, he was seen as one of the most eminent late Victorian artists. He spent his later years at Rottingdean.
Lit: M Harrison and B Waters: Burne-Jones, 1973
Fittings: Brighton and Hove - St Paul, altarpiece (formerly), - St Peter, Preston, altar-painting (attr - very doubtful and now stolen)
Glass: See under Morris and Co for his works
T Burnell
Thomas Burnell can be traced in London between 1733 and 1749 (the dates of his two known monuments) and may be related to later sculptors of the same name who were active in London as late as 1841.
Memorial: Cuckfield
R E Burstow
Ralph Ernest Burstow (1922-2002) was a pupil of C F Callow in St Leonards, whose partner he became in 1949. Burstow was in St Leonards in 1976 and the practice of Callow and Burstow still existed in 1979, when it had moved to Battle.
Lit: BAL Biog file for Callow
Repaired: Hastings, - St Leonard, Hollington (1964-72)
D Burton
Decimus Burton (1800-81) was the son of J Burton (see below). He went to school at Tonbridge (he later did a lot of work in the area) and then trained under his father, while studying at the RA Schools. He was in independent practice from 1823 and was closely associated with George IV’s favourite architect, John Nash, with whom his father had business associations, though there is no evidence, as has been claimed, that he worked in his office. With Nash, Decimus worked on villas and terraces in Regent’s Park and became highly successful at an early age, mainly in the Grecian style, even before travelling to Greece and Italy. Major works in London included the Athenaeum Club and the screen and Wellington arch at Hyde Park Corner and, in Dublin, Phoenix Park. He also used Italianate and gothic, but was never at home in the last. By the 1850s he had withdrawn from architecture except for some work for private patrons and at Kew Gardens. In 1869 he retired to a cottage in St Leonards.
Lit: G Williams: Augustus Pugin versus Decimus Burton, a Victorian Architectural Duel, 1990; DNB
Designed: Eastbourne, Holy Trinity (1837-39 – altered); Flimwell (1839 – altered); Goring (1836-38)
J Burton
James Burton (1761-1837), the father of D Burton (see immediately above), was born of Scottish descent and named Haliburton, though he adopted the name Burton at an early age. He trained as a surveyor and was involved in large housing developments in London (including much of Bloomsbury), becoming the most successful developer of the age in London. He was closely associated with John Nash in his development of Regent’s Park and Regent Street. His own designs were few and not greatly distinguished, though the first church of St Leonard was his own work. He acquired a mansion outside Tonbridge, Kent and late in life, to the initial alarm of his son, bought a large estate west of Hastings, on which he laid out St Leonards.
Lit: BAL Biog file; DNB
Designed: Hastings, - St Leonard (1831-34 – bombed and rebuilt)
T T Bury
Thomas Talbot Bury (1809-77) was a pupil of A C Pugin from 1824 and started independent practice in 1830. In the 1840s he had a partner, Charles Lee and he appears also to have been an assistant to L Vulliamy. Later he worked with A W N Pugin on the Palace of Westminster, mainly on the detail. In addition to a practice which centred on churches, he was a skilled watercolourist and engraver, who published a number of books with his own illustrations.
Lit: BAL Biog file; DNB
Designed: Burgess Hill, - St John (1861-63, 1875)
C A Busby
Charles Augustin Busby (1788-1834) was articled to D A Alexander in London, whom he assisted in designing new docks and warehouses. He prospered in independent practice, but moved to America in 1817 after a new type of roof he had designed failed. Returning in 1819, he worked for Francis Goodwin, but after further disputes about roofs in 1824 he moved to Brighton. There he worked for Thomas Kemp, with Kemp’s builder, A Wilds and his son A H Wilds, an architect who was briefly a partner. They were responsible for much of Kemp Town and Brunswick Town, which Busby undertook on his own initiative. The partnership ended acrimoniously and he resumed work on his own but got into severe financial difficulties. He is buried at Hove old parish church.
Lit: N Bingham: C A Busby – The Regency Architect of Brighton and Hove, 1991
Designed: Brighton and Hove, - St George (1824-25 - attr); - St Margaret (1824 - dem)
R Bushby
Robert Bushby (1812/13-91) was born at Tarring and appears in directories from 1855 as a builder at Arundel Road, Littlehampton. He was contractor for major restorations, including R C Carpenter's at St Nicolas, Brighton and the foundations of Sir George G Scott ’s new tower at Chichester cathedral. He has been named as the designer of one church (St John, Littlehampton), but there are grounds for doubting this and he may have been the contractor, as might more readily be expected.
Designed(?): Littlehampton, - St John (1877 – dem 1976)
J Bushnell
John Bushnell (1636-1701) was apprenticed to Thomas Burman (see above) but experienced major problems and went abroad precipitately. He seems to have gone first to France and it is known for certain that he went to Venice, but he probably also visited Austria and Flanders. He would have seen much baroque sculpture and after his return in 1667 was one of the first English sculptors to work in this style, though he by was no means always prosperous, perhaps because he was visibly deficient in what he had learned. Notoriously difficult as a person, he died insane.
Lit: K Gibson: The Trials of John Bushnell, Sculpture Journal 6 (2001) pp49-60; DNB
Memorials: Ashburnham; Mid Lavant
A E Buss
Arthur Edward Buss (1909-99) studied glassmaking at Camberwell School of Art under W Aikman, with whom he then worked until opening his own studio in 1937. From 1946 to 1970 he was designer for Goddard and Gibbs and later settled at Langney, Eastbourne, where he died.
Obit: JSG 23 (1999) pp98-99
Glass: Eastbourne, - St Elisabeth; - St Mary (from St George); - St Richard, Langney; Lewes, - St Anne; Lodsworth; Pevensey Bay
J Butler
Joseph Butler (1804-84), born at Parndon, Essex, was an architect, surveyor and builder (KD/S 1851) of The Cloisters, Chichester from about 1833 and worked widely in West and Mid-Sussex. The first recorded reference to him in the county was in 1833-35, when he was the contractor for the rebuilding of Old St Andrew, Hove. He soon appears to have left such work behind him and his best known achievement while in Sussex was as cathedral surveyor, when he supervised R C Carpenter’s restoration from 1846; his measured drawings of the tower and spire were praised by Sir George G Scott in his Recollections for their value during the rebuilding after the collapse of 1861. Butler's own designs develop from a late Georgian approach to the gothic in the 1830s. In 1849 he designed Bishop Otter College after a dispute with J Elliott, who called Butler ‘a builder employed by the Chapter’ and an ‘interloper in his profession’ (B 7 p29). There is some truth in this – by 1850 he was primarily a surveyor, both at the cathedral and for the building of St Peter the Great to Carpenter’s designs. He left the town around 1855 and in 1861 the census shows he was working in Sherborne, still a surveyor. However, he does not appear in either KD/Dorset 1859 or Harrod's Directory for Dorset and Wiltshire for 1865, so his stay in the town appears to have been short. His only known previous connection with Dorset was in 1849-50, when on a rare foray outside Sussex he worked on Whitechurch Canonicorum church. By 1871 he was living in Regent’s Park, London describing himself as secretary to a public company, suggesting some prosperity. However, in 1881 he was a widower and lodger in Truro, Cornwall. His wanderings were not over, for he died at Chester in 1884, where he had probably gone because his son William was a colliery proprietor in Denbighshire nearby.
Designed: Chichester, - St. Paul (1836); - St Peter the Great (1848-52 - worked as surveyor for R C Carpenter); Plaistow (1853-54); Stanmer (1838 – attr); Stedham (1850)
Restored/extended: Appledram (1845); Bosham (1845); Brighton and Hove, - St Andrew, Hove (1833-35 - contractor); Compton (1849-51); Fishbourne (1847); Forest Row (1850); Lower Beeding (1852 – unexecuted); Mid Lavant (1844); Pagham (1838); Pyecombe (1842 – examined); Sidlesham (1840 – unexecuted); Southwick (1835 – extent of involvement uncertain); Stoughton (1844); Upper Beeding (1852)
W Butterfield
William Butterfield (1814-1900) was never a member of the RIBA and came of a nonconformist background. First apprenticed to a builder, he then became a pupil of E L Blackburne (see above) and after brief spells in the office of H W and W Inwood and in Worcester, started his own practice in London in 1840. At around the same time, he became an Anglican and was soon closely involved with the Ecclesiologists. His practice centred on churches, of which he is said to have designed about a hundred. Despite some continuing doctrinal doubts, he became one of the leading architects of the High Church party, under the patronage of men such as A J Beresford Hope. Most of his major churches were associated with attempts to bring the faith to the poorer parts of towns and cities and are in brick, generally regarded as a cheap material. In fact, Butterfield chose expensive, carefully finished bricks and by using different, contrasting colours created what became known as polychromy. Even many contemporaries found this strident and much was later whitewashed. Despite using such widely available materials, he sometimes used local ones, as at West Lavington. As well as designing churches, he restored many, besides designing fittings and glass; among those who produced glass for him under close supervision were the Horwood Brothers and A Gibbs.
Lit: P Thompson: William Butterfield, 1971; DNB
Designed: West Lavington (1850)
Restored: Battle (1867-69); Bexhill, - St Peter (1877-79 and 1892); Hastings, - All Saints (1869-70); - St Clement (1872-76); Seaford (1858 – consulted); Wisborough Green (1868 – wrongly attr); Worthing, - St Andrew, West Tarring (1878? and 1882-86)
Fittings: Brighton and Hove, - St Patrick, lectern; Hastings, - All Saints; West Lavington, reredos
Glass: Brighton and Hove, - St Patrick
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