George Tinworth
Encyclopedia
George Tinworth was an English ceramic artist who worked for the Doulton factory at Lambeth from 1867 until his death.
, South London
, England
, Tinworth was the son of a greengrocer
turned wheelwright
and the family suffered extreme poverty. Brought up to follow in his father's footsteps, he spent his spare time carving off-cuts and soon showed a precocious talent for art. At nineteen he pawned his overcoat to pay for evening classes at the local Lambeth School of Art
in Kennington Park Road
. In the same year of his life he created the 'The Mocking of Christ', now on show at the Cuming Museum
on the Walworth Road, Southwark
.
From the Lambeth School of Art (now the City and Guilds of London Art School
) he went on to the Royal Academy
Schools in 1864, winning various medals for his work. After the Royal Academy he got a job with Doulton, the Lambeth
stoneware manufacturer, Tinworth had previously been one of a group of students from the Lambeth School of Art who assisted its principal, John Sparkes in the making of a terracotta frieze for an extension to Doulton's premises.
He began work at the Doulton factory making cases for water filters, but soon moved on to making the new range of salt-glazed stoneware that became known simply as "Doulton Ware" . About thirty examples of his work were shown at the 1867 Paris Exhibition. His father died in the same year, and he was left as the main supporter of his mother and family.
At Doulton, he produced vases, jugs, humorous figures and animals and larger pieces. Through his engagement with Doulton, Tinworth also designed an altarpiece
, a pulpit
and a font
for St. Alban's Anglican Church
which was consecrated in 1887 in Copenhagen
, Denmark. They were donations from the factory to the church and manufactured in terra cotta
with salt glazed details to Tinworth 's design.
The Cuming Museum
contains three examples of his life-sized clay heads and a terracotta scene entitled The Jews making bricks under Egyptian Taskmasters. This last was presented to the museum by Doulton and Co in 1914 as a memorial to Tinworth. They seem not to have recognised that it could be interpreted as an allegory of the exploitation of his fellow clayworkers.
Many of his pieces were shown at the Royal Academy where they were admired by John Ruskin
, amongst others. The first to be exhibited there in the year he joined the school was a group of children fighting called "Peace and Wrath in Low Life". A large scale terracotta fountain, "The Fountain of Life", was donated to Kennington Park
by Henry Doulton
in 1872 (or 1869?). This was vandalised in the 1980s and The Friends of the Park are seeking funding for its restoration.
Other pieces by Tinworth are to be found in the Museum of Garden History
in Lambeth, adjacent to the main entrance of St Bede's College, Manchester
, in the panel above the entrance to the former Doulton Works in Black Prince Road, Lambeth
, the Baptist Chapel in Wraysbury
, in Truro Cathedral
, Cornwall
, in St Mark's Church in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, and in St Mary's Church in Burton, Wiltshire
.
The Cuming Museum has Tinworth's major independent art project in storage. This is a 4 feet (1.2 m) model of a project for an elaborate memorial to Southwark's connection with Shakespeare, made in 1904. Enough public donations were never achieved to realise it. Though this was Tinworth's most ambitious autonomous art project, he also made a number of complex figure compositions in relief, including The Release of Barabas and Saul attacking David.
The Southwark Local Studies Archive has his manuscript (and unpublished) autobiography.
. The monument on the tomb was one of many destroyed by the London Borough of Lambeth
, who reused the grave for new burials in the 1980s. After a legal protest by a descendant, Lambeth placed a simple plaque commemorating the people buried in the plot.
Life
Born at 6 Milk Street, Walworth CommonWalworth
-Places:United Kingdom* Walworth, County DurhamUnited States* Walworth County, South Dakota* Walworth County, Wisconsin* Walworth, New York* Walworth, Wisconsin, a village* Walworth , Wisconsin, a town...
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Tinworth was the son of a greengrocer
Greengrocer
A greengrocer or fruiterer is a retail trader in fruit and vegetables; that is, in green groceries. Greengrocer is primarily a British and Australian term, and greengrocers' shops were once common in suburbs, towns and villages...
turned wheelwright
Wheelwright
A wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...
and the family suffered extreme poverty. Brought up to follow in his father's footsteps, he spent his spare time carving off-cuts and soon showed a precocious talent for art. At nineteen he pawned his overcoat to pay for evening classes at the local Lambeth School of Art
Lambeth School of Art
Lambeth School of Art was founded in 1854 by William Gregory as a night school associated with the St. Mary the Less Church in London.-History:...
in Kennington Park Road
Kennington Park Road
Kennington Park Road is a main road in south-east London, England, and is part of the A3 trunk road. It runs from Newington Butts at its Y-junction with Kennington Lane, south-west to the Oval, where the A3 continues as Clapham Road, towards Stockwell...
. In the same year of his life he created the 'The Mocking of Christ', now on show at the Cuming Museum
Cuming Museum
The Cuming Museum in Walworth Road, within the London Borough of Southwark, London, England, houses the collection of the Cuming family and is also a museum of Southwark's history....
on the Walworth Road, Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
.
From the Lambeth School of Art (now the City and Guilds of London Art School
City and Guilds of London Art School
The City and Guilds of London Art School is an art college in London, England, United Kingdom. It is one of the country's longest established art colleges, and offers courses ranging from Foundation, through B.A. degree, Postgraduate Diploma and M.A...
) he went on to the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
Schools in 1864, winning various medals for his work. After the Royal Academy he got a job with Doulton, the Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
stoneware manufacturer, Tinworth had previously been one of a group of students from the Lambeth School of Art who assisted its principal, John Sparkes in the making of a terracotta frieze for an extension to Doulton's premises.
He began work at the Doulton factory making cases for water filters, but soon moved on to making the new range of salt-glazed stoneware that became known simply as "Doulton Ware" . About thirty examples of his work were shown at the 1867 Paris Exhibition. His father died in the same year, and he was left as the main supporter of his mother and family.
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
, a pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
and a font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
for St. Alban's Anglican Church
St. Alban's Church, Copenhagen
St. Alban's Church, locally often referred to simply as the English Church, is an Anglican church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built from 1885 to 1887 for the growing English congregation in the city...
which was consecrated in 1887 in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark. They were donations from the factory to the church and manufactured in terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
with salt glazed details to Tinworth 's design.
The Cuming Museum
Cuming Museum
The Cuming Museum in Walworth Road, within the London Borough of Southwark, London, England, houses the collection of the Cuming family and is also a museum of Southwark's history....
contains three examples of his life-sized clay heads and a terracotta scene entitled The Jews making bricks under Egyptian Taskmasters. This last was presented to the museum by Doulton and Co in 1914 as a memorial to Tinworth. They seem not to have recognised that it could be interpreted as an allegory of the exploitation of his fellow clayworkers.
Many of his pieces were shown at the Royal Academy where they were admired by John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
, amongst others. The first to be exhibited there in the year he joined the school was a group of children fighting called "Peace and Wrath in Low Life". A large scale terracotta fountain, "The Fountain of Life", was donated to Kennington Park
Kennington Park
Kennington Park is in Kennington in London, England, and lies between Kennington Park Road and St Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854. Previously the site had been Kennington Common. This is where the Chartists gathered for their biggest 'monster rally' on 10 April 1848...
by Henry Doulton
Henry Doulton
Sir Henry Doulton was an English businessman, inventor and manufacturer of pottery, instrumental in developing the firm of Royal Doulton....
in 1872 (or 1869?). This was vandalised in the 1980s and The Friends of the Park are seeking funding for its restoration.
Other pieces by Tinworth are to be found in the Museum of Garden History
Museum of Garden History
The Garden Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Garden History, is based in the deconsecrated parish church of St Mary-at-Lambeth adjacent to Lambeth Palace on the south bank of the River Thames in London, located on Lambeth Road...
in Lambeth, adjacent to the main entrance of St Bede's College, Manchester
St Bede's College, Manchester
St Bede's College, Manchester is an independent Roman Catholic day school situated on Alexandra Road South in the Whalley Range area of the city, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
, in the panel above the entrance to the former Doulton Works in Black Prince Road, Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
, the Baptist Chapel in Wraysbury
Wraysbury Baptist Chapel
Wraysbury Baptist Chapel is situated in the village of Wraysbury, Berkshire, England. The present day building was opened in 1862, but the chapel was first established in 1827.- History :...
, in Truro Cathedral
Truro Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro is an Anglican cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It was built in the Gothic Revival architectural style fashionable during much of the nineteenth century, and is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, in St Mark's Church in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, and in St Mary's Church in Burton, Wiltshire
Burton, Wiltshire
Burton is a small village with 96 households in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England. Kelly's Directory of Wiltshire of 1915 identifies Burton as the most important part of the parish of Nettleton...
.
The Cuming Museum has Tinworth's major independent art project in storage. This is a 4 feet (1.2 m) model of a project for an elaborate memorial to Southwark's connection with Shakespeare, made in 1904. Enough public donations were never achieved to realise it. Though this was Tinworth's most ambitious autonomous art project, he also made a number of complex figure compositions in relief, including The Release of Barabas and Saul attacking David.
The Southwark Local Studies Archive has his manuscript (and unpublished) autobiography.
Death
Tinworth died on 13 September 1913 and was buried in his mother's plot at West Norwood CemeteryWest Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...
. The monument on the tomb was one of many destroyed by the London Borough of Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
, who reused the grave for new burials in the 1980s. After a legal protest by a descendant, Lambeth placed a simple plaque commemorating the people buried in the plot.
See also
- Rose, Peter. George Tinworth, Harriman-Judd Collection, Vol 1. CDN Corps, USA, 1982 (including a chronology of principal works compiled by Desmond Eyles).