The Carter Prestons and Tyson Smiths - A Liverpool Family Tree

MArch 7005

Specialist Study

February 2014

Panagiotis Konikkos

ii

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank my specialist tutor Dr. Stephen Bowe for his assistance and guidance through my

study and also for his wealth of knowledge on Carter Preston, Tyson Smith and the art and sculpture

in Liverpool. I also acknowledge the help and valuable information of Dr. Emma Roberts of Liverpool

John Moores University who kindly spent time giving me an insight into Carter Preston’s work and life.

iii

iv

Contents:

1. The context of Liverpool at the time………………………………………………………………..………………….....1

The beginning of an Artistic Liverpool…………………………………………………………………………………………...…2

The Liverpool School of Applied Arts…………………………………………………………………………………………….….5

2. Family Tree................................…………………………………………………………………………………………….12

Family background of the artists..………………………………………………………………………………………………....13

The background of Edward Carter Preston……………………………………………….…………………………………...13

The background of Herbert Tyson Smith…………………………………………………………………………………….….17

3. The Individuals and their Careers……………………………………………………………………………………….…..23

Edward Carter Preston: Painter, sculptor, medalist………………………………………………………………………..23

Julia Carter Preston: Ceramicist and potter…………………………………………………………………………………….31

Herbert Tyson Smith: Sculptor and medallist………………………………………………………………………………….37

4. Case Studies…...............................................................................................................................45

Edward Carter Preston and the Liverpool Cathedral……………………………………………………………………….45

Herbert Tyson Smith and the Martins Bank Building……………………………………………………………………….56

5. The Relationship of Architecture and Sculpture in Liverpool 1880-1950…………………………………65

The 70 years of Architectural sculpture in the City………………………………………………………………………….65

Discussion and Conclusion: Comparison and Contrast of the Artists……………………………………………….71

Appendix A: List of the most important works………………………………………………………………………………..75

Appendix B: Dr. Emma Roberts interview………………………………………..……………………………………………..78

Appendix C: Letter Radcliffe-Scott…………………………………………………………………………………………………..80

Appendix D: Letter Scott-Radcliffe…………………………………………………………………………………………………..80

Appendix E: Letter Radcliffe-Scott……………………………………………………………………………………………………80

Appendix F-G: Biography of the artists.................................................................................................80

Illustrations……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..82

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….87

1

Fig. 1.1

Salthouse Dock, late

19th Century

Fig. 1.2

Port of Liverpool

Building, 1902-1907

2

1: The context of Liverpool at the time

The Beginning of an Artistic Liverpool

‘’During the nineteenth century Liverpool consolidated its position as a major port and began to

enjoy spectacular growth (fig.1.1), which in 1904 led Dr. James Currie to describe the town as a busy,

noisy, smoky, money-getting Liverpool’’.1 In the mid 1880’s, the period of Carter Preston’s and Tyson

Smith’s births, Liverpool was the second city in the U.K. in terms of economic confidence and growth.

In the early 1900’s Liverpool was part of the process of modernism that was spreading out in major

European wealthy cities. Liverpool’s geographical position and culture, as well as its great port found

the City closer to the American Beaux Arts ideas in architecture, towards modernism. These influences

spread out through the wealthy merchants of the city before spreading nationally.2 There is no doubt

that the English Arts and Crafts ideals were similar to the Beaux Arts schemes but the difference was

on the physical expression.

The transition of the two styles took place between 1880 and the beginning of World War One in

1914. Also the rejection of the Arts and Crafts stylistic coding took place in the Liverpool artistic world

alongside with innovative and pioneering technologies and American style educational practices.

Moreover, the railway which was developed during the period, machinery and the expansion of the

Liverpool docks were major elements of change in the city, as shown in the 1896 ‘Lumierre Brothers’

film of the ‘Liverpool Overhead Railway’.3 In a cosmopolitan city with a busy port at the time, change

was necessary and the art and architecture of the port City moved towards the American ideas, rather

than the European, due to the increasing trade between Liverpool and America.4 The wealth of

Liverpool coming from the sea was changing the city’s appearance rapidly including major investments

such as the mercantile and maritime structures, the ‘Port of Liverpool building’ (fig.1.2), public

facilities and housing.

Additionally, the Liverpool University of Architecture and Applied Arts was established to support

the artistic transformation of the city in the early 1890’s. The university, based on the English Arts and

Crafts ideas as well as the Beaux Arts later on, it was the first university in Britain to offer a degree in

architecture and civil engineering. It was the most renowned English School of Architecture

worldwide, and it was the unique and pioneering approach to the course which made it the main

influence upon the arts and architecture of the city in the early Twentieth Century. Liverpool’s

constant expansion required a substantial building program with wealthy merchants and the city

council being the major investors. At the time, the appearance of the city according to Willet John was

‘’widely considered a dull, ugly and commercial city, for me abounded in interest and surprise.’’5 At

the time where change was necessary, the city’s artistic influences were not enough in the Liverpool

background and the result was architects and artists to look elsewhere for inspiration. Meanwhile, the

3

reputation of Liverpool for progressiveness, tolerance, political activity and innovation, was growing

rapidly and the Mersey and Liverpool port were the foundations of a powerful city and a thriving

economy. The co-operative spirit was becoming part of the city’s culture, including the development

of voluntary societies and associations between all the classes of citizens and similar was the approach

of the Liverpool University upon arts and architecture also, which produced some of the most

renowned architects of the time.6

Moreover, the statistics of the Liverpool port (fig. 1.3) show its importance at the time, by owning one third of the British shipping and one tenth of the International registered shipping along with 28

miles of linear quayage, as shown in the ‘Merseyside Film by the British Council of 1941’.7

Furthermore, the city’s wealth raised funds for massive investments in warehousing and the construction of the docks which began in 1840’s under the engineer Jesse Hartley, and the port, by 1911 was the world’s greatest cotton market. The economic growth of the merchants in the city was constantly increasing along with the level of social divisions. In the same year a two month strike took place at the port, with the consequence to be injured and dead workers. The social disparity was also reflected upon architecture, and mostly upon the contrast of housing, with slum court houses (fig. 1.4) of the poor and the luxury town houses and villas of the wealthy class (fig. 1.5).

Fig. 1.3

Liverpool Brunswick Dock

early 20th century

4

Fig. 1.4

Slum Houses,

Chorley-Court, dale st.

Liverpool, 1925

Fig. 1.5

Sudley house, Aigburth,

Liverpool, built for the

corn merchant Nicholas

Robinson, 1828,

now art gallery

5

The Liverpool School of Applied Arts

The wealthy city of Liverpool was moving towards modernization, and as it happens in every

modern city, the architecture and style are chosen according to the latest fashion and technologies of

the period. The American contemporary style was to change the face of the traditional British City into

a modern Twentieth Century one. Also, the economic growth led to new opportunities for the artists

and architects of the time and the arts were moving towards improvement with the establishment of

the ‘College of Art’ in 1882, the new university buildings in 1885, as well as many Churches, public

houses and impressive commercial buildings. These new opportunities were inspirations for young

people to take up an artistic career including Carter Preston, Tyson Smith and other important artists

of the time. Liverpool’s building expansion of the period created new demands and extra skills were

needed to respond to the new era of arts and crafts related to architecture. The ‘Liverpool Society of

Fine Arts’, the ‘Fine Arts Committee’ and also an ‘Arts Congress’ held in Liverpool in 1888, brought

new ideas and inspirations into the city’s artistic world.8 The formation of the ‘Architecture and

Applied Arts Department’ (fig.1.6) of the Liverpool University was a result of all these, and it meant to

be a pioneering and inspirational department which produced some of the most important sculptors

and artists of the period. The ‘Art Sheds’ as they used to call the department, aimed in producing

individuality, and architecture students were educated alongside with decorative artists in a multy-

disciplinary programme, with the purpose being highly skilled specialists in a whole variety of

construction related subjects.9

Fig.1.6

The School of Applied Arts

Late 1890’s

6

In 1894, the leaders of the University, Professors Stevenson and MacKay10 decided to turn the

programme into an association between architecture and the applied arts which gave the

opportunity to the students, to study a combination of arts, crafts and architecture, which were

closely aligned, in the same programme. Ruskin’s and Morris’s teaching passed into younger

generations and also ideas such as Leathaby’s and Macmurdo’s were influential upon the

development of the architecture and applied arts students of the period.11 Additionally, the

tradition of the ‘English Arts and Crafts’ and the ‘American Beaux’ ideas were also influential upon

the ‘Art Sheds’ students. Christopher Crouch highlights the links between Liverpool and American

architects such as Bloomfield Bare, who was highly involved in the arts programme of the Liverpool

University. C. Crouch in his book ‘’Design culture in Liverpool 1880-1914,12 also talks about the

similarities between Liverpool and America, in pioneering modern art and architecture and the

successful similar scheme, that seemed to have direct links to the principal towns in America. Crouch

also discusses the replacement of the English Arts and Crafts tradition with the French Beaux Arts

practices established at the schools of architecture in America. The two art styles of the time

seemed to share the same ideology that the cooperative is more important than the individual, but

the difference was upon the physical expression.

Further, the Beaux Arts eventually dominated in the Liverpool School of Applied Arts after the

appointment of Professor Chares Reilly13 in 1904. The architect Bloomfield Bare14 was also to play an

important role in the course during the 1890’s, with the publishing of the Liverpool University into the

magazine ‘The Studio’ where he argues for the prominence of a combined artistic education, and talks

about the problems of their generation, and also the master-apprentice type of relationship they

aimed to have with their students. Meanwhile, the Industrial Art Schools in Germany were also to play

a small part in the architectural program of the department, while the RIBA and the ‘South Kensington

System’ were criticising the school’s distance from their structural system and control. Furthermore,

the inspirational tutors of the ‘Art Sheds’ believed that architecture students should necessarily learn

how to ‘finger’ the clay and every sculptor should be trained in the architecture classes too. The spirit

of the architect W.R. Leathaby who was the founder of the ‘Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society’ and the

‘Art Workers Guild’ was closely related to the philosophy of the school’s course.15

Additionally, the skills of a builder were valued along with the skills of the architect’s and the artist’s

due to Simpson’s and Jackson’s approach to the programme. Their vision was to integrate the skills of

masonry, carpentry, plumbing and plastering into the programme of the school. Jackson’s vision was

highlighted in his essay with the title ’Architecture: A profession or an Art?’

‘’Imagine some school of architecture to which anyone connected with building

could have some access, whether is intended to be an architect, a builder or a

craftsman in one of the arts connected with building.’’16

7

Richard Rathbone17 who became the metalwork tutor at the school shared the same ambition in a

letter of 1886 telling that the ‘’best craftsman was an educated man, highly skilled in his craft and able

to express through it his own individuality’’.18 Apart from metalwork in copper, wrought iron and brass

the program also provided classes in decorative design, modelling and sculpture, painting from life

and antique, enamelling and wood carving. The students of the Applied Art classes were coming from

a variety of different backgrounds including art and architecture students, apprentices and aristocratic

students who were developing their skills for leisure purposes.

Further, the tutor of sculpture and modelling C.J. Allen19 along with the painter Gerard Chowne20

were two of the most influential teachers upon Tyson Smith’s and Carter Preston’s development

whom both attended the classes in the same period, and later would become brothers-in-law and

‘’senior artists at the Sandon Society at the Bluecoat Chambers.’’21 The Liverpool School of Applied

Arts eventually closed down in 1906 and the department joined the fresh ‘School of Art’ in Hope

Street. Some of the students and staff moved to the new School and others who wanted to keep the

values of the Art Sheds set up the ‘Sandon Terrace Artists Group’. It was the first time in the city that

an organised set of artists were opposite and outside the ‘Recognised Art Establishment’. Carter

Preston and Tyson Smith were amongst the founders of the society and after moving to the Bluecoat

Chambers building (fig.1.7, fig.1.8) in 1907, they adopted the name ‘Sandon Studios’. (The Bluecoat

chambers was the first Art Centre in Britain, and also the oldest standing building in Liverpool city

centre, dated 1716. Once housed the workshops of Herbert Tyson Smith (fig.1.9), Edward Carter

Preston and Julia Carter Preston. Now it is home for art exhibitions and events) (fig. 1.10). The

mainstream of the students there, around forty in all, were poor but they were some of the best artists

of the ‘Art Sheds’. They kept the values of working together and they shared the expenses, and as they

were doing before, they kept the ethos of working in collaboration and sharing their skills and ideas

towards experimentation and work. Hamel Calder who was one of the most important founders of

the society, stated the aim of the fresh group and that their vision was to:

‘’stimulate the artistic and intellectual life of Liverpool by bringing together those

who are interested in something more than fashion and football and bridge the

share market’’ as well as to unite the artists with the people who were interested in

arts’’.22

In conclusion, the group employed both the painter G. Chowne and the designer H. MacNair23 to act

as tutors, but due to the economic problems they were facing, the approach of creating a school-like

programme had finally failed.

8

Fig.1.7

The Front of the Bluecoat

Chambers, once house of

Sandon Studios Society

Fig. 1.8

The back yard of the

Bluecoat Chambers,

used as workshop

Space for artists

9

Fig. 1.9

Once Tyson Smith’s workshop,

rear of the Bluecoat

Chambers, in 2002 workshop

of Terry McGunigle

Fig. 1.10

Soft Estate Collection, by

Edward Shell at the Bluecoat,

Dec 2013 – Feb 2014

10

1. Footnotes:

1 Peter Richmond, Marketing Modernisms: The Architecture and influence of Charles Reilly, Liverpool,

Liverpool University Press, 2001, p.1 2 Maureen Ann Bampton, Craftsman and Client: the official commissions of Edward Carter Preston,

PhD Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2007, p.20 3 Liverpool scenes: Lime Street & the Liverpool Electric Overhead Railway, dir. Alexander Promio, UK,

Lumiere Brothers Films, British Council Film Collections, 1896, [film]. 4 Richmond, Marketing Modernisms: The Architecture and influence of Charles Reilly, Liverpool, p.1

5 John Willet, Art in A City, London, The Shenval Press, 1967, p.55.

6 Bampton, Craftsman and Client: the official commissions of Edward Carter Preston, p.20

7 The Mersey – Liverpool’s River, dir. John Finn, UK, Liberty Films, British Council Film Collections,

1941, [film]. 8 Bampton, Craftsman and Client: the official commissions of Edward Carter Preston, p.20


10 Professor John Macdonald Mackay (1856–1931), Rathbone Chair of History, University of Liverpool

(1884–1914). 11 Charles Harvey and Jon Press, William Morris Design & Enterprise in Victorian Britain, Manchester,

Manchester University Press, 1991, p.85 12 Christopher Crouch, Design Culture in Liverpool 1880 – 1914: The Origins of the Liverpool School of

Architecture, Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 2002 p.10 13 Sir Charles Herbert Reilly (Mar. 1874 – Feb. 1948) was born in London and he was an architect and

teacher. He became the leader of the Liverpool school of architecture in 1904 and he was strongly

influenced by Architecture in America. Some of his students were Herbert Rowse and Lionel Budden. 14 Henry Bloomfield Bare (1848 - 1912) was a Liverpool Architect who moved to Philadelphia, U.S.A.

in the 1980’s and he was a fellow to Liverpool School of Architecture of the Liverpool University. 15 Crouch, Design Culture in Liverpool 1880-1914, p.99

16 Crouch, Design Culture in Liverpool 1880-1914, p.99

17 Richard Llewellyn Benson Rathbone (1864-1939) was a metal worker, designer and teacher at the

department of Applied Arts of the Liverpool University. He was also a member of the Sandon Studio

Society.

11

18 Mary Bennett, The Art Sheds 1894-1905: An Exhibition to Celebrate the Centenary of the University

of Liverpool, Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, University of Liverpool, 1981, Introduction 19 Charles John Allen (Greenford, Middlesex, 1862–1956) was a British sculptor, a figure in the New

Sculpture movement. In 1894 Allen moved to Liverpool, where he spent more than thirty years as a

respected teacher at the University of Liverpool and Vice-Principal at the Liverpool City School of Art. 20 Gerard Chowne (1875-1917) was a British visual artist who was the tutor of painting at the School

of Applied Arts of the Liverpool University. 21 Bampton, Craftsman and Client: the official commissions of Edward Carter Preston, p.28

22 Hamel Calder, ‘Sandon Studios’, The Bulletin of the Sandon Studios Society, No. 1, March 1912, LRO

367 SAN/4/2/1. 23 James Herbert MacNair (December 23, 1868 - April 22, 1955), was a Scottish artist, designer and

teacher whose work contributed to the development of the "Glasgow Style" during the 1890’s. He was

a member of the ‘Glasgow Four’ along with C.J. Mackintosh and others. In 1894 he moved to Liverpool

and became the design tutor at the ‘Art Sheds’ of the Liverpool University.

12

2: Family Tree

Herbert Tyson Smith - Sculptor and Medalist

Father, George Tyson Smith, Lithographic artist and Engraver. He was responsible for the ‘Illuminated

Address presented to the Queen on the opening of the exhibition of the Wavertree park’ in Picton

Road.

Mother, Mary-Jane was passionate about renaissance art and music. She was very supportive upon

her son’s creativeness and childhood.

Sister, Clarisa-Marie (Wife of Carter Preston), water-colourist, dressmaker and costumist. Once

worked for a local theatrical costumier. She also studied at the Liverpool School of Applied Arts with

her brother and husband.

Son-In-Law, Neville Bertram, stone carver, colleague and apprentice of Tyson Smith.

Edward Carter Preston - Painter, Sculptor and Medalist

Wife Clarissa-Marie (sister of Tyson Smith) water-colourist, dressmaker and costumist.

Brother Albert, manuscript, illuminator and commercial artist. Once worked with his brother Edward

on the ‘King’s Liverpool Regiment Book of Remembrance’ during the Second World War.

Daughter Julia Carter Preston. She was a talented ceramicist and potter. One of the most inspirational

potters of all time mostly with her sgraffito technique.

Daughter Irene Carter Preston. She was a talented silversmith and jeweller.

George T. Capstick, brother-in-law, sculptor, painter and decorator. He studied at the Liverpool School

of Applied Arts with Carter Preston and Tyson Smith. He was also colleague and apprentice of Tyson

Smith at the Martins Bank project.

13

Family Background of the Artists:

The Background of Edward Carter Preston

Edward Carter Preston (fig.2.1) lived between 1884-1965, and he was a successful and inspirational

artist, sculptor and medalist. His artistic skills took him a step forward and he was also very familiar

with painting, glassware and wood carving. Edward was part of a family whose background was based

in the world of commerce and he decided not to follow the family’s tradition but to take up an artistic

career. He was the oldest of four siblings (Winifred, Albert and Jessie), and he always wanted to be a

good example for them.1 Further, Edward’s grandfather William, was a successful brewer who moved

in Liverpool during the 1850’s from North Lancashire. William became one of the most renowned

brewers in the area by 1861 and Edward’s father Robert John was to continue this family tradition

after his father died in 1872.

Carter Preston lived in the family’s house in Walton, Liverpool, where he was involved in many

aspects of farming as well as brewery activities, helping his father since he was a small boy. Fields,

trees and animals such as dogs, cats and horses were also part of his life at their house at Walton,

Liverpool. These influences can be seen in many of his works throughout his career, including the

Liverpool Cathedral project, the Royal Mint commissions and also in his late works in the form of

mostly symbolic representation. The ‘’tradition of the spirit of Victorian self-reliance which was

instilled into all the children at an early stage in their lives’’2 seemed to be an influence upon Edward,

and later in his career, it became a characteristic of the man, who was described as an industrious and

energetic professional in his commissions, by his colleagues, clients and friends.

Fig. 2.1

Portrait of Edward

Carter Preston

14

Meanwhile, brewers were important business at the time and his father wanted to pass the

traditions and techniques into the family by turning Edward into a successful brewer in the late 1890’s.

Carter Preston’s passion for art and creation was to cause major problems to the family, especially

because artists were making no living before the First World War in Liverpool. His father was furious

about his son’s ambition to become an artist, and it seemed an alien decision to him according to the

family’s background.3 Brewing was the best option for Edward according to his father, Robert John.

Pugh-Thomas, Edward’s son-in-law claimed that his father discouraged him from his dreams, while

characteristically saying that: ‘’painting is for ladies, it’s no way for a man to earn a living’’.4 Thomas

adds that after their aggressive conversation, Robert John asked his son to leave home if he does not

change his decision, and if he wants to become an artist he will have to do it alone without the family’s

support. Carter Preston would never leave his passion for creation behind and he decided to follow

his dreams by taking his life on his hands early in his life.5

His first step was to enrol for art classes run by a local woman, privately, and there, he would

experience gilding and engraving. Two dimensional design, which he learned at the local school can

be seen in many of his sculptures and medals. Edward was a realist and after leaving his family for a

new life, he knew that he would have a difficult time making his own living as an artist, and his first

job at the Morison’s furnishing store was about to begin. At the store he was involved in different

aspects of design, decoration and applied art techniques. Carter Preston also worked as an apprentice

with E. Lathom in Renshaw Street where he experienced glassware and he learned decorative glass

techniques.6

Nothing indicates an artistic talent or tradition in Edward’s family tree but surprisingly his

generation produced many talents including many of his siblings who were interested in arts, became

artists, or even married artists. His brother Albert was a commercial artist and manuscript illuminator.

According to Edward’s daughter Julia, himself and his brother Albert worked together on the ‘King’s

Liverpool Regiment Book of Remembrance’ during the Second World War. Further, in the Preston’s

family tree, Edward’s daughters Irene (was a silversmith and jeweller) and Julia (was a talented

ceramist and potter), were to prove their grandfather wrong for his discouragement against their

father.7 Unfortunately the Carter Preston artistic family tree came to an end after this generation with

none of Edward’s grandchildren becoming professional artists. Meanwhile, the family tree was

expanding, and the new member of the family was his brother-in-law and friend from the ‘Sandon

Studios’, George T. Capstick8, who was a sculptor, painter and decorator. Capstick assisted Tyson

Smith in several commissions including the ‘Martins Bank’ Project too. The most important person

though, to become a member of the Carter Preston’s artistic family was his Wife Clarissa-Marie, who

was a talented water-colourist, dress-maker and costumist. Marie was the factor that two artistic

families of Liverpool, the Preston’s and the Smith’s, became one. Additionally, her brother Herbert

Tyson Smith was another great artist and sculptor, who is considered as one of the most successful

sculptors Liverpool has ever produced, along with his brother-in-law Edward Carter Preston.

15

Further, during the Edwardian period, Carter Preston entered the ‘Art Sheds’ of the Liverpool

University. ‘’Carter Preston attended the classes as an evening student from 1902-1903 and a day

student 1903-4’’9. This was a period of transformation, change and experimentation in the world of

art and architecture in Liverpool and also in his personal life when he met his future wife Marie, at the

school. Some important art movements such as the ‘Art Deco’, the ‘Arts and Crafts’, and also

Classicism and Impressionism, proved sources of inspiration for the young artist and his work. His

training at the school was mostly based on traditional techniques, but Edward was always

experimenting with new materials such as fiberglass, later in his career. Furthermore, he was very

confident in working with a variety of different media, and this reflected his ‘Art Sheds’ education

mostly on the ‘Arts and Crafts’ thinking. Some of his tutors at the Liverpool University were very

influential upon his work as well as exhibitions by Clive Bell10 and Roger Fry11, who organised post-

impressionist demonstrations at the Bluecoat Chambers.

After his training at the school, Edward was about to begin his career at the Bluecoat, and the

Sandon Studios, where for the first time he had the opportunity to work alongside with other talented

artists of the time, mostly on producing watercolour paintings for commercial purposes. Carter

Preston was originally registered as a decorator during 1901-1902 and as a glass decorator during

1902-190312. Painting, (fig.2.2 – fig.2.4) was the major source of income for the young artist but this

was about to change with the start of the First World War in 1914. Edward was also very successful in

producing glassware, sculptures and medals, later in his career.

Fig. 2.2

Watercolour painting

by Carter Preston,

1904-05

16

Fig. 2.3

E. Carter Preston,

Coastal Scenes Collection,

Watercolours,

1905-06

Fig. 2.4

E. Carter Preston,

Coastal Scenes Collection,

Watercolours,

1905-06

17

The Background of Herbert Tyson Smith

Herbert Tyson Smith (fig.2.5) was born in Liverpool and he lived between 1883 and 1972. He was

a very influential sculptor and medalist, one of the best the city has ever produced. He was the son of

George Smith, a lithographic artist and engraver. Herbert was fortunate to belong in a family with

artistic background, and individuals who were passionate about art and creation, and parents who

would encourage every element of creativity of their children. George, Herbert’s ‘’father had been

responsible for making the illuminated address presented to the queen on the opening of the

exhibition of the Wavertree park in Picton Road’’.13 Tyson Smith was present at the exhibition with

his parents at the age of four, and it was the first time he had the opportunity to get involved with art

and creation, and in a late interview he seemed to remember art pieces from the show. His mother,

Mary Jane Tyson, who was passionate about Italian Renaissance art and music, was also a very

influential and encouraging person upon Herbert’s childhood and creativeness. Herbert’s sister,

Clarissa-Marie was also an artist (water-colourist, dress-maker and costumist), and she attended the

‘Art Sheds’ of the Liverpool University along with her brother and future husband, Edward Carter

Preston. This bonded the two families together to create a dynasty of artistic background in the

Liverpool world of art and sculpture. Tyson Smith’s artistic family tree came to an end after Herbert’s

generation, and none of his children is known to have become an artist.

Fig. 2.5

Portrait of Herbert Tyson Smith

18

In opposition to his fellow sculptor and future brother-in-law, Tyson Smith had great opportunities

to visit major exhibitions by renowned, innovative and pioneering artists alongside with his parents,

and the person who pushed him more was his father, George. During the end of the Nineteenth

Century, Liverpool was fortunate to host design exhibitions of International importance and from a

young age until his university years, Tyson Smith had visited most of the shows such as the ‘’Second

International Jubilee Exhibition in 1886’’.14 Many pioneering and influential architects, designers and

furniture manufacturers were involved in the shows including Arthur H. Mackmurdo15 who presented

revolutionary designs at the time such as the ‘Century Grid Stand’. In 1899, he spoke of the importance

of structural features in architecture as well as metal work, and wood furniture. Also, as Tyson Smith

was growing up he found early motivation on Mackmurdo’s work especially on ornamental art

(fig.2.6), as well as on the importance of detail on the sculptures driven by the lines of the Renaissance

Ethic in architecture and design.16

Herbert’s father was pushing him so hard into art and competitions when he was a young man that

sometimes it was against his will and a good example is that he arranged for his son to produce some

pieces of work for the City’s Engineers’ Drawing Office. The artist was negative about working at the

municipal offices, and he preferred to work alongside with the monumental sculptors at the Toxteth

Park Cemetery in Smithdown Road.15 Working with experienced stone carvers, Herbert had the

opportunity to get involved in letter cutting in stone and marble. In 1897 he enrolled at the Municipal

School of Art to further explore the skills he developed at the ‘stone yard’. Tyson Smith was an

energetic young man, passionate about creation that he could not stand the theoretical approach of

the course and after only two weeks he moved to the Liverpool School of Applied Arts. He joined his

sister and his future brother-in-law at the ‘Art Sheds’ of the Liverpool University where he had the

opportunity to study wood carving and modelling. The school was nicknamed ‘Art Sheds’ due to the

bad conditions of the facilities but the inspirational tutors there, and the unique programme were the

major reason for his choice.

Masters such as R. Bell and H. MacNair in design, R.L. Rathbone in metalwork and C.J. Allen in

sculpting were some of them. The programme at the Liverpool University of Applied Arts was

combining architecture and crafts as well as sculpture. This proved to be very influential upon

Herbert’s later career, when he became one of the most renowned medal workers and sculptors,

and also, a master on producing designs on architectural projects. Tyson Smith was working for a

mason at Duke Street at the same time, called Frank Norbury, where he would learn wood carving

and sculpting. One of his most influential tutors at the school was C.J. Allen who worked alongside to

Hamo Thornycroft who was a renowned New Realist, and he founded the ‘’Experimental Phase of

British Sculpture at the end of the Nineteenth Century’’.17 Augustus John18 seemed to be also

influential upon Tyson Smith’s work, mostly on painting and art, including consideration of light

effects and the atmosphere on his works, through the ‘’English Impressionists of the ‘New English

Art Club’ ideas and approaches to design. Further a fresh intake of Tutors were appointed in 1904 at

19

the School, including the architect Charles Reilly (fig. 2.7) who brought the programme of Art and

Architecture back to classical traditions after a period of ‘mixed revivalism’, together with other

teachers including John Sergent19 and Henry Tonks20 who were members of the ‘New English Art

Club’. These influences can be seen on both Tyson Smith’s and Carter Preston’s works later in their

careers, by rejecting any approaches to Art Deco or Medievalism. Additionally, the skill of C.J. Allen

(fig.2.8) on three dimensional design and sculpture, had a major effect on the development of the

young sculptor and also his skill and fame increased the number of sculptural commissions in the

wider city along with other important artists of the time such as George Frampton21, Bruce Joy22,

Alfred Gilbert23 and many more. Meanwhile, the classes at the ‘Art Sheds’ were attended by both

artists, Herbert and Edward, and that was the reason of their similar approaches to sculpture and

medal work upon their important commissions. They seemed to be competitive against each other

though, on personal level, but according to Pugh-Thomas, Carter Preston’s son-in-law, they used to

work really close together and they seemed to have a very friendly relationship.

Fig. 2.6

Arthur Mackmurdo,

Century Guild Chair,

1882

20

Fig. 2.7

Charles Reilly’s design

for the competition of

the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

Fig. 2.8 Queen Victoria Monument, Derby

Square, Liverpool, by Charles John

Allen, 1906

21

2. Footnotes:


2 Michael P. Thomas, ‘A Family Perspective’, in Ann Compton (ed), Edward Carter Preston 1885-1965

Sculptor Painter Medallist, University of Liverpool, 1999, p.9 3 Willet, Art in a City, p.23

4 Willet, Art in a City, p.23

5 Thomas, ’A Family Perspective’ in Ann Compton’s (ed) Edward Carter Preston 1885-1965 Sculptor

Painter Medallist, p.9 6 Thomas, ’A Family Perspective’ in Ann Compton’s (ed) Edward Carter Preston 1885-1965 Sculptor

Painter Medallist, p.9 7 J. Sharples, ‘From Signwriter to Cathedral Sculptor’, in Ann Compton’s (ed) Edward Carter Preston

1885-1965 Sculptor Painter Medallist, Liverpool, University of Liverpool Press, 1999, p.19 8 George Thomas Capstick (1885-1964) was a sculptor, painter and decorator who studied at the ‘Art

Sheds’ of the Liverpool University and a member of the Sandon Studios. He was also brother-in-law to

Edward Carter Preston. 9 Bampton, Craftsman and Client: the official commissions of Edward Carter Preston, University of

Liverpool, 2007, p.19 10 Robert Anning Bell (14 Apr. 1863 - 1933) was an English artist and designer and Head of the

Decorative Arts Department at Liverpool School of Architecture and Applied Arts from September

1894 to 1899 11 Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English artist and art critic, and a

member of the Bloomsbury Group. In the 1900s, Fry started to teach art history at the Slade School of

Fine Art, University College London and he organised several art exhibitions in Britain. 12 Sessions Register 1901-05, Arts, Media & Design Library archive Collection, Liverpool John Moores

University Library 13 Susan Joy Poole, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, PhD

thesis, University of Liverpool, 1994, p.3 14 Poole, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, p.3

22

15 Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851 – 1942) was a progressive English architect and designer, who

influenced the Arts and Crafts Movement. He was also a furniture designer and he presented

revolutionary designs at the time such as the ‘Century Guild’. 16 Poole, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, p.3

17 Nikolaus Pevsner, ‘Pioneer designer: Arthur H. Mackmurdo’, Architectural Review, LXXXIII, 1938,

p.141 18 Augustus Edwin John (1878 – 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a short time

around 1910, he was an important exponent of Post-Impressionism in the United Kingdom, and tutor

at the Art Sheds of the Liverpool University. 19 John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American artist and painter,

considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury.

He also organised several art exhibitions in London and Liverpool after moving to Britain. 20 Henry Tonks, (1862 – 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure

subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist. He became an influential art teacher also later in his

career. 21 Sir George James Frampton, (18 June 1860 – 21 May 1928) was a notable British sculptor and

leading member of the New Sculpture movement. 22 Albert Bruce-Joy (21 August 1842 – 22 July 1924) was an Irish sculptor working in England, mostly

in Liverpool. He was the brother of the painter George W. Joy 23 Sir Alfred Gilbert (1854 – 1934) was an English sculptor and goldsmith who enthusiastically

experimented with metallurgical innovations. He was an important participant in the New Sculpture

movement that invigorated sculpture in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century.

23

Fig. 3.1

Pencil drawing by Edward Carter Preston, portrait of Marie (wife), 1910

24

3. The Individuals and their careers

Edward Carter Preston: Painter, Sculptor, medalist

Edward Carter Preston was producing watercolour paintings during his early career, while making

a low income despite his magnificent paintings. He also produced several pencil drawings (fig.3.1) and

he became a well-recognised painter in the city at a young age. He exhibited his work alongside with

J. Herbert MacNair and other famous artists of the period, as well as with his brother-in-law Tyson

Smith on several occasions. One of his early successful exhibitions was the Manchester Exhibition

alongside with the ‘Society of Modern Artists’ group, which was described ‘’as a small association

whose aim apparently is to encourage modern movements in art’’.1 One of the comments for this

exhibition by a critic upon his fresco paintings was that he exhibited ‘’some of the best things in the

show’’.2 Carter Preston, had never forgotten his passion for sculptures and medals, and in 1910 when

George V came to the throne, he received his first official commissions before the First World War.

The war years between 1914 and 1918 were to close doors in the arts of the time but they were

to open new ones, including the need for memorial sculptures and medals (artistic approaches that

had low recognition before the War). Edward was working at the Lord Robert’s memorial workshops

at the time, and he was also teaching arts and crafts to rehabilitated troopers, and producing wood

figures, which they used to assemble together and paint (fig. 3.2 - fig 3.5). In 1915, he set up an

exhibition in London, where he exhibited his own versions of colourful statuettes. A ‘Westminster

Gazette’ article commented upon Edward’s figures of the exhibition saying that ’’The phase suggests

something tolerably familiar whereas not the least merit of Mr Preston’s work is his ingenious

novelty’’3, while the ‘Sunday Times’ described him as ‘’a new caricaturist-the genius of genius’’4.

25

Fig. 3.2

Wood figure,

Sultan Mohammed V

of Turkey (1914-18)

Fig. 3.3

Wood figure,

Crown Prince Wilhelm

of Germany (1914-18)

26

Fig. 3.4

Wood figure,

Winston Churchill (1914-18)

Fig. 3.5

Wood figure

Emperor Franz Joseph (1914-18)

27

Further, the period around World War One (1914-1918) was the starting point of Edward’s new

career as a medalist (fig. 3.6, fig. 3.7) and memorial artist. His most important years in medal design

were in association with the Royal Mint which was the main source of his official commissions,

including some unofficial works also, such as the ‘Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine in 1920’

the ‘Edward Jones Prize medal’ of the Institute of Bankers 1920, and the ‘Severe Halianne Medal of

the British Academy’ the same year. He also produced important medals around World War Two

(1939-1945) such as the ‘George VI medal’ (fig. 3.8) in 1940 and also, medals related to the Korean

War (1950-1953) such as the ‘Korea Medal’ in 1951 (fig. 3.9). Additionally, some of these designs

showed classical influences including animal and bird figures. The artist’s new career began but he

was always interested in paintings as described in an unattributed review with the title ‘’An

Appreciation’’ which describes Herbert as:

‘’a man of prodigious industry and as a mere interlude of his work at the Lord

Robert’s memorial workshops and his designing and executing of National medals,

he has found time to design some of the most striking of modern posters’’.5

Meanwhile a 1916 article called ‘’The Dixons Paper Circullatiar’’ tells that the British Museum and

the Numismatic Society offered £100 for the best medal design associated with the ‘Jutland Battle’.6

Mr. Harold Stabler7 from Liverpool, won the competition with Carter Preston’s and Tyson Smith’s

design being a major contender for the prize. Memorials at the time of the War and afterwards were

receiving critical consideration due to the importance given by the Royal Mint and the various

societies. Carter Preston produced many quality and unique art pieces in the city including the

Liverpool Cathedral Memorial plaques as well as the ‘Elder Dempster Memorial’ in green bronze, ‘J.J.

Bibby and Sons Memorial’ and ‘The Liverpool Provision Trade Memorial’. Further, Edwards’s first

National success was the winning of the ‘Next-of-Kin-Plaque’ competition, awarded to the relatives of

those who died during World War One. A newspaper cutting written by a critic, with the title ‘Fame

via Liverpool, An Artist in Medal Designing’ described an exhibition held by Carter Preston at the Liver

Buildings, and explains how the man ‘’was a good artist before, but the war inspired by him to whistle

away at medaling’’8. Also, the critic talks about the paintings and drawings shown, and that his biggest

impression was the watercolours. The artist also undertook glass designs during that period such as

the ‘St. Helens for the Pilkingtons’ and the glass of the clock at current Natwest Bank building, London

Road, Liverpool. In 1930 he commissioned his first of his Liverpool Cathedral sculptures, and it was to

become the most important of his commissions until 1960. Over these long years he produced the

font, and eight tablets associated with the Cathedral and its construction. Also, he carved over sixty

sculptures around the Church including interior works such as the ‘Welsford and Rankin Porches’. It

is known that Carter Preston began with the ‘South Choir Aisle’ and the ‘Bishop Ryle’ in 1930, and he

finished with the ‘Dean Dwelly Memorial’ in 1960.

28

Fig. 3.6

Distinguished Flying Cross, 1918

Fig. 3.7

The Next-of-Kin Memorial Medal,

in bronze, 1918

29

Fig. 3.8

King George VI campaign medal,

E. Carter Preston, 1940

Fig. 3.9

Korea campaign medal,

E. Carter Preston, 1951

30

Carter Preston, had produced some very unique sculptures for individuals and the Council also

during this period, such as the ‘Nelson Figuehead on the HMS Conway in 1938’ (fig. 3.10), which is

probably the last wood carved figure of its kind in the U.K, (Appendix B) showing Lord Horatio Nelson

in his navy suit. The unique sculpture was analysed in great detail by Dr. Emma Roberts in her

presentation with the title ‘One of the Last Great Ship Figureheads: Edward Carter Preston’s

Figurehead of Nelson on HMS Conway’9, published in May 2013. The ‘Cadet’ magazine of April 1938

also commented upon the unique figure and the famous message carved beyond it, which was

‘England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty’. He continued working with watercolours,

memorial sculptures and medals during the Second World War too, and finally, as his daughter Julia

stated, Edward was so passionate about art that he was working on art pieces until the very last day

of his life. Edward Carter Preston gained a significant reputation as a sculptor in Liverpool, while his

medals are much more appreciated nationally, than any other type of his work.

Fig. 3.10

Wooden figurehead of Lord Horatio Nelson

on HMS Conway, 1938

31

Julia Carter Preston: Ceramicist and Potter

Julia Carter Preston (fig. 3.11) was born in 1926 and died at the age of eighty-five (2012), in

Liverpool. She was the daughter of the famous sculptor Edward Carter Preston, one of the most

influential artists of his time. Julia, had followed her family tradition by taking up an artistic career as

a potter and ceramicist and an important member of the ‘Arts and Crafts Movement’. ‘’With art

embedded in her DNA on both sides of the family, it was inevitable that Julia would follow a creative

career’’.10 She was the youngest of four daughters, and she educated at ‘the Blackbourne House

School for Girls’ in Liverpool, and in the early 1950’s she joined the ‘Liverpool Collage of Art’ where

she specialised in ceramics and pottery. Most of her creations, were carved with her unique scratching

or sgraffito11 technique, a demanding method which includes scratching of layers of clay and also a

lot of skill and patience. Julia in several occasions claimed that she never did draft drawings before

starting a new art piece and sometimes she had no plan for the final result.

‘’As a potter to royalty she was admired for her exquisite handiwork, often in a style

called sgraffito, which had been developed in ancient Egypt – the art of scratching

stencil-like designs into two layers of differently coloured clay’’.12

Fig. 3.11

Julia Carter Preston

in her studio in the

Bluecoat Chambers,

Early 1960’s

32

Antique furniture, Chinese ceramics, paintings, pottery, Persian ceramics and also complex

decorative ware, were early influences from the family’s house, influences that she kept during her

entire career. She began using lustre in the mid 1980’s giving her work a touch of colour effects.

Animals, birds and plants were designed on the majority of her designs both literally and iconicall.

Her most important works include decorative ware, dinner services (sometimes collections of 100

pieces), bowls, jugs, teapots and plates.13

Also, she made several series of commemorative plaques for marriages, christenings and births and

also worked on commissions for churches, including stoups and files for Holy Water. Julia ‘Althea’

Carter Preston, as she used to sign her designs, produced many works for churches and ecclesiastical

pottery was a major part of her career. During her studies at the College of Art, the local architect

Bernard Miller approached the school and asked the course tutor Stan English to suggest a potter, to

produce some pieces for a church he was designing at the time. The tutor suggested Julia as the most

talented and hardworking student in the course and her career on ecclesiastical pottery was about to

begin. In the early 1960’s her uncle Herbert Tyson Smith asked her to produce some slabbed tiles

designed with Christian symbols on a concrete font he carved at St. Mary’s Church in Tarleton,

Lancashire. Julia produced art pieces for many local churches including the Liverpool Parish Church,

Our Lady and St. Nicholas (fig. 3.12, fig .3.13), and Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral, as well as several

other churches near Liverpool. Many items were produced for St. Columba’s church in Anfield, and

for an ‘Art Deco’ style church by Bernard Miller, including a stained glass window. In 1997 she designed

the wrought iron gates of St. Helen’s church in Sefton (Fig. 3.14), Liverpool, which include two ceramic

plaques, accompanied with decorative Lancashire roses.14

Julia’s career developed at the Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool, the studios that provided her with

deep artistic connections within the city. Her unique sgraffito technique (fig. 3.15 - fig. 3.18) was

described historical by some critics but her application to become a member of the Crafts Council was

refused, in 1970’s, due to the underestimation of her work and skill,15 and also because the members

of the Council were not familiar with her earthenware technique (stoneware was the traditional

technique of the period). Julia Carter Preston was never interested in promotion, and like her father,

she never received a National recognition, but her exhibitions in the City were sold in minutes (but her

prices were reasonable throughout her career). Julia, as well as her father, her husband Michael and

her uncle Tyson Smith, were involved in the unique Bluecoat Society Institute, which included social

and artistic activities and provided studios for artists. Later:

‘’As a teacher, she became head of ceramics at Liverpool College of Art, where she

once tutored John Lennon, but, from the mid-1970s, she was a full-time potter and

ceramicist.’’16

33

Finally, in 2005 she became fellow to John Moores University, and her work can be seen at the

Liverpool University Gallery, York Art Gallery, ‘the Walker Art Gallery’, at ‘the Smithsonian Institute in

Washington’, and at the ‘Hope University’ Gallery in Liverpool where a trust preserves her collection

and supports student bursaries.

‘’The Liverpool Bluecoat Society of Arts had been started by her dad in 1927 with

Lord Leverhulme, the soap magnate and art collector, and Herbert Tyson Smith’’17

Fig. 3.12

Wall plaque, made

to commemorate

the opening of the

Parish Centre by

Princess Alexandra,

1993

34

Fig.3.13

Baptismal bowl and ewer,

made for Parish Church, Our Lady

and St. Nicholas, 1987-90

Fig. 3.14

Outer Gate, South Porch,

St. Helen’s Church, Sefton

Liverpool

35

Fig. 3.15

Group of wares, 1995-98

earthenware, sgraffito-

decorated, with lustre

Fig. 3.16

Group of wares, 1960s

earthenware, sgraffito-

decorated, casserole with

black-iron glaze

36

Fig. 3.17

Bowl, Earthenware, with

sgraffito in black, 1980

Fig. 3.18

Masonic punch and jugs,

Mariners Lodge 249,

Buff earthenware, with

sgraffito in black and

gold, 1968

37

Herbert Tyson Smith: Sculptor and medalist

Herbert Tyson Smith created a great reputation on producing architectural sculpture and memorial

medals during his career, in opposition to Carter Preston who was more expressive and worked with

different media and techniques. Tyson Smith’s career began very early in his life, when he was a

student at the ‘Art Sheds’. His talent gave him the opportunity to assist sculptors such as C.J. Allen and

J.H. MacNair and he also prepared stones for relief posters and portrait busts during his university

years. Further, he worked on the memorial ‘Nightingale’ in Princes Avenue, and he awarded the

commission of the foundation stone at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, after winning the

competition, at the age of twenty-one.18 This commission at a very early stage in his career, was the

milestone of gaining great respect from his masters and also by the Liverpool public. It was a time for

experimentation for the young sculptor by producing busts of his family and friends at the School of

Applied Arts of the Liverpool University and the ‘Sandon Studios’ later on, with his first recorded

sculpture ‘’The Son’’ to be dated 1906.

In 1907, he exhibited his portrait busts at the ‘Liverpool Autumn Exhibition’ and the national

periodical called ‘The Studio’19, commented on Tyson Smith’s work: ‘’there were several good portrait

busts executed by Tyson Smith’’. The young student was winning school awards as well, and by the

time he finished his course he was already a renowned sculptor in the City, which was unusual for an

artist of his age. In December 1905 the ‘Sandon Studios Society’ was established and Herbert had one

more group of inspirational artists to work with, and a community of famous painters and sculptors

of the time. Some of his first carvings at the Sandon Studios were busts of his friends William Burden

in 1910 and George Capstick in 1911.20 Moreover, in 1911 when his only son Geoffrey was born, he

carved a bronze figure of ‘Mary Ann’ and he worked on several other sculptures too. Using the same

technique he carved a bust of his son and his wife Mary Saunders, called ‘Mother and Child’ and later

the bust of King George V (fig. 3.19). Tyson Smith was using stone and bronze for most of his early art

pieces, and Neo-Classicism was his favourite style.

Fig. 3.19

Herbert Tyson Smith at his studio working on the bust of King

George V, for the Birkenhead Library.

38

Blending Neo-Classical decoration with sculpture and architecture was the main field of

experimentation for the sculptor. Architectural decoration proved to be the subject of his most

important commissions during his career. Additionally, in 1914 the First World War began and things

were to change for Herbert, as he was called to serve in Woolwich and later in Enfield as a sergeant

armourer. His job later in the war, was to fit machine guns on aeroplanes at the Flying Corps in New-

Romney. Some four years later, his friendship with Professor Charles Reilly led to several

commissions such as the ‘Post Office Memorial’ as well as architectural commissions which derived

from his colleagues’ respect of his ability and knowledge upon architectural detailing and also on

methods of preventing weathering of building materials. Meanwhile, his connections were to

increase during the war and the skills he developed during that period, gave him the first official

memorial commissions at the end of the War including the Cenotaph Panels at St. George’s Hall

(fig.3.20). A mason who worked with Tyson Smith in several occasions called Mr Lesley Rumsey,

remembers him as:

‘’A tolerant and humble man, who forced the masons into preparing the highest

quality on stone’’ and also claims that he was so passionate on his commissions that,

his ‘’soul was always in his work’’.21

He also remembers his skill of communicating with architects, even the most autocratoric including

Herbert Rowse, with whom they worked together on Tyson Smith’s most notable work ‘the Martins

Bank’ project. Furthermore, Danae, Herbert’s daughter, ‘’at an interview said that her father was so

busy, and passionate about his work that his children saw very little of him’’.22

The art and architecture in Europe were rapidly changing, and a number of architects and artists

were looking to move and they had chosen Liverpool as their base in England. Architectural detailing

and sculpture were becoming popular and Herbert was one of the main contenders for commissions

in the city. The ‘President’s Badge for the Liverpool Architectural Society’ in 1923 was one of the first.

The architect Clough Williams Ellis23 who was a friend of Tyson Smith, commissioned sculptures to the

artist for his ‘Portmeirion Village’ in North Wales too. Architects like Bernard Miller24 and Xavier

Velarde25 became members of the Sandon Studio Society by 1925, and they were patrons of Herbert’s

skill and talent. Both architects commissioned Tyson Smith to produce sculptures for their ‘Church of

England’ and ‘Church of Rome’ projects respectively. Additionally, by 1930’s Smith was very busy with

projects such as the ‘Martins Bank Building’ under Herbert Rowse26, the ‘Fleetwood War Memorial’

(fig. 3.21),the ’Birkenhead Memorial ’(fig. 3.22), the Accrington War Memorial (fig. 3.23) and the

Widnes war memorial in Victoria Park, Cheshire (fig. 3.24).

The Martins Bank and Lloyds Bank decorative schemes gave him the reputation of a great

architectural sculptor and also his connections and fame for his skill in collaboration with architects

quickly made him one of the most renowned in the city. The sculptor was mostly using linear Art Deco

39

stylisation with touches of Neo-Classical elements on his sculptures. Further, he worked on the

Littlewoods project as well as he carved plaques, made garden furniture, sundials, tombstones,

repaired mechanisms of clocks and also worked on the reconstruction of the fabric at the Bluecoat

Building. Projects under B. Miller, X. Velarde and others were the most of his 1930’s works, including

the St. Matthew’s Byzantine theme, the decoration of the Spinney House and the ‘Our Lady of Pity

Church’’ project in Greasby. Later in his career, during the 1940’s and 1950’s he worked under city

architects Ronald Bradbury27 and Sir. Lancelot Keay28 who were the last architects to create any

sculptural decorations of importance on their buildings. Finally, by the early 1960’s architectural

sculpture and decoration on buildings was out of favour, and during his late years, Tyson Smith

remembers that no sculptor in the city produced anything similar to his designs after that period, and

the previously famous architectural detailing was finally gone.

Fig. 3.20

Liverpool

Cenotaph, St.

George’s Hall,

Liverpool, 1930

40

Fig. 3.21

Fleetwood War Memorial, at Fleetwood Memorial Park Lancashire, 1927

41

Fig.3.22

The Birkenhead War Memorial,

Wirral, 1923

Fig. 3.23

Accrington War Memorial,

Lancashire, 1921

42

Fig. 3.24

Widnes War Memorial, Victoria Park, Cheshire, by H. Tyson Smith, 1921

43

3. Footnotes

1 Poole, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, p.7


3 Review, September 1912, Press cuttings scrap book, Liverpool Record Office, LRO/ACC 1622 730

PRE6/1. 4 Review, September 1912, Press cuttings scrap book, Liverpool Record Office, LRO/ACC 1622 730

PRE6/1. 5 ‘An Appreciation’, Westminster Gazette, 23.6.1915, Liverpool Record Office, LRO ACC11622 730 PRE

6/1 6 ‘The Dixons Paper circullatiar’, Sunday Times, 20.6.1915, Liverpool Record Office, LRO ACC 1622 730

PRE 6/1 7 Harold Stabler (1872-1945) was an English ceramic and metalwork designer. studied metalwork at

the Keswick School of Industrial Art, where he later taught. In 1899 he left Keswick to study in the

metalwork department of the Liverpool School of Art under Richard Llewellyn Rathbone. 8 ‘An artist in Medal Designing’, Fame via Liverpool, Liverpool Record Office, LRO ACC 1622 730 PRE

6/1. 9 Phillip Attwood, Artistic Circles, The Medal in Britain 1880-1918, London, British Museum Press,

1992, p.62 10 Dr. Emma Roberts, ‘One of the Last Great Ship Figureheads: Edward Carter Preston’s Figurehead

of Nelson on HMS Conway’, Liverpool john Moores University, [online video], 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGIEf2gPajs, (accessed 6/1/2014) 11Sgraffito (Italian), in ceramics, is the technique of applying two successive layers of contrasting slip,

to an unfired ceramic body, and then scratching so as to produce an outline drawing. 12 William Leece, ‘Julia Carter Preston: part of Liverpool artistic dynasty’, Liverpool Echo, 4th February,

2012, Liverpool Echo website, accessed 19/12/2013 13 ‘Tribute paid to Liverpool artist Julia Carter Preston’, Liverpool Echo, 9 January 2012, Liverpool Echo

website, accessed 19/12/2013 14 E Myra Brown, Julia Carter Preston, Liverpool, Bluecoat Press, 1999, p.22

15 ‘Julia Carter Preston’, The Telegraph, 18 January 2012, The Telegraph website, accessed 19/12/2013

16 Julian Treuherz, ‘Julia Carter Preston obituary’, The Guardian, 22 January 2012, The Guardian

website, accessed 19/12/2013

http://www.youtube.com/

44

17 William Leece, ‘Julia Carter Preston part of Liverpool artistic dynasty’, Liverpool Echo, 4th February,

2012, Liverpool Echo website accessed 19/12/2013 18 ‘Tribute paid to Liverpool artist Julia Carter Preston’, Liverpool Echo, 9 January 2012, Liverpool Echo

website, accessed 19/12/2013 19 Poole, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, p.8

20 ‘Liverpool Autumn Exhibition’, The Studio, vol. 37, 1907, p.72



23 Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis (1883 – 1978) was an English-born Welsh architect known chiefly

as creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales.

24 Bernard A. Miller was a Liverpool Architect who was based in the Bluecoat Chambers. He designed

several Churches such as the ‘Saint Aidan's Church of England’, in Speke, Liverpool. He was also a

member of the Sandon Studio Society.

25 Francis Xavier Velarde (1897 - 1960) was an English architect who practiced in Liverpool,

Merseyside, England. He was trained at the Liverpool School of Architecture from 1920, and from 1928

taught at the school.

26 Herbert James Rowse (1887 – 1963) was an English architect. Born in Liverpool and a student of

Charles Reilly at the Liverpool University School of Architecture. He is best known for his work in

Liverpool, including Martins Bank, India Buildings, the entrances to and ventilation towers of the

Mersey Tunnel (Queensway), and the Philharmonic Hall.

27 Ronald Bradbury (1908-1971) was an architect, born in Reading and educated at the University of

Manchester. He was Director of Housing in Glasgow from 1943 to 1948 following which he became

City Architect for Liverpool.

28 Sir. Lancelot Keay (1883-1974) was born in Eastbourne. He studied at Eastbourne College and

Brighton School of Art. Keay arrived in Liverpool after a period of working as Chief Assistant Architect

with Birmingham Corporation. He was appointed City Architect and Director of Housing for Liverpool

in 1925.

45

Fig. 4.1

Entrance of the Liverpool Cathedral, carved decoration by Carter Preston

46

4. Case Studies Edward Carter Preston and the Liverpool Cathedral

In the early 1900’s the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral project was about to begin after discussions,

hundreds of letters between the members of the committee and many changes to the approach of

the design of the landmark building. Architectural competitions began with the decision of employing

the twenty-one year old architect Giles Gilbert Scott1, as he seemed to be the best professional for

the job. The high importance of the construction attracted 102 portfolios and the young architect was

competing the most renowned and experienced architects of his time including Charles Reilly. The

process is analysed in detail by P. Kennerley in his book ‘The Building of Liverpool Cathedral’.2 The

committee’s decision of Gilbert Scott’s employment was about to change because the architect was a

Catholic and he was not suitable for designing an Anglican Cathedral, as recorded in early letters

between members of the Cathedral board. The journals ‘The Builder of May 1903’, ‘The Truth’, ‘The

Tablet’,3 and many more criticized this approach as unprofessional and the early decision was finally

kept, with the architect suggesting that the sculptor Edward Carter Preston should be also employed

for the building’s sculptures and decoration. Preston’s position for the commission was not

guaranteed but a letter between Radcliffe and the architect shows how they were trying to employ

the best possible sculptor for the job.4

Further, the lawyer Frederick M. Radcliffe who was the chairman of the committee was responsible

for the process of the construction and they worked in great harmony despite their different

perspectives, for the best result upon the design and sculptural aspects of the Liverpool Cathedral.

There are several letters also which provide conversations between Radcliffe and Scott discussing the

best possible way of designing parts of the Cathedral to save money for future works5. Scott and

Radcliffe planned a trip to Spain together and this had a major influence upon the final design of the

Liverpool landmark.6 Early drawings by Scott show the Gothic approach on the design of the building

but the architect had to redesign the Cathedral with a Renaissance approach after the committee’s

concern that the architectural styles in Europe were changing and the Gothic style would not be

suitable for the time.7 The architect Gilbert Scott and the sculptor Carter Preston found early influence

upon Ruskin’s work and this proved to be a tool of communication between the two professionals at

the early stages of the construction of the Liverpool Cathedral.8

47

Edward was involved in the project in 1930, approximately 25 years after the construction work began,

and he was very fortunate to get involved in a massive sculptural project like the Cathedral, in a period,

when sculptors were not making a living, as a contemporary critic of the 1930’s highlights in his report:

‘’the mere fact that an artist today chooses to become a sculptor is evidence

certainly of great courage, possibly of incipient lunacy, but undoubtedly of immense

sincerity.’’9

Carter Preston was employed to produce a series of sculptures for the Cathedral for less than a

decade. The sculptor finally produced more than sixty masterpieces at the Liverpool landmark and he

worked there for thirty years between 1930 and 1960. The long sculptural program of the building

produced a great collaboration between the architect and the sculptor, and the 1930’s appeared to

be the busiest period for Carter Preston who carved decoration for the west entrance (fig.4.1) and the

exterior, the window mullions, sixteen sculptures for the interior porches of the impressive central

space (fig. 4.2), the tympanum of the Baptistery, the High Altar (fig. 4.3), the fibre-glass moulding of

the Holy Family (fig. 4.4), the Bishops Throne Transept, (fig.4.5) thirteen figures for the Welsford

Porch, ten sculptures for the Ruskin Porch, the font and pulpit, and also many sculptures on the left

and right of the Central space (fig.4.6 – fig, 4.9). Small models were requested for every proposed

figure of the building as highlighted in several letters sent to the sculptor by Radcliffe and Scott.10

The Art-Deco style was a major influence upon Edward’s sculptures of the Cathedral after visiting

France and the Paris Art Exhibition ‘’L’Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industeries

Modernes’’ in 1925,11 while Radcliffe’s concern about the modern approach to the sculptures was

highlighted in several letters between himself and the architect (Appendix C). In addition to Carter

Preston’s busy programme, additional series of ten sculptures were added to the schedule related to

the Parables which were chosen carefully by Radcliffe, for the Rankin Porch, from Apostles’ writings

in the Bible. Moreover, the Welsford Porch was designed with the figures of four Evangelists and four

Prophets and also St. Paul and King David, being the most impressive. Edward requested three years’

time to finish the first three parts of the program, including the North and South Porches. Radcliffe

and Scott were passionately involved in every part of the construction and they considered very

carefully the subject of the sculptures, their appearance (Appendix D) and the positioning also (and

the order which the figures would appear). For example the order of the sculptures for the Rankin

Porch which were chosen from the Bible were placed in the correct order written in the Holy Book

including the figures of:

‘’The Merchant, the Builder, the Labourer, the Sower Scattering Seed and the

Shepherd with the Fisherman. Also, the Good Neighbour, the Steward and the

Servant, were to follow with referencing from Radcliffe according to the writings of

Luke and Mathew.’’12

48

Further, the sculptures entitled Liberal Arts and Sciences were carved at the Rankin interior Porch, including Architecture, Music, Philosophy (fig. 4.10), Poetry, History, Medicine, Mathematics and Painting. Above the doorway Astronomy (fig. 4.11), Theology and Natural Sciences were added with symbolic representation. The sculpture of Christ with the Angel of the Eternal Gospel and the Angel of Promise on his left and right, stand out at the central doorway of the Rankin Porch. The King’s doorway includes figures of King George V and Queen Mary, while the Baptistery doorway includes figures of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Additionally, the exterior of the Welsford porch includes the figures of the four Major Prophets Isaiah (fig. 4.12), Jeremiah (4.13), Ezekiel and Daniel along with the figure of King David, the sculpture of the Risen Christ and also two Angels and five Saints including, St. Luke (Fig. 4.14), St. Paul (Fig. 4.15), St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. John. On the other hand the interior of the Welsford Porch was given to the Virtues and Vices including Bounty, Temperature, Humility, Justice, Fortitude, Prudence, Concord and Chastity, and also above the doorways, Hope, Charity and Faith were carved. All the figures are considered as masterpieces not only because of their beauty and incredible technique, but also because of the symbolic representation of the sculptures, curved out of cold stone, and they look so alive and warm to the viewer’s eye.

‘’Carter Preston was unusual as an artist, in the depth of research and

development he undertook in analysing such things as symbolism and

iconography for projects’’.13

Meanwhile, other figures that Carter Preston carved at the Liverpool landmark were John the

Baptist, the Pulpit and Moses, Paulinus at the North West exterior and the Thuriel at the interior, the

Nave Arch including the Angels and Censers, the Apostles at the Font, and a symbolic representation

of Christ calling the boys Raphael and Tobias along with the figure of Barnabas at the Baptistery

Transept Exterior. Furthermore, personal memorials were also carved by Herbert’s skilful hand such

as the memorial to Mrs. Francis Neilson in the Lady Chapel, memorial to Dean Dwelly and Bishop Ryle

at the South Choir Aisle, Sir. Robert Jone’s and Admiral Sir. Max Horton’s memorial at the Derby

Transept. Finally, the Andre John Melly memorial at the North Choir Aisle, along with Percy Noble

were beautifully designed. More than sixty masterpieces were produced at the Liverpool Cathedral by

one of the most inspirational sculptors Liverpool has ever produced. Carter Preston was carving

models of the proposed sculptures out of plaster in his studio and then he carved directly on stone in

place, based on his sketches. For bigger figures the sculptor was producing clay models in his studio,

which were shown to Radcliffe and Scott for final approval, before being carved in site by hand.

49

Fig. 4.2

Central space,

Liverpool

Cathedral

50

Fig. 4.3

The High Altar

bronze and stone

Fig. 4.4

Fibre Glass moulding

Of Holy Family,

Eastern Transept

51

Figure 4.5

Bishop's Throne Choir, Stone carvings

52

Fig. 4.6 plaster model, Central space Fig. 4.7 Plaster model, Central space

Fig. 4.8 Plaster model, central space Fig. 4.9 Plaster mode, central space

53

(Left) Fig. 4.10

Philosophy, South

Porch, Liverpool

Cathedral, 1934-5

(Right) Fig. 4.11

Astronomy, South

Porch, Liverpool

Cathedral, 1934-5

54

(Left) Fig. 4.12,

Isaiah, South Porch,

Liverpool Cathedral,

1935-6

(Right) Fig. 3.13

Jeremiah, South Porch,


1935-6

55

(Left) Fig. 4.14

St. Luke, South

Porch, Liverpool

Cathedral, 1935-6

(Right) Fig. 4.15

St. Paul, South Porch,


1935-6

56

Herbert Tyson Smith and the Martins Bank Building

Herbert Tyson Smith had learned how to collaborate with architects during his course at the ‘Art

Sheds’ and this resulted to a great collaboration with the architect of the Martins Bank building

(fig.4.16) in Water Street Liverpool, Herbert Rowse. The Martins Bank building was a great example of

the Beaux Arts architecture with a massive steel frame which required surface decoration, with stone

carving to be the favoured at the time. Also, impressive detail and symbolism are highly involved in

the design with figures representing different cultures and generations, carved in Neo-Classical

imagery which had been internationally important and understood. Further, the design of the nine

story building was a result of a competition with strict requirements for the facilities, style and design

of the Bank. The decoration was Tyson Smith’s responsibility and materials such as Portland stone,

marble, plaster and bronze were used by the sculptor.14 The facade of the building includes Neo-

Classical mouldings at the central doorway and windows, and also, the opportunity of big windows,

made available because of the modernist steel structure, was not wasted by the architect especially

at the office spaces.

Fig. 4.16

Martins Bank Building

57

Moreover, a classical decoration scheme was drawn by Tyson Smith to harmonise the modern

structure and blend the exterior with the interior dress. Six steps are separating the two doorways of

the main entrance of the bank with a coffered arched ceiling decorating the archway and the head of

Midas was carved above the doorway (fig.4.17). The two majestic double doors are made of bronze

and they are separated by Corinthian columns including carved papyrus leaves and fourteen

rectangular panels on each door (fig.4.18). A Viking Maiden, along with two male Vikings accompany

the door designs. Also, a Liver Bird, which was the emblem of the Liverpool Headquarters, is carved

beneath each figure, and at the top three sailing ships, symbolic of the Liverpool port, and four sea

horses support the crest of the Bank. At the top of the doorway, an oval and dart motif is carved, with

a large oriel, steel framed window, which is designed with traditional steel of the time.15 Classical

decoration was carved around the windows of the ground floor and the top floors as well (fig.4.19).

Also the motifs of the exterior and interior of the building are symbolic of the wealth of Liverpool

which came from the ocean with maritime themes like crabs, lobsters and seashells to be included.

Another symbol to be used constantly in the design was the emblem of the Bank, a kneeling

grasshopper,16 which was the family emblem of Sir. Thomas Gresham17 who was the founder of the

Bank.

Further, additional series of decorations in the building are the heads of King Midas where Tyson

Smith uses his satirical humour. Symbolically, coins are falling to the ground behind Midas’s head,

moving away from him. These figures are repeatedly used in several occasions around the walls with

the addition of mermaids and mermen enriching the sculptures. Also Symbolic representation of coins

blended with mythological, historical and realistic sculptures are blended together, along with the

symbol of the Bank, paper notes, mermaids in muscular representation and also figures that represent

the sea and the port of the City of Liverpool. Additionally, above the secondary doors a cherub sitting

cross legged and holding a shell filled with bank notes is represented, including two mermen on his

sides and motifs of Triton below him. Old men that give the impression of robotic, with deep carving

and Assyrian bears decorating the sides of the first door. Also two children are positioned below him,

holding pots filled with gold and an anchor, symbolizing the growth of wealth through slavery. The

second door is decorated with slender females carrying pots of coins dressed in Assyrian clothes and

also carrying large keys towards the Bank vault. Figures of a mermaid and a merman are curved above

the windows of the fourth floor including the Liver Bird standing above the waves and the grasshopper

(fig. 4.20), while the top of the frame of the building represents series of dolphins and spike finned

fish.

58

Fig. 4.17

Midas figurehead above

main doorway

Fig. 4.18

Bronze double doors, main

entrance of Martins Bank

59

Fig. 4.19

Exterior window

decoration

Fig. 4.20

Liverbird, Mermaid and

Merman, stone carving

4th floor exterior

60

Tyson Smith designed many of the ceilings and cornices (fig.4.21, fig.4.22), including the impressive

ceiling of the entrance (fig.4.23) a war memorial to associates of the Bank who died and the bronze

grilles, which act as physical and visual barriers to the central banking wall. The workload was so

intense that Tyson Smith is known to have hired forty stone carvers (including George T. Capstick), to

help him with the sculptures. Also a bronze decorative rail of sea waves runs around the lift area and

the top frieze. Figures of legend and sea myth were designed in the board room, which are decorating

the beams, including mermaids, mermen and Tritons coloured in red, green and gold. Aquatic motifs

continue in the central banking hall including Viking ships, sea serpents and dolphins as a reminder of

the sea-related wealth of the city. The integration of the structure and the symbolic deep meanings

of the decoration (fig. 4.24) were the major facts of the success of the building. Influenced by the

Greek or ancient Christian buildings were everything was related to a higher order or deeper meaning,

Tyson Smith gave to the building this extra element of beauty and mystery. C.J. Allen also commented

upon the impressive decoration of the Bank:

‘’The impression of unity in design… the architectural quality of the sculpture is

something very rare in this country, and although traditional forms have been used,

a new life has been given to them…these time honoured forms are not dead in the

hands of an inventive designer’’.18

The architect of the Bank Herbert Rowse with an early letter to the owners of the Bank wrote that

it is important that all decoration work has carried out by one sculptor including stonework, plaster,

ornamental metalwork etc. in order to maintain continuity and unity. Finally, Charles Reilly had used

contemporary terminology to describe the building as:

‘’a machine for its combined purposes…a great bank, probably the best building of

its kind in the country…these buildings based entirely on tradition but stretched out

to modern size’’19

Later, during the 1970’s, modernism became the new style, and the Martins Bank building was criticized as out-fashioned, but for many historians and critics this building remains a masterpiece and probably the best example of Beaux Arts architecture of the period in Britain.

61

Fig. 4.21

Interior central space of Martins Bank Building, cornices

and ceiling decoration by Herbert Tyson Smith.

62

Fig. 4.22

Decoration above main

entrance of the Bank

Fig. 4.23

Ceiling decoration

Ground floor

63

Fig. 4.24

Symbolic representation

of the wealth that came

through slavery, Martins

Bank Building

64

4. Footnotes 1 Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, (1880 – 1960) was an English architect known for his work on such structures

as Liverpool Cathedral, Waterloo Bridge and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red

telephone box. 2 Poole, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, p.47

3 P. Kennerley, The Building of Liverpool Cathedral, Preston, Carnegie Publishing, 1991, p.22

4 Kennerley, The Building of Liverpool Cathedral, p.297

5 Radcliffe-Gilbert Scott, letter, Liverpool Cathedral Committee Papers, 2.3.1931, Liverpool Record

Office, ACC 2343 6 Scott-Radcliffe, letter, dated 27.1.1931, GGSA RIBA Library, SCGG/201-233

7 Vere Cotton, O.B.E. Liverpool Cathedral official Handbook, Liverpool, Daily Post Printers 1926, p.27

8 Quentin Hughes, Seaport, Architecture & Townscape in Liverpool, Liverpool, Bluecoat Press, 1964,

p.113 9 H Read, The Art of Sculpture, London, Faber & Faber Ltd, MXMLV1, p.18

10 E.G. Underwood, A Short History of English Sculpture, London, Faber & Faber Ltd, 1933, p.9

11 Giles Gilbert Scott, Archive RIBA Library letter, dated 17.11.1930

12 Bampton, Craftsman and Client: the official commissions of Edward Carter Preston, pp.131-132




16 The Golden Grasshopper was the emblem of the Gresham family and later the emblem of Martins

Bank Ltd. Later the Liverpool headquarters of the bank in Water Street adopted the Liverbird as their

emblem. ‘The grasshopper story’, Martins Bank Archive, Martins Bank Archive website, accessed

20/1/2014 17 Sir. Thomas Gresham was a London based diplomat and banker, who founded Matins Bank Ltd back

in 1563. He was also the financial agent of Elizabeth I and he was one of the major part of the

development of English Banking. ‘Four Centuries of Banking’, Martins Bank Archive, Martins Bank

Archive website, accessed 20/1/2014 18 C.J. Allen, The decoration of Martins Bank, Architects Journal, 2/11/1932. P.551

19 Charles Reilly, The Martins Bank Building, Architects Journal, 1933, p.55

65

Fig. 5.1

W. D. Caroe, Adelphi Bank, Castle St.

Liverpool, 1891

Fig. 5.2

James Doyle, Royal Insurance Building,

North St. Liverpool, 1896, decoration by

C. J. Allen

66

5. The Relationship of Architecture and Sculpture in Liverpool 1880-1950

The 70 years of Architectural Sculpture in the City

Seventy years were enough for the architects and artists of the period between 1880 and 1950 to

create an incredible collection of nationally and locally important buildings in the city of Liverpool

which include some of the most majestic architectural decoration being created for centuries. The

Eighteen-Eighties was the period that the population of the City reached half a million and it was

rapidly increasing. The expansion of the railway was growing along with the plans for rebuilding the

central business streets in the City. Renaissance and the English Baroque styles were dominant in the

new large office and commercial buildings along with incredible craftsmanship in some of them. Castle

Street was one of the first to experience major transformation with architectural practices such as the

Grayson & Ould and W.D. Caroe being very busy at the time. Caroe had designed the Adelphi Bank

(fig. 5.1) in 1891 and also many other important buildings were constructed around that period such

as the General Post Office by Henry Tanner in 1894, the City Education Offices by Deacon in 1897 in

Sir Thomas Street and also the Parr’s Bank building by Norman Shaw in 1898. The White Star Lane

building was the first example of the new massive office buildings designed by Shaw in James Street

in 1895.

Additionally the new generation of architectural design continued to expand with buildings such as

the Royal Insurance (fig. 5.2) in North Street by James Doyle in 1896. This example of Baroque style

design includes craftsmanship by C.J. Allen on the front façade as Joseph Sharples highlights in his

book ‘Liverpool’:

‘’This extremely impressive Baroque pile has a landmark tower capped by a gilded

dome, and the façade incorporates a frieze by C.J. Allen. Behind the richly decorated

masonry is a virtually self-efficient steel frame - perhaps the earliest designed for a

British building…’’1

Also, other examples of Baroque style architecture were the Everton Library, 1896, and the Hornby

Library, 1906, both by Thomas Shelmerdine. Great Gothic Revival Churches were also built in the late

Nineteenth Century such as the St. Agnes by Pearson and the Church of St. Clare by L. Strokes with

carved Arts and Crafts furniture by C.J. Allen. St. Claire’s Church also includes a nice set of decorations

by G. Frampton and R. Anning but:

‘’for arts-and-crafts furnishing, the nearby Uterian Church of 1896-9 is richer. Linked

with its church hall by library and cloister, the whole picturesque group is the work

of Thomas Worthington & Son of Manchester. It has woodcarving by Allen, metal

work by Gerald Moira in the vestry and library.’’2

67

Fig. 5.3 The King’s Liverpool Regiment memorial, St. John’s gardens, by Sir W. G. John, 1905

Fig. 5.4

India Buildings, Water St.

Liverpool by Herbert J. Rowse

1924-1932

68

C.J. Allen, Rathbone and B. Bare who were members of the ‘Sandon Studios’ designed parts of the

decorations for the remarkable Philharmonic Hotel, Hope st, by Walter Thomas in 1900.

The wealthy public monuments and architectural sculpture commissioned during the period

between 1880 and 1915, were some of the richer in the history of the City. Statues such as the ‘Charles

Turner and Son’ by Hamo Thornycroft in 1885, the panels of the St George’s Hall of 1882-1901 by

Allen, Dressler, T.S. Lee and Tyson Smith were some of them. Moreover F.W. Pomeroy had produced

many sculptures also between 1896 and 1901, for the ‘Central Technical School’ project. St. John’s

gardens is also a good example of the Arts and Crafts of the time with the statues by Frampton and

Pomeroy, the T. Block’s Gladstone Memorial and the W.G. John’s King’s Liverpool Regiment Memorial

(Fig. 5.3). Allen’s bronze statue of the Queen Victoria Monument in Derby Square 1906, under F.M.

Simpson was also part of the great and rich group of figures designed during the period. The city of

Liverpool was experiencing major transformations with the slum houses to be demolished and

experimentation on housing design was also a part of the process, for example, the blocks in Vauxhall

Road and Eldon Street by J.A. Brodie to be some of them.

Additionally, Walter W. Thomas, who was one of the most individual architects of the early

Twentieth Century, designed the Lord Street Arcade in 1901, the State Insurance in 1903 and the

Tower Buildings in 1906. Structures on the waterfront were also to be designed such as the Royal Liver

Building with remarkable craftsmanship in 1908 by Thomas. Also its neighbours the Mersey Docks

Headquarters, the Harbour Board and the Cunard Building were constructed around the same period.

‘’At the Pier Head is Frampton’s iconographically unusual Alfred Jones Memorial,

along with monuments to Edward VII and the Heroes of the Marine Engine Room by

John, the latter unveiled in 1916 and the notable for its dignified representation of

manual workers.’’3

Further the Cotton Exchange Building in Old Hall Street, designed by Matear & Simon in 1905 was one

more example of the blend of architecture and sculptural decoration of the early Twentieth Century.

Meanwhile, the architecture of the City of Liverpool was moving towards Neo-Classicism during the

1910’s with some early examples being the Adelphi Hotel by F. Atkinson in 1911 with Greek style

sculptures, the Premier Buildings by G.C. Fraser in 1912 and the Crane Building by A. Thomas in 1913.

Moreover, one of the best examples of the American Classicism of Charles Reilly’s students can be

seen upon Herbert Rowse’s designs of the India Buildings (fig. 5.4), 1923-30, and the Martins Bank,

1927-1932, with light sculptural decorations on the facades and great detail and decorations

internally. Another example is the redesign of the entrance of Walker Art Gallery by Thornely in 1931.

Alternative approaches to architecture were adopted by architects of the 1930’s, with the streamlined

Art Deco style of Herbert Rowse, appearing to be one of the most impressive. H. Rowse designed the

Philharmonic Hall in 1936 and the first Mersey Tunnel too.

69

Fig. 5.5

Lutyens Crypt, Metropolitan Cathedral,

Liverpool, by Sir Edwin Lutyens, 1933-58

Fig. 5.6 Head of Athena, Athenaeum, School Lane Liverpool, by Tyson Smith, 1924

70

Other examples of the mid-Twentieth Century Art Deco architecture were the Leverhulme Building

by C. Reilly, L. Budden and J. Marshall as well as the Forum Cinema by W. Glen in Lime Street.

Additionally, below the modern structure of the Roman Catholic Cathedral by E. Bloomfield stands

one of the greatest examples of the interwar Neo-Classical style, which is the Crypt designed by Edwin

Lutyens (fig. 5.5).

During the mid-twentieth century architectural sculpture and the Art Deco style were vanishing

and a decade later, only artistically cheap commercial buildings were designed with no sign of

sculptural decoration. Edward Carter Preston during these years produced remarkable sculptures and

decorations for the Liverpool Cathedral project too. He was very busy during the early and mid-

Twentieth Century that there was not much spare time to produce designs for other buildings of

importance, apart from Gilbert Scott’s Cathedral. On the other hand Herbert Tyson Smith never

worked on a single project for a long period and his talent for architectural decoration and his fame

as the dominant sculptor of his time gave him several commissions of building related sculptures and

decorations under important architects of the period. Apart from the Martins Bank project, Tyson

Smith had produced the sculptures of the Bluecoat Building and also the famous Cenotaph Panels in

1930. Further, another project with sculptural decoration he was involved, was the Stanley Hall, built

for the animal-feed producers R. Silock & Sons by Medcalf architects in 1938. Tyson Smith along with

Fraser and Geary designed animal figures on the building’s exterior and interior including animal and

bird sculptures including the over-door relief of the entrance. In 1931 the Lloyd’s Bank branch in

Williamson Street by Herbert Rowse, had a green bronze and red brick roof designed by Tyson Smith

and E.C. Thompson which unfortunately does not exist anymore.

‘’Carved decoration in Portland stone, now unfortunately painted, by Herbert Tyson

Smith and Edmund C. Thompson. The round-arched windows and parapet are Neo-

Romanesque, but much of the ornamental is Art Deco.’’4

Also the Athenaeum Club in School Lane designed by Harold Dod in 1924, includes the Head of Athena

sculpture which is a keystone carved at the entrance of the building by Tyson Smith (fig.5.6).

Herbert also carved incredible detail on another Lloyd’s Bank branch in Slater Street under the

architects G.H. Grayson and L. Barnish in 1920. In 1925 he also designed a classical war memorial

behind the Wirral Museum and near the Queen Victoria Monument by E. Kirby of 1905. Finally, the

amount of architectural decoration, sculptures and great craftsmanship is enormous and a walk

through Liverpool gives an insight that it was a city of great artists, architects and sculptors that give

a sign of the Liverpool’s great artistic past.

71

Discussion and Conclusion:

Comparison and contrast of the Artists

Edward Carter Preston and Herbert Tyson Smith (fig.5.7) lived in a period of transformation in the

political, artistic and architectural background of the city of Liverpool. Both artists were born in the

mid-1880’s and they experienced the contrast of the political divisions of the citizens due to the wealth

that came from the city’s great port. The pre-war years at the beginning of Twentieth Century were

the starting point of the artistic successful career of the talented men, in a period where art and

sculpture were not favourable. Tyson Smith came from a background of artists, with his father who

was a lithographic artist pushed him towards the arts since he was a small boy. His mother was

passionate about Italian Renaissance art and they visited along with their children all the important

exhibitions held in Liverpool at the time.5 On the other hand Carter Preston’s father wanted to turn

his son into a brewer and farmer, although the young Edward was passionate about art and creation.

In contrast to his fellow sculptor, Edward left home without his family’s support and to make his dream

come true he had to work and study at the same time to make a living in a period when, to become a

sculptor it was a sign of great courage.6 He was producing paintings during his early career for

commercial purposes along with experimentation on sculptural techniques and materials.

Both artists entered the pioneering programme of the ‘Art Sheds’ of the Liverpool University with

influences by their inspiring tutors being major tools upon the style and quality of their works. The

similar approaches of their sculptures and medals, inspired by the English Arts and Crafts7 continued

throughout their entire career which made them two of the most skilful artists Liverpool has ever

produced. Additionally, another fact that shows the economic contrast between the two artists was

the fact that Tyson Smith was enrolled at the Liverpool School of Art and due to the theoretical

approach of the program, and after paying his fees for the whole year he moved to the ‘Art Sheds’

after only two weeks. Carter Preston at the same time was working along with studying and struggling

to pay his fees and expenses and also making a living at a young age.8 Tyson Smith’s sister, and future

wife of Carter Preston, the water-colourist and dressmaker Clarisa-Marie also attended the ‘Art Sheds’

at the same time. After their marriage two of the most important artistic family trees of the city grew

together and further additions were included with many of their siblings and children becoming artists

or marrying artists.9

Edward Carter Preston, his daughter Julia and his brother-in-law Tyson Smith had a common

approach to their designs which was the use of symbolic decoration and also, the use of animal and

bird figures as well as plants on their commissions. Julia also collaborated with her uncle at the church

of St. Mary in Tarleton, Lancashire, where she produced the tiles on Tyson Smith’s concrete font.

72

Also, all three of them, worked at the Bluecoat studios in Liverpool, and they were servants of the

unique Bluecoat society throughout their entire life.

Carter Preston was more expressive than Tyson Smith in his career by working with many different

materials and techniques including sculpture, medals, watercolour paintings, glassware and wood

figures. Tyson Smith produced medals and sculptures throughout his career including architectural

decoration also. One might argue that Carter Preston’s expressiveness could be a result of the type of

his commissions when the Royal Mint and The Liverpool Cathedral were asking the sculptor to present

ideas of the proposed figures. On the other hand, many letters between Tyson Smith, the architect of

the Martins Bank Herbert Rowse, and the Martins Bank Board show that the proposed sculptures and

decorations were suggested by the board and the sculptor had to follow strict lines on his work. Tyson

Smith worked on foundation sculptures of the Liverpool Cathedral project after winning a competition

and it proved to be Carter Preston’s most important work some twenty-five years later. This was the

only major project in the city where both artists were involved and produced decorations and

sculptures. Both artists had the opportunity to produce memorial sculptures and medals with the

beginning of the First World War and also architectural sculpture with the arriving of the American

Beaux Arts style which was favoured at the time in France and America.

Fig. 5.7

Herbert Tyson Smith,

near Manchester

73

Further, the post-World War One years proved to be the busiest for the artists who were major

parts of the transformation of Liverpool into a modern 20th century city, when sculptures, medals and

architectural decoration were in fashion and also the need for memorials that the Great Wars had

produced. During these busy years members of their families claimed that they worked so hard that

they could not find spare time for their children and families. Meanwhile, the two artists were closely

related by marriage and they had a very friendly relationship but in several occasions it was obvious

that there was a spirit of competiveness between them on a personal level. At some points though

they worked closely together and worked in partnership for sculptural competitions and art

exhibitions. The Carter Prestons’ and Tyson Smiths’ were highly influenced by Italian Renaissance and

the English Arts and Crafts ideas along with other key families of the time such as the Bloomfield Bares,

the Rathbones and the MacNairs. Other parallels proved to be key for their success it was not only the

pioneering program of the ‘Art Sheds’ and the influential tutors but also the system of apprentiship

were students had the opportunity to work on sculptures from an early stage, as William Morris

suggested: ‘’The old system of apprentiship by which workmen learned their craft, is a good deal

broken down now, and nothing has taken its place.10

Furthermore, apart from the competiveness between the two men, they seemed to have very

different personalities and also a lot of interests in common. The spirit of competiveness between

them was analysed by critical authors with Roderick Bisson in his ‘’Sandon Studios Society’’ book

talking about the time they first became friendly when Carter Preston described Tyson Smith ‘’as

another fine craftsman’’.11 Bisson also tells that during their ‘Sandon Studios’ years they planned a

trip abroad to France, which cost them six pounds at the time. He also suggests that they had a lot of

interests in common and it is known that they had long conversations about topics like ‘The Lost

Continent of Atlantis’, ‘The Social Credit’, The ‘Golden Section’, ‘The Oriental Mysticism’, the ‘Theories

of Vernon Blake’ and many more. Additionally a ‘‘Catalogue of the Sandon Studios Society’s Exhibition

of Modern Art at the Liberty buildings’’ of 1912, shows sculptures by Tyson Smith and watercolour

paintings on silk by Carter Preston.12 A review for this show in the ‘Manchester Guardian’ spoke about

Carter Preston’s ‘Dancers’, which had the characteristic simplicity and abstract design of the ‘Post-

Impressionist Movement’.13

In Conclusion, the years of the Second World War and their late careers found them producing

sculptures for individual clients and also war memorials related to the Great War, but mostly working

on art pieces for leisure due to the decrease of the sculptural commissions at the beginning of the

1960’s. After Liverpool’s economic decline a lot of modern architectural plans were revealed such as

student accommodations and churches, but most of them had nothing to do with the previous artistic

buildings, with no sign of craftsmanship at all. After the 1960’s the great period of the production of

amazing sculptures, incredible medals and demanding architectural decoration was finally gone.14

74

5. Footnotes

1 Joseph Sharples (ed) Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool, New Heaven & London, Yale University

Press, p.27 2 Joseph Sharples (ed) Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool, New Heaven & London, Yale University



Press, p.175 5 Poole, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, p.3-4

6 Thomas, ’A Family Perspective’ in Ann Compton’s (ed) Edward Carter Preston 1885-1965 Sculptor

Painter Medallist, p.9 7 Crouch, Design Culture in Liverpool 1880 – 1914: The Origins of the Liverpool School of Architecture,

Preface 8 Poole, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, p.6


10 Charles Harvey and Jon Press, William Morris Design & Enterprise in Victorian Britain, Manchester:

Manchester University Press, 1991, p.185 11 R.F. Bisson, The Sandon Studios Society and the Arts, Liverpool, Sandon Society, 1965, p.29


13 Unattributed Review, Liverpool Record Office, LRO ACC1622 730 PRE 6/1

14 Joseph Sharples (ed) Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool, New Heaven & London, Yale

University Press, p.40

75

Appendix A:

List of the most important works

Herbert Tyson Smith:

Medal for the Dardanelles…………………………………………………………………………………………………….1918.

The Jutland Bank Medal………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1918.

The Hightown Memorial…………………………………………………………………………………..…………………..1919.

Holy Trinity War Memorial, Wavertree…………………………………………………………………….…….…….1919.

Liverpool Post Office Memorial…………………………………………………………………………..………………..1920.

Accrington Memorial…………………………………………………………………………………………..………………..1921.

Liverpool Cenotaph……………………………………………………………………………………………..………………. 1926.

Martins Bank Building, Liverpool………………………………………………………………………..……..………….1926.

Birkenhead Cenotaph………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….1923.

South Port War Memorial………………………………………………………………………………………..……………1923.

Fleetwood War Memorial……………………………………………………………………………………...………………1927.

Portmeirion Village, North Wales……………………………….……………………………………..………..…………1935.

Liverpool Airport Gates…………………………………………………………………………………..……………………..1940.

Port of Liverpool Memorial……………………………………………………………………………..…………………….1952.

Spinney House, Liverpool…………………………………………………………………………..………………………….1954.

Moss Way, Croxteth…………………………………………………………………………………..………………………….1954.

76

Edward Carter Preston:

Next-of-Kin Memorial plaque…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1918

Distinguished Flying Cross……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1918

Air Force Cross………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1918

Distinguished Flying Medal………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1918

Air Force Medal……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1918

Trienniel Award of the Royal Medical Society, Edinburgh……………………………………………………….. 1918

Dardanelles Medal………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1918

Edward Jones Prize Medal………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1920

The Imperial General Service Medal……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1920

Liverpool Cathedral sculptures…...…………………………………………..........……………………………… 1930-1960

HMS Conway Figurehead…………………………………………………………………………………………………..……. 1937

Warrington Yorke Memorial Medal, for the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine………………….. 1944

Queens seals for the Duchy of Lancaster…………………………………………………………………………………...1953

77

Julia Carter Preston

Plate in Turkish Manner, exam piece, red earthenware................................................................1950

Sprigged teapot, exam piece, cream-coloured earthenware.........................................................1950

Coffee set, cream-coloured earthenware, sgraffito in brown........................................................1950

Deep bowl, buff earthenware, with sgraffito in black, semi-transparent glaze.............................1957

Group of wares, earthenware, sgraffito decorated, casserole with black-iron glaze....................1960

Tiles for St. Mary’s church, Tarleton, Lancashire...........................................................................1960

Tall vase, buff earthenware, sgraffito-decorated, private collection.............................................1965

Tureen and ladle, with sraffito in black and semi-transparent glaze.............................................1965

Masonic punch bowl and jugs, Mariners Lodge 249, sgraffito in black and gold...........................1968

Dinner service, earthenware with sgraffito in black, private collection.........................................1970

Plate, earthenware, with sgraffito in brown, collection: Don McKinlay.........................................1975

Lidded box, earthenware, with sgraffito in black, collectin: Don McKinlay....................................1975

Bowl, earthenware, with sgraffito in black, collection: GA Hall......................................................1978

Plate, beige-tinted earthenware, with sgraffito in brown and rust................................................1980

W. Marjorie bowl, sgraffito decorated, Collection: Julia Carter Preston........................................1982

Wall plaque, St. Columba’s church, Liverpool, sgraffito in brown and rust....................................1982

Baptismal bowl and ewer, Liverpool Parish church, sgraffito and lustre........................................1987

Bottle vase with stopper, earthenware, with sgraffito and lustre..................................................1990

Wall plaque, earthenware, sgraffito and lustre decorated, private collection...............................1992

Wall plaque, Parish centre, Liverpool Parish church, sgraffito and lustre decorated.....................1993

Large wall plaque of St. George and the dragon, sgraffito and lustre............................................1995

Outer Gate, South Porch, Sefton Church, Liverpool.......................................................................1999

78

Appendix B:

Dr. Emma Roberts Interview 17th January 2014, email correspondence

Carter Preston was one of the most important sculptors Liverpool has ever produced, in your opinion, what makes him different from the rest of the talented artists of his time? I think he was more inventive with materials and this made him different- e.g. he would use broom

handles and other bits of household furniture to make sculpture. For example in the film of my lecture

on Youtube that you have seen I mention that he sandwiched together slim sheets of wood in order

to make a ship’s figurehead. I also think he had a real sensitivity to materials- he enjoyed the sensual

grain of wood or stone for example. Also, although I know little about it, he is very much appreciated

nationally for his work in designing commemorative medals and coins.

Edward had to work and study at the same time to make his dream come true after his argument

with his father who told him that to become an artist he has to do it alone. Do you thing that this

unfortunate happening acted as a catalyst upon his success and strong character?

Yes I do think that ‘whatever does not break us makes us stronger,’ as the saying goes. I think he felt

that he had to prove his father wrong and become a success. I think he had a proper vocation to

become and artist and he never bored or tired of his work. This shows that his father was wrong as

Carter Preston would have been stifling his natural talents and personality if he had done what his

father asked. He was interested in all aspects of art and design- stained glass, coin design, sculpture,

drawing etc. so was a natural artist.

The cathedral project is carter Preston’s most notable work, do you consider any sculpture in the

cathedral special or unique in comparison to the others?

‘’Actually although they are all very skilful and excellent I think that he intended them to be a coherent

group rather than let one stand out. Also, I think he was aware that they were meant to be

architectural decorations rather than independent sculptures in the round and so I don’t think that

one stands out more than others. I know that the Dean of the Cathedral who commissioned him, gave

him ‘free rein’ and this was really appreciated by Carter Preston and so he added some unusual

draperies and symbolism on to sculptures but I think he knew that the sculptures were to serve the

cathedral rather than be show-stopping works by him to be appreciated on their own. My personal

favourite are the sculptures on the Rankin porch inside the cathedral but, again, they blend into the

architecture well and are not dominant as sculptures.’’

79

I came across your Nelson Figurehead presentation of May 2013, what is it that makes that work of

the sculptor special?

I think this is important as it might be the last traditional ship figurehead to be made as they have now

been abandoned as an addition to modern ships. Also, he researched the figure really well so all the

medals and uniform on the figure are very accurate. He is such a skilled sculptor too that he managed

to do great detail with the uniform and hair etc. Finally, I think it is very interesting because of the

sandwiching technique that I mentioned earlier- it would have been too difficult and expensive to use

one block of wood so it was really inventive to compile several different sheets together.

Carter Preston, despite his talent and fame in Liverpool, he never received the expected recognition

nationally. What is your opinion about this?

Yes I agree and think that he is of the same standard as Eric Gill, Henry Moore and Jacob Epstein. I

think the reason that he did not gain national recognition was because he stayed in Liverpool and did

not move to London. This is unfair but I think that Liverpool is seen by Londoners to be ‘provincial’

and that he would be provincial because he is in Liverpool. Yet, Liverpool actually is and has been for

decades a hotbed for the arts and I wish that it would gain its proper recognition as a place for talent.

It is a real shame for Carter Preston as his work is of very high technical and conceptual skill and should

have been appreciated in his lifetime by the London museums such as the Tate. Having said that

though, it is my understanding that, as a medal and coin designer, he is seen as possibly the UK’s finest.

I believe that some of his medals and coins are held by Manchester Museum.

Do you believe that the time will come that his work and skill will receive the expected recognition,

as happened for other artists’ works in the past?

I think this will be difficult but it is possible. It will need concerted efforts from a group of people and

then it could happen. It is really good that Liverpool Hope University have been given his archive and

they are cataloguing this now. This will increase the interest in Carter Preston. Then he will need a

big retrospective in somewhere like the Walker, Tate or Bluecoat followed by later shows in London.

If all this is accompanied by scholarly articles then it is possible that he will be recognised properly. All

that could take one decade or more though! He might benefit from an exhibition first about his coins

and medals as he is already better known for those.

80

Appendix C:

Radcliffe to Gilbert Scott, Letter dated 21.9.1934

‘’I have had much correspondence with Carter Preston. It seems difficult to persuade him that certain

things are ‘not done’ in our churches, and that sometimes it is not just open to the artist to do what

looks nicest, when there is a risk however slight of offending Christian tradition or sentiment even

remotely. … You will understand, as he does not, the ‘atmosphere’ about these things. As you know I

should never ask an artist to do anything he thought wrong on artistic grounds, but I shall ask him, in

a church to make art the hand man of religion and not vice versa.’’

Appendix D:

Gilbert Scott – Radcliffe, letter dated 22.2.1935

RIBA

RE: Poetry Figure.

‘’Though the actual figure is good, as a bit of sculpture, it hardly seems, to me, to convey the

idea of ‘poetry’ what do you think? To my mind, the lady gives the impression of a rather

severe maiden aunt! But perhaps Carter Preston was anxious to avoid treating this subject

too ‘prettily’. I shall be glad, to hear your opinion on this model.’’

Appendix E:

Radcliffe – Gilbert Scott, letter dated 26.2.1935

RIBA

‘’I have written the enclosed letter about Carter Preston’s later model in a form which you

may care to send it on to him to read… What I say only irritates him especially if his dyspepsia,

which I am sorry to say plagues him, happens to be especially troublesome. But I think my

letter is inoffensive! I really feel relieved at the excellence of his figure as I feared his

inspiration might peter out over a long series.’’

Appendix F:

Biography of Edward Carter Preston

Edward Carter Preston was a Liverpool born painter, sculptor and medallist and the brother-

in-law of another famous sculptor, Herbert Tyson Smith. He lived between 1885 and 1965,

and he studied at the Liverpool School of Applied Arts. Edward began his career as a

commercial painter, and later, he produced nationally important memorial medals for the

Royal Mint such as the Next-of-Kin memorial plaque. His most important commission was

81

for the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral where he worked for 30 years and produced 50

sculptures, 10 plaques and several reliefs.

Appendix G:

Biography of Herbert Tyson Smith

Herbert Tyson Smith was a Liverpool sculptor and medallist and he lived between 1883-

1972. Herbert studied at the Liverpool School of Applied Arts and he produced sculptures

for the foundation plaques of the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral during that time.

He produced important medals at the time such as the Cenotaph Panels at St. George’s Hall,

Liverpool, and memorial sculptures such as the Accrington war memorial in Lancashire.

Tyson Smith was also very successful on architectural decoration and his most important

work was the Martins Bank Building in Water St. Liverpool.

82

Illustrations

1. The Context of Liverpool at the Time

Fig. 1.1 Photograph of the Salthouse Dock, Liverpool, Late 19th Century, Cumberland and

Scarrow website, accessed 27/12/2013

Fig. 1.2 Port of Liverpool Building, formerly Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Offices, Flickr

Website accessed 20/1/2014

Fig. 1.3 Photograph of the Salthouse Dock, Liverpool, Early 20th Century, Cumberland and

Scarrow website, accessed 27/12/2013

Fig. 1.4 Slum Houses, Chorley-Court, dale street, Liverpool, 1925, Streets of Liverpool website

accessed 5/2/2014

Fig. 1.5 Sudley house, Aigburth, Liverpool, built for the corn merchant Nicholas Robinson, 1828, now serves as an art gallery, South Liverpool website accessed 6/2/2014 Fig. 1.6 The ‘Art Sheds’, University College, Liverpool early 1900s, Postcard view printed in

1920, National Museums, Walker Art Gallery Website, accessed 9/1/2014

Fig. 1.7 The Bluecoat Chambers Building, School Lane, Liverpool, Photograph by Panagiotis

Konikkos, 10/1/2014

Fig. 1.8 The Bluecoat Chambers back yard, previously open workshop for artists, photograph

by Panagiotis Konikkos, 10/1/2014

Fig. 1.9 Once Tyson Smith’s workshop, rear of the Bluecoat Chambers, in 2002 workshop of Terry McGunigle, Liverpool Monuments website, by Susan Walsh, 2002

Fig. 1.10 Soft Estate Collection, by Edward Shell at the Bluecoat, Dec 2013 – Feb 2014, photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos, 10/1/2014

2. The Family Background of the Artists.

Fig. 2.1 Edward Carter Preston Portrait, Maureen Ann Bampton, The official commissions of

Edward Carter Preston, p.40

Fig. 2.2 Watercolour painting by E. Carter Preston, Arcadja Auctions website, accessed

7/1/2014

Fig. 2.3 Edward Carter Preston, coastal scenes collection, watercolors, 1905-06, ebay auctions website, accessed 5/2/2014 Fig. 2.4 Edward Carter Preston, coastal scenes collection, watercolors, 1905-06, ebay

auctions website, accessed 5/2/2014

Fig. 2.5 Photograph of Herbert Tyson-Smith, E.Chambré Hardman Collection, National Trust


Fig. 2.6 Century Guild Chair, Arthur Mackmurdo, 1882, Victoria and Albert Museum website,

83

Accessed 5/2/2014

Fig. 2.7 Drawing for the Liverpool Cathedral competition by Charles Reilly published in 1902,

SevenStreets website accessed 5/2/2014

Fig. 2.8 Queen Victoria Monument, Derby Square, Liverpool, by Charles John Allen, 1902-

1906, Photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos, 17/12/2013

3. The Individuals and their Careers

Fig. 3.1 Portrait study by Edward Carter Preston,drawing in pencil, Walker Art Gallery

Liverpool, 1910, Gallery, docbrown website, accessed 15/1/2014

Fig. 3.2 Wood figure, Sultan Mohammed V of Turkey, catalogue no. EPH 9355, Imperial War

Museums website, accessed 16/1/2014

Fig. 3.3 Wood figure, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, catalogue no. EPH 9359, Imperial

War Museums website, accessed 16/1/2014

Fig. 3.4 Wood figure, Winston Churchill, catalogue no. EPH 9363, Imperial War Museums


Fig. 3.5 Wood figure, Emperor Franz Joseph, catalogue no. EPH 9360, Imperial War Museums


Fig. 3.6 Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), Eward Carter Preston WW2 Awards website,

accessed 18/1/2014

Fig. 3.7 The Next of Kin Memorial Plaque & Scroll, The Great War 1914-1918 website,

accessed 17/1/2014

Fig. 3.8 King George VI campaign medal, by E. Carter Preston, 1940, ForcesRecords website,

accessed, 5/2/2014

Fig. 3.9 Korea campaign medal, related to Korean war 1950-1953, by E. Carter Preston, 1951,

Talismancoins website, accessed 5/2/2014

Fig. 3.10 The new figurehead of Nelsonon HMS Conway, HMS Conway website, accessed

17/1/2014

Fig. 3.11 Julia working in her studio in the Bluecoat Chambers, Letter: Julia Carter Preston

Obituary, the Guardian website, accessed 18/1/2014

Fig. 3.12 Wall plaque, made to commemorate the opening of the Parish Centre by princess

Alexandra and dedicated by the Bishop of Liverpool, 1993, Earthware, sgraffito and

Lustre-decorated, Collection: Liverpool Parish Church, Our Lady and St. Nicholas

(Courtesy of the Rector), E Myra Brown, Julia Carter Preston, Liverpool Bluecoat Press

1999, p.21

Fig. 3.13 Baptismal bowl and ewer, made for Liverpool Parish Church, St Nicholas and Our Lady,

1987-90, Earthenware, sgraffito and lustre decorated, E Myra Brown, Julia Carter

Preston, Liverpool, Bluecoat Press, 1999, p.23

84

Fig. 3.14 Outer Gate, South Porch, St. Helen’s Cgurch, Sefton, Liverpool, ceramic plates, 1999,

Geograph website, accessed 8/2/2014

Fig. 3.15 Group of wares, 1995-98, Earthware, sgraffito-decorated, some with lustre,

Collection: Julia Carter Preston, E, Myra Brown, Julia Carter Preston, The Bluecoat

Press, 1999, p.26

Fig. 3.16 Group of wares, 1960’s, Earthware, sgraffito-decorated; casserole with black-iron

glaze, Collection: Julia Carter Preston, Michael Pugh Thomas and Mrs L Johnson, E,

Myra Brown, Julia Carter Preston, The Bluecoat Press, 1999, p.12

Fig. 3.17 Bowl, earthenware with sgraffito in black, by Julia Carter Preston, 1980, E,

Myra Brown, Julia Carter Preston, The Bluecoat Press, 1999, p.15

Fig. 3.18 Massonic punch and jugs, Mariners Lodge 249, buff earthenware, with sgraffito in black and gold, by Julia Carter Preston, 1968, E, Myra Brown, Julia Carter Preston, The Bluecoat Press, 1999, p.20 Fig. 3.19 Photograph of Herbert Tyson-Smith working on a sculpture of George V, E.Chambré

Hardman Collection, National Trust website, accessed 12/1/2014

Fig. 3.20 Cenotaph panels, St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos,

5/1/2014

Fig. 3.21 War Memorial, the Fleetwood Memorial Park, Lancashire by George Herbert Tyson

Smith (1883–1972), Flickr website, accessed 16/1/2014

Fig. 3.22 Birkenhead War Memorial. 1923. Sculptor: George Herbert Tyson Smith, Hamilton

Square, Birkenhead, Flickr website, accessed 16/1/2014

Fig. 3.23 The Accrington War Memorial, Herbert Tyson Smith, War Poetry website, accessed

17/1/2014

Fig. 3.24 Widnes war memorial, Victoria Park, Cheshire, England, by H. Tyson Smith, 1921,

WarMemorialsTrust website, accessed 5/2/2014

4. Case Studies

Fig. 4.1 Entrance of the Liverpool Cathedral, carved decoration by Edward Carter Preston,

photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos , 23/12/2014

Fig. 4.2 Central space, Liverpool Cathedral, photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos, 23/12/2014

Fig. 4.3 The High Altar, bronze and stone carvings by Carter Preston, photograph by

Panagiotis Konikkos, 23/12/2014

Fig. 4.4 Fibre Glass moulding of Holy Family Eastern Transept, Liverpool Cathedral,

photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos, 23/12/2014

Fig. 4.5 Bishop's Throne Choir, photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos, 23/12/2014

Fig. 4.6 Plaster model, central space, photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos, 23/12/2014

85




Fig. 4.10 Phylosophy, South Porch, Liverpool Cathedral, 1934-5, Ann Compton, Edward Carter

Preston, 1885-1965: Sculptor, Painter, Medallist, University of Liverpool, p.27

Fig. 4.11 Astronomy, South Porch, Liverpool Cathedral, 1934-5, Ann Compton, Edward Carter


Fig. 4.12 Isaiah, South Porch, Liverpool Cathedral, 1934-5, Ann Compton, Edward Carter


Fig. 4.13 Jeremiah, South Porch, Liverpool Cathedral, 1934-5, Ann Compton, Edward Carter


Fig. 4.14 St. Luke, South Porch, Liverpool Cathedral, 1934-5, Ann Compton, Edward Carter


Fig. 4.15 St. Paul, South Porch, Liverpool Cathedral, 1934-5, Ann Compton, Edward Carter


Fig. 4.16 Exterior View of Martins Bank Building, Photograph by Panagiotis Konikkos, 14/1/2014

Fig. 4.17 Midas figurehead above main doorway, Martins Bank, photograph by P. Konikkos,

14/1/2014

Fig. 4.18 Bronze double doors, main entrance of Martins Bank, photograph by P. Konikkos,

14/1/2014

Fig. 4.19 Exterior window decoration, carved by Tyson Smith, photograph by P. Konikkos, 14/1/2014 Fig. 4.20 Grasshopper, Mermaid and Merman, stone carving, photograph by P. Konikkos, 14/1/2014 Fig. 4.21 Interior central space of Martins Bank Building, cornices and ceiling decoration by

Herbert Tyson Smith, photograph by P. Konikkos, 14/1/2014

Fig. 4.22 Ceiling decoration, ground floor by Herbert Tyson Smith, photograph by P. Konikkos,

14/1/2014

Fig. 4.23 Decoration above main entrance of the Bank, photograph by P. Konikkos, 14/1/2014

Fig. 4.24 Symbolic representation of the wealth that came through slavery, Martins Bank,

Photograph by P.Konikkos 14/1/2014

5. The Relationship of Architecture and Sculpture in Liverpool 1880-1950

Fig. 5.1 Adelphi Bank, Castle St. Liverpool, by W. D. Caroe, 1891, Liverpool World Heritage

website accessed 6/2/2014

86

Fig. 5.2 Royal Insurance Building, North St, Liverpool, 1896, decoration by C. J. Allen, LJMU

Journalism website, accessed, 5/2/2014

Fig. 5.3 The Kings Liverpool Regiment memorial, St. John’s gardens, Liverpool, by Sir. W. G.

John, 1905, VictorianWeb website, accessed 6/2/2014

Fig. 5.4 India Buildings, Water St. Liverpool, by Herbert J. Rowse, 1924-1932, India-Buildings


Fig. 5.5 Lutyens Crypt, Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool, by Sir Edwin Lutyens, designed 1930,

constructed 1933-1958, Metropolitan Cathedral website, accessed 5/2/2014

Fig. 5.6 Head of Athena, above main doorway of the Athenaeum, School Lane, Liverpool, 1924,

Liverpool Monuments website, accessed 10/1/2014

Fig. 5.7 Herbert Tyson Smith, at a late stage of his life, near Manchester.

Old Man of the Sea, The Liverpolitan website, accessed 19/5/2014.

87

Bibliography:

Books:

Attwood, Phillip, Artistic Circles, The Medal in Britain 1880-1918, London, British Museum Press, 1992

Bisson, R.F, The Sandon Studios Society and the Arts, Liverpool, Sandon Society, 1965

Cotton, Vere, E, O.B.E. Liverpool Cathedral official Handbook, Liverpool, Daily Post Printers 1926

Crouch, Christopher, Design Culture in Liverpool 1880 – 1914: The Origins of the Liverpool School of

Architecture, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2002

Harvey, Charles, Press, Jon, William Morris Design & Enterprise in Victorian Britain, Manchester,

Manchester University Press, 1991

Hughes, Quentin, Seaport, Architecture & Townscape in Liverpool, Liverpool, Bluecoat Press, 1964

Kennerley, P, The Building of Liverpool Cathedral, Preston, Carnegie Publishing, 1991

Read, H, The Art of Sculpture, London, Faber & Faber Ltd, MXMLV1

Richmond, Peter, Marketing Modernisms: The Architecture and influence of Charles Reilly, Liverpool,

Liverpool University Press, 2001

Sharples, J, ‘From Signwriter to Cathedral Sculptor’, in Ann Compton’s (ed) Edward Carter Preston

1885-1965 Sculptor Painter Medallist, Liverpool, University of Liverpool Press, 1999

Sharples, Joseph, (ed) Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool, New Heaven & London, Yale University

Press, 2004

Underwood, E.G, A Short History of English Sculpture, London, Faber & Faber Ltd, 1933

Willet, John, Art in a City, London, The Shenval Press, 1967

PhD Thesis:

Bampton, Maureen, Craftsman and Client: the official commissions of Edward Carter Preston, PhD

Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2007

88

Poole, Susan, A Critical Analysis of the Work of Herbert Tyson Smith, Sculptor and Designer, PhD

Thesis, University of Liverpool, 1994

Catalogues and Essays:

Bennett, Mary, ‘The Art Sheds 1894-1905’, An Exhibition to Celebrate the Centenary of the University

of Liverpool, Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, University of Liverpool, 1981, Merseyside County Council

Brown, Myra, E, Julia Carter Preston, Liverpool, Bluecoat Press, 1999

Thomas, M.P, ‘A Family Perspective’, in Ann Compton’s (ed), Edward Carter Preston 1885-1965

Sculptor Painter Medallist, Catalogue University of Liverpool Art Gallery, 1999

Journals - Articles:

Allen, C.J., The decoration of Martins Bank, Architects Journal, 2/11/1932, p.551

Calder, Hamel, ‘Sandon Studios’, The Bulletin of the Sandon Studios Society, No. 1, March 1912, LRO

367 SAN/4/2/1.

‘Four Centuries of Banking’, Martins Bank Archive, Martins Bank Archive website, accessed 20/1/2014

‘Julia Carter Preston’, The Telegraph, 18 January 2012, The Telegraph website, accessed 19/12/2013

Leece, William, ‘Julia Carter Preston part of Liverpool artistic dynasty’, Liverpool Echo, 4th February,

2012, Liverpool Echo website accessed 19/12/2013

‘Liverpool Autumn Exhibition’, The Studio, vol. 37, 1907, p.72

Pevsner, Nikolaus, ‘Pioneer designer: Arthur H. Mackmurdo’, Architectural Review, LXXXIII 1938, p.141

Reilly, Charles, The Martins Bank Building, Architects Journal, 1933

‘The Grasshopper Story’, Martins Bank Archive, Martins Bank Archive website, accessed 20/1/2014

Treuherz, Julian, ‘Julia Carter Preston obituary’, The Guardian, 22 January 2012, The Guardian website,

accessed 19/12/2013

‘Tribute paid to Liverpool artist Julia Carter Preston’, Liverpool Echo, 9 January 2012, Liverpool Echo


89

Archive Material:

‘Review’, September 1912, Press cuttings scrap book, Liverpool Record Office, LRO/ACC 1622 730

PRE6/1.

‘The Dixons Paper Circullatiar’, Sunday Times, 20.6.1915, Liverpool Record Office, LRO ACC 1622 730

PRE 6/1

‘An artist in Medal Designing’, Fame via Liverpool, Liverpool Record Office, LRO ACC 1622 730 PRE 6/1.

‘An Appreciation’, Westminster Gazette, 23.6.1915, Liverpool Record Office, LRO ACC11622 730 PRE

6/1

‘Unattributed Review’, Liverpool Record Office, LRO ACC1622 730 PRE 6/1

Letters:

Gilbert Scott-Radcliff, letter dated 27.1.1931, GGSA RIBA Library, Archive RIBA Library, SCGG/201-233

Giles Gilbert Scott, letter dated 17.11.1930, GGSA RIBA Library, Archive RIBA Library, SCGG/201-233

Radcliffe-Gilbert Scott, letter dated 2.3.1931, Liverpool Cathedral Committee Papers, Liverpool Record

Office, ACC 2343

Sessions Register 1901-05, Arts, Media & Design Library archive Collection, Liverpool John Moores

University Library

Video Material:

Dr. Emma Roberts, ‘One of the last great ship figureheads: Edward Carter Preston’s Figurehead of

Nelson on HMS Conway’, Liverpool john Moores University, [online video], 2013,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGIEf2gPajs, (accessed 6/1/2014)

Liverpool scenes: Lime Street & the Liverpool Electric Overhead Railway, dir. Alexander Promio, UK,

Lumiere Brothers Films, British Council Film Collections, 1896, [film].

The Mersey – Liverpool’s River, dir. John Finn, UK, Liberty Films, British Council Film Collections, 1941,

[film].

90

1

2

3

4

1

2

1

Date post:	23-Feb-2023
Category:	Documents
Upload:	ljmu
View:	0 times
Download:	0 times

The Carter Prestons and Tyson Smiths - A Liverpool Family Tree

Documents