Birmingham Guild Of Handicraft
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Birmingham Guild of Handicraft was an
Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
organisation operating in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England, established at the end of the 19th century.


History

The Guild began as a loose part of the Birmingham Kyrle Society, then became a more fully formed group within the Kyrle Society in 1890, under the leadership of the silversmith and architect
Arthur Stansfield Dixon Arthur Stansfeld Dixon (26 August 1856 – 8 January 1929) was an English metal worker and architect. Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, he was the eldest son of education reformer and MP George Dixon. He founded the Birmingham Guild of Handicraf ...
(1856–1929) and with the lawyer Montague Fordham as first director, in Vittoria Street School for jewellers and silversmiths,
Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...
. It was modelled on
Charles Robert Ashbee Charles Robert Ashbee (17 May 1863 – 23 May 1942) was an English architect and designer who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement, which took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the soc ...
's London-based
Guild and School of Handicraft The Guild and School of Handicraft was established in 1888 in London, later moving to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, England, as a community of artists and craftspeople by the arts and crafts architect Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942). Ac ...
, founded in 1888, but like that body found itself in financial difficulties owing to high running costs and a lack of money-making ventures. In 1895, the Guild set up as an independent workshop and limited company under the guidance of
Edward R. Taylor __NOTOC__ Edward Richard Taylor RBSA (14 June 1838 – 11 January 1911) was an English artist and educator. He painted in both oils and watercolours. He became a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in 1879. Biography Taylor ta ...
, who was an important figure in the history of
Birmingham School of Art The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...
.
William Kenrick William Kenrick may refer to: *William Kenrick (Member of Barebone's Parliament), MP for Kent (UK Parliament constituency) *William Kenrick (writer) (1725–1779), English novelist, playwright and satirist *William Kenrick (nurseryman) (1795&nda ...
, the local MP and an Arts and Crafts enthusiast, became a director. The Guild's first address was at Kyrle Hall, Sheep Street, the same studios later being taken over by
John Paul Cooper John Paul Cooper (3 October 1869 – 3 May 1933) was a British architect and a leading craftsman in the Arts and Crafts Movement, specialising in metalwork and jewellery. He is particularly noted for the use of materials such as shagreen and os ...
. In 1898, the Guild moved to 44–5 Great Charles Street. The Guild produced furniture and metalware, taking particular advantage of the switch to electric lighting and the consequent need for new light fittings. Arthur Dixon was the chief designer and head of the metalwork workshop. Other members were
Albert Edward Jones Albert Edward Jones (1878 - 1954) was an English silversmith and designer. Jones trained at the Birmingham School of Art under Edward R. Taylor and was for a period a Guildsman of the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft. He founded A. E. Jones & Co. i ...
and
Thomas Birkett Thomas Birkett (February 1, 1844 – December 2, 1920) was mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1891 and a member of the House of Commons of Canada representing Ottawa City from 1900 to 1904. Birkett was born in Bytown (as Ottawa was known t ...
.
Bernard Sleigh Bernard Sleigh (1872 – 7 December 1954) was an English mural painter, stained-glass artist, illustrator and wood engraver, best known for ''An Ancient Mappe of Fairyland, Newly Discovered and Set Forth'', which depicts numerous characters fro ...
was a teacher at the Guild. The Guild ran a London showroom, headed by Martin Muir, at 7 Newman Street, Oxford Square. Under commercial pressure, the Guild merged with E. & R. Gittins in 1905, which brought Llewelyn Roberts into the organisation. In 1919, there was a further merger with Hart, Son & Pearl. The name was still shown in directories until 1950 as "The Birmingham Guild Ltd., Architectural & Decorative Metalworkers", the addresses being Grosvenor Road West and Sherbourne St., B16.


Publications

The Guild also published fine books under the imprint of the "Press of the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft, Limited"; and a periodical titled ''The Quest''. ''The Quest'' began in November 1894 and aimed to appear three times a year, but was short-lived.
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...
was a contributor. Those involved with the press were Ernest Treglown, Arthur Gaskin, and
Charles March Gere Charles March Gere Royal Academician, RA Royal Watercolour Society, RWS (5 June 1869 – 3 August 1957) was an England, English Painting, painter, Illustration, illustrator of books, and stained glass and embroidery designer associated with the ...
. Charles Carr and
Mary Newill Mary Jane Newill (1860–1947) was an English painter, embroiderer, teacher, book illustrator and stained glass designer associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. As a stained glass artist, she was a disciple of stained glass designer, Selw ...
were book illustrators for the Guild. The press was still active in 1919, when it published ''Memorials: The Work of the Architect and Craftsman in the Design and Execution of War Memorials''.


Motto

The Guild's motto was "By Hammer and Hand".


Further reading

*


External links


Birmingham Guild - WayBack Machine
{{Authority control Art schools in England Arts and Crafts movement Educational institutions established in 1890 History of Birmingham, West Midlands Guilds in England 1890 establishments in England