Ernest Barnsley
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Ernest (born Arthur Ernest Barnsley (1863 –1926) but known as Ernest Barnsley) and Sidney Howard Barnsley (25 February 1865 – 25 September 1926) were Arts and Crafts movement master builders, furniture designers and makers associated with
Ernest Gimson Ernest William Gimson (; 21 December 1864 – 12 August 1919) was an English furniture designer and architect. Gimson was described by the art critic Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest of the English architect-designers". Today his reputati ...
. In the early 20th century they had workshops at
Sapperton, Gloucestershire Sapperton is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire in England, about west of Cirencester. It is most famous for Sapperton canal tunnel and its connection with the Cotswold Arts and Crafts Movement in the ear ...
. Sidney's son Edward continued the family tradition, making fine furniture according to his father's philosophy, and became a figurehead in his own right. They were also associated with the designers and makers Gordon Russell, the Dutch furniture designer-craftsman
Peter Waals Peter Waals (30 January 1870 – May 1937), born Pieter van der Waals, was a Dutch cabinet maker associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. Arts and Crafts Born in The Hague to Jan van der Waals and Lena Alida Maria Loorij, Peter Waals was ...
, or van der Waals, the architect-designer
Norman Jewson Norman Jewson (12 February 1884 – 28 August 1975) was an English architect-craftsman of the Arts and Crafts movement, who practised in the Cotswolds. He was a distinguished, younger member of the group which had settled in Sapperton, Glouce ...
(who was Ernest Barnsley's son-in-law) and the architect
Robert Weir Schultz Robert Weir Schultz (26 July 1860 – 29 April 1951), later Robert Weir Schultz Weir and known as R. W. S. Weir, was a Scottish Arts and Crafts architect, artist, landscape designer and furniture designer. He did much work on the Isle of Bute ...
.


Church at Lower Kingswood

Sidney Barnsley rebuilt the Church of Jesus Christ and the Wisdom of God at
Lower Kingswood Lower Kingswood is a village located in Surrey, just within the M25 motorway. It is between Kingswood, Surrey, Kingswood and Reigate, and is bisected by the A217 road, A217 dual carriageway. Neighbouring settlements include Tadworth and Chipstead ...
, Surrey, in 1891 in the free Byzantine style. He used red brick and stone in various patterns, e.g. chequer work, herringbone and basketweave, and a plain tile roof. He installed a single-unit aisled nave and chancel; an east end with polygonal
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
s, the outer ones as angled bay windows; an imposing west front; a large planked and studded door with scalloped metal framing under a round arch with inscription; a stone-dressed
diocletian window Diocletian windows, also called thermal windows, are large semicircular windows characteristic of the enormous public baths (''thermae'') of Ancient Rome. They have been revived on a limited basis by some classical revivalist architects in more m ...
above the
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
under a
pent roof Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from Numeral (linguistics), numerals or occasionally other numbers. In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example: * unicycle, bicycle, tricycle (1 ...
; and round-headed lancet windows on other façades and in the apses of the east end. Interior features include an Arts and Crafts movement lectern, pulpit and reading desk, in
ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...
and
holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
with
mother of pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is f ...
inlay; priests' chairs with domed canopies; and Byzantine capitals from
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
and Ephesus decorating the aisles and west wall. It has the highest
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
classification, of Grade I.


Rodmarton Manor

Starting in 1909, the brothers collaborated in the design, construction and furnishing of Rodmarton Manor, a work completed by Ernest's son-in-law,
Norman Jewson Norman Jewson (12 February 1884 – 28 August 1975) was an English architect-craftsman of the Arts and Crafts movement, who practised in the Cotswolds. He was a distinguished, younger member of the group which had settled in Sapperton, Glouce ...
.


House at Hagley Road, Birmingham

In January 2011, controversy arose over the granting by
Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...
of permission to the Extra Care Charitable Trust to demolish 324 Hagley Road (), built in 1895, and the last surviving house by Ernest Barnsley in that city. Although not
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
, the building and others affected lie within the Barnsley Road Conservation Area. The
Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a registered ...
wrote to the
Government Office for the West Midlands Government Offices for the English Regions (GOs) were established in 1994 by the John Major government. Until 2011, they were the primary means by which a wide range of policies and programmes of the Government of the United Kingdom were delivere ...
to request that the Secretary of State call in for his own determination the application to build a retirement village of 240 flats on the site, in
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family a ...
. Barnsley Road is named after Ernest.


Other

Both Ernest and Sidney attended classes at The Birmingham School of Art before going to London to finish training. Sidney attended the Royal Academy's School of Architecture for two years and during this time he met Robert Weir Schultz, with whom he travelled to the Near East, Italy and Greece. They became affiliated to the British School at Athens and produced hundreds of drawings and photographs of ancient monuments that they had systematically investigated. Their work was to form the nucleus of “a collection of approximately fifteen hundred drawings and one thousand photographs of major Byzantine monuments of the Mediterranean basin, Italy, Turkey, Greece, as well as Asia Minor and the Near East, dating between 1888 and 1949. The collection, which is today housed at the British School at Athens, is known as the Byzantine Research Fund Archive…”. The
Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cro ...
also has a large collection of photographs by Weir Schultz and Barnsley. In the Annual Report of 2004–2005 for the
School of Advanced Study The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and is ba ...
,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, it was reported that a large number of glass negatives of Byzantine churches held since the 1940s had been identified as being taken by Robert Weir Schultz and Sidney Barnsley in 1889 and 1890. Their importance is highlighted by the statement “The negatives, which have now been printed, were long thought by Byzantinists to be lost. They provide important evidence about the state of various Greek churches before radical restoration, or in one case before destruction by fire." In addition, photographs by Weir Schultz and Sidney Barnsley, known as the Weir Schultz and Barnsley Collection, are held in the archive of the
Conway Library The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist c ...
at
The Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
, London. Drawings by Sidney are also held in the collections of the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
, London.


References


External links


Sidney Barnsley
{{Authority control English furniture designers