John Tresilian (c. 1450 – after 1515) was a British master smith who worked for Edward IV of England. All we know about Tresilian comes through few documents in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

and his surviving handiwork. His name is Cornish but the dates of his birth and death unclear. According to official documents, John Tresilian was a "principal smith" that worked in Windsor Castle from 1477-1484. His annual wage was £24 5s or 16 pence a day. Documents mention him in connection to a 1479 creation of a large anvil that was brought to Windsor. In the King's Book of Payments for the year 1515 Tresilian was paid 30s 5d for

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...

making. He probably died within a couple of years. His successor was Anthony Trassillion, who might have been his son. Other clues are based on his unique handiwork. Based on the craftsmanship, Tresilian was involved with making gates to Edward IVs tomb and suite of door furniture for his chantry at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, between 1477-1484.Harry W Blackburne; Maurice Bond, The romance of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, Published for the Society of the Friends of St. George's Chapel by Oxley, 1976
OCLC Number: 11267322 Before 1841 these had been attributed to Brabant painter Quentin Metsys (who lived 1466-1530). Tresilian's other works would be the lock and ring plates to the door of Edward IVs

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...

, the lock plates originally on the north and south sides of the choir and Henry VI offertory.

References

;Notes ;Sources *Jane Geddes, "The Search for John Tresilian, Master Smith to Edward IV" (''History Today'' April 2002) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tresilian, John 1450s births 1510s deaths British metalsmiths 15th-century English people 16th-century English people