Richard Landers Monument (geograph 2010171)

Nevil or Neville Northey Burnard (11 October 1818 – 27 November 1878) was a 19th century

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

best known for his

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

figures.

Life

Burnard was born in the village of

Altarnun Altarnun ( ; kw, Alternonn) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located west of Launceston on the north-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor at . The parish of Altarnun includes the village of Fivelanes and the ha ...

, on the edge of Bodmin Moor in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He was the son of George Burnard, a local stonemason. He trained under his father and showed a talent from an early age. Aged sixteen years, he sculpted a relief portrait of John Wesley over the doorway of

Altarnun Wesleyan chapel Altarnun Wesleyan chapel is the former Methodist chapel in Altarnun in Cornwall. Completed in 1859, the chapel has been a Grade II listed building since 1988 and is now privately owned. The chapel is built of snecked (the keying together of pa ...

next to his home. He went on to win the Silver Medal of the

Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society (commonly known as The Poly) is an educational, cultural and scientific charity, as well as a local arts and cinema venue, based in Falmouth, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The Society exists to promot ...

for his group Laocoon and His Sons. Around 1835 Sir Charles Lemon MP became his patron and took him to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where he persuaded

Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

to take him and train him further in his studio. Burnard exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1848 to 1873.Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis He became a celebrated society sculptor, was introduced to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

, and his work was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. He was in constant demand for public commissions, although he regularly returned to Cornwall. After turning to drink after the death of his daughter, he lost his wife and clients and returned to Cornwall permanently as a

tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''t ...

. At one time he was reportedly discovered in a barn in

St Cleer St Cleer ( kw, Ryskarasek) is a civil parish and village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the southeast flank of Bodmin Moor approximately two miles (3 km) north of Liskeard. The population of the par ...

, where kindly folk looked after him until he went on the road again. He eventually died in Redruth

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

in 1878. He was buried in a pauper's grave in Camborne. In 1954 The Old Cornwall Society of Camborne erected a slate tombstone on his previously unmarked grave.

Main Works

Among his best known works are the statue of

Richard Lander Richard Lemon Lander (8 February 1804 – 6 February 1834) was a British explorer of western Africa. He and his brother John were the first Europeans to follow the course of the River Niger, and discover that it led to the Atlantic. Biograp ...

on the top of the Lander's Monument in Lemon Street,

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

, which he sculpted in 1852, (this has been the subject of much concern lately due to extensive erosion) and the memorial to

Ebenezer Elliott Ebenezer Elliott (17 March 1781 – 1 December 1849) was an English poet, known as the '' Corn Law rhymer'' for his leading the fight to repeal the Corn Laws, which were causing hardship and starvation among the poor. Though a factory owner hims ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

(1854). As well as many fine gravestones, he also sculpted busts of

Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He w ...

, (now in the County Museum and Art Gallery in Truro), Dr George Smith in Camborne's Wesley Chapel, and William Bickford-Smith, MP for

and

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map she ...

, now at

Trevarno, Cornwall Trevarno is a private country estate in south-west Cornwall, England, UK, near the village of Crowntown, north-east of Helston. First developed in the 13th century, the estate was owned by a succession of families until 1994 when it was sold f ...

. Other examples of his work can also be seen in the

Royal Cornwall Museum The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro holds an extensive mineral collection rooted in Cornwall's mining and engineering heritage (including much of the mineral collection of Philip Rashleigh (1729-1811), Philip Rashleigh). The county's artistic her ...

Other works

*Bust of

George Bellas Greenough George Bellas Greenough FRS FGS (18 January 1778 – 2 April 1855) was a pioneering English geologist. He is best known as a synthesizer of geology rather than as an original researcher. Trained as a lawyer, he was a talented speaker and his ...

in the Geological Museum in London (1859) *Bust of

Lord Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

(1859) *Bust of

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a you ...

(1866) *Bust of

William Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and th ...

in Plymouth Library (1867) *Bust of Prof

Edward Forbes Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainlan ...

(1867) *Bust of Rt Hon

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...

(1869) *Bust of William Gladstone (1871) *Bust of Prince Albert for

Town Hall (1873)

Recognition

Burnard is also the subject of a poem by fellow local and artist, the poet Charles Causley, 'A Short Life of Nevil Northey Burnard'; this poem can be read in the revised 2000 edition published by Picador of Causley's 'Collected Poems', pp. 133–5

References and external links

Jossie Marie's miscellanyRootsweb Cornish archivesChurch memorials, The Benefice of Stithians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnard, Neville Northy 1818 births 1878 deaths Artists from Cornwall English sculptors English male sculptors Burials in Cornwall 19th-century British sculptors