William Beilby (1740 – 8 October 1819) was an English glassworker known to have produced eminent

enamelled glass Enamelled glass or painted glass is glass which has been decorated with vitreous enamel (powdered glass, usually mixed with a binder) and then fired to fuse the glasses. It can produce brilliant and long-lasting colours, and be translucent or o ...

during the later half of the 18th century. Beilby's father William senior was a goldsmith and jeweller in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

. Beilby, along with his brothers Richard,

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and Thomas were sent to grammar school during their childhood. Richard and Beilby, the oldest two, later went as apprentices to

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 ...

, the former learning seal engraving and the latter

enamelling Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by melting, fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitrification, vitreous coating. The wo ...

and drawing. Soon the business of William senior failed, and in 1757 the whole family moved to

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

to start again. William senior died eight years later. Richard also died afterwards. Beilby and his sister Mary (1749–97) worked as enamellers for local glass makers. As Ralph emerged as the business head of the family, Mary spent much of her time with Beilby, who had fallen in love with medieval Newcastle. Beilby was at once fascinated by the thriving glass industry about him, and it seems that it was at the Closegate in 1761 that Beilby became the first man in England to fire enamels into glass, so that they became virtually part of the glass itself. Beilby taught Mary to paint in enamels at the family workshop in Amen Corner by St Nicholas' Church, though she never matched the skill of her brother. As he achieved greater recognition, Beilby was often called upon to create glasses with fictitious

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

on them, or pieces commemorating particular events like the election of the Lord Mayor or the launching of a ship. A superb example of the latter is the 'Margaret and Winneford' bowl in the

Laing Art Gallery The Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is located on New Bridge Street West. The gallery was designed in the Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements by architects Cackett & Burns Dick and is now a Grade II listed building. It ...

. Beilby glasses can be found in great museums all over the world, and even when damaged are worth tens of thousands of pounds. Beilby and Mary worked together from 1760 to 1778. In 1767 the young

Thomas Bewick Thomas Bewick (c. 11 August 17538 November 1828) was an English wood-engraver and natural history author. Early in his career he took on all kinds of work such as engraving cutlery, making the wood blocks for advertisements, and illustrating ch ...

joined the family as an apprentice to Ralph. Bewick and Mary developed an affection for each other, though Ralph did all he could to put obstacles in the way of the young pair. After Mary had a stroke in 1774, however, Bewick's ardour cooled. The family moved from Newcastle to

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1778 and then to

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, where Mary died. Over this last period, the family produced no more glass, but Beilby painted more of his exquisite water colours. Eventually, he moved back to the family roots in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

in 1810.

References

*Rush, James (1973). ''The Ingenious Beilbys''. London: Barrie & Jenkins. *Rush, James (1987). ''A Beilby Odyssey''. Olney: Nelson & Saunders. *Uglow, Jenny (2006). ''Nature's Engraver: A Life of Thomas Bewick''. London: Faber and Faber. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beilby, William 1740 births 1819 deaths English enamellers British glass artists 18th-century enamellers 19th-century enamellers 18th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists