William Hollins (18 March 1763 – 12 January 1843) was an 18th/19th century English architect and sculptor. His work is largely in the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

and Gothic styles.

Life

Soho House, Handsworth, Birmingham, England-10May2010

Alton Towers Gothic Tower (geograph 2718634)

He was born in

Shifnal Shifnal is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of the county town of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of the city of Wolverhampton. It is near the M54 mo ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

on 18 March 1763 the son of John and Mary Hollins. He was originally apprenticed as a stonemason then went 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 ...

to train as an architect, specifically studying

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...

. He is known to have assisted

George Saunders George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels. His writing has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', '' Harper's'', ''McSweeney's'', and '' GQ''. He also contributed a w ...

on his Theatre Royal project on New Street in 1793. He then set up his own practice 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 ...

around 1795. By 1800 he was living at 17 Great Hampton Street in

. In 1806 he lost a prestigious commission for a memorial to

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

in the centre of Birmingham which was instead won by

Richard Westmacott Sir Richard Westmacott (15 July 17751 September 1856) was a British sculptor. Life and career Westmacott studied with his father, also named Richard Westmacott (the elder), Richard Westmacott, at his studio in Mount Street, off Grosvenor ...

. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1821 to 1825. He died at home in Great Hampton Street on 12 January 1843 aged 79. He is buried in the churchyard of

St Paul's Church, Birmingham St Paul's is a Church of England church in the Georgian St Paul's Square in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England. History The Grade I listed church was designed by Roger Eykyn of Wolverhampton. Building started in 1777, and the church ...

. The grave is marked by a granite obelisk. An ornate memorial window inside the church holds a bust of William Hollins by his son Peter.

Architectural works

Soho House Soho House is a museum run by Birmingham Museums Trust, celebrating Matthew Boulton's life, his partnership with James Watt, his membership of the Lunar Society of Birmingham and his contribution to the Midlands Enlightenment and the Indu ...

, Birmingham remodelling for

Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engine ...

(c.1795) *Library on Union Street, Birmingham (1798) demolished *Remodelling of

Saint Petersburg Mint Saint Petersburg Mint (russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргский моне́тный двор) is one of the world's largest mints. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1724 on the territory of Peter and Paul Fortress, so it is one of the ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(c.1800) *

Christ Church, Birmingham There was a building called Christ Church based in central Birmingham, in the Church of England on Colmore Row, Birmingham from 1805 to 1899. In 2021 a new church without a fixed building called Christ Church Birmingham opened and now serves ...

(1805) excluding spire *

Public Office Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

and prison on Moor Street. Birmingham (1805) later called Moor street Lock Up *General Dispensary on Union Street (1806) only his statue of

Hygeia Hygieia is a goddess from Greek, as well as Roman, mythology (also referred to as: Hygiea or Hygeia; ; grc, Ὑγιεία or , la, Hygēa or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( el, ὑγίεια – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her ...

from the building survives *Egyptian Conduit,

Bull Ring, Birmingham The Bull Ring is a major shopping area in central Birmingham England, and has been an important feature of Birmingham since the Middle Ages, when its market was first held. Two shopping centres have been built in the area; in the 1960s, and the ...

(1807) this was a private commission to hide an ugly water conduit and was also known as "Pratchett's Folly" it was widely unpopular * St. Austin's Church, Birmingham (1809) *Gothic Tower and other garden structures in gardens at

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...

(c.1810) *Union Mill on Grosvenor Street, Birmingham (1813) *Gothic remodelling of Handsworth Parish Church (1820) *Remodelling of

(c.1820) *Almshouses on Warner St, Bordesley (1831) demolished

Monuments and Sculptures

*Memorial to James Johnstone,

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified ...

(1802) *Memorial to William Holden,

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

Parish Church (1806) *Memorial to William Withering,

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...

(1808) *Coat of Arms (Modern and Ancient Guns) on the Gun Barrel House on Banbury Street, Birmingham (1813) *Grave of the Venerable

Edmund Outram Edmund Outram (15 September 1765 – 7 February 1821) was Archdeacon of Derby from 1809 until his death. Outram was educated at Manchester Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity (DD). He hel ...

in Birmingham Cathedral (1821) *Statue of the late Catherine Jenner for

Edward Jenner Edward Jenner, (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was a British physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines, and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...

(1840)

Publications

Hollins made a precise study of the principles of carving in relation to Roman lettering: this was published under the title of "The

British Standard British Standards (BS) are the standards produced by the BSI Group which is incorporated under a royal charter and which is formally designated as the national standards body (NSB) for the UK. The BSI Group produces British Standards under the a ...

of the Capital Letters contained in the

Roman Alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...

". This is one of the first uses of the term "British Standard". It is one of the few books looking at the craft of letter carving.

Family

He was married to Catherine (d.1831). They had many children. His eldest son William Hollins (1788-1831) was also a sculptor and worked in his father's studio. He was an organist at St Paul's Church. He was father to the sculptor

Peter Hollins Peter Hollins (1 May 1800 – 16 August 1886) was a British sculptor operating throughout the 19th century. Life He was born on 1 May 1800 at 17 Great Hampton Street, Birmingham, the fourth child and eldest son of the sculptor and architect W ...

and uncle to the artist

John Hollins John William Hollins (born 16 July 1946) is an English retired footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective full-back. Hollins, throughout his footballing career, featured for clubs such a ...

. Thomas his son was also a stonemason. His youngest daughter "Mrs Bown" cared for him in later life and died in 1891.ODNB: William Hollins

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollins, William 1763 births People from Shifnal 1843 deaths Architects from Birmingham, West Midlands British sculptors British architects