Laurence Arthur Turner FSA (9 July 1864 – 4 October 1957) was an English artisan and master craftsman.

Career

The brother of the architect Thackery Turner, was a leading figure in

woodcarving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

and ornate

stonemasonry Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, ...

, and undertook many prestigious commissions. He executed ceilings in

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

. He was employed by

Walter Cunliffe Walter Cunliffe, 1st Baron Cunliffe, GBE (3 December 1855 – 6 January 1920) was a British banker who established the merchant banking business of Cunliffe Brothers (after 1920, Goschens and Cunliffe) in London, and who was Governor of the Ba ...

to decorate his new home, built in 1898, Headley Court. Here he upholstered the drawing room with limed chestnut Elizabethan jewel panelling and a chimneypiece from Hinchingbrooke Hall with very fine Jacobean style plaster ceiling. The former smoking room, now the Mess Bar, is panelled and has a carved chimneypiece with arcading on

caryatide A caryatid ( or or ; grc, Καρυᾶτις, pl. ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "ma ...

s. The elaborate ceiling in this room he embellished and depicts Tudor roses, fleur-de-lis and rabbits, the latter in recognition of the family name. It was originally white. His other commissions also include tombs for

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...

and

Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

as well as decorative work for commercial and government buildings, churches, and educational establishments. He worked on a number of war memorials including the Robertson War Memorials in Netley Park, Guildford and Michel Dene, Wealden as well as

Cound Cound is a village and civil parish on the west bank of the River Severn in the English county of Shropshire, about south east of the county town Shrewsbury. Once a busy and industrious river port Cound has now reverted to a quiet rural comm ...

War Memorial, Shropshire, and

Woolmer Green Woolmer Green is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The 2011 census figure for the population (from the Office for National Statistics) is 661 people. History Situated between the villages of Welwyn and Knebworth, Wo ...

War Memorial, Hertfordshire, all of which are Grade II-listed. Turner was elected as Master of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...

in 1922, and was also a Fellow of the British Institute of Industrial Art.

List of works

* Blo' Norton War Memorial, Norfolk, 1920 (grade II listed) * Bloxham War Memorial, Oxfordshire, 1920 (grade II listed) * Cound War Memorial, Shropshire, 1920 (grade II listed) * Epping War Memorial, Essex, 1921 (grade II listed) * Robertson War Memorial Bequest Obelisk at Michel Dene, West Sussex, 1940 (grade II listed)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Lawrence 1864 births 1957 deaths British artisans English carpenters Masters of the Art Worker's Guild Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London