Mahomet Thomas Phillips (1 June 1876 – 7 June 1943) was an English-Congolese sculptor and stone carver. His work features in cathedrals and churches in England and beyond, including in a memorial to

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Be ...

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Church of England, Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Sain ...

, and a

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

for the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in St John's, Newfoundland in Canada. He worked with a number of well known architects including

Temple Moore Temple Lushington Moore (7 June 1856 – 30 June 1920) was an English architect who practised in London. He is famed for a series of fine Gothic Revival churches built between about 1890 and 1917 and also restored many churches and designed c ...

, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and Sir Charles Nicholson.

Biography

Phillips was born on 1 June 1876 in

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

, Congo, and was the third child of an English trader named Richard Cobden Phillips and Nené Bassa also known as Menina Barros, a black woman from Cabinda. Both he and his brother were educated at a mission school in Mukinvika. Sometime in the 1880s Mahomet and his younger sister Nene travelled to England. In 1891 Mahomet was living in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

with his father and his two cousins Paul and

Ernest John Harrison Ernest John ("E.J.") Harrison (22 August 1873 - 23 April 1961) was an English journalist, author and judoka. Harrison was born in Manchester, England, on 22 August 1873. He wrote many books about the practice of judo. He died in London, on 23 Ap ...

. From 1896 to 1909 Phillips studied and worked under George Walker Milburn at the York School of Science & Art. He passed his first exams there in 1896. In 1905 he was awarded a second class in 'drawing from the Antique'. During this time he met his wife Mary Ann Morley; they went on to have three children - Nene (1900), Lancelot Barros (1902) and Francisco Morley (1904). In 1911 Phillips and his family moved to

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

. In 1913 a roodscreen by him was unveiled at St Chad's in

Dunholme Dunholme is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A46 road, and north-east of Lincoln. The earliest written evidence concerning Dunholme is found in the 1086 Domesday Book. The v ...

, Lincolnshire. By 1916 the family were living in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, where he worked for the builder and stonemason J. Thompson & Sons. Whilst there he worked on the memorial designed by

. In 1916 he was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

into the British Army. He applied to a

Military Service Tribunal Military Service Tribunals were bodies formed by borough, Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district and rural district councils to hear applications for exemption from conscription into the British Army during the First World War. ...

, possibly because he was close to the upper age limit, and was given a short deferral; he was described in the ''Peterborough Express'' as a "sculptor in wood, stone and marble". He became a signaller in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, attaining the rank of corporal. After the First World War, Phillips returned to his work as a sculptor; one of his first commissions was the war memorial in

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington, Lincolnshire, ...

, Lincolnshire, which was unveiled in 1922. He also worked on

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

War Memorial in the same year. In 1923 he carved several grotesques including a falcon and a unicorn for

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gar ...

. The same year he and his son Lancelot, completed a reredos for the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in St John’s in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. It took them 2,779 hours to create. From the 1920s he worked for Bowman & Sons in Stamford. In 1920 he worked with them on the

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

War Memorial in St Wulfram's churchyard. He became head of sculpting at Bowman & Sons and is credited with works in the cathedrals of Bradford, Chelmsford, Southwark, Manchester and Peterborough. In 1925 he worked on a memorial at

Silverdale, Lancashire Silverdale is a village and civil parish within the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England. The village stands on Morecambe Bay, near the border with Cumbria, north west of Carnforth and of Lancaster. The parish had a population o ...

, to Helen Currer Briggs, a former Lady Mayoress of Leeds, who instigated Leeds Poor Children's Holiday Camp Association. In 1926 Phillips designed and carved the new screen in

St Martin's Church, Stamford St Martin's Church, Stamford, is a parish church in the Church of England located in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. The area of the town south of the River Welland was in Northamptonshire until 1889 and is called Stamford Baron or St Martin' ...

. Phillips died on 7 June 1943 and is buried with his wife Mary in Stamford Cemetery.

Legacy

After his death, a George and the dragon carving by him was incorporated in the Second World War memorial unveiled in St George's Church, Stamford in 1949. In October 2022 the

University of Lincoln , mottoeng = Freedom through wisdom , established = 1861 – Hull School of Art1905 – Endsleigh College1976 – Hull College1992 – University of Humberside1996 – University of Lincolnshire and Humberside2001 � ...

unveiled an exhibition in the University Library dedicated to Phillips' life.

Gallery of works

File:War Memorial, Sleaford.JPG, Sleaford War Memorial File:War memorial, St Owens Street, Hereford - geograph.org.uk - 320230.jpg, Hereford War Memorial File:St Wulfram's, Grantham - war memorial.jpg, Grantham War Memorial File:Font Cover, Southwark Cathedral - geograph.org.uk - 2315495.jpg, Font cover,

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

File:St John the Baptist, Peterborough - Sanctuary - geograph.org.uk - 2219300.jpg, St John the Baptist Church, Peterborough - Sanctuary (showing reredos)

References

{{Authority control 1876 births 1943 deaths People from Stamford, Lincolnshire Black British artists 19th-century British sculptors 20th-century British sculptors People from Kongo Central Congo Free State emigrants to the United Kingdom Royal Field Artillery soldiers