Sir Henry Cheere, 1st Baronet (1703 – 15 January 1781) was an English

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 ...

and monumental mason.

George Edward Cokayne George Edward Cokayne (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standard ...

, ed., ''The Complete Baronetage'', 5 volumes (no date, c.1900); reprint, (Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), Vol. V, p.140.Department for Culture, Media and Sport: ''Export of Works of Art 2002-2003'' - see He was the older brother of John Cheere, also a notable sculptor.

Personal life and career

Born in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

(now part of London), he was the son of Sarah and John Cheere (d.1756). Gunnis suggests he was initially apprenticed to John Nost. Cheere was apprenticed in 1718 to mason-sculptor Robert Hartshorne, an assistant to

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and Edward Stanton. By 1726 he had established his own sculptor's yard near

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...

, was joined by Flemish sculptor Henry Scheemakers (from c.1729 until Scheemakers' departure from England c. 1733;Whinney, M., ''Sculpture in Britain 1530-1830'', 2nd edn., Harmondsworth, 1988 Scheemakers d. 1748) and took on many apprentices. In 1743, Cheere was appointed "Carver" to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, an appointment which led to his creation of at least nine monuments in the Abbey. He purchased property in the area surrounding the Abbey and took on civic offices including acting as a director of the Westminster Fire Office (in 1745–47 and 1760–62), Controller of Duties for the Free Fish Market of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

(from 1749), Justice of the Peace (c. 1750) and deputy lieutenant for the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. In July 1748, Cheere joined

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...

and other artist friends, including Thomas Hudson,

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

and Alexander Van Aken and

Francis Hayman Francis Hayman (1708 – 2 February 1776) was an English painter and illustrator who became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and later its first librarian. Life and works Born in Exeter, Devon, Hayman begun his arti ...

, on a trip to Paris, and then on to

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and the Netherlands. In 1750, he was appointed a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed on 10 December 1760 and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of St Margaret's, Westminster on 19 July 1766. Cheere was one of a group who unsuccessfully attempted to promote an English academy of arts (prior to the establishment of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

). He retired from business and sold the contents of his workshop in March 1770.

Death and legacy

Upon his death, his son William Cheere succeeded him as 2nd Baronet, but died unmarried in 1808. Sir Henry also had two daughters, one of them named Charles (1735–1799). According to the Pevsner ''Buildings of England'' series guides, Henry Cheere was "the first English-born sculptor to match the virtuosity of the continentals" and "formed his style on the small, crisp, curvaceous shapes of the French sculptor oubiliac though his monuments never approached Roubiliac's in ease and inventiveness. Much of his work is unsigned, as is his commonly considered c.1760 masterpiece at Shadoxhurst, Kent.

Works

*Monument to

Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Privy Council of Great Britain, PC (20 October 1660 – 26 July 1723), ''styled'' 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby between 1666 and 1701, and known as 4th Earl of Lindsey between 1701 and 1706, ...

(c. 1728; Edenham, Lincolnshire) (with Henry Scheemakers) *Statue of Queen Caroline for

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

*Statue of

Christopher Codrington Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Codrington ( – 7 April 1710) was an English Army officer, planter and colonial administrator who served as governor of the Leeward Islands from 1699 to 1704. Born on Barbados into the planter class, he inheri ...

for

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

*Monument to

Lord Chief Justice The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

(d. 1732) at Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire *Gateposts to Sausmarez Manor,

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

*Memorial to Capt Philip de Sausmarez in Westminster Abbey (c. 1747) *Monument to Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy (1666–1732) in Westminster Abbey *Equestrian statuette of the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

(c. 1746 - 1770) – in

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bod ...

*Bust of

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor ( – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects ...

– in

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

*Memorial to Sir John Brownlow, 5th Bt of Humby, Viscount Tyrconnel and Baron Charleville, in St Peter and St Paul's Church, Belton, Lincolnshire *Monument to architect

Thomas Archer Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an English Baroque architect. His buildings are important as the only ones by an English Baroque architect to show evidence of study of contemporary continental, namely Italian, architecture. It is said that hi ...

, in church of St Mary, Hale, Hampshire *Marble statue of

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

Sir George Cooke (1645–1740) of

Harefield Harefield is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, northwest of Charing Cross near Greater London's boundary with Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the north. The population at the 2011 Census was 7,399. Har ...

(c. 1744–1749) – in private collection *Monument to James Cooper (d.1743) and his wife in All Saints,

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

, Essex *Monument to the

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the e ...

*Equestrian monument to King William III (c. 1757), in

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

, Hampshire *Memorial to Robert Davies Esq. of Llanerch (c1736), in Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin,

Mold, Flintshire Mold ( ) is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the historic county town and was the administrative seat of Flintshire County Council from 1996 to 2025, as it was of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2011 ...

*Funerary monument to Sir Richard Newman and family (c.1747), in the parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, Fifehead Magdalen, Dorset *Funerary monument to James Walsingham (1728) in parish church of St. Mary the Virgin, Little Chesterford, Essex *Various gods of Greece and Rome, including Minerva in Southill Park, August and Flora for

Longford Castle Longford Castle is a Grade I listed country house on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. History In 1573 Thomas Gorges ...

, and the River God for

Stourhead Stourhead () is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset. The estate is about northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I list ...

* Monument to the Gwyn sisters and their friend, Ann Hester Antrim, in the Church of St Mary, Great Baddow, Essex (c1753)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheere, Sir Henry English sculptors English male sculptors People from Clapham 1703 births 1781 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Deputy lieutenants of Middlesex Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Monumental masons English stonemasons