Thomas Cartwright (c. 1635 – 27 December 1703) was a 17th-century English

stonemason 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, ...

, building contractor and

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 ...

. Cartwright was born in Hertfordshire; his parents were Timothy Cartwright of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and Penelope Segar, whose first husband was Nicholas Charles. Cartwright became a Liveryman of the

Masons' Company The Worshipful Company of Masons is one of the ancient Livery Companies of the City of London, number 30 in the order of precedence of the 110 companies. It was granted Arms in 1472, during the reign of King Edward IV; its motto is “God Is ...

and worked in London on numerous buildings in the aftermath of the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past th ...

of 1666. He was a contractor for St Antholin,

St Benet Fink St Benet Fink was a church and parish in the City of London located on what is now Threadneedle Street. Recorded since the 13th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, then rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christop ...

, and St Mary le Bow, three of the Wren churches. He worked as a mason-contractor on the Royal Exchange, with sole charge after

Edward Jerman Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

died in 1668. He was employed by Sir Robert Clayton, president of

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS ...

, to rebuild the hospital and the nearby St Thomas' Church on St Thomas Street, SE1, on what is now the site of London Bridge railway station.

Notes

1630s births 1703 deaths People from Hertfordshire (before 1965) English sculptors {{UK-sculptor-stub