Harry Hems
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Harry Hems (12 June 1842 – 5 January 1916) was an English architectural and ecclesiastical sculptor who was particularly inspired by
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...
and a practitioner of
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
. He founded and ran a large workshop in
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, Devon, which produced woodwork and sculpture for churches all over the country and abroad. He was also a philanthropist and an eager self-promoter. A large part of the collection of medieval woodwork that he accumulated during his working life is now in the
Royal Albert Memorial Museum Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) is a museum and art gallery in Exeter, Devon, the largest in the city. It holds significant and diverse collections in areas such as zoology, anthropology, fine art, local and overseas archaeolo ...
in Exeter.


Biography

Born in Islington, London, the son of Henry Hems, an ironmonger and cutler, Harry Hems started work as a cutler before taking at age fourteen a seven-year apprenticeship as a woodcarver in Sheffield. Returning to London, he found employment in the construction of the Foreign Office building and the
Langham Hotel The Langham, London, is one of the largest and best known traditional-style grand hotels in London, England. It is situated in the district of Marylebone on Langham Place, London, Langham Place and faces up Portland Place towards Regent's Park. ...
. He then spent two years seeking inspiration in Italy, but was supposedly arrested as a spy and had to return to England penniless. On his return, however, he soon found work on the building of the
Royal Albert Memorial Museum Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) is a museum and art gallery in Exeter, Devon, the largest in the city. It holds significant and diverse collections in areas such as zoology, anthropology, fine art, local and overseas archaeolo ...
, in
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, Devon. When he arrived in Exeter on 4 December 1866 by train he said that he found a horseshoe on his way from the railway station, and kept it as a lucky charm. Hems married Charlotte Presswell Turner at
Littleham, Exmouth Littleham is an area of Exmouth in East Devon, England. It was historically a village and civil parish, much older than Exmouth itself. The ecclesiastical parish is now known as Littleham-cum-Exmouth. The original parish church dates back to t ...
in 1868, and settled in Exeter. He started a company there that specialised in ecclesiastical sculpture and church fittings, and named it "The Ecclesiastical Art Works". It benefited from the widespread restoration of churches that was taking place at the time: by 1879 more than 400 churches and 100 public buildings contained work that had been created by the company. The 1881 census recorded that he was employing 23 men and 7 boys, and because of the need for more space he commissioned the building of a new workshop on a two-acre plot at 84 Longbrook Street, Exeter. The architect was Robert Medley Fulford who had already worked with Hems on several ecclesiastical designs. The style of his new brick-built workshop has been described variously as "'domesticated' or modified Queen Anne Flemish", a "freely-treated Jacobean character", and "gothic styled but with several peculiar additions".
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
called it "fanciful". It opened in 1883 and was extended the following year. Hems named it "Ye Luckie Horseshoe Studio". It extends over three floors and has a circular window in the gable facing the road that incorporates Hems's monogram. At the company's peak, after 1895, Hems employed over a hundred craftsmen, and also had staff in London, Oxford and Ireland. He lived next door to his workshop in a house, "Fair Park", with a prominent corner turret. Hems died on 5 January 1916, his wife having died the previous June. He is buried in Exeter's Upper Cemetery, his grave marked by a tombstone bearing a finely-carved crucifixion. He was survived by seven children; a son whom he christened Lord Archibald died young.


Works

Hems was commissioned to produce work for many churches and several cathedrals throughout England, and in America and Australia. His work won medals at the
Centennial International Exhibition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...
in Philadelphia (1876), was exhibited at the Paris
Exposition Universelle (1878) The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. Construction The buildings and the fairgroun ...
and also won prizes at exhibitions in Chicago (1893) and Antwerp (1894). Examples in Devon of notable work from Hems's workshop are the
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...
restorations in the churches at
Littleham Littleham is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of north Devon in south west England, about south of Bideford. The parish had a population of 446 at the 2011 census. The parish is bounded by the River Torridge in the north-ea ...
, Staverton and Kenn; the fittings at
Winkleigh Winkleigh is a civil parish and small village in Devon, England. It is part of the local government area of Torridge District Council. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 1,305, compared to 1,079 in 1901. The population of the el ...
and Revelstoke; and the alabaster
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 ...
es at
Swimbridge Swimbridge (historical spelling: ''Swymbridge'') is a village, parish and former manor in Devon, England. It is situated south-east of Barnstaple and twinned with the town of St.Honorine Du Fay in Normandy, France. It was the home of the Rev. ...
and St Paul,
Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...
. The firm contributed a reredos and choir stalls to the 1887–9 restoration of
St Denys' Church, Warminster St Denys' Church (or the Minster Church of St Denys) is the parish church of the town of Warminster, Wiltshire, England, and is the town's oldest church. Begun in the 11th century, rebuilt in the 14th and restored in the 19th, it is a Grade II* ...
, Wiltshire, part of what
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...
describe as "an exceptional ensemble"; the pulpit with inlaid marble is also his. In Bristol, he completed the statues for the replacement of the
Bristol High Cross Bristol High Cross is a monumental market cross erected in 1373 in the centre of Bristol. It was built in Decorated Gothic style on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon cross, to commemorate the granting of a charter by Edward III to make Brist ...
in 1889. Probably his most notable work was the restoration of the large medieval screen at St Alban's Cathedral, Hertfordshire, which was dedicated on 1 November 1899, and the construction of a similar screen in Christ Church Cathedral in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, USA. Apart from his work as a sculptor, Hems was keen on travel and was a prolific writer, claiming "to have written more signed articles upon architecture, travel and other subjects than any other man". He was also a benefactor of the poor—amongst other charitable work, for many years he held Christmas lunches in his workshop for the elderly poor people of Exeter, inviting as many each year as his age. He helped found the Exeter Dental Hospital; supported the Devon and Exeter Hospital; was a pioneer of the Hospital Saturday Movement (a national weekly collection scheme in aid of local hospitals); and supported the Rifle Volunteer force. In addition he was
churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...
at St Sidwell's church and was a
city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
for a period.


Personality

Hems was a hard worker – a report of 1879 said that "he is 'always at it' from six in the morning until nine at night, and often much later", and he expected the same level of commitment from his workforce, apparently resorting to violence against them if they would not comply. In October 1878 he was charged £1 plus costs for fighting with one of his employees, and the following year a court was told that he had said that he would "break illiam Mearsin as he had several of his other apprentices". He was also a flamboyant extrovert and a great self-promoter, making the most of any marketing opportunities that came his way. He had at least two well-publicised disputes with the Tax Commissioners. In September 1888 an auction of his goods on account of unpaid tax took place at his workshop in which one of the lots was a life-sized statue of St Matthew the Taxgatherer. After he again refused to pay the assessed amount of tax in 1907, another auction of his goods was arranged. It took place on 29 April that year, (Subscription required for online access) and he prepared the auction catalogue himself. The sale items included the crowbar that had been used by the bailiffs to gain entry to his workshop, a set of old stocks ("offering accommodation for three malefactors"), three "second-hand tombstones (slightly damaged) ... suitable for the graves of Income Tax Commissioners or other Revenue Officials", and his bulldog named Bob. According to his 1917 obituary, a sculpture of the
Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
was also included, and the event was widely reported at the time, with Hems making much of the way that he had made the Twelve Apostles pay his income tax. (Reproducing Hems's obituary published in ''The Devon Year Book'', 1917.) Hems was also a prolific contributor to newspapers, and journals such as ''
Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inne ...
'', and he retained cuttings of everything published that referred to him, in a series of at least 15 volumes of 400 pages each.


Legacy

Apart from the large quantity of sculpture produced by his company, some of which is detailed above and which also includes the large bronze statue of William III on Clifton Street
Orange Hall Orange Hall may refer to: ;in Ireland * Orange Institution The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protes ...
in Belfast, unveiled in 1889; and a memorial to R. D. Blackmore in Exeter Cathedral, Hems has left two notable legacies: a collection of medieval woodcarving, and his workshop. During his working life Hems salvaged many pieces of medieval woodcarving, mainly from churches in South West England, and he displayed them in rows around his workshop as inspiration for his craftsmen. After his death, Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum purchased nearly 500 of these carvings. The collection includes many roof bosses, bench ends etc., a number of
misericord A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a par ...
s, and a
green man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of a face which is ...
sculpture, and is described on the museum's website as one of the most important collections of medieval woodwork in a British museum. After Hems's death, his business was carried on by two of his four sons, Wilfred (1885-1941) and Harry T. (1873-1952). For some years the company continued to flourish: it built many war memorials after the First World War, and in 1921 it was commissioned by the Canadian Government to create a speaker's chair for the House of Commons chamber in Ottawa, and a duplicate for the Australian Government in 1926. When Wilfred and Harry T. retired in 1938, the workshop building was sold and Hems's personal effects were auctioned. The building was bought and used until the 1970s by a boot, shoe and leather merchants; then a wine merchant; and following refurbishment it is now known as "The Harry Hems Centre", housing a restaurant, conference facility and other businesses. It still displays Hems's "luckie horseshoe" above the main entrance.


See also

*
John Angel (sculptor) John Angel (November 1, 1881 – October 16, 1960) was a British-born sculptor, architectural and ecclesiastical sculptor, medallist and lecturer. He emigrated to the United States where he created architectural sculpture. His work in the Unit ...
who may have apprenticed with him.


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hems, Harry 1842 births People from Islington (district) 1916 deaths English sculptors English male sculptors 20th-century British sculptors 19th-century British sculptors