Rundell & Bridge were a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

firm of

jewellers Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western pe ...

and

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

s formed by

Philip Rundell Philip Rundell (1746–1827) was a highly prosperous English jeweller, fine jewellery retailer and master jewellery makers' business proprietor, known for his association with royalty. With John Bridge, he ran and co-owned Rundell and Bridge, a f ...

(1746–1827) and John Bridge (baptized 1755–1834).

History

The Royal Ice Pail by Rundell, Bridge, and Rundell

When Edmond Walter Rundell, nephew of Philip Rundell, was admitted as a partner in 1804, the firm's name changed to Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. That same year John Gawler Bridge, nephew of John Bridge also joined the firm. Following John Bridge's death in 1834 a new partnership was formed comprising John Gawler Bridge,

Thomas Bigge Thomas Bigge (1766–1851) was an English political writer and activist. In his later life, he was a partner in the goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge & Co. Early life He was the son of Thomas Bigge (died 1791) of Ludgate Hill, and his wife Elizabeth R ...

, John Bridge's nephews and Bigge's son, and the firm changed its name to Rundell, Bridge & Co. The firm was appointed as one of the goldsmiths and jewellers to the king in 1797 and Principal Royal Goldsmiths & Jewellers in 1804, and the firm held the Royal Warrant until 1843. Amongst its employees were the well-known artists

John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British 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 dim ...

and Thomas Stothard, who both designed and modelled silverware. Directing their workshops from 1802 were the silversmith Benjamin Smith and the designer Digby Scott; and in 1807,

Paul Storr Paul Storr (baptised 28 October 1770 in London – 18 March 1844 in London) was an English goldsmith and silversmith working in the Neoclassical and other styles during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His works range from ...

, the most celebrated English silversmith of the period, took charge, withdrawing from the firm in 1819 to establish his own workshops. The Royal Goldsmiths served four monarchs:

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded ...

and Victoria. In addition, their name was attributed to the 'Rundell tiara', made for Princess Alexandra in 1863.

Works

Silver Gilt Tankard by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell

After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

(1814–1815), the firm prepared 22

snuff-boxes A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are u ...

to a value of 1000 guineas each to be given as

diplomatic gifts A diplomatic gift is a gift given by a :diplomat, politician or leader when visiting a foreign country. Usually the gift is reciprocated by the host. The use of diplomatic gifts dates back to the ancient world and givers have competed to outdo e ...

. In 1830–1831, the firm created the

Irish Crown Jewels The Jewels Belonging to the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, commonly called the Irish Crown Jewels or State Jewels of Ireland, were the heavily jewelled star and badge regalia created in 1831 for the Sovereign and Grand Master of the ...

from 394 precious stones taken from the English Crown Jewels of Queen Charlotte and the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...

star of her husband

. The jewels were stolen in 1907 and never recovered.

General Mining Association

Rundell, Bridge & Rundell formed the General Mining Association (G.M.A.) in 1827 and opened a colliery in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada the same year and a second colliery in nearby Dominion (then called Lingan and subsequently Bridgeport) in 1830. The G.M.A. operated coal mines and built shipping piers and railways in Cape Breton until it sold its eastern Cape Breton County holdings to the Dominion Coal Company by 1894 and retained its Sydney Mines operations until selling to the Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Corporation in 1900.Charles William Vernon, ''Cape Breton, Canada, at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: A Treatise of Natural Resources and Development'' (Toronto and New York: Nation Publishing Company, 1903), pp. 172–8. Leonard Stephenson, ''Dominion, NS, 1906–1981,'' pp. 8–9.

Bibliography

* Fox, George, (1843), ''History of Rundell, Bridge and Rundell'' (Manuscript of a history of the firm written by a long-time employee.) Held at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School. * Hartop, Christopher, with foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales, introduction by Philippa Glanville and essays by Diana Scarisbrick,

Charles Truman Charles Henry Truman, FSA (5 April 1949 – 10 February 2017), was an art historian and a leading authority on gold boxes. Biography Early years Born at Stratton Audley in Oxfordshire, "Charlie", as he was widely known in the art world, was the ...

, David Watkin and Matthew Winterbottom (2005).
Royal Goldsmiths: The Art of Rundell & Bridge 1797–1843
' Cambridge: John Adamson * Hartop, Christopher (October 2015), ''Art in Industry: The Silver of

'', Cambridge: John Adamson *

References

{{Authority control British jewellery designers British jewellers Jewellery companies of the United Kingdom English goldsmiths English silversmiths