George Wickes (baptised 7 July 1698 – 31 August 1761) was an English

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

who in 1735 founded the company that was to become

Garrard & Co Garrard & Co. Limited designs and manufactures luxury jewellery and silver. George Wickes founded Garrard in London in 1735 and the brand is headquartered at Albemarle Street in Mayfair, London. Garrard also has a presence in a number of other ...

Biography

George Wickes was born in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

, England on 7 July 1698, the eighth of ten children born to James and Dorothy Burton Wickes. His father was an upholder or upholsterer by trade. In December 1712, Wickes was apprenticed for seven years to Samuel Wastell, who worked in the Britannia standard of silver (958 parts per 1,000) set into place by Parliament on 25 March 1697. He registered his first marks in London in 1721–22 with an address of

Threadneedle Street Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, England, between Bishopsgate at its northeast end and Bank junction in the southwest. It is one of nine streets that converge at Bank. It lies in the ward of Cornhill. History Threadne ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. In 1730, Wickes entered into a partnership with John Craig and moved to Norris Street. It was during this period that he began royal commissions and was appointed

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

, the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the British throne. By 1735, he had become independent again and moved to King's Arms, Panton Street. This was the beginning of successful business that would later become known as

. Business records indicate that Wickes employed a number of individuals including Edward Wakelin. In 1750, Wickes took his former apprentice, Samuel Netherton (1723-1803) as his partner. In 1760, Wickes retired and his business was taken over by another apprentice, John Parker.

Legacy

The business that Wickes had built up later became

. In 1952, Garrard & Co was acquired by the Goldsmiths’ and Silversmiths’ Company of Regents Street. The Garrard & Co location on

Albemarle Street Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray (publishing house), John Murray was based here, and Oscar ...

held an auction sale for the fittings, furniture and books. The Albemarle location was only the company's second location since 1735, having moved from the original Panton Street location in 1911. It was during this auction viewing that Norman Penzer, an expert of

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 style, Neoclassical and other styles during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Hi ...

, stumbled across the Garrard & Co ledgers going back to George Wickes and the founding of the firm in 1735. Penzer along with Arthur Grimwade, Reginald Eyles and John Hayward reacted quickly to save the volumes from being destroyed. Although the acquiring firm eventually decided to keep the newer Victorian-era ledgers with confidential royal accounts, the Wickes-Wakelin-Garrard ledgers were preserved for posterity. The volumes contained a wealth of information and contributed greatly to the study of 18th-century English silver. As a result, Wickes was proven to be a leading royal

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

Paul de Lamerie Paul Jacques de Lamerie (9 April 1688 – 1 August 1751) was a London-based silversmith. The Victoria and Albert Museum describes him as the "greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century". He was being referred to as the "King's ...

and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickes, George English male sculptors English silversmiths English goldsmiths People from Bury St Edmunds Sculptors from London 1698 births 1761 deaths