James Rattee (1820 – 29 March 1855) was an English woodcarver and mason, especially noted for his skill in church ornamentation and restoration, for which his services were sought worldwide.

Life

Rattee was born at Fundenhall,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, in 1820, and apprenticed to a carpenter and joiner of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, named Ollett. In his leisure he frequented the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and other churches in the city and its neighbourhood, and grew interested in ecclesiastical art. At his request his master taught him carving, and he rapidly showed unusual skill and ability. In 1842 he left Norwich and commenced business as a wood-carver in Sidney Street,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. He founded a limited company in 1843 and was joined by George Kett to form

Rattee and Kett Rattee and Kett was a building contractor based in Cambridge. History The business was founded by James Rattee in 1843. After George Kett joined the business in 1848, the partners worked together on the wood carvings for the Palace of Westmins ...

in 1848. The

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William Hodge Mill William Hodge Mill (1792–1853) was an English churchman and orientalist, the first principal of Bishop’s College, Calcutta and later Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge. Life He was son of John Mill, a native of Dundee, by his wife Mar ...

, F. A. Paley, and other members of the society, he received assistance and patronage. Rattee erected extensive workshops, plant, and steam power, on

Hills Road, Cambridge Hills Road is an arterial road (part of the A1307 road, A1307) in southeast Cambridge, England. It runs between Regent Street, Cambridge, Regent Street at the junction with Lensfield Road and Gonville Place (the A603 road, A603) to the nort ...

. He was associated with

Augustus Welby Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival style of ar ...

in restoring the choir of Jesus College chapel; the designs were made principally by Rattee, and submitted to Pugin before execution. In the choir of

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

he carried out the designs of

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

, and the oak screen, stalls, organ-case, and restored tomb of Bishop William de Luda or Louth (d. 1298) were exquisitely wrought. In 1852, when he travelled abroad for his health, he studied the works of

Quentin Matsys Quentin Matsys () (1466–1530) was a Flemish painter in the Early Netherlandish tradition. He was born in Leuven. According to tradition, he trained as an ironsmith before becoming a painter. Matsys was active in Antwerp for over 20 years, cre ...

and other artists. On his return the dean and chapter of Ely entrusted him with the construction of the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

. This was composed of choice stone and alabaster, enriched with carving and inlaid with gold and gems; it is one of the finest specimens of ecclesiastical art executed in England since the Reformation. He died at his residence, Hills Road, Cambridge, on 29 March 1855, and was buried in Mill Road cemetery, Cambridge. His family tomb was Grade II listed in 1980.

Work

Despite his early death, Rattee's work is found in upwards of a thousand churches in all quarters of the world. Further examples can be seen in the following: * Newfoundland Cathedral *

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 ...

St Ninian's Cathedral, Perth St Ninian's Cathedral in Perth is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. History The Episcopal Church in Scotland was disestablished in 1689 and all the Scottish cathedrals became the pr ...

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chapel,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

* St Michael's Church and

Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, generally known as The Round Church, is an Anglican church in the city of Cambridge, England. It is located on the corner of Round Church Street and Bridge Street. Since 1950 the church has been designated a G ...

(also known as the Round Church),

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

chapel *

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

chapel,

* The churches of

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and

Comberton Comberton is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, just east of the Prime Meridian. History Archaeological finds, including a Neolithic polished stone axe (found to the south of the current village) and a Bronze Age ba ...

, in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

Yelling A scream is a loud/hard vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including humans. A scream i ...

church,

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

* Sundridge church,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Rattee, James 1820 births 1855 deaths People from Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall English woodcarvers Artists from Cambridge 19th-century English artists