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John Webb Singer
John Webb Singer (23 February 1819 – 6 May 1904) was an English businessman who created a substantial art foundry in Frome, Somerset, known for its statuary and ecclesiastical products. He had assembled immense collections of antique jewellery, rings, wine glasses, snuffboxes, stamps. He took a prominent part in both local and national politics, serving on the Local Board and its successor the Urban District Council, founding the Frome Art School and helping to create the Frome Literary and Scientific Institution (now the Frome Museum). He worked with the leading bronze sculptors of his day.
John Webb was born in Frome, Somerset, the only son of Joseph Singer by his second wife. Joseph was an architect and builder, though he was listed as a mason at his son's birth, living in the Butts, and as a carpenter on a daughter's birth in 1820. John Webb was named after his uncle, a farmer at Roddenberry near Longleat, who had been murdered six years before. His father died when he was 3, leaving his widow destitute with six children. His family were not well off, as he received his education from the Frome Blue Coat Charity School, as a ‘hat boy’, meaning he was of charity status, educated at the expense of the trustees. Opposite his family home in the Butts, Frome was a foundry for casting bells. He made an unsuccessful attempt to cast a toy cannon in iron, but failing that made it of lead. In 1834, he was apprenticed for five years to a local watchmaker, Thomas Pitt. He managed his employer's business in Eagle Lane, just off Bath Street, and took it over in his own right as a watchmaker, clockmaker and jeweller in 1848.
In October 1843, he married Arabella Kenwood in Frome. They had a son, Kenwood John, who died in infancy. In September 1846 they had a daughter, Ellen Mabel (1846-1936). His wife died In February 1848. Later in 1848 he was asked by a local vicar to make a pair of candlesticks. In 1851 Singer attended the Great Exhibition, observing the range of products and styles available to him; he had his own elaborate and decorative designs on display. In that same year he moved into 25 Market Place, a larger and more public display for his watchmaking business, at the same time as providing workshops for his church work and living quarters for himself and soon afterwards his family. The name 'Singer' is still visible, engraved on the window above the door lintel. Two forges in nearby Justice Lane and more workshops in Eagle Lane just behind no 25 were established. In January 1852 he married Sarah Doswell from nearby Beckington. Between 1853 and 1862, they had three children, sons Walter Herbert and Edgar Ratcliffe and daughter Amy Mary.
In that same period of his family life, his business expanded greatly. A major contract was with the Reverend J W E Bennett, who had taken over the parish church of St John the Baptist in 1852, which was then in a state of disrepair. They both were in favour of ornate church décor in the Gothic Revival style that originated with the Oxford Movement and Pugin. Singer's craftsmen were kept busy for four years; much of the brass is still in the church today. Elsewhere large altar crosses may be seen in the cathedral churches of Madras, Ripon, Gloucester and Salisbury. In his obituary in the Somerset Standard in 1904 it was stated that over 600 churches were lit by candle, oil and gas, including Bristol Cathedral, on fixtures from his foundry.
In 1866, Singer acquired a new permanent site for a factory in Cork Street, setting up a new furnace and recruiting craftsmen from Belgium, France and Switzerland. He re-introduced into England the process of repoussé. Among these new recruits were sand-moulders; their skills were deployed in castings for the ecclesiastical side of the business, but then proved invaluable when statuary was requested when sand-casting was essential.
"Mr J W Singer, of the Market Place, Froome, has been engaged, for the last twelve years, in the manufacture of medieval metal work, in silver, brass, and iron, which has been principally employed for ecclesiastical purposes. Nearly one hundred places of worship and other public edifices have been supplied by him......Hundreds of candlesticks, etc., of exquisite workmanship, have been sent to Oxford alone, where they are extensively used in the Colleges. Mr Singer is at present engaged in manufacturing enamelled medieval jewellery in silver....From fifteen to twenty hands are generally employed....The articles mostly manufactured are altar-rails and standards, gates, and candlesticks....The great merit of Mr Singer's productions is the variety and taste of his designs, all of which are the result of his own genius...."
On one occasion a local, titled lady brought back some brasswork from Italy and inquired Singer of its antiquity. He replied “Only about five or six months”. It had been cast in his foundry and sent to Italy. He travelled extensively on the continent throughout his working life, partly to add to his magpie collections of jewellery, partly to study alternative techniques and designs. His work was shown at international exhibitions to general acclaim: Paris 1855, Manchester 1857, London 1862, Paris 1867, London 1871 and 1872. In 1864, he founded the Frome Art School, using his own home for the first classes, visiting the South Kensington Art Schools in London for guidance on syllabus and exams. He wanted to apprentice pupils from the Frome Blue Coat School, needing artist craftsmen, skilled in creative design and not just in mechanical production. The project ultimately failed under economic pressures; he was innovating well in advance of the Arts & Crafts Movement under the leadership of Morris and Ruskin. In 1902 his educational foresight led to the School of Art and Science, built in Park Road, which ultimately formed the core of the later Technical College.
Singer was much engaged in public service. He enrolled in the Frome Volunteers in 1860, when a war with France seemed likely. He served for twenty years and became a Colour Sergeant. He was a Trustee of the Frome Charities. He was elected to the Local Board in 1882 and again in 1888. At the Keyford Asylum, he donated money for girls of good character to receive a marriage portion. As a former pupil of the Blue School, he gave money for boys to learn swimming at the newly opened Victoria Jubilee Public Baths. He wrote articles for the local newspapers on the lives and deeds of leading people of his day and in the past: he called them 'Frome Worthies'.
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John Webb Singer AI simulator
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John Webb Singer
John Webb Singer (23 February 1819 – 6 May 1904) was an English businessman who created a substantial art foundry in Frome, Somerset, known for its statuary and ecclesiastical products. He had assembled immense collections of antique jewellery, rings, wine glasses, snuffboxes, stamps. He took a prominent part in both local and national politics, serving on the Local Board and its successor the Urban District Council, founding the Frome Art School and helping to create the Frome Literary and Scientific Institution (now the Frome Museum). He worked with the leading bronze sculptors of his day.
John Webb was born in Frome, Somerset, the only son of Joseph Singer by his second wife. Joseph was an architect and builder, though he was listed as a mason at his son's birth, living in the Butts, and as a carpenter on a daughter's birth in 1820. John Webb was named after his uncle, a farmer at Roddenberry near Longleat, who had been murdered six years before. His father died when he was 3, leaving his widow destitute with six children. His family were not well off, as he received his education from the Frome Blue Coat Charity School, as a ‘hat boy’, meaning he was of charity status, educated at the expense of the trustees. Opposite his family home in the Butts, Frome was a foundry for casting bells. He made an unsuccessful attempt to cast a toy cannon in iron, but failing that made it of lead. In 1834, he was apprenticed for five years to a local watchmaker, Thomas Pitt. He managed his employer's business in Eagle Lane, just off Bath Street, and took it over in his own right as a watchmaker, clockmaker and jeweller in 1848.
In October 1843, he married Arabella Kenwood in Frome. They had a son, Kenwood John, who died in infancy. In September 1846 they had a daughter, Ellen Mabel (1846-1936). His wife died In February 1848. Later in 1848 he was asked by a local vicar to make a pair of candlesticks. In 1851 Singer attended the Great Exhibition, observing the range of products and styles available to him; he had his own elaborate and decorative designs on display. In that same year he moved into 25 Market Place, a larger and more public display for his watchmaking business, at the same time as providing workshops for his church work and living quarters for himself and soon afterwards his family. The name 'Singer' is still visible, engraved on the window above the door lintel. Two forges in nearby Justice Lane and more workshops in Eagle Lane just behind no 25 were established. In January 1852 he married Sarah Doswell from nearby Beckington. Between 1853 and 1862, they had three children, sons Walter Herbert and Edgar Ratcliffe and daughter Amy Mary.
In that same period of his family life, his business expanded greatly. A major contract was with the Reverend J W E Bennett, who had taken over the parish church of St John the Baptist in 1852, which was then in a state of disrepair. They both were in favour of ornate church décor in the Gothic Revival style that originated with the Oxford Movement and Pugin. Singer's craftsmen were kept busy for four years; much of the brass is still in the church today. Elsewhere large altar crosses may be seen in the cathedral churches of Madras, Ripon, Gloucester and Salisbury. In his obituary in the Somerset Standard in 1904 it was stated that over 600 churches were lit by candle, oil and gas, including Bristol Cathedral, on fixtures from his foundry.
In 1866, Singer acquired a new permanent site for a factory in Cork Street, setting up a new furnace and recruiting craftsmen from Belgium, France and Switzerland. He re-introduced into England the process of repoussé. Among these new recruits were sand-moulders; their skills were deployed in castings for the ecclesiastical side of the business, but then proved invaluable when statuary was requested when sand-casting was essential.
"Mr J W Singer, of the Market Place, Froome, has been engaged, for the last twelve years, in the manufacture of medieval metal work, in silver, brass, and iron, which has been principally employed for ecclesiastical purposes. Nearly one hundred places of worship and other public edifices have been supplied by him......Hundreds of candlesticks, etc., of exquisite workmanship, have been sent to Oxford alone, where they are extensively used in the Colleges. Mr Singer is at present engaged in manufacturing enamelled medieval jewellery in silver....From fifteen to twenty hands are generally employed....The articles mostly manufactured are altar-rails and standards, gates, and candlesticks....The great merit of Mr Singer's productions is the variety and taste of his designs, all of which are the result of his own genius...."
On one occasion a local, titled lady brought back some brasswork from Italy and inquired Singer of its antiquity. He replied “Only about five or six months”. It had been cast in his foundry and sent to Italy. He travelled extensively on the continent throughout his working life, partly to add to his magpie collections of jewellery, partly to study alternative techniques and designs. His work was shown at international exhibitions to general acclaim: Paris 1855, Manchester 1857, London 1862, Paris 1867, London 1871 and 1872. In 1864, he founded the Frome Art School, using his own home for the first classes, visiting the South Kensington Art Schools in London for guidance on syllabus and exams. He wanted to apprentice pupils from the Frome Blue Coat School, needing artist craftsmen, skilled in creative design and not just in mechanical production. The project ultimately failed under economic pressures; he was innovating well in advance of the Arts & Crafts Movement under the leadership of Morris and Ruskin. In 1902 his educational foresight led to the School of Art and Science, built in Park Road, which ultimately formed the core of the later Technical College.
Singer was much engaged in public service. He enrolled in the Frome Volunteers in 1860, when a war with France seemed likely. He served for twenty years and became a Colour Sergeant. He was a Trustee of the Frome Charities. He was elected to the Local Board in 1882 and again in 1888. At the Keyford Asylum, he donated money for girls of good character to receive a marriage portion. As a former pupil of the Blue School, he gave money for boys to learn swimming at the newly opened Victoria Jubilee Public Baths. He wrote articles for the local newspapers on the lives and deeds of leading people of his day and in the past: he called them 'Frome Worthies'.