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From Your Archives

The National Register of Archives holds further information about manuscripts and historical records on Gill, Eric (1882-1940) Sculptor and Engraver

See also:

• John, Sir William Goscombe (1860-1952), sculptor and medallist

Arthur Eric Rowton Gill was a sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and printmaker.

[edit] 1911 Census

Gills's household can be found in the 1911 census returns, and, because in 1911 householders had to complete their own schedules, the return completed by Gill is a fine example of his letter writing skills at the age of 29:

http://www.1911census.co.uk/

1. Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, Head of Household, aged 29, married, employed as a 'letter-cutter & sculptor', born in Brighton in Sussex.

2. Ethel Foster Gill, wife, aged 33, married (for six years), 3 children born alive, 3 children still living (no deceased children), born in Chichester in Sussex.

3. Elizabeth Moore Gill, daughter aged 5, born in Battersea in London.

4. Petra Moore Gill, daughter aged 4, born in Hammersmith in London.

5. Joanna Moore Gill, daughter aged 1, born in Ditchling in Sussex.

6. Herbert Joseph Cribb, employed as an assistant 'letter-cutter & sculptor', aged 19, single, born in Hammersmith in London.

The Household had seven rooms.

The return is signed by Eric Gill

Postal address: Soper's, Ditchling, Sussex (reference RG 14/5039, schedule 116)

[edit] Biography

Born in Brighton on the 22nd February 1882 he subsequently moved to Chichester and studied at Chichester School of Arts and Crafts. Started to study as an architect but gave this up to become a calligrapher, letter-cutter and monumental mason.

In 1913 he was commissioned to carve the Stations of the Cross for Westminster Cathedral and using Hoptonwood stone he produced them as low reliefs. A similar low relief was his “The Driving out of the Money Changers” presented to Sir Michael Sadler as a War Memorial for the University of Leeds. The Stations of the Cross are a triumph of both a brilliant sculptor/carver but also one of the great letter-cutters of the 20th century. The fourteen stations show phases in Christ's journey to his death. After Gill's death, he was honoured by a small plaque placed at the foot of the fourteenth station. This is shown in the photograph below. It has the single Latin word "Lapidarius" or stonecutter.

There are two other works of Gill in Westminster Cathedral. The first is the work above the altar in the Chapel of St.George and the English Martyrs. The second is to be found in the Crypt and Chapel of St.Edmund of Canterbury. Count Alexander Benckendorff, the last ambassador from tsarist Russia to the Court of St.James was buried at Westminster Cathedral beneath a slab inscribed in Russian and Latin by Gill.

In the gallery below are several photographs of the Stations of the Cross and a close-up of part of the Altar Piece in the Chapel of St George.

Gill was exempted from military service for most of the 1914-1918 war owing to his work at Westminster Cathedral. He was however called up in 1918 and served as a driver in the RAF Mechanical Transport Camp at Blandford in Dorset

In the 1920 and 1930’s Gill’s reputation as a sculptor, graphic artist and designer of printing types grew. Amongst other things he designed the “Perpetua” and “Gill Sans” typefaces. He was also a prolific writer on art and its relation to aesthetics, economics, sociology, morals and religion. He produced many fine line engravings and woodcuts and became renown for his letter cutting.

In 1932 Gill produced a group of sculptures “Prospero and Ariel” for the BBC’s Broadcasting House and in 1938 produced “The Creation of Adam” for the League of Nations building in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1937 he designed a postage stamp for the Post Office

Gill died of lung cancer in Harefield Hospital, Uxbridge, Middlesex in 1940.

Amongst Gill’s many works we can include:-

1. Three reliefs for St James Underground, the Headquarters of London Underground at 55, The Broadway. Photographs of two of these , “South Wind” and “North Wind” are shown below.

The 55 The Broadway reliefs were a show case for sculptors of the 1920's and apart from three works by Gill and another by Henry Moore, we can see below the Gerard "North Wind", the Rabinovich "West Wind" and the Wyon "East Wind". There was also a splendid "South Wind" by Aumonier.

2. Work for the St Louis Convent.

3. Guildford Cathedral at Guildford in Surrey. Two works are involved. The first is over the south transept door, and is a statue of Saint John the Baptist. This was completed in 1939. The second is over St.Ursula’s Porch and comprises Angels on either side of the Diocesan Coat of Arms. Gill had also designed the crucifixion sculpture over the Rose Window but he died before its completion. The work was finally carved by Gill’s pupil, Anthony Foster.

Guildford Cathedral was not dedicated until 1961 and the architect was Sir Edward Maufe (1883-1974).Maufe had of course worked on Broadcasting House. Construction of Guildford Cathedral started in 1936 with work on the foundations and crypt and construction of the chancel followed in 1938. It was at this time that Gill completed the figure of St John the Baptist and the Diocesan Coat of Arms.Below is a close-up of St John taken in September 2008 and also a close-up of part of the Diocesan Coat of Arms, and then in the gallery are some further photographs of the two works.

4. Carving. “The Crocodile” at Mond Laboratory, Cambridge.

5. The sculptured frieze depicting Christ driving the money changers out of the temple now in the Michael Sadler Building of Leeds University. This memorial to those from the University of Leeds who died in the Great War was unveiled on the 1st June 1923. This memorial had been commissioned and presented to the university by the Vice Chancellor, Sir Michael Sadler. The writer visited Leeds in June 2009 hoping to photograph the frieze but as the building was being renovated found that Gill's work was under cover for protection. It seems that the building work should finish in the Autumn of 2009 when the frieze will be uncovered. It would be wise however to check with the university before anyone visits Leeds to see Gill's war memorial.

6. The crucifix over the grave of Gilbert Keith Chesterton at Shepherd’s Lane. Beaconsfield.

7. The works in Westminster Cathedral already mentioned.

8. Relief on Brighthelm Church in North Road, Brighton. This relief illustrates the parable of the loaves and fishes.

9. Peoples Palace Mile End Road. The New People’s Palace theatre, sadly now closed, was built in 1936 and has some Gill relief carvings on the front elevation.

10. Work inside and on the front elevation of the Midland Hotel in Morecombe, Lancashire.

11. The work for Broadcasting House consists of a relief showing Ariel piping to the children. Another relief showing Ariel learning the music of the spheres and a third featuring Ariel between Wisdom and Gaiety. These works were completed in 1931, plus, of course, the sculpture of Prospero and Ariel over the main entrance. Inside Broadcasting House and in the foyer is Gill’s work “The Sower”.

A recently taken photograph of Prospero and Ariel is shown below as well as two of the reliefs.

12. The Monument to Constance Evelyn Tyser in Holy Trinity Cemetery, Northwood, Middlesex.

13. The War Memorial at Chirk, near Wrexham. This memorial was unveiled in October 1920. This is an obelisk type memorial with a relief on one side of a soldier, bent over rifle, and wearing long coat and helmet. Names of the fallen are remembered on two sides. The fourth side bears an inscription in Welsh and the names of those who fell in the 1939-1945 war.Some photographs of the Chirk war memorial are shown below.

14. The War Memorial at Trumpington, Cambridgeshire. The Cross is carved with the monogram “KR” the Greek initial letters for Christos and stands on a base on a flight of three steps. Carved relief panels depict St Mary, St Michael, St George and the figure of a soldier. This memorial was unveiled on the 11th December 1921. Gill also worked on the memorial to F.P.Campbell Pemberton in St Mary and St Michael Church, Trumpington. Campbell Pemberton had served as a captain in the 2nd Life Guards and was killed in Belgium in October 1914. The memorial comprises a plaque which is positioned on the north wall of the north aisle.

Below is a photograph of the Trumpington War Memorial taken in September 2008 and in the gallery below that some further studies of the memorial, including the reliefs, sadly now very worn.

15. The War Memorial at Briantspuddle in Dorset. This comprises a tall tapering shaft surmounted by a small square cross. Set into the front is a figure of Christ holding a gashed palm outwards and a sword pointed downwards. To the rear is a small shrine with seated virgin and child. The shaft stands on a square plinth and a four stepped base.

A photograph of this memorial, taken in 2007, is shown below.

16. Memorial to Meggie Albanesi in the Foyer of St.Martin’s Theatre, London.

17. The work “Gingerbread Madonna and Child” at the Record Office, West Sussex.

18. The work “Mulier” in the Broad Art Center, UCLA, California, United States of America.

20. Design of the War Memorial by the village green at Ditchling in East Sussex. This memorial was unveiled on the 21st August 1920. This comprised a square base surmounted by a square plinth and a plain unworked stone pillar. There are carved inscriptions on two sides of the pillar, the letter cutters and engravers being Messrs.Joseph Cribb,

21. Gill carried out the letter cutting and engraving for the Angmering War Memorial on the village green in the West Sussex village of Angmering. This comprises a tall octagonal Latin Cross and column, with octagonal plinth and a two stepped base which was to the design of P.M.Johnson. This memorial was unveiled on the 27th May 1920.

22. Another plaque which was the work of Gill is the memorial in St Marys Church, Walberton in West Sussex, to Chaplain P.Blakeway. Blakeway had been Chaplain to the London Mounted Brigade and died on active service at Ismalia on 16th June 1915. Blakeway had been the vicar of Walberton from 1907 to 1915. The inscription is in perpetua type and painted black or red. Here the letter cutter and engraver was Ralph J Beedham and the sculptural work was by Gill.

23. Gill was the mason on the War Memorial at Stanway in Gloucestershire which features a dragon being speared by St.George. The sculptor was Alexander Fisher.

24. Gill carried out the letter cutting and engraving of the memorial to the National Liberal Club Staff who died in the Great War. The memorial comprises a bronze plaque and was unveiled by Lord Lincolnshire on the 14th May 1924. The National Liberal Club is in Whitehall Place, Westminster.

25. Gill designed the plaque in St.Nicholas Church, North Stoneham, in Hampshire. It is placed in the entrance porch to the church.

26. Gill was the sculptor of the plaque in Canterbury Cathedral in memory of Edgar Evelyn Ravenhill DSO, of the 2nd Battalion The Buffs who died at Wynberg, Cape Colony on 6th February 1907. Amusingly, the signature “A.E.R.Gill” was worked into the word Wynberg.

27. Gill was the letter cutter and engraver, along with Messrs.Joseph Cribb, of the memorial plaque remembering the staff of the Victoria and Albert Museum who died in The Great War. The left corbel has the initial “JC “ for Joseph Cribb and the right corbel has the initials “EG”. The plaque was unveiled in April 1920 and can be seen on a pillar on the right hand side of the grand entrance to the V & A.

28. Gill was one of two sculptors who worked on the Rossall School Chapel memorial at Rossall School on the Blackpool Road in Fleetwood. Mrs Alice Meredith Williams was the other sculptor. The Altar piece was also by Gill. The memorial was unveiled on the 26th June 1925. Amongst those mentioned was the Victoria Cross winner G.S.Henderson.

29. Gill was the sculptor of the plaque remembering Francis William Wakeford Town Attree of the 1st Battalion the Suffolk Regiment who was killed near Ypres on the 8th May 1915. The plaque is in St Margarets Church, Ditchling in East Sussex.

30. Gill was the sculptor of the War Memorial at Bisham Abbey at the junction of Marlow Road and the road to Temple near the gates of Bisham Abbey. This memorial remembers F S Kelly and comrades and his brother Lieutenant Commander Frederick Septimus Kelly of the Hood Battalion, Royal Naval Division, who fell at the taking of Beaucourt sur Ancre after serving throughout the Gallipoli campaign.

31. Another of Gill’s works is the reliefs of St.George. St Patrick, St Andrew and St David on the South Harting War Memorial in South Harting, Sussex. This memorial was unveiled on the 3rd July 1921.

32. In the tower of St Andrews Church, Mells in Somerset is an inscription in Latin, the work of Gill, which remembers Raymond Asquith the son of Prime Minister Asquith. Asquith was killed fighting in the Battle of the Somme. The memorial is surmounted by a bronze laurel wreath and was the design of Lutyens. Siegfried Sassoon is buried in the St Andrews Church grounds. Sassoon asked to be buried at Mells as he wished to lie near Monseigneur Ronald Knox who is also buried in the churchyard. Had Knox not died from cancer it would have been his task to instruct Sassoon in the Catholic faith.

33. Gill worked on the plaque, which remembers the staff of the British Museum who died in the two World Wars. It can be seen in the main entrance to the Museum. A phptograph of this plaque, taken in September 2008 is shown below:-

34. At the church of St Mary and St Gabriel in Harting , West Sussex is a cross with tapering shaft, remembering the men of Harting who died in both World Wars. This Cross was designed by Gill.

Other type faces designed by Eric Gill were- Golden Cockerell Roman, Solus, Joanna, Aires, Gill Floriated Capitals., Bunyan, Pilgrim and Jubilee.

File ZPER 17/7 held at The National Archives contains volume 23 of the London and North Eastern Railway magazine. This volume includes an article by Gill entitled 'On the Flying Scotsman',and includes a photograph of the sculptor executing one of his sculptures on the BBC Building at Portland Place and a drawing by Gill of a railway engine completed when he was aged 15 (pages 3-6).

Eric Gill, again working with Sir Edward Maufe, also carried out some sculptural work for the St Thomas the Apostle Church on the Boston Road, Hanwell, Middlesex. and carved the large Calvary that can be seen from the road, its cross forming the tracery of the East Window. This was carved “in situ” from a single Weldon stone block. Inside the north porch incidentally there is a carving of St Matthew by John Skelton who was a nephew of Gill.

Some photographs of Gill's work at St.Thomas the Apostle are shown below. This first shows the entire work and the second and third are close-ups of the two parts of the work.