George Blackall Simonds
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| George Blackall Simonds | |
| Birth name | George Simonds |
| Born | 6 October 1843 Reading, Berkshire, England |
| Died | 16 December 1929 (aged 86), aged 86 Bradfield, Berkshire, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Field | Sculpture |
| Works | The Falconer (1873) Maiwand Lion (1886) Statue of Queen Victoria (1887) Statue of George Palmer (1891) |
George Blackall Simonds (6 October 1843 – 16 December 1929[1]) was an English sculptor and director of H & G Simonds Brewery in Reading in the English county of Berkshire[2].
Simonds was the second son of George Simonds and Mary Anne Boulger. His grandfather was the great brewing and banking magnate, William Blackall Simonds[1]. His cousin's grandson, Gavin Turnbull Simonds, rose to become Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom and was honoured as Viscount Simonds.
Simonds was a student at St Andrew's College (later Bradfield College) in 1852. In 1858, aged just 15, he went to study sculpture under Professor Johannes Schilling in Dresden, moving on to study under Louis Jehotte at The Academy of Brussels. He later set up studios in Westminster and St John's Wood and became a founder and first master of the Art Workers Guild[1]. Works by Simonds include the famous 'Falconer' in Central Park, New York and the 'Maiwand Lion' in his home town. The latter sculpture he created in cast iron for the Forbury Gardens in Reading in 1886. It was commissioned by the Berkshire Memorial Fund for the Berkshire Regiment as a 'Memorial to the 66th Regiment', who had been almost wiped out in the Battle of Maiwand in the Afghan War of 1880[1]. At 9½ metres long (31'), and having taken two years to design and complete, the lion is one of the world's largest cast iron statues.
Rumours persisted that Simonds committed suicide on learning that the lion's gait was incorrectly that of a domestic cat. In fact, he made careful observations on lions and the stance was anatomically correct. He also lived for another 43 years, enjoying continuing success as a sculptor going on to create statues of Queen Victoria (1887) and George Palmer (1891).
Simonds retired from sculpting in 1903 and worked in the family business eventually becoming its chairman in 1910 until his death in 1929. During this period he lived at 'Rushall Grange' in Bradfield, and ‘Holly Copse’ in Goring, all close to his mother’s ancestral home, Bradfield House, where he finally settled[1].
In 1922 he temporarily came out of retirement to build the Bradfield war memorial which commemorated the deaths in the first world war of those in the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers which included his son.
In 2005, users of Reading Borough Libraries, voted him winner of the 'Great People of Reading' poll.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Simonds, Raymond (2004). George Blackall Simonds. Royal Berkshire History. Nash Ford Publishing. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
- ^ "Simonds Brewery", BBC Berkshire. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
