Thomas Frederick Worrall (1872–1957) was a Staffordshire-born manual worker and watercolourist. He lived for a time in Lancashire and in the upper Calder Valley area of Yorkshire but spent most of his adult life in Barry, in South Wales, where he was also deeply involved in politics and stood for parliament in the general election of 1923 representing the Labour Party. He was the elder brother of the pottery and fabric designer William Worrall.

Early life Worrall was born in Wednesbury, the son of Thomas Worrall, a blacksmith.England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915 Thomas Frederick was the eldest of three boys but had two step sisters and a step brother.1881 England census: Staffordshire, Darlaston, District 2: piece 2871, folio 28 The family lived in the Woods Bank area of Darlaston which was heavily industrialized, with foundries, mines and metal works. They lived on the side of a tramway that connected various metal-working plants, and this tramway formed the site of what is now Moxley Road. By the early 1890s the whole family had moved to the village of Church in the county of Lancashire, where the elder siblings were involved in local industries. Worrall senior, however, worked for a time as a blacksmith in Cheshire so was living away from the family.1891 England censuses: Church, Lancashire: piece 3409, folio 86; Cheadle, Cheshire: piece 2801, folio 61 Although the centre of Church was heavily built up, with close-packed, terraced housing and many mills, foundries and chemical works, the Worralls lived in Dill Hall Lane which was surrounded by fields and pleasant views of countryside. There was a vista from their house across the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to Dunkenhalgh Park. Thomas Frederick married Martha Green in the spring of 1899 and their first-born was Robert, born in 1900.England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837–1915 Martha's family had built the Albion Mill, which became known locally as Green's Mill,See description of their family get together in Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 17 July 1936, pg. 7

It was while a young man in the north of England that Worrall's artistic leanings emerged. He attended art lessons in Manchester and created a series of watercolours of local scenes including Priestly Clough and Fern Gore, both in nearby Accrington, and Stoodley Pike in Yorkshire (see list of works, below). There is a photograph of him aged about 20 years in Haslingden public library, labelled Tom Worrall, artist. Not all of his pieces are signed, but when he did so he generally used the signature T. Worrall or sometimes the initials "TW". Artistic ability and an eye for colour was clearly a family trait as Worrall's brother William became a cotton print designer, and his youngest brother, Simeon, a painter and decorator.Worrall entry in 1901 census for Church, Lancashire reference RG13/3917

By the time he was in his late twenties, T.F. Worrall was a working as a blacksmith in the neighbouring county of Yorkshire, at a quarry in Southowram. This was a much less industrialized part of the country, indeed the family's residence was “West Fields” adjacent to farmland. There were more children, with daughters Bertha and Mary born in 1902 and 1906 respectively.1901 England census, Southowram: piece 4118, folio 206 Worrall continued to work as a blacksmith, but was a journeyman, not a master.See details on birth certificate of Mary Worrall (born 21 September 1906).

Later life

The family moved again, this time to south Wales, where Thomas Frederick now began to work as a gas fitter. Their residence in 1911 was a terraced house, typical of the type found in the industrialized south Wales valleys but their village, Nelson, was semi-rural and surrounded by views of distant coasts and mountains. Once again, as in Darlaston, they lived alongside a tramway that now forms the base of a metalled road, namely Crescent Street. They named their terraced house Primrose Cottage, which still exists. Worrall had visited this part of the country in 1910 to address meetings of socialists, illustrating his interest in left-wing politics, supporting at that time the Independent Labour Party. He was a committed trade unionist and spoke out against a speaker at a political meeting who was trying to denigrate the miners' union and who was using antisemitic language.See 'Barry I.L.P.' in Barry Herald (3 June 1910), and "Wild disorder" in Aberdare Leader (25 June 1910) He attended the I.L.P. conferences in 1906 and 1907 and addressed the delegates.Reports of the Independent Labour Party Annual Conferences, 1906 and 1907, pp. 95 and 97 respectively The south Wales years were Worrall's most active as a painter and when the family moved to live in the small town of Barry, South Wales on the coast, his portfolio grew to include many observations of nearby maritime areas as well as further inland and further away. The Worrall residence in Cardiff Road, gave a view over Swanbridge Bay and Sully Island which inspired many depictions of that seascape.

Although it was work firstly as a time keeper then as a store man in the new cement plant to the west of the town that first occupied him,See occupational details in birth certificate of Bessie Worrall born 3 September 1913 Worrall returned to working with gas. He became an oxy-acetylene welder and lived in Barry until the end of his life, latterly in Hywel Crescent,See address and occupational information in footnote 9 and in England and Wales register (1939), ref RG101/7315l and painted numerous images of local scenes. His family expanded too, with daughters Bessie and Edith born in 1913 and 1916 respectively. He became increasingly politically active, was secretary of the Barry Labour Representative Committee,Barry Dock News, 14 July 1916, p.4 and tried to be selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Llandaff and Barry constituency in 1918.See 'Labour candidate for Llandaff and Barry division', Barry Dock News, 1 November 1918, p. 6. He was unsuccessful on that occasion but was selected and stood in the 1923 general election. He received nearly 8000 votes but came third behind the Unionist and Liberal contenders.D. Moore (ed.), Barry: The Centenary Book (Barry, 1985), p. 394. He attended the I.L.P. annual conference in 1925.Annual report of the Independent Labour Party, 1925, pg. 181

During this time Worrall made visits back to Lancashire and painted scenes including the war memorial in Great Harwood which had been unveiled in 1926. He and his wife and elder children attended Workers Educational Association courses in Oxford which gave him opportunities to sketch scenes of the waterways and colleges, and visits to his two brothers in London and Glastonbury provided further potential for artistic work.See William E Worrall's entry in England and Wales register (1930), Stone Down, Glastonbury After retirement from gas fitting, Worrall collected subscriptions for the Barry and District Co-operative and Industrial Society,See occupation information, England and Wales register (1939), ref RG101/7315l a group in which he was a committee member until 1948.Returns of Barry and District Co-operative and Industrial Society (1939–1948), National Library of Wales.

In 1938 he and his wife travelled to the United States where he created a collection of scenes including around Niagara, the Potomac, Blue Ridge Mountains and the Californian and New Mexico deserts.UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890–1960 [database on-line]; The National Archives at Washington, D.C: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1891–1943; Manifests of Alien Arrivals in the Seattle, Washington District; NAI: 2953576 Worrall also travelled to Greece and Italy, working as a stevedore to help fund the ventures,Interview with Worrall's grandson, William Morris Jones, National Library of Wales Sound Archive and some art from this period exists in private collections. By this time his creative work had moved away from mostly industrial and urban scenes to generally picturesque rural landscapes and included settings in the Lake District, Cornwall and Somerset. His depictions often included water, and he frequently used the technique of placing a house and/or tree in the foreground or middle distance. A good example of this is his painting of Stoodley Pike in Yorkshire, currently on display in Todmorden public library.

Worrall sometimes used family visits as opportunities for art work. For example, a family get together in Haslingden in 1936 was a chance to paint scenes of West Yorkshire;See details of family reunion reported in Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 17 July 1936 visits to his daughter, Edith, who obtained a teaching post in Clitheroe led to depictions of the countryside around the River Whalley; and his brother's death and burial in Keswick led to Lake District landscapes. A visit to his brother-in-law in Mt. Rainier, Maryland, gave rise to paintings of the River Potomac, which are now in Washington DC Public Library, Killingley library and Brunswick Heritage Museum in Washington D.C.

Worrall suffered from stomach cancer and died of heart failure in 1957 at home at 7 Hywel Drive, Barry. His daughter, Bertha was present and reported the death to the local registrar.Death certificate, GRO Reference: 1957 S Quarter in East Glamorgan Volume 08B Page 293 He is buried in Merthyr Dyfan cemetery in Barry. There is no headstone.

Works in public collections

Scenes of the Potomac and Washington – Washington DC Public Library, Special Collections. Scenes of the Potomac – Brunswick Heritage Museum, Maryland, US. River in Danielson, Connecticut – Killingly Public Library, Connecticut, US Goat Island, Niagara – Niagara Falls Library, Ontario, Canada Priestly Clough and Fern Gore – held at Accrington LibraryLancashire County Library- Deposit of Library Materials: Accrington Library 01/08/2018 . Stoodley Pike from Pecket Well – Todmorden LibraryTodmorden Library inventory of holdings (2019), Calderdale Council. Merthyr Dyfan Church – in possession of the Church in Wales View of the Atlantic from SS Laconia – Sayers Collection of Ocean Liner Ephemera, Bodleian Library, Oxford Tintern Abbey – Gwent ArchivesSee section 8 (Accessions 1 Dec 2018 to 28 Feb 2019 in Quarterly bulletin of Gwent Archives http://moderngov.torfaen.gov.uk/documents/s38096/Bulletin%20Mar%202019.pdf?LLL=0 Elterwater Tarn, and view of Derwentwater, Lake District – Bishop of Carlisle's office, Keswick Sketch book containing various scenes including Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Lancashire and Oxfordshire – Gwent Archives Llancaiach Fawr Manor – on display in the manor house in Nelson, South WalesLlancaiach Fawr Inventory: art work (2019) Mumbles Lighthouse – Oystermouth Library Fifteen views of south Wales including Cwm-yr-Eglwys, Merthyr Dyfan and Porthkerry Park – National Library of WalesPart of the Welsh Landscape Collection at the National Library of Wales

Gallery

References

External links Includes six of Worral's watercolours