Charles Mawer (1839–1903) (fl. 1860–1881) was an architectural sculptor, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. He was the son of sculptors Robert and Catherine Mawer and the cousin of William Ingle. He was apprenticed to his father, and worked within the partnership Mawer and Ingle alongside his cousin William and his own mother between 1860 and 1871, and then ran the stone yard himself until he formed a partnership with his fellow-apprentice Benjamin Payler in 1881. Following that date, his whereabouts and death are unknown. His last major work for Mawer and Ingle was Trent Bridge, where he carved alone, following the death of William Ingle. He is noted for his work on the rebuilding of the mediaeval Church of St Michael and All Angels, Barton-le-Street, completed in 1871, where he repaired and recreated damaged and missing Romanesque carvings, and for his carving on William Swinden Barber's 1875 Church of St Matthew, Lightcliffe. Charles' last known work ornaments another Barber church: the 1880 Church of St Thomas the Apostle, Killinghall. Charles was a member of the Mawer Group of Leeds architectural sculptors, which included those mentioned above, plus Matthew Taylor.
Background
Charles Mawer, son of Robert Mawer and Catherine Scriven, was born in Leeds around 1839. According to the 1841 census, by age two years he was living in New Huddersfield, Leeds,This was a small area between Holborn Terrace and Shay Street, in part of the area now known as Woodhouse Carr, in Woodhouse, Leeds. It was just north-east of St Mark's Church, in whose churchyard the Mawer Memorial now stands. See old OS map: National Library of Scotland: Yorkshire CCIII.13 (Leeds) surveyed 1888-1890 with his parents and his maternal grandmother Elizabeth Scriven.United Kingdom census, 1841 HO 107/1348/6 schedule 49, p.16. The surname is incorrectly transcribed as "Bower" in most indexes In the 1851 Census, Charles is described as a scholar of twelve years old and living with his parents at 6 Oxford Place, Leeds.United Kingdom census, 1851: HO107/2321/124 p22: Oxford Place, Leeds No evidence has been found that he married. His name does not appear in the Leeds Electoral Roll from 1882.Borough of Leeds (Electoral Roll) ward lists 1882: no mention of Charles MawerKelly's Leeds Directory of 1886 part I p.72 shows Benjamin Payler, sculptor, on his own at 50a George's St (now Great George St)
Charles died of apoplexy on 8 December 1903 in the infirmary of the Union Workhouse, Skipton. He had lately been a monumental mason at Barnoldswick, and his age was incorrectly given as 70 years. His age was around 64 years. (Index: Deaths Dec 1903 Mawer Charles 70 Skipton 9a 37.) The certificate says: "Eighth December 1903 The Infirmary Union Workhouse Skipton. Charles Mawer 70 years. Monumental mason of Barnoldswick. Apoplexy certified by E. Hugh Kitchin MD. Informant, A. Fearnley master, Union Workshouse, Skipton. Registered 10th December 1903."
Career By 1861 he was a stone carver aged 22, living with his widowed mother at 7 Oxford Place, Leeds.United Kingdom Census 1861: Class: RG9; Piece: 3392; Folio: 119; Page: 16; GSU roll: 543124 By 1871 they had moved to 9a Oxford Place and Charles was describing himself as a stone carver and mason.United Kingdom Census 1871: Class: RG10; Piece: 4565; Folio: 100; Page: 37; GSU roll: 847142 He was a partner in Catherine Mawer & Son, and was active as a sculptor between at least 1861 and 1882.Charles Mawer, Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 accessed 21 Oct 2016Kelly's Directory of Leeds and Neighbourhood, 1881, p. 429 Charles was also a landlord in 1877-1881, renting out offices in the Britannia Buildings in Oxford Place, Leeds.Leeds Mercury, Tuesday 6 March 1877 p3 col5: Advertisement: "Britannian Buildings"Leeds Mercury, Thursday 12 June 1879 p1 "Britannian Buildings"Leeds Mercury, Saturday 3 July 1880 p9 col5: "Britannia Buildings"White's Clothing District Directory, 1881, p.942: at 50 George's Street (now Great George St) as stone carver, and at Britannia Buildings Oxford Place, as landlord By 1882,Benjamin Payler had joined him at 50a George's Street (now Great George Street), and they are described as sculptors in Leeds Directory (Post Office) in that year.Leeds Directory 1882 part I p213Leeds Directory (Post Office) 1882–1883 part I p212: Mawer & Payler sculptors, at George's St (now Great George St) In the 1881 census he is 44 years old and still unmarried, described as a sculptor employing nine men and one boy. He is living alone at house no.17 in Aldborough, North Yorkshire, now part of Boroughbridge, two doors away from the Aldeburgh Arms (now Penrose House).United Kingdom census, 1881 ref.RG11/4321 p.4The location of Penrose House, formerly Aldeburgh Arms, is confirmed by English Heritage in the building's grade II listing 1174022 here He remained there until at least 1884.Electoral roll 1882, Boroughbridge polling district, no.51 Aldborough, p.127: "Land as rated occupier." Electoral roll 1884, Boroughbridge polling district, no.51 Aldborough p.125: "Land as rated occupier."
Works for Mawer and Ingle
The company Mawer & Ingle was started in 1860 when Charles came of age at 21 years and completed his apprenticeship. William Ingle died in 1870 when Catherine was aged 67 years; thereafter Charles Mawer was probably carving alone when the work involved travelling, after 1870.
Former Barnsley Cemetery chapels, lodges and gateway, 1860–1861 Warehouses, Bradford, 1862 Church of St Mary, Aldborough, North Yorkshire, Boroughbridge, 1861 Former St Bartholomew's, Armley, Leeds, 1861 Church of St Ricarius, Aberford, 1862 Former St Matthews, Chapel Allerton, 1861-1863 Reredos at Christ Church, High Harrogate, 1861–1862 Albert Memorial, Queensbury, 1863 Church of St Peter, Bramley, 1861-1863 Hepper & Sons auctioneers sales rooms and offices, East Parade, Leeds 1863 Warehouses, 30 Park Place, Leeds, 1865 Endcliffe Hall, Sheffield, 1863–1865 Former St John the Evangelist, Wortley, Leeds, 1864–1865 Former Holy Trinity, Louth 1866 Memorial tablet at Holy Trinity, Low Moor, Bradford, 1866 Wool Exchange, Bradford, 1864-1867 Statues of Sweep and Shoeblack, originally in Peel Park, Bradford, 1867 Former Church of St Peter, Dewsbury Road, Hunslet Moor, 1866-1868 Commercial Bank, Bradford, 1867-1868 Former Church of St Clement, Chapeltown Road, Leeds, 1867–1868 St John the Evangelist, Lepton, 1866–1868 Former Unitarian Chapel, Chapel Lane, Bradford, 1869 Scottish Widows insurance building, Park Row, Leeds, 1869 United Free Methodists day and infant schools, Farsley, 1869 Christ Church, Windhill, Shipley, 1868–1869 Former Church of St Silas, Hunslet, 1868–1869 Church of St John the Evangelist, Dewsbury, 1869 Former Church of All Saints, Woodlesford, 1869-1870 Trent Bridge, 1868-1871 Former Congregational Church, Lightcliffe, 1870-1871
Independent works by Charles Mawer St Michael and All Angels, Barton-le-Street, 1869-1871
St Michael & All Angels' church, Barton-le-Street, Ryedale, North Yorkshire, first constructed in the 1160s, is a Grade I listed building. Its mediaeval carvings "suggest that masons and stone-carvers who had worked on the cathedrals at York or Durham may have been employed here. Their work shows influence from Western France and Lombardy in the great Norman tradition of stone-carving." It was rebuilt with "stone from the Whitby and Appleton quarries" The "Victorian decorative detail and sculpture [is] generally in Birdsall sandstone; medieval sculptural decoration [is] in Hildenley limestone."Street Parish Churches, Rydale, David C. Smith, PhD thesis 2014
It was constructed between 1869 and 1871 in collaboration with architect William Perkin (1808-1874),Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Perkin & Son and reopened quietly on Sunday 18 June 1871.
The building incorporates almost 300 pieces of 12th century sculpture. "Care was taken to reuse and preserve as much of the original sculptural decoration as possible, generally with original sculpture reused internally with new sculpture employed externally." There are fifteen carved panels around the doorjambs of the south porch; five of these are mediaeval; the rest are "high quality Victorian reproductions" by Mawer. Regarding the inner porch doorway: seven of the doorjamb stones are mediaeval, and five are by Mawer. The chancel arch, in imitation of an original voussoir found in a wall, is by Mawer. Of the eight capitals supporting the arch, six are original and two are "high quality" works by Mawer. Charles "executed fine neo-Romanesque carving" to replace or repair stones in the restoration of this building.York Herald North Yorkshire, England 24 Jun 1871 p9 col2: "Church restoration at Barton-le-Street" "The font at the west end is of Caen stone, on alabaster shafts and capitals. It is the work of Mr C. Mawer, of Leeds,"Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer West Yorkshire, England Monday 19 Jun 1871 p3 col2: "Ecclesiastical news: Barton-le-Street" and carved "in a rather elaborate Norman style."The Street parishes, diocese of York: Barton-le-Street
Inside the church: "with some elements, such as the continuous running scroll frieze forming a high dado, it is difficult to separate the original C12 work from Victorian repair." "It is worth comparing the originals with the elaborate and finely-carved modern corbels on the outside of the church which also have all the whimsy and some of the subject matter of Norman corbels."Great English churches: Barton-le-Street St Michael's was primarily listed for its 12th century carvings, but with respect to the Victorian craftsmanship: "particularly for the high quality C12 style stone sculpture by Charles Mawer."
Former Archibald Ramsden premises, 12 Park Row, 1872
The former Archibald Ramsden premises at 12 Park Row, Leeds, was designed by George Corson for the music publisher, and opened for business on Tuesday 26 March 1872. Ramsden's was on the east side of Park Row, next to the former Royal Insurance offices which was on its south side, and backing on to Basinghall Street. It stood just north of the site of the present modern Natwest bank, which is on the corner of Park Row and Bond Street. In 1872, the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer refers to the carving on the frontage: The ground floor "is flanked on each side by a stone pier, formed into three shafts, with moulded bases and carved caps. The piers are carried on above these, corbelling out to form the ends of balcony. Each of these has the figure of an angel projecting boldly from the pier, one holding a harp, and the other an organ ... the first floor has a range of six windows coupled, with polished granite pillar dividing them, and deeply moulded circular arches and carved hood moulds. The pillars and jambs have moulded bases and carved caps ... [On the second floor] the centre window has a stone balcony, projecting on corbels, and with pierced panels and carved dados ... The carving throughout has been done by Mr. Mawer, of Great George Street.Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Saturday 30 March 1872 p4 col5: "Mr A. Ramsden's new premises" (Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 10 March 1872)
Edward Archibald Ramsden's Park Row shop was passed to his son Archibald, and the firm continued into the 1950s.The Thorsby Society: They lived in Leeds. (Edward) Archibald Ramsden (1835-1916) Musical entrepreneur The building was demolished before 1960.See Leodis: Park Row, east side, 1960. A new white building is on the site of Ramsden's
Former Kirkgate Market, Bradford, 1872