Bryant Olcher Fedden (17 July 1930 – 19 March 2004) was a self-taught letter-cutter, glass engraver and sculptor who developed his craft in a workshop environment with craftspeople whom he taught and supported. He was a member of the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen for more than forty years. He was a founder member of the Letter Exchange, a professional organisation promoting lettering in all its forms. Bryant Fedden has work in the Victoria and Albert Museum Collections.

Bryant Fedden went to Bryanston School and followed that with two years in National Service. He then went up to Clare College, Cambridge University where he read history. Bryant married Kate in 1955 and they then taught English in Pakistan. Fedden then taught history at Gordenstoun School in Scotland. They then made the decision to change careers and set up a letter cutting and sculpture workshop in Toddington, Gloucestershire. The workshop gained commissions including a memorial plaque for the Waller era architects for Gloucester Cathedral in 1961.

In 1966, Fedden moved his workshop to Winchcombe, Gloucestershire in part to be closer to Winchcombe Pottery and its manager, the potter Ray Finch. The number of people working at the workshop increased and included Kate Fedden who took on some of the commissioned glass engraving. Notable works by Bryant Fedden at this time included the gates and railings for Tewksbury Abbey, with Keith Jameson, in 1968; the Ivor Gurney Memorial Plaque in Gloucester Cathedral in 1976 and the memorial plaque to Sylvanus Lysons in Gloucester Cathedral in 1989.

Bryant Fedden later moved to Littledean in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire where he established a multifunctional workshop together with his wife Kate Fedden (glass engraving), his son Matthew Fedden (artist-blacksmith) and his son-in-law Paul Harper (furniture maker). Fedden's notable works from this time include a viewing platform plaque of a short poem by Robin Munro carved in stained oak for the National Garden Festival in Gateshead in 1990; the carved grave stone for his friend Li Yuan-Chia, the renowned Chinese artist, poet and curator in 1994 and the public art Memorial to Littledean Dairymen in Littledean, Gloucestershire in 2000.

In 2002, Gloucester Cathedral hosted an exhibition of works from Bryant Fedden's various workshops entitled "40 Years of Bryant Fedden Workshops: A Celebration".

Education

Bryant Fedden attended Bryanston School from 1944 to 1948 where he was taught by the sculptor and potter Donald Potter. In Fiona MacCarthy's The Guardian obituary for Potter, she included a description of Potter's experiments in earthenware:

"[Potter] had constructed the wood-fired kiln for earthenware himself, and there are many memories among ex-pupils of staying up for all-night firings, drinking beer and cider while Potter reminisced and quoted William Blake. Those pupils included the distinguished potters Richard Batterham and Mike Dodd, the artist Richard Bawden, the sculptor and lettercutter Bryant Fedden and the architects Richard Burton and Quinlan Terry."

From 1950 Fedden read history and English at Clare College, Cambridge University.

National Service

Bryant Fedden took part in National Service in Nigeria from 1948 to 1950 achieving the rank of 2nd Lieutenant on 24 September 1949.

Teaching experience Bryant Fedden married his wife Kate in March 1955. He and Kate then moved to Pakistan to teach English from 1955 to 1958.

He taught history at Gordenstoun School from 1958 to 1961.

In 1976, Fedden was invited to teach glass engraving for a year at Morely College, London.

Early works Bryant Fedden created work from his first year at Bryanston School. Lesley Greene describes Bryant Fedden's "Carved Bison", made at age 14, in her forward to the "40 Years of Bryant Fedden Workshops: A Celebration" exhibition catalogue: "the spirit of the 'bison-ness' of the creature is wonderful."

+Notable Early WorksYearLocationDescriptionMediumInscriptionMaker/s1944Private collectionCarved BisonStone carvedn/aBryant Fedden1954St. Peter's Church, East BridgfordMemorial stone for unknown Saxon who first preached on the site of the ChurchIn honour of the unknown who first preached Christ where now stands this church, the most ancient yet proven in this diocese.

The Bryant Fedden Workshops The following is an introduction to the various workshops that Bryant Fedden set up during his working life.

Toddington Workshop 1961–1966 Bryant Fedden set up his first workshop in a house in Toddington, Gloucestershire.

Workshop member Bryant Fedden

+Notable Works - ToddingtonYearLocationDescriptionMediumInscriptionMaker/s1961Gloucester Cathedral Memorial Plaque for The Waller Era as Cathedral Architects 1847 - 1960Slate carving"From 1847 - 1960 the fabric of this Cathedral Church received the skilled and devoted care of three members of one family of architects Frederick Sandham Waller Frederick William Waller Noel Huxley Waller whose son Major Anthony Durrant Waller was killed at Dunkirk / May 29th. 1940"Bryant FeddenSt. Michael's Church, Winson, near CirencesterMemorial to Walter Williams Field and Elizabeth Field"In memory of WALTER WILLIAMS FIELD for fifty years carpenter and wheelwright in the parish and devoted servant of this Church who died 4 i 1961 aged 79 & ELIZABETH his wife who was postmistress for thirty-five years who died 6 ii 1951 aged 70"1961-2Winchcombe"Isbourne Private Press" name plate"Isbourne Private Press"

Publications On 11 October 1966 the Birmingham Daily Post carried an article entitled "Display of craftsmanship" which featured an exhibition at the Department of Architecture and Planning Hall in Coventry. "Bryant Fedden of Toddington near Cheltenham" together with John Makepeace, Ann Sutton and others had been invited to take part by the Crafts Council of Great Britain and Coventry Corporation. An unnamed representative of the Crafts Council was quoted in the article: "Care was taken...to include only exhibits that demonstrated the relevance and value of craft techniques in an industrial society."

Tan Yard Bank Workshop – Winchcombe 1966 to 1990 In 1966 Bryant Fedden set up his second workshop at Tan Yard Bank in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.

Workshop members Bryant Fedden, Kate Fedden, Keith Jameson, Steve Marchant

The Bryant Fedden Slate In the summer of 1969, David Palmer, a counsellor at UCLA and his family were touring the Cotswolds in England when they were directed to Bryant Fedden's Tan Yard Bank workshop by an owner of one of his name plate works. David Palmer was given a tour of the workshop by Bryant Fedden. It was during this tour that David Palmer saw an alphabet slate and in his words "I fell in love with it". David Palmer could not afford to buy it but Bryant Fedden said that he could take it and perhaps find a buyer for it. David Palmer placed the slate in his touring van and then carried it onto the plane back to the USA. On arrival the slate was initially put on display at the UCLA Student Bookstore and then, after a period in storage, was moved to the School of Library Service at UCLA in the Powell Library basement. It was on display in the Horn Press Chappel a group developed to utilise letter presses as part of a "Typography and the Graphic Arts" course developed by Professor Andrew H. Horn. David Palmer published a small pamphlet cataloguing the journey of the slate from Winchcombe to UCLA entitled "The Bryant Fedden Slate: : Its Journey from Gloucestershire to the UCLA Library School" and used the Horn Press facilities to print it. In 1992 the School of Library Service now named Graduate School of Library and Information Science moved to a new smaller building and the Horn Press Chappel was disbanded and the slate was moved to the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. In 1994 the Graduate School of Library and Information Science was incorporated into the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS).

+Notable Works - Tan Yard BankYearLocationDescriptionMediumInscriptionMaker/s1967UnknownEngraved plate glass doorGlass engravingAbstract designBryant Fedden1968Tewkesbury AbbeyGates and railingsMetalworkn/aBryant Fedden and Keith Jameson 1969UCLA Student Union Book shop then Powell Library Horn Press Chappel then to UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies Lab and Library. Alphabet SampleSlate carvingOne Side: " A B C " Other Side: "a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 1 2 3 4 5 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z &"Bryant Fedden1970Jesus Chapel, Manchester CathedralLarge metal cross framework with tapestry between the frameMetalwork and textilesn/aGerald Carter, Bryant Fedden, Keith Jameson and Theo MoormanUnknownEngraved Dartington Glass plateGlass engraving"A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z" Bryant Fedden1974 Fish Hill near Broadway, GloucestershireTopograph Memorial commissioned by Sir Gordon Russell in memory of his brother Donald RussellCarved and engraved Welsh grey slate with an engraved stone base"THIS PICNIC AREA WAS LAID OUT BY THE WORCESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL IN MEMORY OF DONALD GEORGE SHELFORD RUSSELL OBE 1894 - 1970 OF BROADWAY A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL 1936 - 1969 ALDERMAN 1952 - 1970 AND CHAIRMAN OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE 1952 - 1965 * * * AND IN RECOGNITION OF HIS CONSTANT CARE FOR THE AMENITIES OF THE COUNTY * * * IT WAS OPENED BY HUGH M WATSON MTPI MICL MIMunE County Planning Officer 1946 - 1972 ON 30th MARCH 1974"Bryant Fedden and Keith Jameson1975Atlantic College, St. DonatsMemorial plaque to Kurt HahnSlate carving"KURT HAHN 1886 1974 His vision & energy were decisive in founding SALEM 1920 * GORDONSTOUN 1933 * OUTWARD BOUND 1941 * DUKE of EDINBURGH AWARD SCHEME 1956 * TREVELYAN SCHOLARSHIPS 1958 * MEDICAL COMMISSION FOR ACCIDENT PREVENTION 1964 * ATLANTIC COLLEGE 1962 * Two passions are not likely to die out in this world, love of country and love of liberty. They can be kept pure by one ideal which can tame but not cannot weaken them ~