Thames Ditton Foundry
The Thames Ditton Foundry was a foundry in Thames Ditton, Surrey, which operated from 1874 to 1939 and which under various owners produced numerous major statues and monuments as one of the United Kingdom's leading firms of bronze founders.[1]
Owners
Located in Summer Road in Thames Ditton, just outside the Greater London area, the Thames Ditton Foundry is believed to have been built on the site of an historic "melting house" beside the River Thames. Its owners were: Cox & Sons (1874–80), Drew & Co. (1880–82), Moore & Co. (1882–97), Hollinshead & Burton (1897–1902) and A. B. Burton (1902–39).[1]
Works by the foundry (1874–1903)
The foundry was established in Summer Road, Thames Ditton, in 1874 by Cox & Sons, a large firm of ecclesiastical furnishing suppliers, to cast ornaments and statues in bronze. A hand-operated gantry crane, which moved the entire foundry floor to facilitate all major lifting work, was an integral part of the building constructed for this work. When the factory was demolished in 1976 this crane was preserved by the Surrey Archaeological Society.
The foundry was a leader in its field and produced fine bronze statues which it exported worldwide, including
Other works by the foundry include
A. B. Burton
From 1902 to 1933 the Thames Ditton Foundry came under the sole ownership of Arthur Bryan Burton (1860 – 25 July 1933), the son of Eliza and Frederick Burton, a carpenter and joiner. Born in
Following the death of his partner Arthur John Hollinshead in 1902, Burton became the sole owner of the Thames Ditton Foundry. He served as a councillor on Surbiton Council and was a deacon of Surbiton Park Congregational Church, a Sunday school teacher and a benefactor of the Scout Movement. He was a Special Constable during World War I.[3][4][5][6] On his death in 1933 Burton was buried with his daughter Dolly and his wife Florence in Bonner Hill Cemetery. Above their grave, atop a granite plinth, is a statue in bronze of a winged angel with arms outstretched reaching up. This had been cast in Burton's own foundry.[7]
After Burton's death the business was continued under his name by his son-in-law, Louis Tricker. In 1939 at the start of World War II Tricker closed the foundry and sold the premises rather than see it used for manufacturing munitions. It was after used by London Metal Warehouses for making industrial castings and then by Metal Centres Ltd as a metal warehouse until 1971/2 when it was sold to the District Council. The foundry was demolished in 1976 and the crane removed for preservation by the Surrey Archaeological Society. Today Burton Court stands on the site.[3][4][8]
Works cast by A. B. Burton
Works from this period include
Bronzes cast for Bertram Mackennal include statues in England and Australia such as the memorial statue of Edward VII in Adelaide (1920), the equestrian memorial of Edward VII in Melbourne (1920), the recumbent tomb effigy of the Duke of Norfolk in Arundel Castle (1922), various figures for the Shakespeare Memorial in Sydney (1924). For Thomas Brock Burton cast, among other works, two subsidiary groups for the Victoria Memorial facing Buckingham Palace (1916). For Cecil Brown he cast the Imperial Camel Corps Memorial (1920–21) in the Victoria Embankment Gardens and for John Tweed his statue of Lord Kitchener (1926) on Horse Guards Parade. For Arthur George Walker and Peter Hills he cast the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in the Victoria Tower Gardens (1930), and for Alfred Gilbert the Queen Alexandra Memorial at Marlborough House (1930–1932).[3][4]
Bronzes cast by Thames Ditton Foundry
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Matthew Noble, Statue of the Earl of Derby, London (1874)
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Hamo Thornycroft, Statue of General Gordon, London (1891)
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Goscombe John, Statue of Charles Rolls, Monmouth (1911)
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Cecil Brown, Imperial Camel Corps Memorial, London (1921)
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John Tweed, Statue of Lord Kitchener, London (1926)
The Horse Memorial to the horses who died in the Boer Wars, is placed at the corner of Rink Street and Cape Road in Port Elizabeth South Africa.
References
- ^ a b c Thames Ditton Foundry – British bronze sculpture founders and plaster figure makers, 1800–1980 – National Portrait Gallery website
- ^ 'Arthur Bryan Burton', 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 Nov 2016
- ^ a b c d e Arthur Brian Burton (1860–1933) – British bronze sculpture founders and plaster figure makers, 1800–1980 – National Portrait Gallery website
- ^ a b c d e Biography of Arthur Bryan Burton on The Elmbridge Hundred website
- ^ Duncan S. James, The Statue Foundry at Thames Ditton, Foundry Trade Journal, vol. 133, no. 2909, 7 September 1972
- ^ A.B. Burton', 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 Nov 2016
- ^ Funerary Monument to the Burton Family in Bonner Hill Cemetery – National Recording Project website
- ^ A. B. Burton on the London Remembers website