English Leadwork

Lawrence Weaver began his working life at an architectural practice in Bristol as a sales representative selling a line of architectural fixtures and fittings. He moved on to become the London representative of a firm of ironfounders, Lockerbie and Wilkinson, who made cast-iron ware for the building trade. One of his first tasks was to revise and redesign their catalogue. Part of their trade was, naturally, rainwater goods; hopper heads, downpipes, bends and so on, plain and decorated. This appears to have stimulated his fascination for leadwork, and his sales rounds in early twentieth-century London must have given him a wonderful opportunity to see many at first hand. His interest expanded to encompass all forms of historical leadwork and he began to diligently track down and photograph examples, many of which were used to illustrate English Leadwork: Its Art and History.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. FONTS: Destroyed and Incorrectly Described Examples - Geographical Distribution - Classification by Design - Detailed Description of the Thirty Existing Ancient Fonts - Various Font-like Vessels. RAIN-WATER PIPEHEADS: Early Uses of Down-pipes - Hampton Court - Windsor Castle - Haddon Hall - Knole Park - Dome Alley, Winchester - Hatfield - Guildford - St John's, Oxford - The Character of the Early Work - The Overlapping of Styles - Bolton Hall - Stonyhurst and Bideford - Local Schools of Leadwork - Shrewsbury, Nottingham, and Aberdeen. CISTERNS: Possibilities of Decorative Treatment - The Great Tank at St Fagan's - Methods of Making - West Country and London Cisterns Compared - Detailed Descriptions of Examples Illustrated. MEDIA VAL LEADED SPIRES: The Character of Spires - Classification - "Collar" and "Broach" - Destroyed Cathedral Spires - Existing Leaded Spires - Scots Leadworkers - St Nicholas, Aberdeen - Old St Paul's - Chesterfield. LEADED STEEPLES OF THE RENAISSANCE: Wren's Steeples and the Sky-line of London - A Classification - Class (a), The Two True Spires - Class (b), The Spire-form Steeples - Some Destroyed Steeples - Scottish Examples - The Character of Wren's Work v LEADED DOMES, LANTERNS, AND WALLS - A LOST FOUNTAIN: Curves in Roof-lines, A Slow Development - The Use of Lanterns - Wren's Treatment of Domes and Lanterns - Class (c), Constructive Details of their Leadwork - Archer's Work - The National Gallery - Nonsuch and Cheapside - The Great Foundation of Windsor. LEAD PORTRAIT STATUES: Fairfax - Charles II - William III - Marlborough - Prince Eugene - Queen Charlotte - Sir John Cass - George I. LEAD FIGURES GENERALLY: The Cross of Cheapside - Neptune at Bristol - Karne - Melbourne, Derbyshire - Giovanni de Bologna - Harrowden Hall - Wrest Park - Wilton - Nun Monkton - Methods of Casting - Hampton Court - Syon - Castle Hill - Deceitful Figures - Forgers of "Antique" Leadwork - Studley Royal - The Water Note in Leadwork - Eighteenth-Century References to Statues - Hardwick Hall - Glemham Hall - Enfield Old Park - Norfolk Market Crosses -The London Apprentice. VASES AND FLOWER-POTS: Shenstone on Urns - Melbourne - Parham House - Hampton Court -Windsor - Wilton - Castle Hill. SEPULCHRAL LEADWORK: Romano-British Coffins and Ossuaries - Mediaval Coffins and Heart Cases - Absolution Crosses - Tomb Lettering. VARIOUS OBJECTS AND DECORATIVE APPLICATIONS OF LEAD: Roman Pigs and Pipes - Pilgrims' Signs - Papal Bulla - Ornaments on Woodwork - Charms - Tobacco Boxes - Ventilating Quarries. MODERN LEADWORK: Fonts - Rain-water Heads - Cisterns - The Larger Architectural Uses - Figures on Buildings and in Gardens - Fountains - Vases - Clock-faces - Sundials - Gasfitting - Inscription.