Lawrence Weaver

With a new introduction by Andrew Naylor

English Leadwork: Its Art and History is an impressive work of research and classification covering a big subject, church steeples to sculpture, hopper heads to garden urns. It was the first of Lawrence Weaver’s many books on architectural subjects, although various versions of sections of it had appeared beforehand as articles in a number of publications.

Lawrence Weaver was born and brought up in Bristol and began his working life at an architectural practice there, not, it seems, as a trainee architect but 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. At what point his interest in the earlier lead forms began is unclear, but this appears to have stimulated the fascination 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.

In 1905, when he was 29, he began to have articles on specific leadwork topics accepted for publication in leading journals such as, The Architectural Review, Art Workers Quarterly and The Burlington Magazine. That year also marked the beginning of his life-long association with Country Life. From then on his output was prolific, initially specialising in leadwork, but gradually extending his repertoire to cover all aspects of architecture. English Leadwork: Its Art and History was published in 1909, and in 1910 he was appointed Architectural Editor of Country Life. His writing on architecture is marked by a thorough, clear, concise and down-to-earth approach that reflects his practical background. He had a natural eye for design and promoted good design with the passion of a true devotee. He rapidly achieved the status of an authority on architecture and design – at one stage he was described in a review as: ‘the national professor of commonsense art’ – and had a positive and lasting influence on architectural scholarship in general.

English Leadwork: Its Art and History is one of those great and all encompassing reference books that mark the turn of that century, a part of, or influenced by, the Arts and Crafts Movement. It is an unashamedly proselytising work, Lawrence Weaver is definitely taking a salesman’s pitch for lead, but what makes the book so engaging is his genuine conviction, his vision of the potential of the material and the craft of working it. The enjoyment of quality, fitness of purpose and respect of the craft of the plumber permeates the entire book. The interest in the craft element in manufactured goods had been awakened by the Arts and Crafts Movement by the time the book was conceived. It represented not only a shift away from the repetitive nature of mass produced items, but a recognition that the quality of life of the mass production worker was devastating, that the creative input of the craftworker was of value and that the craftworker had the right to dignity and respect. This is a concern that apparently stayed with Lawrence Weaver throughout his life, as in both his professional and philanthropic work he demonstrates a regard for the welfare and well-being of the working classes. The influence of the Arts and Crafts Movement brought about a resurgence of interest in lead as a building material, because through the use of the plumber’s old craft skills, it could also be fashioned into practical but unique, modern, decorative elements.

English Leadwork: Its Art and History is a work of scholarship and classification but was clearly intended to be not only a source of reference and instruction, but to provide encouragement and inspiration. He says himself in his Preface that it is meant to be: ‘...a book of some practical use’ for, ‘... the architect, the sculptor, the garden designer, and the worker in lead’. There is nothing of significance in English Leadwork: Its Art and History about the mechanics of how the things discussed or shown were constructed or the techniques that were used – that, he makes clear in the introduction, he leaves to others, implying that there were plenty of books available on the subject at that time – this is purely a design reference book. It is a branch of architectural design that had been largely overlooked and English Leadwork: Its Art and History is the definitive work on the subject to this day.

Lawrence Weaver’s hopes that ornamental lead working might flourish were not ultimately realised – although there was a brief period during the early twentieth century that provided us with some charming, restrained examples. Economic changes, new materials, new technologies, developing architectural styles and even health and safety concerns have all had their effect, and demand for the skills of the lead worker has diminished. But his book though, is still relevant to ‘the architect, the sculptor, the garden designer, and the worker in lead’, and to that list I would add; the conservator and scholar. As a building material, lead is durable, attractive and lends itself to contemporary architectural forms. Fabricated sheet or cast lead is a wonderfully amenable material for the sculptor to work and the natural patina is compatible with foliage and hard landscaping alike. Today, the ‘worker in lead’ is more likely to be involved in some branch of conservation, either a skilled specialist in the construction industry, working on the conservation/restoration of buildings or on the conservation of sculpture and garden ornament.

For those of us working in the field of conservation and restoration, and for the scholar, the book is a wonderful resource. Consider what has happened since Lawrence Weaver and his friend, Benjamin Bedell, trekked all over Britain, making notes and taking photographs: there has been gradual, natural decay and collapse; steeples have leaked and been re-leaded; there have been fires and bombs; there has been theft, vandalism, ill considered restoration and the wholesale re-development of our cities. Many things have gone, many have been altered, but thanks to Lawrence Weaver, his methodical classification and recording, we have an excellent source of reference. Even if the steeple, hopper head, urn or other leadwork, that we are looking for is not actually illustrated, the chances are that one very similar will be.

The historian of sculpture will not find the text so reliable. More recent research has suggested that the information Lawrence Weaver had been given regarding the production of eighteenth-century lead sculpture was not based on a full understanding of the processes. New technology, a reconsideration of approaches to the conservation of eighteenth-century lead sculpture and the information this has helped to reveal suggest that the genre was held in higher regard than has been assumed to date. As a result its contribution to the development of sculpture in Britain is currently under revision. Despite these reservations, which Lawrence Weaver was not in a position to take into consideration, the work is still valid and inspirational.

Andrew Naylor

Andrew Naylor studied sculpture as a student at Leeds College of Art in the 1960s. After graduating he spent four years working in engineering, specifically to extend his metalworking technique, and two as a lecturer at Bradford College of Art before he became involved in conservation. At the time, there was a growing awareness of the need for considered conservation among those responsible for outdoor sculpture and the bulk of the work initially was for the National Trust, on their huge collection of eighteenth-century lead sculptures in the gardens of their many properties. Before he, in partnership with Janet, his wife, began to work on the conservation of metal sculpture, it had rarely been repaired by those trained as both sculptors and metalworkers, and they were at the forefront of a new approach to the conservation of outdoor sculpture.

He is now an independent consultant on sculpture and conservation and advocates an informed and considered approach to the care for existing sculpture and the commissioning of new works. He aspires to help to bring about an awareness of sculpture by the dissemination of the knowledge acquired over many years (and ongoing) experience and practical involvement in the making and the conservation of metal sculpture, through research – both practical and art historical, and his association with other sculptors and specialists in the field.