Going to Calvary The Tinworth terracotta panel at Truro Cathedral
This article is No 8 in the series of Truro Cathedral monographs.
Abstract
One of the treasures of Truro Cathedral is a large terracotta panel “Our Lord on His Way to Crucifixion” made by George Tinworth, master craftsman and chief designer at the Doulton company. It is one of only three surviving examples of his large-scale religious works and the only one still on public view.
We explore its history and attempt to assess its importance as a work of art and an illustration of devotional intent, and also try to trace how it has ended up in Truro Cathedral. We also seek to reappraise Tinworth and his religious art in the context of 21st century theology and aesthetics.
Biographical background
One of Truro Cathedral’s best-loved artworks is in a glass case in the north quire aisle. It is a large terracotta scene from the Gospels, teeming with action and characters in astonishing detail and realism. The story behind its creator, George Tinworth –, is one of rags to riches. Tinworth’s father was in business as a greengrocer. He became an alcoholic and went bankrupt, but later recovered and started up as a wheelwright. His son George showed artistic talent from an early age. He left school at 12 years of age to enter his father's wheelwright business. He used to carve wood when his father was out and he attended night school for art classes at the cost of his total pocket money, one shilling a week. George studied sculpture at the Lambeth School of Art, before going on to earn a place at the Royal Academy of Art. In , on completion of his studies, he joined Doulton Potteries of Lambeth,1 who were then manufacturing household porcelain. As the firm expanded to producing artistic designs, he rose rapidly to become their chief designer.
Artistic context
George Tinworth’s designs fall into three categories: small-scale decorative work, monuments and large-scale exhibition pieces, and, the subject of this article, large religious terracotta panels.2 By the 1870s, Tinworth was creating major works of art for the international exhibitions of the period, including the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. In he exhibited a series of small terracotta panels depicting religious scenes, which were praised by the critic John Ruskin in his ‘Academy Notes’. Ruskin’s praise and the support of the architect George Edmund Street resulted in the commission for the Crucifixion reredos at York Minster.
This reredos (–) for the High Altar showed all Tinworth’s qualities of ‘dramatic high-relief panels with numerous figures on a small scale.’3 Unlike the customary depiction of the Crucifixion the reredos concentrates on the preparation for the Crucifixion. Christ on his cross is already placed in position, whilst the unrepentant thief’s cross is only half erected, and that of the repentant thief is not included at all. The main dramatic emphasis is therefore on the work of the Roman soldiers, fulfilling the details recorded in the Gospel narrative. Unlike the later terracotta panels, the York reredos was later painted and gilded. The panel was installed in but was moved to St Stephen’s chapel in . Sadly, it is not now on public view.
The York reredos was the forerunner of two largescale terracotta panels, one of which was eventually to be placed in Truro Cathedral and its companion piece in the Victoria & Albert Museum.
The V&A panel showed the ‘Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem’ of and was exhibited in . Its dimensions are almost identical to the Truro panel (305 cm wide × 101.5 cm high). It was given by Messrs Doulton & Co Ltd in and originally assigned to the Bethnal Green Museum.4 Like the York reredos it is not now on public view. As with the Truro panel it is teeming with detail, described in a contemporary catalogue entry:
Jesus was shown seated on an unbridled ass’s colt, preceded by the mother ass which is led by an attendant. Among many other figures depicted were the Virgin Mary, Lazarus, Judas, Roman soldiers and a child holding a garland. A negro [sic], a Syrian and a Persian illustrate the inscribed text (one of several),Behold the world is gone after him.Tinworth introduces [into the scene] a thief, trying to steal a spectator’s purse, Judas already receiving the thirty pieces of silver for his betrayal of Jesus, and a disapproving father trying to take away from his son the palm branch he is carrying. A hen and chickens in the foreground is [sic] to remind one of Jesus’ address to the city of Jerusalem ( ).5
Truro Cathedral panel
The Truro panel is in the first bay of the north quire aisle. ‘Our Lord on His Way to Crucifixion’ (Via Crucis) was made in and exhibited at the Royal Academy in the following year. The plaque beneath the panel in the north quire aisle at Truro cathedral states
To the Glory of God.
From F. Walters Bond, D.L., J.P.,
High Sheriff of Berkshre,
–,
a native of Cornwall,
as a thank-offering for the safe
return of two sons from the war
in South Africa in .
The terracotta sculpture is enclosed behind glass in a teak display case supported by a plain granite base. The case was provided by Mr Parkin, builder, of Truro and the base by Messrs H Willcock.6
The composition
The panel has a strong compositional framework contrasting prominent horizontals of the cross and a half-hidden barricade holding back the crowd, and the verticals of the crosspiece of the cross and the palm trunks in low relief in the background. Against this lattice Tinworth sets a scene of over fifty individuals, made up of a combination of events from the Gospels narrative and the response of Tinworth’s artistic imagination. The palm leaves echo the profusion of palm leaves in the ‘Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem’ panel. From left to right, the scene has alternating moments of quiet contemplation, busy activity and violent action, giving the whole a dramatic variation.
Fine details
An analysis of the fine details shows Tinworth’s response both to the biblical text and his imaginative use of terracotta as an artistic medium.
- Pontius Pilate and his wife (often known as Claudia)
-
These two figures are shown as separate onlookers to the main scene, standing on the steps of the Governor’s palace and reflecting on the consequences of Pilate’s judgement
I … have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him
( ). Pilate’s wife certainly looks as if she has had a lot of disturbed sleep!When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him
( ). One can only speculate on the contemporary reaction to the uncanny resemblance between Pilate and the then Prince of Wales, and wonder what Tinworth’s intention was. - The release of Barabbas
-
There is no biblical reference to Barabbas’s release coinciding with the Via Crucis.
Then released he Barabbas unto them
( , also ). Surrounded by Roman soldiers and onlookers, Barabbas is shown shaking hands (very British!) with a friend/colleague/fellow insurrectionist10 who is standing behind the barrier. He is portrayed shading his eyes having been incarcerated in a dark cell for some time before release into the harsh Mediterranean midday sun. - A man of Cyrene, Simon by name
-
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross
( ).11 Tinworth shows two Roman soldiers carrying tools for the crucifixion (spade, hammer, and nails in his belt) dragging Simon of Cyrene out of the crowd by his ear! The detail exaggerates the rough-hewn nature of the cross.After these two scenes of busy activity, the central section of the panel is dominated by the figure of Christ talking to some of the crowd.
- Christ addressing some women in the crowd
-
And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children
( ). The board showing ‘King of the Jews’ in three languages is at his feet as a presentiment of the coming Crucifixion. This is the least effective section of the panel because Christ’s figure wearing a robe and crown of thorns is hidden by the shaft in the centre of the bay.The controversy over the panel’s placement in the cathedral is considered below. Tinworth’s intention in this section of the scene was to show Christ’s quiet dignity and the concern shown by the five women (and the young St John?) and to be a contrast to the busy scenes on either side.
- The fight
-
Immediately to the right a realistic fight has broken out between two of the crowd behind the barrier, with a Roman soldier replete with axe and sword, moving in swiftly to quell the disturbance. This episode is entirely the product of Tinworth’s artistic imagination.
- The two thieves
-
There is a biblical reference that two thieves were part of this scene,13 but the verbal interaction between them and Christ was later during the actual crucifixion.14 Two soldiers are guarding them and both thieves are shown manacled hand and feet. The unrepentant one is mouthing a tirade over his shoulder towards Christ, whilst the repentant one is being comforted by a woman.41
- The background
-
The most dramatic element in the background is the horse carrying a centurion to quell the fight.40 Incidentally, there appears to be a second fight taking place in the background behind the Christ group, but only the arms and a murderous knife are visible. The rearing horse is contrasted with a suitably aloof-looking camel with a tasselled bridle. In the crowd are priests, a black African, a young man in a tree (as in the ‘Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem’ companion panel), palm leaves and trees with birds.
One major feature throughout the panel is the reminder that Tinworth had undertaken a full academic training based on the study of the human form. Indeed, the sensual feeling of real flesh and muscle inside his clothed male figures (notably the Roman soldiers and the figure of Pontius Pilate) is a striking aspect.15 Another feature which is regularly commented on is that the soldiers’ faces are typical of the 1880s ‘Soldiers of the Queen’16 that Tinworth would have been familiar with in London processions. Such a contemporary reference might have been because so many British soldiers in were engaged as armies of occupation in politically dangerous parts of the Victorian British Empire.
Donor
The plaque beneath the panel gives the donor as Frank Walters Bond, D.L., J.P.,
a native of Cornwall
, and the reference to safe return of two sons from the war in
South Africa in
’ dates the donation.17
Mr Bond also paid for all other costs in fitting the panel, including a fee to the architect
Frank Loughborough Pearson.18
Frank Walters Bond was the High Sheriff of Berkshire in –.
He owned property in Hampton Wick in Middlesex, just across the river from Kingston-upon-Thames,
and also in Wargrave, near Twyford in Berkshire.19
It was at Wargrave that the negotiations with Silvanus Trevail to donate the
panel to Truro took place.
James Doulton, younger brother of Henry Doulton, lived at Wraysbury, near Windsor in Berkshire, to which
George Tinworth was a regular visitor.
Mrs Tinworth records after the exhibition that
The unexpected success of a large panel which was sold for 500 guineas in
.
20
but does not name Mr Bond as the purchaser. Such sales were rare as
these speculative large religious panels were produced at a loss or not even sold.21.
Tinworth’s studio at Doulton cost the company over £1000 annually.22
Position
The positioning of the panel behind a shaft that blocks the figure of Christ has been a source of controversy since . This was the period of the second tranche of the building of Truro cathedral, when the central tower and nave were added to the earlier quire and transepts which had been completed in . The donation of the panel took place when major building was in progress.
Several discussions took place in – on the positioning of the panel. The following are taken from the minutes of the Cathedral Local Building subcommittee. –23
Meeting | Frank Loughborough Pearson’s advice was to place it on north wall of NW tower rather than site previously suggested (nave wall of the last bay but one of the nave), avoiding very undesirable interference of a window shaft. |
Meeting | Fixing costs £110 and time of six weeks. |
Meeting | Deferred until after opening of the Nave, and Chancellor to consult with Mr Trevail.24 |
Meeting | Bond agrees to the removal of the panel and fixing it in the NW tower. |
Meeting | Agreed to revert to Frank Loughborough Pearson’s suggested position of western recess of North Choir aisle. |
Meeting | Inspected the position of the panel in North Choir aisle and on the whole it did not seem desirable to interfere with the shaft of the window arch. |
So, why was there a change of mind and why was the shaft’s position in the centre of the panel not regarded as a problem? One explanation could be that between and the impressive Boer War memorial had been placed in the area beneath the Southwest tower at the west end of the south aisle. There was of course no narthex or the chapels of Jesus and Unity and Peace in those early days, so anyone leaving or entering the new main west doors would have been faced with on one side a memorial to the 300 Cornish dead of that war, whilst on the other side was a memorial to the safe return of two sons.
The inscriptions and Tinworth’s intentions
Ownership inscriptions and rebus
Between the soldiers who are standing in front of the fight there is a large pot (what else?) on the ground with the letters GT inscribed, a rebus or maker’s mark that Tinworth had used since the early 1870s.25
To the left on the step below Pilate is the inscription scratched into sculpture
DOULTON & CO LAMBETH
, and to the right between the soldier’s feet
G. TINWORTH
. It is perhaps significant that the manufacturer’s name and that of its chief designer are of equal size.
Biblical inscriptions
Tinworth’s large-scale religious panels have many artistic qualities, reflecting the prevailing popular taste for the artistic representation of religious subjects in the 1880s. Although the panel was designed some years before Truro’s fittings, there are significant parallels between the Tinworth’s terracotta panel and the panels in the High altar reredos by Nathaniel Hitch,26 both designed in the same decade with same realistic representations but in a different artistic medium. In this respect, Tinworth’s panel is in the same artistic tradition of realistic representation as Hitch’s stone statues, Clayton & Bell’s stained glass windows or Pinwill’s later wooden carvings as part of Truro cathedral’s artistic heritage from its earliest decades.
Or have we missed a deeper aspect of Tinworth’s intention? Most of Tinworth’s large religious panels had inscriptions inserted in various parts of the design, and the Truro panel is no exception. There are various biblical inscriptions, and many casual viewers think these are the events portrayed. Indeed, along the panel’s base the relevant verse of the 23rd chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke refer directly to the precise event portrayed. However, as is the case with Tinworth’s other later large religious panels, some do not.
On the extreme left there is the remnant of an inscription NS HA 22 VER
. It looks as if the rest of this
inscription was unfortunately removed when the panel was put into the glass case for Truro.
It seems likely that the reference was to Paul’s epistle to the
Colossians ( ),
Yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.
On the barrier there are two inscriptions. ACTS 4 CHA 28 VER
( )
…Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
Preceded by quote from
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed
and 12 CHA OF JOHN 24 VER
( )
I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
On the cross is inscribed
AS THY DAYS SO SHALL/ THY STRENGTH/ BE
( ).
These quotations are the first instances of Tinworth’s didactic intent in relentlessly hammering home his own fundamentalist Christian beliefs and ideals which were to become an essential part of the composition of all the later largescale religious panels.27 They are a key to both Tinworth’s character and his religious art. He believed every word in the Bible not only represented an eternal truth but also carried the power to forecast or prefigure events. In many ways this was the same reasoning behind Bishop Benson and Canon Mason’s typological master scheme for Truro’s stained glass windows28 and Nathaniel Hitch’s design for Truro’s High Altar.29
Conclusion—a reappraisal of George Tinworth
Tinworth would have wanted these large religious panoramas of teeming humanity to be the basis of any judgement on his artistic status. Many contemporary critics dismissed the panels as mere decorative art, and their popularity with the general public30 worked against an objective assessment of their artistic merit. Like so much Victorian art, when their popularity waned in the following century so did the reputation of the artist. Tinworth was a master craftsman who aspired to be a true artist in the traditional sense.31 Spielmann’s assessment of the large panels sums up this attitude well:
The popularity of these is out of all proportion to their sculptural merits; yet it cannot be denied that in the spirit that inspires them, and in the deep religious sentiment with which they overflow, there is ample justification for the public favour. Not for their art’s sake, but for the vivid drama and intense passion with which the subjects are presented, they go straight to the heart of the devout or the unsophisticated spectator.32
A contemporary observer of Tinworth and his working practices at the height of his fame showed a clear perception of the particular qualities Tinworth brought to his portrayals of biblical scenes:
Not only is there nothing conventional about him—neither classic nor Italian; but he brings with him a South London workman’s ideas of real life, of human figures, sturdy and sometimes rather stunted (he models from the life), of lively street scenes with byplay among the gamins, such as may be seen in the Lambeth street named after him. … It is the Bible as the lower middle-class Evangelicals see it. … He is a Puritan.33
In the 21st century we are now less concerned about the distinction between Fine Art and the Decorative Arts and can see Tinworth’s achievements in a 33wider context. He was a master craftsman, unpretentious but consummate, standing out in an age which saw brilliant innovation, with the sturdy quality of his solid and enduring craftsmanship.34
Acknowledgements
This monograph was inspired by an article in ‘Truro Voice’ by Judith Field, and we are grateful to her for her help and research. Michael Tedder, Charles Butchart, Mark Evans and Mary Prior have also provided invaluable comments and suggestions. The authors would however emphasise that all opinions in this monograph are their own.
References
- Doulton Potteries became Royal Doulton in .
-
Tinworth’s major large-scale religious panels are listed below with their date, location, subject and dimensions (cm):
York Minster reredos The Crucifixion 287 × 152.5 Truro Cathedral Our Lord on his way to Crucifixion 305 × 122 V&A Museum, London Triumphant entry into Jerusalem 305 × 101.5 Preparing for the Crucifixion 366 × 157.5 Release of Barabbas 366 × 173 Holy Women at the sepulchre 244 × 76 The Prodigal Son 304.8 × 101.6 Christ before Herod 701 × 274 Building of Noah’s Ark The Entry of the Apostle Paul into Rome 284.5 × 91.5 Christ appearing to the disciples after the Resurrection 304.8 × 183 - Spielmann, MH. British Sculpture and Sculptors of To-day, p 23. Cassell and Company, Ltd. London, . Cook, ET; Wedderburn, Alexander (eds) The Works of John Ruskin, Vol , Academy Notes, p 270. George Allen, London .
- Victoria & Albert Museum catalogue entry 0312617.
- Rose, op cit, p 166.
- From Truro Cathedral inventory.
-
And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection
( ). -
And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross
( , also ).
-
And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death
( ). -
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us
( ). - Rose, op cit, p 57–8.
- ‘The soldiers of our Queen’ from Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience, , and ‘Soldiers of the Queen’, popular song, .
- . Minutes of the Truro Cathedral Local Building subcommittee –.
- Truro Cathedral Inventory gives the cost of the terracotta as £16.0s.0d. with the granite base costing £12.14s.8d. Also given cost of case and metal inscription. teak display case £15.17s.9d. The architect Frank Loughbrough Pearson also received a fee of £8.8s.0d. All costs were defrayed by the donor.
- Rose, op cit, p 165. Kelly’s Directory of Berkshire, p 215. lists Frank Walters Bond living at Wargrave Hill, Berkshire. Bond’s obituary in states he had lived at Wargrave, firstly at Wargrave Hill and then at Wargrave Court, for 32 years, i.e., since about . A history of Hampton Wick shows Bond occupying Parkfield between the late 1870s and about . The London Gazette of , p 1529 announcing his appointment as Sheriff of Berkshire gives his address as Parkfield, Hampton Wick.
- Quote from Mrs Tinworth’s diary in Rose, op cit, p 36.
- Rose, op cit, p 46.
- Rose, op cit, p 35.
- . Minutes of the Truro Cathedral Local Building subcommittee –.
-
The prominent Cornish architect Silvanus Trevail, JP, FRIBA,
who was President of the Society of Architects .
Donation of the panel by Frank Walters Bond to Truro Cathedral at the suggestion of Trevail,
who conducted the
negotiations.
, . Stored temporarily in crypt, . - Rose, op cit, p 189.
- Canon PR Gay. Truro Cathedral Reredos—a Theological Approach. Truro Cathedral occasional monograph No 2, .
- Rose, op cit, p 60.
- Swift, MG. The windows of Truro Cathedral: A Victorian vision fulfilled
- Gay, op. cit.
- Not just only the general public. The sponsorship of Tinworth panels in the new Anglican church in Stockholm in by the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra showed the extent of his popularity.
- Rose, op cit, p 11.
- Spielmann, op. cit., p 23.
- Welsh, the Revd RE. George Tinworth at work. The Young Woman, No 36, , p 402.
- Rose, op cit, p 60.
-
Gosse, Edmund W. A Critical Essay on the Life and Works of George Tinworth.
London, . The Fine Art Society Ltd.
States on p 73 that ‘Going to Calvary’ was
Purchased by Frank Walters Bond, Esq., after being exhibited at Royal Academy,
. Rose, op cit, p 165, states thatMr. Bond bought the Panel after the Royal Academy Exhibition in for 500 guineas.
- Goodby, Miranda F. George Tinworth: an Artist in Terracotta. Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society Church Ceramics Conference , p 17
- Welsh, the Revd RE. The Bible in Terra Cotta. The Sunday Magazine -02 pp 92–99.
- Chapter, JF. An Evangelist in Clay: the Life and Work of George Tinworth. The Puritan, an Illustrated Magazine for Free Churchmen. Vol 33 and The Sunday Magazine38. No. 7, , p 526. London, Andrew Melrose. Confirms that ‘Going to Calvary’ (which took him only four months to make, although large panels usually took him about nine months) was bought at the private view of the Academy for five hundred guineas. The story of Edward Benson and George Tinworth told here is reproduced almost verbatim in , and was also told by Welsh in The Young Woman
- Gosse, op. cit.,
describes the centurion as
leaning forward over his horse's head in order to ascertain the cause of the disturbance.
Rose, op cit, p 165, describes the centurion similarly. - Gosse, op. cit., p 72, describes the penitent thief as taking leave of his wife or mother, and Rose, op cit, p 165, describes the scene similarly.