Matthew Noble
Encyclopedia
Life
Noble was born in HacknessHackness
Hackness is a village and civil parish in the Scarboroughdistrict of the county of North Yorkshire, England.Hackness is mentioned as the site of a double monastery or nunnery by Bede, writing in the early 8th century. The church of Saint Mary has fragments of a high cross dating from the late 8th...
, near Scarborough, as the son of a stonemason, and served his apprenticeship under his father. He left Yorkshire for London when quite young, there he studied under John Francis
John Francis (sculptor)
-Life:He was born in Lincolnshire 3 September 1780, and was intended to go into farming. He settled in London from, where he became a pupil of Samuel Joseph and Francis Leggatt Chantrey. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1820 a bust of Thomas William Coke, and another of Captain Sir W....
(the father of Mary Thornycroft
Mary Thornycroft
Mary Thornycroft was a British sculptor and a member of the Thornycroft family.-Biography:The daughter of sculptor John Francis, she was born at Thornham, Norfolk...
, the sculptress). Exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
from 1845 until his death, Noble became recognised after winning the competition to construct the Wellington Monument in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1856.
Although prolific Noble was never in perfect health. He died at the age of 56 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
, London. His uncompleted works were finished by his assistant, J. Edwards.
Works
- figures of Robert PeelRobert PeelSir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
, 1851, and Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyEdward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyEdward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley...
, 1874, in Parliament SquareParliament SquareParliament Square is a square outside the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It features a large open green area in the middle, with a group of trees to its west. It contains statues of famous statesmen and is the scene of rallies and protests, as well as being a tourist...
, London - figure of Robert Peel, 1853, in the Concert Hall of St George's Hall, Liverpool
- the Wellington Monument in Manchester, with WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
and allegorical bronzes of War, Peace, Wisdom and Victory, 1856 - marble figure of Edmund Lyons, 1st Baron LyonsEdmund Lyons, 1st Baron LyonsAdmiral Edmund Lyons, 1st Baron Lyons, GCB, KCH was a British naval commander and diplomat who led a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, culminating with the Crimean War and his appointment as Commander of the Black Sea Fleet...
in St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, London, 1860 - the figure of Albert in his memorial at Albert Square, ManchesterAlbert Square, ManchesterAlbert Square is a public square in the centre of Manchester, England.It is dominated by its largest building, Manchester Town Hall , a Victorian Gothic building by Alfred Waterhouse...
, 1862-1867 - John Franklin in Waterloo Place, London, 1866
- figure of Peter FairbairnPeter FairbairnSir Peter Fairbairn was a Scottish engineer and inventor.-Early life:Peter Fairbairn was the youngest brother of Sir William Fairbairn, born at Kelso in Roxburghshire in September 1799. He had little education, and his father obtained a situation for him in 1811 in the Percy Main colliery at...
, Mayor of Leeds, in LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, 1868 - Sir James Ramsden, Barrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, 1872 - bust of Oliver CromwellOliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
at the Manchester Town HallManchester Town HallManchester Town Hall is a Victorian-era, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. The building functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments.... - James McGrigor in the small garden to the Royal Army Medical College, London
- 3 statues at the back of the Royal AcademyRoyal AcademyThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, London - Sir James Outram, 1st BaronetSir James Outram, 1st BaronetLieutenant General Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet GCB KSI was an English general who fought in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and is considered a British hero.-Early life:...
in Whitehall Gardens, London, 1871 - two recumbent effigies at York MinsterYork MinsterYork Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
, London