Robert Welch (silversmith)
Encyclopedia
Robert Radford Welch MBE
, RDI
(21 May 1929 – 15 March 2000) was an English
designer
and silversmith
. His style helped define British modernism
.
Welch was born in Hereford
and brought up in Malvern, Worcestershire
. He was educated at Hanley Castle Grammar School
and while at school he briefly played cricket for the Second XI of Worcestershire County Cricket Club
. He then served in the Royal Air Force
for his National Service.
He trained as a silversmith at Birmingham School of Art
, where he met and later married a fellow student, Patricia Hinksman. He then went on to study at the Royal College of Art
(RCA) in 1952. As a student, he made two extended visits to Scandinavia
, studying in Stockholm
and working with a Norwegian silversmith. Scandinavian modernism made a huge impression on Welch, giving him a love of functional precision and the clean line.
In his final year at RCA, Welch did some work for J&J Wiggin, a small family firm in Bloxwich
, north of Birmingham
. J&J Wiggin was the only British manufacturer of stainless steel
tableware
, marketing pieces under the brand Old Hall. In 1955, Welch was appointed Wiggin's design consultant, an association which lasted until the firm closed down in 1984.
In 1955 Welch set up a studio in Chipping Campden
, Gloucestershire
in a silk mill that had formerly been the home of Charles Robert Ashbee
's Guild and School of Handicraft.
In 1962 Welch designed the Alveston tableware range, named after his home village, near Stratford-upon-Avon. Composed of elegant curves and planes, it won the Design Council award in 1965.
Robert Welch Designs Ltd is know managed by Rupert and Alice Welch (son and daughter of Robert). Like his father before him, Rupert Welch is dedicated to the pursuit of design excellence. Every item, large or small, has been created by the Robert Welch Design Team in Chipping Campden
in the same building where Robert Welch started all those years ago.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, RDI
Royal Designers for Industry
Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for...
(21 May 1929 – 15 March 2000) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
and silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
. His style helped define British modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
.
Welch was born in Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and brought up in Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
. He was educated at Hanley Castle Grammar School
Hanley Castle High School
Hanley Castle High School, formerly called Hanley Castle Grammar School, was probably founded in 1326, making it one of the oldest schools in England. For much of the 20th century it was a boys grammar school that grew from about 50 to around 200 day-pupils and boarders. In 1972, the school...
and while at school he briefly played cricket for the Second XI of Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
. He then served in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
for his National Service.
He trained as a silversmith at Birmingham School of Art
Birmingham School of Art
The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...
, where he met and later married a fellow student, Patricia Hinksman. He then went on to study at the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
(RCA) in 1952. As a student, he made two extended visits to Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, studying in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and working with a Norwegian silversmith. Scandinavian modernism made a huge impression on Welch, giving him a love of functional precision and the clean line.
In his final year at RCA, Welch did some work for J&J Wiggin, a small family firm in Bloxwich
Bloxwich
Bloxwich is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England, with a population of around 40,000 people.-Early history:Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as the Anglo-Saxon period, when the place name evidence suggests it was a small Mercian settlement named after the...
, north of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. J&J Wiggin was the only British manufacturer of stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
tableware
Tableware
Tableware is the dishes or dishware , dinnerware , or china used for setting a table, serving food, and for dining. Tableware can be meant to include flatware and glassware...
, marketing pieces under the brand Old Hall. In 1955, Welch was appointed Wiggin's design consultant, an association which lasted until the firm closed down in 1984.
In 1955 Welch set up a studio in Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden is a small market town within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its elegant terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
in a silk mill that had formerly been the home of Charles Robert Ashbee
Charles Robert Ashbee
Charles Robert Ashbee was an English designer and entrepreneur who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement that took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the socialism of William Morris.-Early life:He was the son of businessman and erotic...
's Guild and School of Handicraft.
In 1962 Welch designed the Alveston tableware range, named after his home village, near Stratford-upon-Avon. Composed of elegant curves and planes, it won the Design Council award in 1965.
Robert Welch Designs Ltd is know managed by Rupert and Alice Welch (son and daughter of Robert). Like his father before him, Rupert Welch is dedicated to the pursuit of design excellence. Every item, large or small, has been created by the Robert Welch Design Team in Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden is a small market town within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its elegant terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century...
in the same building where Robert Welch started all those years ago.
External links
- Robert Welch Official website