William James Bloye 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...

 sculptor

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

, active in 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...

 either side of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

He studied, and later, taught at the 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...

 (his training was interrupted by World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, when he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps

Royal Army Medical Corps

The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...

 from 1915 to 1917), where his pupils included Gordon Herickx

Gordon Herickx

Gordon Herickx was an English sculptor.Born in Birmingham, Herickx won a scholarship in 1914 to study under William Bloye at the Birmingham School of Art, completing his studies after World War I. He assisted Bloye on projects such as the 1933 carvings of the church of St...

, Raymond Mason and Ian Walters

Ian Walters

Ian Homer Walters was an English sculptor.Born in Solihull, Walters was educated at Yardley Grammar school and under William Bloye at the Birmingham School of Art...

. He also studied stone-carving and letter cutting under Eric Gill

Eric Gill

Arthur Eric Rowton Gill was a British sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and printmaker, who was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement...

 around 1921.
In 1925 he became a member of the Birmingham Civic Society

The Birmingham Civic Society

The Birmingham Civic Society was founded at an inaugural meeting on 10 June 1918 in The Council House, Birmingham, England and is registered with The Civic Trust. The first President of the Society, the Earl of Plymouth, addressed the assembled Aldermen, Councillors, Architects and other city...

, having, at about that time, a studio on Golden Hillock Road, Small Heath

Small Heath, Birmingham

Small Heath is an inner-city area within the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is situated on and around the A45 ....

, Birmingham. As Birmingham's unofficial civic sculptor he worked on virtually all public commissions including libraries, hospitals and the University. He often carved bas-relief plaques, typically for public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

s in Birmingham.

During the 1920s, he served on the Technical Committee of the Birmingham Civic Society.

He became a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists

The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an art gallery based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England. it is both a registered charity. and a registered company The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an...

 in 1930 (the two 1919 bronze plaques on the RBSA are the earliest known work by Bloye in Birmingham), and the Royal British Society of Sculptors

Royal British Society of Sculptors

The Royal British Society of Sculptors is a registered charity whose aims are to promote and support sculpture. It has a worldwide membership....

: ARBS in 1934, and FRBS in 1938. He also won the latter's Otto Beit Medal. Retiring from the School of Art in 1956 he moved to Solihull

Solihull

Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

. He died in Arezzo

Arezzo

Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 in 1975.

In December 2010, a blue plaque

Blue plaque

A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....

 was unveiled at City College

City College, Birmingham

City College, Birmingham is an establishment of further education in Birmingham, England.City College Birmingham was formed as result of the merger of Handsworth and East Birmingham colleges in 1998...

, on the site of his former studio.

As of January 2010, Birmingham City Council are working on the restoration Bloye's statue of Pan at Aston Hall

Aston Hall

Aston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:...

. The statue's head is missing, and they have appealed for old photographs, to assist in its reconstruction.

Works

Work	Location (Birmingham unless stated)	Date	Picture	Coordinates Geographic coordinate system A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represent vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent horizontal position... (With links to map and aerial photo sources)	Notes
Bronze Plaques	Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Royal Birmingham Society of Artists The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an art gallery based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England. it is both a registered charity. and a registered company The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an...			52.484891°N 1.907520°W	Formerly at the Society's old headquarters on New Street
Allegories of Art and Industry	over the north-west door of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England.Entrance to the Museum and Art Gallery is free, but some major exhibitions in the Gas Hall incur an entrance fee...  (The Feeney Gallery extension), Great Charles Street	c		52.4811°N 1.9050°W	Sculpture
Call; Front Line and Return	Hall of Memory Hall of Memory (Birmingham) The Hall of Memory in Centenary Square, Birmingham, England, designed by S.N. Cooke and W.N. Twist was erected 1922-5, by John Barnsley and Son, to commemorate the 12,320 Birmingham citizens who died in World War I.... , Broad Street Broad Street, Birmingham Broad Street is a major thoroughfare and popular nightspot in Birmingham City Centre, United Kingdom. Traditionally, Broad Street was considered to be outside Birmingham City Centre, but as the city centre expanded with the removal of the Inner Ring Road, Broad Street has been incorporated into...			52°28′46.02"N 1°54′25.31"W	Interior bas-relief carvings
Coat of arms and two lion reliefs	Council House, Priory Road, Dudley			52.5122°N 2.0841°W	façade on Council House (Town Hall)
Fox and Hollybush	Acocks Green Acocks Green Acocks Green is an area and ward of south Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area in 1370. Acocks Green is one of the four wards making up Yardley formal district...	-8		52.44408°N 1.83418°W	Bas-relief from former Fox Hollies pub. Now on Lidl supermarket
War Memorial: George and the Dragon and lions on flagpoles	Town Hall, Priory Street, Dudley			52.5115°N 2.0844°W	also four bronze lions (1936) on flagpoles, Town Hall tower
Dudley's Past	Town Hall, corner of Priory Road and Priory Street, Dudley			52.5120°N 2.0839°W
Running stag STAG STAG: A Test of Love is a reality TV show hosted by Tommy Habeeb. Each episode profiles an engaged couple a week or two before their wedding. The cameras then follow the groom on his bachelor party...	Perry Barr Stadium Perry Barr Stadium Perry Barr Stadium is a stadium and racetrack on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England....			52.519192°N 1.897717°W	Stone bas-relief; attributed
The Antelope	Sparkhill Sparkhill Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook.-Etymology:Sparkhill takes its name from Spark Brook, a small stream that flows from Moseley to the River Cole in Small Heath. It was, as the name suggests, a hill that was situated...	c.		52.453362°N 1.865753°W	Bas-relief pub sign. Designed by Bloye, sculpted by his assistant, Tom Wright
Allegory of Painting	Art Gallery, Avenue Road, Leamington Spa				Life-size female nude in sandstone Sandstone Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
Aesculapius	Chest Clinic, Great Charles Street			52.4817°N 1.9047°W
Pan	Aston Hall Aston Hall Aston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:... , Birmingham				Undergoing restoration.
Capitals and Heads	Council House, Priory Road, Dudley			52.5122°N 2.0841°W
Dudley from the Wren's Nest	Council House, Priory Road, Dudley			52.5121°N 2.0844°W	Two plaster reliefs, within building - entrance to council chamber and entrance to committee reception room
The Towers	Tower Hill Tower Hill, West Midlands Tower Hill is an area of Great Barr, Birmingham, England. It is situated on the western side of the main A34 road that links Birmingham with Walsall, and straddles the Tame Valley Canal.... , Great Barr Great Barr Great Barr is a large and loosely-defined area which straddles the boundaries of Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall , West Midlands, England...			52.535574°N 1.92062°W	Bloye was responsible for all the stone carving on this brick building
Royal Oak	Lozells Lozells Lozells is a loosely-defined inner-city area in the West of Birmingham, England. It is centred on Lozells Road, and is known for its multi-racial population. It is part of the ward of Lozells and East Handsworth and lies between the districts of Handsworth and Aston.Lozells has a high population...	c.		52.502687°N 1.900501°W	Decoration around the doorway of a former pub (now a shop). Formerly brightly painted
St. Nicholas Rescuing the Three Children	Was at John Shelton School, Coventry				Lost after the school was demolished in 1999
Bear and Staff	The Bear Inn, Stratford Road, Sparkhill	c.		52.448235°N 1.861201°W	Bas-relief pub sign
Boar's Head	Perry Barr Perry Barr Perry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to...	c.		52.529153°N 1.895465°W	Painted wood pub sign comprising a model boar Boar Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises... 's head, on a pole. Taken from the arms of the Gough-Calthorpe family Gough-Calthorpe family The Gough-Calthorpe family is descended from ancient and notable families who both held lands in the area around Birmingham, England.Sir Henry Gough, 1st Baronet, Member of Parliament, was made a Baronet in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1728...  of nearby Perry Hall.
Doorway	Yardley Library, Yardley Yardley -Sportspeople:* Bruce Yardley, a former Australian cricketer* George Yardley, a former NBA player* George Yardley , Scottish footballer* Jim Yardley , English cricketer* Norman Yardley, an English cricketer...			52.461°N 1.816°W
Apollo fountain	Coronation Gardens, Ednam Road, Dudley			52.51277°N 2.08337°W	sculpture on top of fountain
Queen Victoria	Victoria Square Victoria Square, Birmingham Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square....			52.479628°N 1.902998°W	Bronze statue, recast from a marble statue by Thomas Brock/
Josiah Mason Josiah Mason Sir Josiah Mason was an English pen-manufacturer.Mason was born in Mill Street, Kidderminster, the son of a carpet-weaver. He began life as a street hawker of cakes, fruits and vegetables. After trying his hand in his native town at shoemaking, baking, carpentering, blacksmithing, house-painting...	Now at the junction of Chester Road & Orphanage Road in Erdington Erdington Erdington is a suburb northeast of Birmingham city centre, England and bordering Sutton Coldfield. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...			52.531556°N 1.825128°W	Bronze bust, recast from a marble statue by Francis G. Williamson of 1885, which stood opposite Mason Science College in Edmund Street Edmund Street __notoc__Edmund Street is a street located in Birmingham, England.Edmund Street is one of a series of roads on the old Colmore Estate which originally stretched from Temple Row in the city centre, around St Phillip's Cathedral, to the northern end of Newhall Street. Originally the estate surrounded...
Bas-relief	Mechanical Engineering Building at the University of Birmingham			52.44928°N 1.93509°W
Boulton, Watt and Murdoch Boulton, Watt and Murdoch The gilded bronze statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch by William Bloye and Raymond Forbes-Kings stands on a plinth of Portland stone, outside the old Register Office on Broad Street in Birmingham, England....	Broad Street			52.4786°N 1.9084°W
John Skirrow Wright John Skirrow Wright John Skirrow Wright was one of the prominent pioneers and social improvers of the 19th century in Birmingham, England. He was involved in many aspects of Birmingham's mid-Victorian life that were for the benefit of its citizens including the General Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce, The School of...	Birmingham Council House			52.480082°N 1.902760°W	Bust
St. Alphege	St. Alphege CofE school, New Road, Solihull				Restored in 1994
Mermaid fountain	University of Birmingham University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...  Guild of Students			52.44927°N 1.927225°W	Bronze
Mermaid	University of Birmingham Guild of Students			52.44951°N 1.92741°W	Clipsham stone sculpture, on wall
Decoration	The Mermaid (public house), Sparkhill	c.		52.456861°N 1.868761°W	(Bas-relief pub sign attributed to Alan Bridgewater)
Coat of Arms	Dental Hospital	c.		52.485875°N 1.895101°W	Fibreglass