John Wormald Appleyard was a sculptor and monumental mason based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. He was sixteen years old when his apprenticeship as a stone carver was curtailed due to the death of his grandfather who was training him. He was versatile enough to turn his hand to wood carving, decorative ceiling work, stained glass and marble sculpture besides stone carving, so that from around the age of twenty-one years he was able to maintain a stoneyard and studio in Cookridge Street, Leeds, at least until 1891. He was generally known during his lifetime as a monumental mason. He is mainly known today in Leeds for his wooden Jacquemart figures of Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Richard the Lionheart and the swineherd Gurth, which strike the hours on the Ivanhoe clock at one end of Thornton's Arcade in Briggate. He is also known for his figure of Old Father Time on the Tempus Fugit clock on the Time Ball Buildings, Leeds.
Background
Appleyard's maternal grandparents, both born in Yorkshire, were Abraham Wormald a stone mason of Spring Gardens, Drighlington, and his wife Elizabeth. His father was Jabez Appleyard, a size-boiler for the preparation of wool, and his mother was Jane Wormald. Jabez and Jane had nine children. John, the eldest, was born on 10 September 1831 at School Close, Leeds, and baptised on 9 October 1831 at St Peter's, Leeds. The family moved to Drighlington, then Water Lane in Farsley. By 1851, after completing his apprenticeship with his grandfather, he moved to 4 Hirst Square off St James Street, Leeds, on the site of the present Leeds Civic Hall, and lived there for the rest of his life. In 1853 he married the widow Mrs Elizabeth "Eliza" Whiteley at Leeds Parish Church. He died on 14 January 1894 without issue, The funeral procession left 4 Hirst Square on 17 January at 2.30pm, and he was buried at Burmantofts Cemetery in grave no.12542. He was sufficiently wealthy to bequeath £100 to Leeds General Infirmary, and £2,133 16s 10d to his relative Isaac Appleyard, a coal merchant.
Career
In 1841, by the time he was nine years old, Appleyard was already apprenticed in Drighlington to his maternal grandfather Abraham Wormald, a stone mason. At this yard he was permitted to concentrate on carving. His grandfather's death in 1847 curtailed his apprenticeship at the age of 16, and he was back with his parents in Farsley by 1851, when he was 19 years old and already calling himself a "stone carver and cutter." He plied his trade as a "sculptor, stone and marble mason and monumental mason" until at least 1891, although he tended to call himself simply a stone carver or sculptor. In 1892 Appleyard appeared as a witness, on behalf of architect E.W. Lockwood of Huddersfield, in a Court case brought by sculptor Samuel Auty for payment for some carving work. A comment from this case confirms that stones for architectural carving were roughed out by masons at ground level, and that the carving was completed when the stones were in situ on the building: "The stone for the gargoyles roughened into shape," then later "he could not work in such an exposed position as that in which the stone had in the meantime been placed, but that when the weather was better he would finish the work." The Beckett Street Cemetery record keeper knew him as a monumental mason. By 1871 he had a workshop producing sculpture and designs in 16–18 Cookridge Street, Leeds, next door to architect George Corson, and he remained there as a monumental mason until at least 1891. Appleyard was also in his later years a teacher of cabinet-making at the Leeds Institute.
Works
Exhibitions, 1875–1891
The whereabouts of the following exhibits is unknown. At the Leeds Mechanics' Institution, Yorkshire Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures in 1875 Appleyard exhibited "several marble sculptures." At the Yorkshire Fine Art Society, Autumn Exhibition, 1880, he showed Sabrina. In 1888 he exhibited unknown works alongside Matthew Taylor at a show of international works of art, in the central court, at the Leeds Fine Art Gallery exhibition. In 1889 he entered a Medallion Portrait of Lady Jane Grey at the Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition. His The Elements was exhibited at the same spring exhibition in 1890, and again in spring 1891. Other exhibited pieces were Head of Christ, Neptune, Portrait, Medallion Portrait of Mozart and Head of Mozart 1880.
This former warehouse was designed by Gibson Kyle, and opened in 1868 in Grainger Street, the old centre of Newcastle, for Angus & Co. an india-rubber company. It stood next to the old Savings Bank, and is now demolished. One Mr Curry was credited with the carving, but Appleyard may have been the project artist because he attended the opening without Curry.
''Old Father Time'' figure, Time Ball Buildings, Leeds, after 1872
This is part of a Grade II* listed building. Appleyard executed the sculpture on top of Dyson's cantilevered Tempus Fugit clock, which is suspended from the front of the Time Ball Buildings, Leeds. Although the clock is dated 1865, the figure of Chronos or Old Father Time above the clock was created by Appleyard after Dyson bought the building in 1872.
The Grand Theatre in Upper Briggate, Leeds, is a Grade II* listed building, designed by George Corson and his chief assistant James Robinson Watson, and opened in November 1878, having taken "thirteen months to build." It originally consisted of a theatre and assembly rooms, with shops in between. The interiors have been much changed, especially in the 1930s. Appleyard carried out ceiling work inside this combination building, contracted by J. Pollard of Bond Street. The auditorium has a "ribbed and domed ceiling with central chandelier and plaster pendentives," and the former assembly room has a "segmental-arched ceiling with ribs and panels decorated with reliefs of fruit and flowers." Describing the auditorium in 1878, The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer said: "The roof, lighted by one great chandelier, presents a very rich appearance." "The prevailing colour of the decorations crimson and gold."
Thornton's Arcade is a Grade II listed building, designed by George Smith, and located between Lands Lane and Briggate in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It was in the planning stage in 1875, approved in 1877 and completed in 1878. The Ivanhoe Clock is a large, automated, public timepiece manufactured by Potts of Leeds between 1877 and 1878 to strike on the hour and each quarter. Appleyard created the four life-sized, wooden, Jacquemart figures of Richard I, Friar Tuck, Robin Hood and the swineherd Gurth. The figures appear to strike the bells, which are actually hit by hammers hidden behind the display. The Arcade's founder Charles Thornton already owned the music hall which later became the City Varieties, so these pantomime figures are in keeping with his showmanship. The clock was once manually wound, but was automated in 1955, and was restored in 1997. The wooden female head, inside and above the door opposite the clock, is a likeness of Gainsborough'sPortrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. It is likely to be the work of Appleyard because it is in the same theatrical style as the clock figures, it is worked in the same materials, and is also painted. It was placed here as a topical subject because Gainsborough's portrait painting was stolen in 1877 while the arcade was under construction.
This is a Grade II listed building, designed by Thomas Ambler in Park Springs stone. It is a rotunda-shaped drinking fountain in Roundhay Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Appleyard executed the carving on this domed fountain, which was donated by the founder of Roundhay Park, Sir John Barran. The fountain was opened for public use on Monday 3 April 1882. Around the inside of the dome is the inscription: "Presented to the Leeds Corporation by John Barran, M.P., April 3rd 1882." As a drinking fountain, the structure is no longer functional. It originally had "ornate bronze vases through which the water issues, to the taps, the drinking cups, and their connections, all being very pretty. The minute detail with which everything is executed reflects creditably on all concerned." The four-foot hole in the dome was " covered with plate glass 3/4 of an inch thick, painted with a rosette in the centre and surrounded by guilloché ornament." It still has the "red granite basins – moulded, cut and polished," and "each basin supplied by a bronze vase. Those on the outside three taps and those on the inside two taps, of bronze, with sea-horse heads, and electro-silver plated... Surrounding the basins iron gratings, to receive any overflow." The original bronze fittings were designed by Ambler and made by Warner & Sons of London, and the stained glass roof insert was made by the St Helen's Company.
Central Library interior, Leeds, 1878–1884
Leeds Central Library is a listed building, designed as municipal buildings by George Corson to complement the Town Hall, and completed in 1884. The foundation stone was laid in 1878, and it was completed in April 1884. Appleyard led the team of stone carvers who worked on the interior staircases, pillars and arches. His name and Corson's were engraved on a roundel "high on the wall" of the entrance hall or exterior. The other stone carvers of the interior staircases and arches have not been identified, and the extent of Appleyard's contribution to the artwork is unknown.
Leeds Fine Art Gallery, Leeds, 1886–1888
This is a listed building. It was designed at a cost of £9.000 by William Henry Thorp of Albion Street, Leeds, and opened by Archibald Witham Scarr, Mayor of Leeds, and Hubert von Herkomer on Wednesday 3 October 1888. Its ground floor gallery was called the Queen's Room :
"A beautiful rectangular apartment with arches crossing its corners, which give the roof an octagonal character, with coved ceiling and lantern, and with clerestory lights through arcades, with classic moulded pilasters; it has a fine frieze designed by Mr Thorp, and carried out by Mr J.W. Appleyard, with panels bearing the names of Hogarth, Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Turner. past Grand Masters of the English School of Painting."
The frieze and ceiling was painted ivory white, and the walls were maroon "of dead texture" to show off the artworks and frames. Although the room is still there, the frieze is lost, or possibly hidden.
Newton Park Union Church, Chapeltown/Potternewton, 1887–1889
is a Grade II listed building. It was designed at a cost of £6,200 "in the fourteenth century decorated Gothic style" for the newly-joined Congregationalists and Baptists by Archibald Neill, of East Parade, Leeds, and opened on Wednesday 3 April 1889. The new church was built on the eastern side on the original Lupton family's Congregational Chapel, built in 1870. The new church had a 70-foot tower with a clock by Pearce & Sons; on each angle was a turret with an octagonal crocketed pinnacle. It had an octagonal nave with arcading and clerestory. "The pulpit and communion rails, of oak, are beautifully carved." J. W. Appleyard was credited as one of the contractors, but it is not known whether he carved wood or stone here. At some point the clock was replaced by one by Potts of Leeds, which had originally been installed in Wellington Station, Leeds, in 1916. The building was deconsecrated in 1952 and became the Royal Air Force Association Club, The Old Central Hebrew Congregational Synagogue, then finally a Sikh temple. The original 1870 Chapel was damaged by fire in 2005 and is now derelict.
Memorial to J.F. Longrigg, St Paul's, Shipley, 1890
This wall memorial to the Rev. John Fallowfield Longrigg MA, who died 8 September 1888, was produced in Appleyard's stoneyard. It is in St Paul's Church, Kirkgate, Shipley, West Yorkshire, a Grade II listed building, and consists of a white marble tablet on a slab of empress red marble which was originally "on the west wall, to the right of the central doorway, of St Paul's Church." It is now on the left side of the door. Longrigg had initiated a young men's class during his curacy, and this group organised the funding by subscription of the tablet. Longrigg also initiated the poor children's annual Christmas dinner at Shipley, and this work continued for many years after he left St Paul's. The dedication is to the "rarest devotion to duty" by Longrigg, who was curate of St Paul's 1885–1887, after which he was vicar of Emmanuel Church in Woodhouse Lane, Leeds from November 1887. He died suddenly in September of the following year.
London and Midland Bank, Leeds, 1890–1892
This is a listed building. It is on the south-west side of Kirkgate where it meets Vicar lane. It faces the south-west corner of Kirkgate Market. It was designed by William Bakewell of Leeds at a cost of £4,500, with carving by J.W. Appleyard. Work was begun in 1890. The walls of the banking hall were lined with light-veined Italian marble, the floor was of mosaic, the fittings included a five-foot dado and were of solid American walnut, and the ceiling was "richly panelled." The stone for the exterior came from the Morley and Idle quarries, and the building carries the arms of Leeds and London. Heating was "effected by hot air pipes disposed in coils throughout the building," and there was a hydraulic lift. It was open for business in December 1891, but did not move into the new premises until February 1892. The Pevsner Guide cites "fine carving, including King Midas." English Heritage says that above the pediment there is a "draped female statue flanked by animals, a lion and unicorn at corners," however the statue is of a bearded man with donkey's ears; he is isolated, representing tragedy - and he has no crown. It is Midas who has lost everything.
York City and County Bank, Leeds, 1890–1892
This is a listed building. It was built originally as the York City and County Bank. For several years until 2019 it was Jamie's restaurant. It is on the corner of Park Row and Bond Court, Leeds, West Yorkshire. It was designed by Stephen Ernest Smith and John Tweedale of 12 South Parade, Leeds, and completed in 1892. It has a decorated frieze. The Pevsner guide cites carved exterior detail by John Wormald Appleyard at the corner entrance, on the upper floor, and on Corinthian columns. The exterior is of "cleansed Bradford stone... the frieze and pediment being carried by polished red granite columns. The architecture of the first and second floors is of a Corinthian order, having coupled columns, and the whole is crowned by richly carved frieze, cornice, and vase terminals." The walls of the banking hall were originally lined with Burmantofts faience. The hall's furnishings were of half-polished oak with specially-designed brass fittings. The first and second floors were intended as offices, with their own strong room on each floor, and their own Bond Street entrance. There was also a "fine suite of offices" on the ground floor, with its own Park Row entrance. The opening of this building was delayed due to a major fire at the saw mill belonging to Nicholson & Son of Prospect Works, Crown Point Road, Leeds. "The preparation of the woodwork, some of it of a highly ornate and valuable character, such as carved screens and the like, was in an advanced stage; but none had left the premises." This work, intended for the York City and County Bank, was destroyed by the fire.
This stained glass crucifixion window is in St John the Evangelist Church, Farsley, West Yorkshire, a listed building. The window was found in Appleyard's Cookridge Road studio after his death. It had been designed and executed by him during his lifetime. It was possibly intended in memory of his parents who are buried in St John's churchyard, although his friends added a dedication to Appleyard's memory only. It was installed in June or July 1894. The windows of St John's were restored in 2015.
This is a listed building. It was designed initially for 400 students, in "collegiate Tudor Gothic" by William Henry Thorp FRIBA, and completed in October 1894. In July 1890 when Thorp was appointed for this job, he was instructed to visit all the other new medical schools with a member of the Medical Board before beginning the design. So the building reflects his visits to London, Cambridge, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin. The building stands in Thoresby Place, beside George Gilbert Scott's original frontage of Leeds General Infirmary. It has three storeys plus attics, and was built of local brick with Morley Moorsandstone dressings and terracotta details. The interior hall is lined with Mansfield stone. There is a carved coat of arms over a window, "stone relief panel over second floor bays with angel holding shield," and gargoyles. "The outer porch is entered through an elaborately moulded archway, with traceried and curved spandrils, enriched with emblems of the Tudor rose and lily... all the carved work, both in wood and stone, was executed by the late Mr J.W. Appleyard of Leeds."
