NON-FICTION
THE ROTHBURY CROSS … the Bede cross at Sunderland … the Leeman statue in York … the Chancel screen at Melton Mowbray … the stonework of the South Transept of York Minster –– these are just some of the works of the York master carver and sculptor, George Walker Milburn.
Born in York in 1844, Milburn was the dominant stone and wood carver in the North-East of England for almost sixty years, the sculptor of choice for many Victorian and Edwardian architects such as George Edmund Street, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Charles Hodgson Fowler, Walter H. Brierley, and many others.
Once known simply as Milburn of York, his works now go unrecognised, even in his native city, overshadowed by –– or even attributed as –– the work of others.
In research spanning more than a decade, and with exclusive access to Milburn’s privately-held Work Books and Ledgers, Anthony Power has identified hundreds of Milburn’s works still existing. Milburn Found is the definitive catalogue of these extant works, with locations, carving details, and sources.
The book seeks to restore to Milburn the recognition he deserves, as an artist who contributed greatly to the public, private, and ecclesiastical heritage which enriched the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
“No architectural historian’s home should be without this publication.”
Edward Waterson, co-author of Lost Houses of County Durham.
“For those who enjoy church crawling or have an interest in public sculpture of the late 19th/early20th centuries, I cannot recommend this book enough … meticulous research into this important craftsman utterly invaluable.”
Tabitha. Pevsner series editor
MILBURN IN YORK provides the details of the works of George Walker Milburn in the city where he spent almost his entire working life.
Here are the stories of the restoration of the South Transept of York Minster, for the architect George Edmund Street; the controversial choice of Milburn as the designer and sculptor of the George Leeman statue, and the enormous gamble he took to carve it; and the political squabble which banished a Queen’s statue to a public park.
Here, also, are the people who sought out Milburn’s artistry, and whose commissions were immortalised in wood or stone.
In a career spanning almost sixty years, Milburn left a remarkable legacy of carving in his native city, still visible, and long overdue recognition.
On Milburn Found: “No architectural historian’s home should be without this publication.”
Edward Waterson, co-author of Lost Houses of County Durham.