Thomas Alfred King
Born 1858
Died 20 April 1926
Active: 1877 - 1926
Country of birth and death: England
Monumental mason, architectural sculptor, sculptor, business owner
Born in Kingstone, near Hereford. His father William (born c.1833 in Pencoyd) was a labourer (agricultural and railway at different times). Thomas married Mary Jane Harper (born c.1859) in 1877, she was the daughter of a farmer (less than 20 acres). In the same year King established T.A. King & Co. in Hereford. By 1881 he and his wife already had three men (the number is hard to decipher, and might be only 1 or 2) and one boy as employees. The firm styled itself as a monumental masonry and architectural sculpture business. King is said to have travelled to Italy to purchase marble direct from the quarries. He also made some portraits, including a bust in plaster of the Reverend C.T. Harris dating from 1888.
The firm operated from the same address (29 Eign Street, Hereford) for over 10 years (c.1891-c.1901). These premises were used as a motor car garage by 1911 and Thomas's eldest son, Charles Frederick King (born c.1888) was assistant manager. The firm established offices in most of the surrounding towns and diversified to include King's Radio, King's Cycles, and King's Sunbeam Cars. A measure of its success is that when Thomas died in 1926 his effects were valued at £11,114 9s 11d (re-sworn from £9733 9s. 11d.). The original firm King & Co. continued after Thomas's death and was still in business in 2012.
This entry includes information from the present owner of the firm, Brian Capp who purchased King & Co from Thomas King's granddaughter Joyce Trinham in 1982.
Wealth at death: £11,114 9s. 11d.
Resworn from £9733 9s. 11d.
Probate date: 2 July 1926
Locations
Address Marsh Pencoyd | View on map
1861 (Circa)
Address 32 White Cross Street Hereford | View on map
1881 (Circa)
Address 29 Eign Street Hereford | View on map
1891 - 1911
In 1911 these works were being used as a motor car garage and the assistant manager was Thomas King's son, Charles Frederick. The works continued to be in use as stone workshops until they were compulsorily purchased in 1963 to make way for the Hereford inner Ring Road.
Address 14 Victoria Street Hereford | View on map
1911 - 1926
Died while living at this address
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Monumental Sculptor Employs 3 (?) Men & 1 Boy' also his wife, Mary Jane 'Monumental Sculptor Employs 3 (?) Men & 1 Boy'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Monumental Sculptor' employer
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Monumental Mason & Architectural Sculptor' employer
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Monumental Sculptor' employer
Sources
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
2004
RG09 piece 1815 folio 88 page 11
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
RG11 piece 2593 folio 118 page 27
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
RG12 piece 2061 folio 93 page 5
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2001
RG13 piece 2480 folio 7 page 6
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2009
RG14PN15700 RG78PN957 RD337 SD4 ED1 SN72
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2007
2007
Name: Thomas A King
Birth Date: abt 1858
Date of registration: Apr-May-Jun 1926
Age at Death: 68
Registration district: Hereford
Inferred County: Herefordshire
Volume: 6a
Page: 532
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Thomas Alfred King
Date of registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1877
Registration district: Hereford
Inferred County: Herefordshire
Volume Number: 6a
Page Number: 859
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Thomas Alfred King
Probate Date: 2 Jul 1926
Death Date: 20 Apr 1926
Death Place: Hereford, Herefordshire, England
Registry: Hereford
Citing this record
'Thomas Alfred King', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=ann_1330726664, accessed 24 Sep 2020]
