(John Hugh) Gilbert Seale
Born 12 February 1862 (Presumed)
Died 5 January 1933
Active: 1881 - 1930
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, architectural sculptor, architectural modeller
Born in Walworth, London. He was the son of John Wesley Seale (1825-85), architectural sculptor who founded the family business. Gilbert Seale's eldest son, John Hector (born 1884) joined the firm around 1911, which was renamed G. Seale & Son Ltd. from about 1914. Another, younger son was the sculptor (Arthur) Barney Seale (1896-1957).
Gilbert worked as a sculptor, modeller and plasterer. His decorative plasterwork schemes include Battersea Town Hall (1892-3) and the Old Bailey (1900-7) which were collaborations with the architect Edward William Mountford (1855-1908). Seale also executed the plasterwork for the ground floor of Debenham and Freebody’s department store, Wigmore Street (architects, W. Wallace and J.S. Gibson, 1907-8). As a decorative carver, Seale's earliest recorded work is the warehouse designed by Herbert Ford at 5-13 St Paul’s Churchyard (1895-8). He worked alongside William Aumonier on the capitals and decorated arches of W.H. Seth-Smith’s church of St Luke, Reading (1896-7). Seale's most striking works include the carvings on Reginald Morphew’s Estate House, 70-2 Jermyn Street, London (1902-3) and the monumental merpeople over the door of 41 Holborn Kingsway (architects, J.S. Gibson, Skipwith and Gordon).
He seems to have retired from the firm in the late 1920s, and died in Hove, Sussex.
Wealth at death: £82,086 19s. 1d.
Resworn probate
Probate date: 10 March 1933
Locations
Address 14 Gloucester Road Camberwell London | View on map
1891 (Circa)
Address 22 George Street Camberwell London | View on map
1900 (Circa)
Institutional and Business Connections
Traded as G. Seale and Son Ltd.
1891 (Circa) - 1930 (Circa)
Date of his retirement uncertain
Personal and Professional Connections
Daughter/son/child of John Wesley Seale
Mother/father/parent of John Hector Seale
Mother/father/parent of (Arthur) Barney Seale
Descriptions of Practice
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1900 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1900
p.2371
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Architectural Sculptor' employer
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Sculptor' employer working at home
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
Both (John Hugh) Gilbert Seale and John Hector Seale were 'Architectural Sculptor' and employers working for the building trade
Sources
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
RG12 piece 488 folio 98 page 3
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2001
RG13 piece 517 folio 32 page 2
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2009
RG14PN2108 RG78PN73 RD25 SD5 ED9 SN531
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: John Hugh Gilbert Seale
Probate Date: 10 Mar 1933
Death Date: 5 Jan 1933
Death Place: Sussex, England
Registry: London
London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906
2010
London Metropolitan Archives, Saint Peter, Walworth, Register of baptisms, P92/PET1, Item 014
Post Office London Directory, 1900 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1900
p.2371
Public Sculpture of the City of London Public Sculpture of Britain Volume Five
2003
p. 477
Citing this record
'(John Hugh) Gilbert Seale', 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=msib1_1271966107, accessed 31 Mar 2023]
