George Theaker
Born 1835 (Probable)
Died 18 January 1902
Active: 1869 - 1902
Country of birth and death: England
Headmaster of art school, designer, modeller
Born in Sheffield, Yorkshire. His mother, Esther Theaker (born c.1798 in Betheson (Bethnal?) Green, Middlesex) was the owner of a coffee house. George started his career as an apprentice to a merchant but by 1861 had become a designer and modeller, presumably having studied at Sheffield School of Art.
Theaker moved to Staffordshire in the 1860s and worked for local pottery manufacturers including Pinder Bourne and Doultons 'for whom he occasionally designed and modelled' (Haggar, unpaged, 1947). Between 1869 and 1894 Theaker was headmaster (principal) of the School of Art in Burslem. His sons followed him into the teaching profession. Harry George Theaker trained as a designer, and then worked at the Polytechnic in Regent Street from the early 1900s, later becoming headmaster. Another son, Charles Edmund (1875-1903), trained as a designer and modeller, and then taught at the Wedgwood Institute in Burslem. (See separate entries).
Wealth at death: £782 10s. 9d.
Probate date: 30 January 1902
Locations
Address 102 Old Haymarket Sheffield | View on map
1851 (Circa) - 1861 (Circa)
This is presumed to have been the address of the coffee house run by the family, so residency here was for longer than the years given
Address Chapel Lane Wolstanton | View on map
1871 (Circa)
Address 54 Waterloo Road Burslem | View on map
1881 (Circa) - 1891 (Circa)
Address 200 Waterloo Road Burslem | View on map
1901 (Circa)
Institutional and Business Connections
Principal of Wedgwood Memorial Institute, Burslem and Tunstall School of Science and Art
1869 - 1894 (Probable)
Headmaster of Art Department.
Haggar gives dates of 1869 to 1900 [see Haggar (1953), p. 50].
Principal of Burslem School of Art
1869 (Probable) - 1902
See Warrilow (1960), p. 287, and Haggar (1947), unpaged.
Personal and Professional Connections
Mother/father/parent of Harry George Theaker
Mother/father/parent of Charles Edmund Theaker
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
'Merchant Apprentice'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
'Artist, Designer & Modeller'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
'Artist, Designer & Modeller for Pottery'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Master of School of Art'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Master of Art School/Teachers of Science or [maybe &] Economy Building Construction Machine Construction, Modeller & Designer for Misc [?] Work Pottery etc [?]' and his sons, Harry George, 'Apprentice Pottery Decorator' and Charles Edmund (born c.1876), 'Apprentice Pottery Modeller' all workers
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Art School Master' and his son, Charles Edmund, 'Pottery Modeller & Designer & Art Teacher' own account
Occupation given in England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
'Art-master', probate granted to his widow and his sons Harry George 'artist' and Charles Edmund 'modeller and designer'
Sources
A Century of Art Education in the Potteries. With notes on the Artists, 1953 Local Studies
1953 (Circa)
p. 50.
A Century of Art Education in the Potteries. With notes on the Artists, 1953 Local Studies
1953 (Circa)
p. 23.
A Sociological History of the City of Stoke-on-Trent, 1960
1960
p. 287.
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
2004
HO107 piece 2340 folio 423 page 11
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
2004
RG09 piece 3489 folio 19 page 31
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
2004
RG10 piece 2838 folio 5 page 2
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
RG11 piece 2715 folio 116 page 24
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
RG12 piece 2164 folio 103 page 37
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2001
RG13 piece 2596 folio 15 page 22
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: George Theaker
Probate Date: 30 Jan 1902
Death Date: 18 Jan 1902
Death Place: Staffordshire, England
Registry: London, England
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1871-1872, 1872
30 September 1872
p. 8.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1872-1873, 1873
30 September 1873
p. 10.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1873-1874, 1874
8 October 1874
p. 10.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1875-1876, 1876
15 November 1876
p. 23.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1876-1877, 1877
17 September 1877
p. 23.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1877-1878, 1878
30 October 1878
p. 19.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1878-1879, 1879
11 September 1879
p. 19.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1879-1880, 1880
24 November 1880
p. 20.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1880-1881, 1881
13 October 1881
p. 28.
The Wedgwood Institute Reports of the Schools of Science and Art for the year 1881-1882, 1882
19 October 1882
p. 23.
The Wedgwood Institute, Burslem. Reports of the Government and Municipal Schools of Science and Art for the year 1893-1894, 1895
13 March 1895
p. 2.
Citing this record
'George Theaker', 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=msib4_1219055878, accessed 03 Feb 2023]
