John William Drake
Born 10 March 1883
Died 1950
Active: 1891 - 1946
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, stone cutter, modeller
Born in Bradford, Yorkshire on 10th or 16th March 1883. He was the son of Alfred Drake, stone cutter and letterer who was born in Bradford on 2 August 1832. The family was also in farming; John William's uncle, John Thurman Drake (born on 26 June 1811) had about fifteen acres of land in 1861 and his father, Alfred, worked as a farmer as well as a stone cutter up to the early 1890s.
By 1901, John William had joined his father and older brother Samuel (born on 2 April 1872 in Bradford) in the stone carving business in Bradford. However, sometime over the next ten years Drake moved to London and began modelling in clay. He probably studied at South London Technical School of Art around 1910 as he received an invitation to the 'Kennington Students Bohemian Concert' that year. Drake exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1915.
His business continued until the mid-1940s and, according to information passed down through his family, worked for Sir Edwin Lutyens on a number of projects, including carving decorative detailing on the Midland Bank, Piccadilly; the Cenotaph, Whitehall; and Queen Mary's dolls house. In 1945-6 Drake was commissioned to carve two memorials to the architect, one at Campion Hall, Oxford (a building by Lutyens) and the tablet in St Paul's Cathedral (designed by William Curtis Green RA) for which he was paid £180 by the Royal Academy. Drake also assisted Eric Broadbent in carving 'Speed Wings over the World' for the main entrance to the Imperial Airways Empire Terminal, Buckingham Palace Road, London, opened in 1939 (now the National Audit Office).
This record includes information provided by the artist's grandson, Frank Dumbleton.
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited. Click here for more information.
Memorial Tablet to Sir E. L. Lutyens
1946 (Presumed)
Locations
Address 7 Sunny Bank Manningham Bradford | View on map
1891 (Circa) - 1901 (Circa)
Living here with his family
Address 26 Townsend Road Southall London | View on map
1911 (Circa)
Address 20 Shackleton Road Southall London | View on map
1915 (Circa)
Possibly a workshop or studio address
Address 2 The Priory Norwood Green London | View on map
1937 (Circa) - 1950
This address is the one given in the Royal Academy Letter Books at the time he was commissioned to make the memorial tablet to Sir Edwin Lutyens
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1915
Exhibited once, one work 'Study of a Head' (marble, cat. no. 1851)
Personal and Professional Connections
Assistant to Eric Raymond Broadbent
1939 (Circa)
Drake assisted Broadbent in carving 'Speed Wings over the World' for the main entrance to the Imperial Airways Empire Terminal, Buckingham Palace Road, London, opened in 1939 (now the National Audit Office).
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Stone Carver' worker, his father Alfred born c.1833 was a 'Letter Cutter on Stone & Granite' worker and his brother Samuel T. Drake born c.1873 was a 'Stonemason' worker
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Moddler (sic) in Clay & Stone Carver' worker
Sources
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
RG12 piece 3635 folio 8 page 9
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2001
RG13 piece 4159 folio 17 page 26
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2009
RG14PN6788 RG78PN339 RD127 SD3 ED6 SN258
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2007
2007
Name: John W Drake
Death Registration Month/Year: 1950
Age at death (estimated): 66
Registration district: Uxbridge
Inferred County: Middlesex
Volume: 5f
Page: 155
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: John William Drake
Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1883
Registration district: Bradford
Inferred County: Yorkshire - West Riding, West Yorkshire
Volume: 9b
Page: 210
Citing this record
'John William Drake', 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_1264762430, accessed 04 Jul 2022]