William Henry Feldon

William Henry Feldon (16 June 1871 – 5 April 1945) was a sculptor, architectural sculptor, and monumental mason from Oxford, England who migrated to New Zealand in 1910. He is best known for his series of First World War memorials—where annual Anzac Day services are held—and his contributions to iconic public buildings in New York, New Zealand, and England.

William Henry Feldon
Captain W.H. Feldon, Brigade Major, Auckland Mounted Rifles. 1914.
Born	16 June 1871 Oxford, England
Died	5 April 1945 (aged 73) Auckland, New Zealand
Resting place	Purewa Cemetery, Meadowbank, Auckland (Block A Row 26 Plot 80)
Nationality	New Zealand  United Kingdom
Education	Oxford Farmer & Brindley (apprenticeship)
Alma mater	Exeter College, Oxford
Known for	Monumental masonry
Notable work	Arawa War Memorial Government House Auckland Town Hall Auckland Ferry Terminal

Early life

Feldon was born at Oxford, England on 16 June 1871 to Theodore and Anna Lousie Feldon (nee Tolley). He was the third son of a family of 12 children.[1] He was baptised at St Clement's Church, Oxford and confirmed at St Cross Church, Oxford in 1885.[2]

Feldon attended school at Exeter College, Oxford from the age of six years, where he won a singing scholarship. Feldon left school to find work as a sculptor artist as he preferred this to singing. He was inspired by the sculpture and carving work in Oxford.[2]

In June 1884, at the age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to H.J. Arnett at Oxford, to learn sculpture and carving. After serving five years with the firm, he moved to London to work for Farmer & Brindley. Overall, he spent 10 years in training.[2]

Personal life

On 23 September 1894, Feldon married Catherine Martha Tyrrell Walker of Oxford at St Margaret's Church, Barking, Essex. They had two sons and three daughters. The family home on Seaview Road, Remuera, was named 'Cherwell', after the river through Feldon's hometown in Oxfordshire.[2][3]

In 1914, Feldon was commissioned as a lay reader in the Church of England.[2]

On 29 March 1923, Feldon was commissioned as a Justice of the Peace.[2]

Feldon was a Freemason for most of his life. He was Past Master of Te Awamutu Lodge 2221 E.C. Master of the Union Mark Lodge, P.N. Ark Mariners, Past Second Principal of both Te Awamutu and Southern Cross Chapters and was a Prime Rose Croix, holding Various Grand Lodge Positions.[2]

Throughout his life, Feldon suffered from Keratoconus, which eventually made carving difficult and dangerous.[2]

Military service

In 1896, Feldon was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant to 2nd Sussex Artillery, seconded for two years annual training.[2][3]

In 1914, Feldon was appointed Commandant of the German Internment Camp at Motuihe Island. He was subsequently promoted to Brigade Major of the Auckland Mounted Rifles, becoming Area Officer from Rotorua to Opotiki, with headquarters at Tauranga.

In 1915, Feldon was appointed Brigade Major of the Auckland Infantry, Headquartered in Auckland. He was subsequently appointed District Quartermaster and Quartermaster at the Engineer Tunnelling Camp, Avondale.

In 1916, he was Quartermaster on Transports 44 & 53 to Egypt aboard the Union Steamship Navua. Upon his return from the second convoy, he was transferred to Invercargill as Officer Commanding Area 45, and Adjutant 8th Southland District (Otago) Attesting Officer.[3]

Professional career

While working for Farmer & Brindley, he worked in New York on a Vanderbilt mansion on Fifth Avenue, then on the New York State Capitol at Albany.[4] On completion of this work, he returned to London in early 1894 to continue work for the firm.

In the late 1890s, Feldon started his own studio in Cornfield Road, Eastbourne, East Essex where he advertised himself as an architectural sculptor and modeller in marble, stone, cement, and wood. His work included the carving on the Lewes Old Bank and the new St. Peter's Church, Eastbourne.[2]

While in Sussex, Feldon was visiting Master to the Colleges at Eastbourne, teaching Carving and Modelling.[2]

Feldon then returned to Oxford, establishing a studio on St. John's Road. During this time he received several commissions at Colleges and churches. He also completed carvings for the restoration of Eton College Chapel and the new Bradfield College Chapel.[2]

In 1910, Feldon was commissioned by the New Zealand Government to carry out the modelling on the new Government House, Wellington. He then moved to Auckland where he carved the interior and exterior of the Auckland Town Hall and the Auckland Ferry Building. In 1911, he carved whole works for St Paul's Church, the Auckland Magistrates Court, Old University Buildings (Choral Hall), and a bust of Richard Seddon for the Seddon Memorial Technical College. The AMP Society commissioned Feldon to complete carvings for the Auckland office, followed by Amicus certus in re incerta sculptures for their Auckland, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Whangarei, Masterton, and Hamilton offices.[2] From his Victoria Street East studio, he carved the majority of modelling for Queen Street commercial buildings.[1]

In 1918, Feldon returned to his Victoria Street studio. In March 1918, Feldon completed a figure study of Nurse Edith Cavell for above the entrance to the new Princess Mary Hospital for Children in Auckland. The Mount Somers stone statue is life size and displayed the nurse in her Red Cross uniform. Statues of a soldier and sailor were added later.[1]

Feldon's name appears on the Te Awamutu Masonic Lodge's Roll of Honour.

Feldon carving a statue of Sir Joseph Ward, 1929.

In early 1919, Feldon was commissioned to create works for the new All Souls Roman Catholic Church in Devonport, including label moulds for the window and sanctuary arches, then the main altar from Oamaru stone.[2]

Short of work, Feldon sent a circular offering his services to every county chairman and mayor in the country. In January 1919, he wrote to the Minister of Public Works and Defence, Sir James Allen, pleading for work.[1] In Sir James' opinion, to ‘express high ideals’ and ‘replicate the monuments of older civilisations’, then only foreign artists and those from ‘the mother country’ should be hired as they had the ‘experience and talent to produce them.’[5] As a result, most communities chose 'catalogue' obelisks and sculptures made in Carrara, Italy factories instead of using New Zealand sculptors and materials.[6]

Feldon moved to a new studio at 130 Great South Road in Remuera, next to the Remuera Railway Station.[2] From his new studio, he carved the Matakana, Papakura-Karaka, Arawa, Helensville-Mairetahi, Mercer, Bombay, Pokeno, Oratia, Hikurangi, and Otahuhu World War I memorials.[1] The Matakana and Arawa memorials were the first statues of George V in the world. Feldon eventually carved more war memorials than all other New Zealand sculptors (such as William Trethewey, Richard Gross, Carlo Bergamini, and Jack Lynch) combined.[6]

In 1928, he was commissioned to carve life sized marble figures of Lord Jellicoe, Lord Kitchener, and Sir Joseph Ward for the Invercargill Post Office quadrangle.[1]

In 1932, Feldon was commissioned to carry out the sculptured heads of bishops and the marble carving on the Nelson Cathedral. He then carved a marble font for St Peter’s Cathedral, Hamilton.[2]

In 1934, Feldon completed his final Amicus certus in re incerta for AMP's Napier office. In 1938 he carved a statue commemorating the pioneer women of Howick.[1]

During his prolific career, Feldon displayed the full range of his craft, adapting Romanesque Revival, Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Gothic, Italianate style, Art-Nouveau, Edwardian Baroque, Stripped Classicism, and Art Deco styles for local materials and conditions. His stoic, Stripped Classicism statues were distinctive from the 'determined, unrefined realism' [7] of other New Zealand-based sculptors at the time.

Notable works

Image	Structure	Location	Date	Details
	Vanderbilt mansion	666 Fifth Avenue, New York	1890	Architectural stone carving
	New York State Capitol	Albany, New York	1894	Architectural stone carving
	Lewes Old Bank	Corner of Cornfield and Terminus Road, Eastbourne. (Destroyed by bomb during World War II.)	1899	Architectural stone carving
	'New' St. Peter's Church	St Saviour's Church, Eastbourne. (Demolished 1971.)	1900	Architectural stone carving
	Eton College Chapel	Eton College, Windsor, United Kingdom	1905	Architectural stone carving
	Bradfield College Chapel	Bradfield, Reading	1908	Architectural stone carving
	Government House	Wellington, New Zealand	1910	Architectural modelling
	Auckland Town Hall	Queen Street, Auckland, New Zealand	1911	Architectural stone carving
	Auckland Ferry Terminal	Queen Street, Auckland, New Zealand	1911	Architectural stone carving
	St Paul's Church, Auckland	28 Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand	1911	Monumental stone carving
	Auckland Magistrates Court	Courthouse Lane, Auckland, New Zealand (Now the entrance to Metropolis Apartments)	1911	Architectural stone carving
	Old Choral Hall	University of Auckland, 5–7 Symonds Street and Alfred Street, Auckland	1912	Architectural stone carving.
	Amicus certus in re incerta	AMP Centre, Auckland (Also carved statues for Palmerston North, Whangarei, Masterton, Hamilton, and Christchurch offices)	1912	Monumental marble carving, Architectural stone carving.
	Bust of Richard Seddon	Seddon Memorial Technical College (former), 63–67 Wellesley Street East, Auckland	1914	Monumental marble carving
	Nurse Edith Cavell, soldier, and sailor	Princess Mary Children's Hospital (former), Auckland Hospital. (Coordinates)	1918	Monumental stone carving. Oamaru stone.
	St. Francis and All Souls	Devonport, Auckland	1919	Monumental stone carving, Architectural stone carving. Oamaru stone.
	Matakana War Memorial	Matakana Road, Matakana, Auckland	1919	Monumental stone carving.Oamaru stone.
	Christ Church First World War memorial tablet	Christ Church, 105 Great South Rd, Papakura	1921	Monumental marble carving.
	St Matthew's Great War Memorial	St. Matthew's in the City, Auckland	1921	Monumental marble carving, Architectural stone carving.
	Papakura-Karaka War Memorial	Corner of Great South Road and Opaheke Road, Papakura, Auckland	1921	Monumental stone carving.Oamaru stone.
	Pokeno First World War Memorial	66 Great South Road, Pokeno.	1921	Monumental stone carving.
	Helensville-Mairetahi War Memorial	Parakai Domain, Helensville, Auckland	1922	Monumental stone carving.
	Mercer War Memorial	Corner of Roose and Riverbank Roads, Mercer, New Zealand.	1922.	Monumental stone carving.
	Hikurangi War Memorial	41 King St, Hikurangi.	1922	Monumental marble carving.
	Oratia School First World War memorial	1 Shaw Rd, Oratia, Auckland	1922	Monumental marble carving.
	Bombay War Memorial Arch	11/39 Paparata Road, Bombay.	1923	Monumental stone carving, Architectural stone carving.
	Pulpit, St Matthew's in the City	St. Matthew's in the City, Auckland	1925	Architectural stone carving.Oamaru stone.
	Arawa War Memorial	Government Gardens, Rotorua, New Zealand.	1927	Monumental stone carving, Architectural stone carving.
	Otahuhu War Memorial	Corner of Great South Road and Massey Road, Otahuhu, Auckland.	1928	Architectural stone carving.
	Lord Jellicoe statue	Invercargill Cenotaph Reserve, Dee Street, Invercargill. (Originally located in the quadrangle of the former Invercargill Post Office.)	1929	Monumental marble carving.
	Lord Kitchener statue	Invercargill Cenotaph Reserve, Dee Street, Invercargill. (Originally located in the quadrangle of the former Invercargill Post Office.)	1929	Monumental marble carving.
	Sir Joseph Ward statue	At the entrance of Bluff at the intersection of Blackwater, Shannon, and Gore Streets. (Originally located in the quadrangle of the former Invercargill Post Office.)	1929	Monumental marble carving.
	Busts of bishops, marble carving.	Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson, New Zealand.	1932	Monumental marble carving, Architectural marble carving.
	Baptism font	St Peter's Cathedral, Hamilton	1933	Monumental marble carving.
	Amicus certus in re incerta	AMP Building, Napier	1934	Monumental marble carving.
	Pioneer Women Memorial	Garden of Memories, Howick.	1938	Monumental marble carving.

Feldon and his wife's grave, Purewa Cemetery.

Death

Four years after his wife died, Feldon died in 1945 at the age of 74 years. He is buried beside his wife in Purewa Cemetery, Meadowbank, Auckland.[8]

References

1. Caddigan, Elise (March 2017). Historic Heritage Evaluation: Papakura-Karaka War Memorial (PDF). Auckland Council Heritage Unit. p. 53.
2. Feldon, John R. (2014). Immigrant sculptor : William Henry Feldon. https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collection/object/am_library-catalogq40-84443: John R. Feldon.CS1 maint: location (link)
3. "William Henry Feldon". Auckland Museum – Online Cenotaph.
4. "Payroll Roster". New York State Capitol. 16 February 1894 – via NYS Archives.
5. Chris Maclean and Jock Phillips (1990). The Sorrow and the Pride. Wellington: Bookprint Consultants Limited. p. 113.
6. "Interpreting First World War memorials – First World War memorials | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
7. "William Trethewey | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
8. "Death of Sculptor – Mr W.H. Feldon". New Zealand Herald. 6 April 1945.