Charles Thomas Thomas
| Charles Thomas Thomas (Master stone carver) | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 26, 1820 London, England |
| Died | December 25, 1867 Quincy, Illinois, USA |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Practice | Charles T. Thomas |
| Projects | Royal Navy Dockyard (Hamilton, Bermuda); Brock's Monument (Queenston, Ontario, Canada); Victoria Hall (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada); Bank of Montreal (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada); East and West Blocks of Canadian Parliament Buildings (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada); Quincy Railway Bridge (Mississippi River, near Quincy, Illinois, USA); with William Cubitts and Company, London, England building contractors. |
Charles Thomas Thomas (master stone carver) (July 26, 1820 – December 25, 1867) was a prominent Anglo-Canadian stone carver and builder in the mid 19th Century. He was the son of a stonemason (Charles Thomas, senior) and at least one brother (Frederick Thomas) was also a stonemason.
Born in London, he trained in England under William Cubitt (1791-1863) and Company, one of England's prominent Victorian building contractors. Charles Thomas apprenticed with Cubitt and Company in the 1840s. William Cubitt and Company had several important commissions including: Covent Garden Market, Euston Station, repairs to Westminster Bridge, extension to National Gallery, etc.
In 1851 Charles Thomas travelled to North America. He was appointed foreman of works with the Works Department of the British Royal Navy, responsible for development of the strategic Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda.
In 1853 Charles Thomas travelled to Canada to work with Worthington Brothers, a well known Toronto-based building contractor that specialized in sandstone construction. Charles Thomas supervised the stone work and is possibly responsible for stone carvings on the second Brock's Monument, (Queenston, Ontario) - a high-profile public works project in Victorian Canada. Brock's Monument was designed by noted Toronto architect, William Thomas (no relation).
In 1857 C.T. Thomas relocated to Cobourg, Ontario to become the master stone carver and contractor for the stone cutting on Cobourg's Victoria Hall, designed by Toronto architect, Kivas Tully. Again, Thomas was working with Worthington Brothers, using Cleveland sandstone quarried from a quarry owned and operated by John Worthington. The Victoria Hall stone carvings and ornamentation are considered among the finest in Canada.
The Cobourg Star for July 7, 1858 reported on the progress being made by Charles Thomas on the main entrance to Victoria Hall (see photo, right), saying:
"a vast amount of stone cutting has been accomplished .... The carvings on the spandrels of the chief entrance are exceedingly fine. They comprise the national emblems of the three United Kingdoms - the rose, the thistle, and the shamrock disposed on either side by an ancient lyre. These carvings together with the fine bearded face which forms the keystone of the arch [see photo above] are the work of Mr Thomas, contractor for the stone cutting and they certainly do him very great credit".
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Wikipedia