Francis Skidmore

Francis Skidmore
Francis Skidmore
Born	1817 Birmingham, UK
Died	13 November 1896 Coventry, UK
Notable work	Lichfield, Hereford and Salisbury Cathedral screens

Francis Alfred Skidmore (1817 – 13 November 1896) was a British metalworker best known for high-profile commissions, including the glass and metal roof of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (1859), the Hereford Cathedral choir screen (1862) and the Albert Memorial (1866–73) in London. Skidmore was heavily influenced by Gothic Revival style, a movement characterised by its use of medieval designs and styles. He was a member of both the Oxford Architectural Society and the Ecclesiological Society, two organisations which endorsed the Gothic Revival style. Skidmore also worked closely with architect Sir George Gilbert Scott.

Francis Alfred Skidmore was born in Birmingham, the son of Francis Skidmore, a jeweller. The Skidmore family moved to Coventry around 1822, possibly because Coventry was an important watchmaking centre. Skidmore learned metalworking from his father and completed a seven-year apprenticeship with him. In 1845, father and son registered as silversmiths under the name F. Skidmore and son. Their early work as silversmiths consisted primarily of church plate. The earliest known examples of Skidmore's work includes three silver chalices made for St John the Baptist's Church, Coventry (1845), St Giles, Exhall (1845) and St Alkmund's, Derbyshire (1846).

The 1850s were an important period in the development and expansion of Skidmore's career as a metalworker and craftsman. At the Great Exhibition of 1851, he exhibited church plate, including a silver gilt and enamelled chalice now on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The recognition he received at the Exhibition helped to stimulate his business and he soon expanded, beginning to produce other church furnishings including items in iron, brass and wood. In 1851, he also received commissions to produce gas lighting in St Michael's Church, Coventry. Skidmore's firm also installed gas lighting in St Mary's Guildhall and Holy Trinity Church, both also in Coventry. At Holy Trinity Church, some of his ironwork, wooden pews and gas lamp standards are still in situ.