Sculptor, Sir Charles Wheeler, produced many familiar works throughout London, from this gilded and winged Springbok at South Africa House, to a fountain in Trafalgar Square, along with large bodies of work at India House, The Bank of England and elsewhere.

But today, uniquely for this blog, I would like to feature a work of his that isn’t in London but can be seen instead in a former capital.

One of his very earliest commissions was for a Madonna and Child to stand over the entrance to Winchester College’s War Memorial Cloister.

The Madonna stands in a niche above the entrance to a cloister designed by Sir Herbert Baker. Wheeler always said that it was this work that established his reputation and led to his selection for work with Baker at the Bank of England, South Africa and India Houses. An art teacher at the school, Richard Gleadowe, who was also an advisor to the Admiralty on War artists, helped Wheeler to secure this early commission.

This was also the first time that Wheeler ” climbed onto scaffolding and carved direct on a building”. Architect Douglas St Leger was at the time working as an assistant to Baker and it was he who persuaded Wheeler to carve directly into the block of Portland stone already mounted above the arch.

Wheeler recalled that he was very hesitant because “as a beginner I thought I might have ruined the block and then I should have to bear the expense, which I couldn’t afford, of replacing it.”. It was only when St Leger offered to “pay for another monolith if anything went wrong” that Wheeler could begin. This method of carving in situ was then to become Wheeler’s favoured way of working.

Whilst Baker was the acknowledged architect of the cloister, the Headmaster of the school Monty Rendall also had a major influence on the design. Wheeler recalls that the two men discussed every detail together and became close friends.

The cloister was regarded by Wheeler to be one of the loveliest erected by the War Graves Commission after World War I. It was dedicated first in 1924 and then again, following WWII, in 1948. Inside there is also great deal of ornamental stone work.

In his autobiography High Relief, (1968) Country Life Books, Wheeler does not mention whether any of this additional work was carried out by himself but when he worked with Baker elsewhere he tended to produce a vast number of works for each project.

Wheeler said that “One day I will try to count up all the bronzes, stone and wood carvings as well as the plaster panels I have made for his buildings. Sufficient idea for the present maybe got from the fact that at The Bank of England alone I sculpted 14 over-life size statues, five large bronze doors 20 feet high, three smaller bronze doors, three busts, a couple of dozen key stones and innumerable bronze handles, medallions etc. etc. “.

Stylistically and practically it seems likely to me that Wheeler’s hand can be seen throughout the cloister but I have not been able to find a definite reference. (Since I first wrote this the archivist at The College has very kindly confirmed that there is more work by Wheeler, along with a number of other sculptors at the college. Time to plan another to trip to Winchester! I will post resulting photos soon.)

Access to the College is by guided tour only. Aside from the cloister you will also see  fine medieval buildings dating back to the school’s foundation in 1382, along with a Wren-like addition from the 17th Century. Full details of the tours are available here.

For more posts from this blog on Sir Charles Wheeler, please see the tags.

The author of this blog is a qualified City of Westminster Tour Guide who runs unique walking tours throughout London, see tabs for details.