Benjamin Payler

His father was James Payler (b.Woodhouse 18 May 1809), a wool cloth sorter; his mother was Hannah Payler nee Spurr (Hunslet 10 March 1808 – Leeds 1852), the fourth of numerous siblings, the surviving ones being Thomas Spurr, Edward T., Ann Elizabeth a milliner (1835–1911), John a brush maker, Emily, James, Mary, Lucy, and twins Henry Thomas and Frederick; all born at Woodhouse. The 1851 census finds Benjamin living at Woodhouse Street, Leeds, aged 9 years and a scholar, born at Woodhouse Leeds. In the 1861 census, he is at 29/30 Woodhouse Street, with his father, stepmother Margaret (b.1818) from Bishop Thornton and siblings. At age 19 he is already described as a sculptor. ==Apprenticeship==

He was apprenticed to Catherine Mawer alongside Matthew Taylor, the "gifted sculptor" of the angler's tomb in Woodhouse Cemetery. Assuming that he completed his apprenticeship at age 21, he could have been a top sculptor from 1862; it is not known whether he continued employment with Catherine Mawer until 1871 when he began independent work. ==Family and career==

Benjamin married Mary Jane Lassey (1844–1919) daughter of cabinet maker Joseph Lassey, in the Brunswick Methodist Chapel, Leeds, on 27 August 1870. They had at least six children: Benjamin (1875–1875), Frank Lassey (1876–1963) a bank clerk, Margaret Louise (b.1877; m.1912), Sydney (1878–1886), James Stanley (1880 – 24 January 1883) and Henry Rowland (1881 – 7 March 1885). The 1871 census sees Benjamin, a sculptor and stone carver, and his wife living at 5 Woodville Terrace. In 1871 he was already advertising his services and working from his 5 Woodville Terrace address. In 1881 they and their children Frank, Sydney and James, and a domestic servant, were living at 19 Kingsham Road, Leeds; he is described as a sculptor mason, employing four men. In 1885 they were living at 19 Bagby Street, Bagby Fields, Leeds. In the 1901 census Benjamin, his wife and their children Frank and Margaret, are at 7 Blandford Gardens, Leeds; Benjamin is described as a sculptor. ==Death==

When he died in 1907, his effects were worth £987 2s 3d, and he left them to his widow Mary Jane Payler, and his two children Frank Lassey Payler bank clerk, and Margaret Louisa Payler spinster. ==Works by Benjamin Payler==

Bust of Henry Richardson JP, 1871 Henry Richardson (1798 – Dodworth Grove Barnsley 1 January 1875) was elected first mayor of Barnsley in 1869 and took his seat on 13 September. He was a West Riding of Yorkshire magistrate, and the head of Richardson, Lee, Rycroft & Co., Manchester and Barnsley linen manufacturers. His Leeds Mercury obituary described him as "a gentleman who was highly esteemed for his many amiable qualities and unostentatious benevolence." The bust was presented to Richardson at Barnsley Corn Exchange, by his linen factory employees, in token of their esteem, and in recognition of his golden wedding anniversary earlier the same year. The Yorkshire Post described it thus: "A handsome marble bust of himself, which had been executed by Mr Benjamin Payler, of Leeds, a young and rising artist. The bust was placed on a pedestal of polished granite." In 1871, the Barnsley Chronicle reported: (Barnsley Chronicle 2 December 1871) As of 2017 the bust was on display in a glass case in Barnsley Town Hall, and its pedestal was in the Cannon Hall Museum. Queen's Hotel, Barnsley, 1874 The Queens Hotel (later Queen's Court) is a Grade II listed building in Regent Street and Eldon Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. It was designed by Wade & Turner and completed in 1874. Payler created the sculpted heads on the building, including portraits of Queen Victoria, and Henry Richardson, first Mayor of Barnsley. He also created the triplicate label stop heads of himself, Catherine Mawer and Old Father Time on the adjacent building. designed by George Corson and his chief assistant James Robinson Watson, and opened in November 1878, having taken "thirteen months to build." It originally consisted of a theatre and assembly rooms, with shops in between. The interiors have been much changed, especially in the 1930s. "The prevailing colour of the decorations (was) crimson and gold." Cornice and medallion heads, Thornton's Arcade, 1877–1878 Although no evidence of the authorship of this exterior stone carving has been found, it is likely that Payler carved the stone medallion portrait heads at either end of Thornton's Arcade, in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. The reasons for considering Payler's possible authorship are as follows. The carvings are not in the same theatrical style as John Wormald Appleyard's nearby wooden clock figures, or his wooden head of the Duchess of Devonshire, inside the arcade. The stone heads resemble Payler's previous work on the former Queen's Hotel, Barnsley, described above. The carvings include a portrait of Payler as a signature, and a portrait of Appleyard with a feather in his cap as an acknowledgement of achievement given from one sculptor to another by members of the Mawer Group. Payler and Appleyard ran stoneyards about fifty yards apart, in Great George Street and Cookridge Street. They sometimes worked side by side on the same building, for example in Leeds Grand Theatre, The arcade underwent restoration in 1993 and 2010. • Thorntons Arcade 9 Feb 2019 (21).JPG|Lands Lane medallion head, 1878 Thorntons Arcade 9 Feb 2019 (29).JPG|Briggate Portrait of Benjamin Payler, 1878 Thorntons Arcade 9 Feb 2019 (27).JPG|Portrait of J.W. Appleyard with a feather in his cap Leeds School Board Offices, 1878/1879–1881 The former Leeds School Board building, in Calverley Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, is a Grade II* listed building, designed by George Corson. The Yorkshire Post credited "Mr. B. Payler" for the carving. The original estimate for the building was £24,000, and it was designed as a free interpretation of the Palladian style. It was opened on Thursday 29 September 1881. The Leeds Mercury said that:(Leeds Mercury 29 September 1881) Leeds Municipal Buildings (now Leeds Central Library) 1879–1884 Leeds Central Library is a Grade II* listed building, designed by George Corson and opened on 16 April 1884. The exterior carving was executed by Matthew Taylor and Benjamin Payler. St Lawrence's Church, Pudsey, restoration, 1887–1888 St Lawrence's on Church Lane, the parish church of Pudsey, West Yorkshire is a Grade II listed building. It was designed by Thomas Taylor and built in 1821–1823. The restoration of 1887–1888 included the pulpit by Payler, and that was dedicated on Sunday 16 September 1888. In 1888 the Leeds Mercury described the pulpit thus: shafts, the whole forming an imposing piece of ecclesiastical architecture." (Leeds Mercury 17 September 1888) The "Caen-stone octagonal pulpit with shafted marble columns" is described in the listing, but all internal furnishings were removed from the nave during the 2002 reordering. St Barnabas, Heaton, restoration, 1889 St Barnabas at Ashwell Road, Heaton, West Yorkshire, is an unlisted building. It was designed by Mallinson & Healey, and built 1863–1864. The reredos, a "handsome reading desk of Caen stone, with pillars, of dark green marble," and pulpit in Caen stone were added in 1889 by Payler. The reredos cost £120. English Church Architecture describes them as follows: Former London and Yorkshire Bank, Barnsley, 1892 The former London and Yorkshire Bank, Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was altered in 1892 by architects Wade & Turner. Payler was entrusted with some carved work for the doorway. The carved stones arrived at Barnsley on Friday 29 October 1892. However, due to a mason's strike, Payler had to send two or three men from Leeds to fix the stones in place. They completed the work "slowly" because they could not be assisted by Barnsley men. ==See also==