Born in
Clapham,
Surrey (now part of London), he was the son of Sarah and John Cheere (d.1756). Gunnis suggests he was initially apprenticed to
John Nost. Cheere was apprenticed in 1718 to mason-sculptor
Robert Hartshorne, an assistant to
William and
Edward Stanton. Scheemakers d. 1748) and took on many apprentices. In 1743, Cheere was appointed "Carver" to
Westminster Abbey, an appointment which led to his creation of at least nine monuments in the Abbey. He purchased property in the area surrounding the Abbey and took on civic offices including acting as a director of the Westminster Fire Office (in 1745–47 and 1760–62), Controller of Duties for the Free Fish Market of
Westminster (from 1749),
Justice of the Peace (c. 1750) and
deputy lieutenant for the county of
Middlesex. In July 1748, Cheere joined
William Hogarth and other artist friends, including
Thomas Hudson,
Joseph and
Alexander Van Aken and
Francis Hayman, on a trip to Paris, and then on to
Flanders and the Netherlands. In 1750, he was appointed a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries. He was
knighted on 10 December 1760 and created a
baronet, of St Margaret's, Westminster on 19 July 1766. Cheere was one of a group who unsuccessfully attempted to promote an English academy of arts (prior to the establishment of the
Royal Academy). He retired from business and sold the contents of his workshop in March 1770. ==Death and legacy==