Bryant Fedden

Bryant Fedden
Born17 July 1930
Died19 March 2004
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Letter-cutter, Glass engraver and Sculptor
Years active1954 - 2004
SpouseKate Fedden
Children3

Bryant Olcher Fedden (17 July 1930 - 19 March 2004) was a self-taught letter-cutter, glass engraver and sculptor who developed his craft in a workshop environment with craftspeople whom he taught and supported.[1][2] He was a member of the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen for more than forty years.[3] He was a founder member of the Letter Exchange, a professional organisation promoting lettering in all its forms.[4] Bryant Fedden has work in the Victoria and Albert Museum Collections.[5]

Bryant Fedden went to Bryanstone School and followed that with two years in National Service.[6][7] He then went up to Clare College, Cambridge University where he read history.[8][9] Bryant married Kate in 1955 and they then taught English in Pakistan.[10][11] Bryant Fedden then taught history at Gordenstoun School in Scotland.[11] They then made the decision to change careers and set up a letter cutting and sculpture workshop in Toddington, Gloucestershire.[12] The workshop gained commissions including a memorial plaque for the Waller era architects for Gloucester Cathedral in 1961.[13]

In 1966 Bryant Fedden moved his workshop to Winchcombe, Gloucestershire in part to be closer to Winchcombe Pottery and its manager, the potter Ray Finch.[9] The number of people working at the workshop increased and included Kate Fedden who took on some of the commissioned glass engraving.[14] Notable works by Bryant Fedden at this time included the gates and railings for Tewksbury Abbey, with Keith Jameson, in 1968; the Ivor Gurney Memorial Plaque in Gloucester Cathedral in 1976 and the memorial plaque to Sylvanus Lysons in Gloucester Cathedral in 1989.[15][16][13]

Bryant Fedden then moved to Littledean, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire and together with wife Kate Fedden (glass engraving), his son Matthew Fedden (artist-blacksmith) and his son-in-law Paul Harper (furniture maker) set up a multi-functioning workshop.[17] Bryant Fedden's notable works from this time include a viewing platform plaque of a short poem by Robin Munro carved in stained oak for the National Garden Festival in Gateshead in 1990; the carved grave stone for his friend Li Yuan-Chia, the renowned Chinese artist, poet and curator in 1994 and the public art Memorial to Littledean Dairymen in Littledean, Gloucestershire in 2000.[18][19][20][21]

In 2002, Gloucester Cathedral hosted an exhibition of works from Bryant Fedden's various workshops entitled "40 Years of Bryant Fedden Workshops: A Celebration".[22]

  1. ^ Harper, Paul (September 2004). "Bryant Fedden Obituary". Forum: Newsletter of Letter Exchange (8): 9.
  2. ^ Carruthers, Annette (1999). Simplicity or Splendour: Arts and Crafts Living: Objects from the Cheltenham Collections. London: Lund Humphries Publishers. p. 171. ISBN 0-85331-779-8.
  3. ^ Greene, Lesley (2002). 40 Years of Bryant Fedden Workshops - A Celebration. Winchcombe: Self-published.
  4. ^ Yallop, Rachel (September 2004). "From the Chairman" (PDF). Forum Newsletter of the Letter Exchange. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006.
  5. ^ Anon (13 December 1997). "Oracle Goblet". Victoria and Albert Museum Collections.
  6. ^ MacCarthy, Fiona (8 June 2004). "Donald Potter Obituary". The Guardian Newspaper.
  7. ^ Anon (18 November 1949). "Supplement to the London Gazette" (PDF). Archived from the original on 6 May 2019.
  8. ^ Anon. "Index of Obituaries of Clare College" (PDF). Clare College Cambridge.
  9. ^ a b Theophilus/Coatts, Jeremy/Margot (1989). The Spirit of the Letter: A Celebration of Lettering and Calligraphy in Britain Today. Portsmouth: Portsmouth City Museums.
  10. ^ Anon. "Free BMD Query Page". Free BMD (Births Marriages Deaths).
  11. ^ a b Shaw, Hazel (15 June 1973). "West Country Craft". The Guardian: 13.
  12. ^ Coventry Staff (11 October 1966). "Display of craftsmanship". Birmingham Daily Post. p. 1.
  13. ^ a b Anon (1997). Gloucester Cathedral Memorials: NADFAS (National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies) Record. Gloucester Cathedral Library: Self-published. p. 237.
  14. ^ Anon. "Society of Designer Craftsmen Records". National Archives.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Anon. "Gloucester Cathedral Monuments". Church Monuments Gazetteer.
  17. ^ Anon. Letter Exchange 10th Anniversary Exhibition. London: Letter Exchange. p. 19.
  18. ^ Prince, Geraldine (1990). Festival Landmarks '90: Art, Craft, Poetry and Performance Art at The National Garden Festival, Gateshead, May - October 1990. Gateshead: NGF '90. p. 76. ISBN 0951637118.
  19. ^ Anon. "Li Yuan Chia, Artist". Gravestone Pix.
  20. ^ Anon. "Li Yuan-Chia Foundation Chronology". Li Yuan-Chia Foundation.
  21. ^ Eccles, Pauline (27 March 2008). "Memorial at Littledean". Wikimedia Commons.
  22. ^ Greene, Lesley (2002). 40 Years of Bryant Fedden Workshops - A Celebration. Littledean: Self-published.