Ashwin and Falconer

Last updated June 09, 2022

Ashwin and Falconer were a stained glazing partnership in Pitt Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Their work appears in a number of heritage-listed properties.^[1]

History

John Falconer was one of the earliest Sydney stained glaziers establishing his business in 1863 after his arrival in Australia from Glasgow in 1856. He was joined by Frederick Ashwin (1833-1909) in 1875.

Frederick Ashwin was born in Birmingham, and joined the London-based stained glass firm of Clayton and Bell before setting up on his own account in Bloomsbury, London.^[2]^[3] Ashwin's surviving English works include a memorial window, entitled “The Dawning of the Last Day” which he produced, in 1871, for St Barnabas's Church, Hengoed, Shropshire.^[4] It is now preserved at the Stained Glass Museum at Ely Cathedral. He also produced a representation of Charity (“Charitas”) that was displayed in London at the 1872 International Exhibition,^[5] and now held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.^[6]

Falconer and Ashwin formed a partnership around 1876 called Falconer and Ashwin,^[2] later reversed to Ashwin and Falconer. Falconer continued in practice until 1892 when Ashwin and Falconer became known as F Ashwin & Co.^[1]^[7] John Radecki joined the firm in 1885 as a trainee and continued as an employee until Ashwin's death in 1909. The business F Ashwin & Co, which had relocated from Pitt Street to 83 Commonwealth Street, was sold up in 1925.^[8]

In 1910, Radecki became chief designer for John Ashwin & Co, in partnership with Frederick Ashwin's cousin, John Ashwin, a jeweller from Birmingham who had been in business in New Zealand.^[9]^[10]^[11] Radecki was proprietor of John Ashwin & Co, which was based at 31 Dixon Street, Sydney, from John Ashwin's death in 1920 until 1954. Because of Radecki's connection with F Ashwin & Co, John Ashwin & Co sometimes claimed continuity with the earlier firm.^[12] Radecki's daughter Winifred Siedlecky continued as proprietor of the firm until the building's owners demolished the Dixon Street premises in 1961.

Significant works

The company produced many outstanding windows including:^[1]

1877: the glazed dome in the Sydney Town Hall ^[7]
1878: windows for St James's Catholic church, Forest Lodge, Sydney^[7]
circa 1882: two figured panels at Farrington House in Alderley, Brisbane, Queensland (since removed from this house and in an unknown private collection)^[13]
panels for St James' Church of England in Toowoomba, Queensland which were designed by Edmund Blacket & Son^[14]
a window in the Wesley Uniting Church in Toowoomba^[1]
1905: three stained glass windows in St Andrew's Uniting Church in Brisbane (representing the Burning Bush, John Knox and John Calvin)^[14]

Related Research Articles

John Radecki was a master stained glass artist working in Australia, considered to be the finest such artist of his time.

Christ Church St Laurence is an Anglican church located at 814 George Street, near Central railway station and Haymarket, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the principal centre of Anglo-Catholic worship in the city and Diocese of Sydney, where the Anglican church is predominantly Evangelical in character. Anglo-Catholicism is manifested at Christ Church St Laurence by an emphasis on the sacraments, ritual, music and social action, all of which have been prominent features of Anglo-Catholicism since the 19th century.

St Andrews Uniting Church is a heritage-listed church at 131 Creek Street, Brisbane CBD, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by George David Payne and built in 1905 by Alexander Lind & Son. Initially St Andrews Presbyterian Church, it became part of the Uniting Church following the merger of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches in 1977. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

Second St Marys Church, Warwick Historic site in Queensland, Australia

The second St Mary's Roman Catholic Church is a heritage-listed sandstone Catholic church at 163 Palmerin Street in Warwick in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Dornbusch & Connolly and built from 1920 to 1926. It is also known as St Mary of the Assumption Church. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

Albert Street Uniting Church is a heritage-listed church at 319 Albert Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by George Henry Male Addison and built from 1888 to 1889 by Thomas Pearson & Sons. It was originally known as Albert Street Methodist Church and Central Methodist Mission. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

St Matthew's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed church at Beatrice Street, Drayton, once a town but now a suburb of Toowoomba in Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by James Marks and built from 1886 to 1887 by Seath, Hobart and Watson. It is also known as St Matthew's Church of England and is the second church of that name in Drayton. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

St Mark's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed church at 55 Albion Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the second church of that name on that site. It was designed by Richard George Suter and built in 1868 by John McCulloch. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

St Luke's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed church at 152 Herries Street, Toowoomba City, Queensland, Australia. It is the second church on the site and was designed by John Hingeston Buckeridge and built in 1897. It is also known as St Luke's Church of England. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000.

St John's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed church at 153 Cunningham Street, Dalby, Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the third church of that name on the site and was designed by Henry James (Harry) Marks and built in the 1920s. It is also known as St John's Church of England. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 14 August 2008.

All Saints Anglican Church and cemetery Yandilla is a heritage-listed Anglican church at Gore Highway, Yandilla, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built about 1878 by John Baillie. It is also known as All Saints Church of England. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

St James Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church at 145 Mort Street, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard George Suter and built from 1869 to 1953. It is also known as St James Church of England. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000.

St Patrick's Cathedral is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic cathedral on James Street, South Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Toowoomba architect James Marks and was built from 1883 to 1935. The site of the cathedral was originally a church and school known as St Patrick's Church School. In 1899, the school was moved to make way for the building of the cathedral and in 1959 renamed as St Saviour's School. St Patrick's Cathedral was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

Wesley Uniting Church is a heritage-listed former church at 54 Neil Street, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Willoughby Powell and built from 1877 to 1924. It is also known as Wesleyan Methodist Church. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 10 May 1997.

Farrington House is a heritage-listed detached house at 39 David Street, Alderley, Queensland, Australia. It was built c. 1882. It is also known as Clifford House. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

RS Exton and Co Building is a heritage-listed warehouse facade at 333 Ann Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Claude William Chambers and built in 1907. It is also known as Ace House. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 17 December 1999.

St Augustines Anglican Church is a heritage-listed church at Dove Street, Leyburn, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard George Suter and built from 1871 to 1918. It is also known as St Augustine's Church of England. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 August 1992.

Tryon Road Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting church located at 33 Tryon Road in the Sydney suburb of Lindfield in the Ku-ring-gai Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by William Slade and built from 1914 to 1914 by W. 'Ossie' Knowles. It is also known as Lindfield Wesleyan Methodist Church. The property is owned by the Uniting Church in Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 19 September 2003.

The Newtown Mission Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting church at 280a King Street, Newtown, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by George Allen Mansfield and built in 1859 by Thomas Abbott. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

St Stephen's Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting Church located at 197 Macquarie Street, in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Developed initially as St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, it was designed by Finlay Munro Jnr and John Reid and built from 1935 to 1937 by Kell & Rigby. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 3 September 2004.

Kell & Rigby was an Australian construction company.

References

1 2 3 4 "Wesley Uniting Church (entry 601695)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
1 2 "The Sydney Morning Herald". The Sydney Morning Herald . Vol. LXXIII, no. 11, 892. New South Wales, Australia. 29 June 1876. p. 5. Retrieved 8 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
↑ Sporting Life (London), 16 October 1861, p 4.
↑ Wrexham Advertiser, 23 December 1871, p 6.
↑ The Building News, 7 June 1872, p 451.
↑ "Window | Ashwin, Frederick | V&A Explore the Collections".
1 2 3 Beverley Sherry (2011). "Stained glass". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
↑ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 27, 318. New South Wales, Australia. 25 July 1925. p. 20. Retrieved 8 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
↑ Lech Paszkowski, Poles in Australia and Oceania 1790-1940 (Australian National University Press, 1987) p 52.
↑ "ARTISTS IN STAINED CLASS". The Catholic Press . No. 780. New South Wales, Australia. 1 December 1910. p. 42. Retrieved 8 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.
↑ Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 104, 3 May 1910, p 2.
↑ The Church Standard, 14 March 1930.
↑ "Farrington House (entry 600046)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
1 2 "St Andrews Uniting Church (entry 600086)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article is based on "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU license (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU license (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014).