Pippet family of Solihull

The Pippet family are a family of designers and artists based in Warwickshire and Birmingham, who specialised in Catholic decorative schemes for churches, ecclesiastical metalwork and stained glass windows as well as some textile items. They were part of the British Gothic Revival, notably working for John Hardman & Co in the style of Pugin.

Joseph Aloysius Pippet

Born in Somerset in 1840 he was briefly educated at Downside Catholic school until his family moved to Leamington after his father was appointed land agent to the Throckmortons. As mentioned in his orbituary, his father was a notable convert to Catholicism. Joseph was apprenticed at John Hardman and Co sometime in 1853, becoming a reliable designer and design practice co-ordinator. He designed the interior decoration for Pugin's All Saints' Church in Barton-upon-Irwell, Lancashire, as well as wall paintings for Shrewsbury Roman Catholic Cathedral, the latter of which had become hidden in twentieth century refurbishing but revealed in restoration work since 2019.^[1] He worked particularly closely with Pugin's apprentice and son-in-law J.H. Powell. In the 1860s he decorated St Peter's church, Hascombe.^[2] Other examples of his work are in: Holy Trinity Church, Winchester;^[3] Salford Cathedral;^[4] Church of the Sacred Heart, Caterham, Surrey.^[5]

He married Juliet Elizabeth Mary Canning of Handsworth, Birmingham in 1865 and had sixteen children. Juliet managed her husband's accounts, writing letters concerning wages and more personal problems to J.H. Powell of Hardman and Co on behalf of Joseph. She was also an exceptional embroiderer, as were two of her daughters. Out of seven daughters four became nuns, one of whom became the Abbess at Teignmouth. He died in September 1903 at his house in Solihull from pneumonia. There was a solemn requiem held at St. Augustine's Church, Solihull, the family church with many artistic contributions by his family;^[6] his funeral took place at Baddesley Clinton.^[7]

The nave, St. Peter's Church, Hascombe
St. Peter's Church, Painted window arches
St. Peter's Church, sanctuary
Sacred Heart Church, Caterham

Elphege and Oswald Pippet

Elphege Joseph, born 1868, and Oswald Cody, 1869, and to a lesser extent their younger brother Wilfred, 1873, all worked for Hardman and Co. Later, Elphege and Oswald became independent subcontractors and designed many buildings for the company well into the 1930s.

Some of their designs include:

Chancel Decoration, Church of Our Lady, Ilkeston
Chapel Painting, St Anthony's Convent, Hull
Decoration of the Sacred Heart Chapel, St Mary's, Chorley
Decoration, Church of the Annunciation, Chesterfield
Shrine Chapel Decoration, York Oratory
Chapel Decoration, St Gregory's Convent, Cheltenham
Lady Chapel Decoration, St Catherine's, Birmingham
Decoration of Seminary Lady Chapel, St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw
English Martyrs' Chapel, Nottingham Cathedral
Interior Decorations of Sacred Heart Chapel, Sanctuary and Holy Family Chapel, Nazareth House, Hammersmith
Decoration of Oratory, Convent of the Sisters, Bristol
Sanctuary Decoration, St Joseph's, Richmond
High Altar, St Wilfrid's, Cotton
Sanctuary Ceiling, St Scholastica's Abbey, Teignmouth
Blessed Sacrament Chapel, St Barnabas' Cathedral, Nottingham

Gabriel Pippet

Born 1880, Gabriel Joseph Pippet became a renowned designer of mosaic and opus sectile. His finest work can be seen at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Droitwich. He also designed a set of Stations of the Cross for Corpus Christi Church, Baltimore, USA between 1896 and 1914. He taught art at Achimoto College, Gold Coast (now Ghana). Two 'lost' murals were restored in 2024 at the Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga by Cliveden Conservation.^[8]

References

^ "Shrewsbury Cathedral conservators find hidden paintings". BBC News. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
^ Church of St Peter, Hascombe. Church leaflet
^ "HOLY TRINITY PARISH CHURCH WINCHESTER". Holy Trinity Winchester.
^ "Our History". Salford Cathedral. 2022.
^ "Lost wall paintings restored at Church of the Sacred Heart, Caterham". Ecclesiastical and Heritage World.
^ "Solihull – St Augustine of England". Taking Stock - Catholic Churches of England and Wales.
^ "Funeral of a Solihull artist". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 12 September 1903. p. 6.
^ "Restoring the lost murals of Gabriel Pippet, The Oxford Oratory". Cliveden Conservation. 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.

Bill Covington, 'J. A. Pippet and Hardman, Powell & Company', True Principles, vol. 2 No. 3, 2001
Brian Doolan, 'The Pugins and the Hardmans', 2004
Michael Fisher, 'Pugin Land', 2002