Joseph Wilton

Innovative in his work, a gentleman in his lifestyle and the fortunate possessor of a Continental training, Wilton was, for a time, England’s foremost sculptor and a leading figure in the newly-formed Royal Academy. He was born in London on 10 July 1722, and christened at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 8 August, the eldest son of William Wilton, an entrepreneurial plasterer who owned an ornament manufactory, with premises near Cavendish Square and Charing Cross. - In 1768 Wilton’s father died, leaving his estate to his eldest son, Joseph. In addition, three properties in Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, were left in trust to be administered by Wilton and [William] Chambers [William Chambers] in the interests of Joseph’s children. Wilton had acquired the trappings of a gentleman, including houses in town, on the Mall at Hammersmith, and at Snaresbrook, near Wanstead. His two sons, John and Joseph, were educated at Westminster School and young Joseph went on to University College, Oxford. His daughter, Frances, married Sir Robert Chambers, who had recently been appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature in Bengal. J T Smith, whose father had worked for Wilton, doubted that any man ‘supported a more liberal table’ (Smith 1828, 2, 177), and his guests included Lord Charlemont, one of his patrons (161), Joseph Baretti, who published puffs of Wilton’s work, and Dr Johnson, who refers to Wilton’s family in his correspondence, and who wrote the epitaph on the monument to Hester Salisbury (26). Many years later, when Wilton read Boswell’s biography of Johnson, he bemoaned the fact that he, Wilton, hadn’t kept a diary of things ‘worth recording of himself and those he knew’ (Farington 2, 415).- Although now over 70, Wilton was in general good health, and appears to have carried out effectively such duties as vetting students for the plaster Academy at the RA. At this period he also began to write down particulars of his life, largely for Farington. He continued to be sociable, dining with guests in his rooms and receiving visits from his family, including his son who had become an Episcopalian vicar in Haddington, Scotland. Wilton’s wife died in September 1794 (GM, Sept 1794, 866) and he appears to have re-married for Farington recorded in January 1800 that Wilton’s ‘wife’s mother has £1,000 a year which must come to His family after Her decease. She is 70 years of age - He expects soon to have a good living’ (Farington, 4, 1357). Farington reported that Wilton’s health was failing in 1799, but he survived another four years dying on 25 November 1803. He was buried in the graveyard at St Mary, Wanstead: above the inscribed slab is a tall stone watch-house, locally known as the ‘watchers-box’, said to be a replica of the entrance to the holy sepulchre in Jerusalem. Wilton’s obituary in the Gentleman’s Magazine described him as ‘an artist of very considerable merit. In his private life he was universally beloved, being of a placid temper, mild in his manners, benevolent, and hospitable; an indulgent and affectionate parent, and a kind master; all his habits were temperate, which contributed very much to his longevity’ (GM, Nov 1803, 1099). J T Smith’s response to the sculptor was similar: he gave a vivid picture of the ‘portly and well-looking’ sculptor, ‘always dressed in the height of fashion’ and carrying a gold cane, whose perfectly gentlemanlike manners ‘rendered him an agreeable companion’ (Smith 1828, 2, 183). Horace Mann was less charitable about his former lodger. In 1760, after Wilton had failed to maintain correspondence with the consul, he described the sculptor as ‘a low-born fellow without education or gratitude’ (Lewis 1937-1983, vol. 22, 418-9). In 1796, the generous-spirited Wilton told Farington that ‘there was no just ground of reproach against the late Sir Horace Mann’ (Farington, vol. 2, 524). - A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660-1851.

• Wikipedia contributors. "Joseph Wilton." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

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• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17204668/joseph-wilton

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FAG lists two daughters, one of whom was born long before Wilton's marriage in 1757. [since removed]
Family Search lists Frances and two brothers: William Joseph Wilton (1760- ) and George Wilton (1761- ): both are identified by church records indicating the father as Joseph Wilton and mother as Frances. William Joseph and George were baptized in Marylebone, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom, Frances was baptized at Saint Martin in the Fields.

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/MSQB-1YJ

Wilton had an only daughter of great personal charm, who in 1774 married Sir Robert Chambers [q. v.], chief justice of Bengal. Biographer Lionel Henry Cust

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_18...

He frittered away the fortune that his father had taken a lifetime to accumulate and was declared bankrupt in 1793.

Gold State Coach 1762

The gilded eight horse-drawn State Coach. Designed by William Chambers (1723-96) and made by the coachmaker Samuel Butler; featuring painted panels by Giovanni Cipriani (1727-85) and richly gilded carved sculpture by the carver Joseph Wilton (1722-1803The gilded eight horse-drawn State Coach. Designed by William Chambers (1723-96) and made by the coachmaker Samuel Butler; featuring painted panels by Giovanni Cipriani (1727-85) and richly gilded carved sculpture by the carver Joseph Wilton (1722-1803), the gilder Henry Pujolas and the metal chaser George Coyte. Three cherubs on the roof (representing England, Ireland and Scotland) support the Imperial Crown and four tritons, one at each corner (representing Britain's imperial power). The body of the coach is slung by braces covered with Morocco leather with gilt buckles. The interior is lined and upholstered with velvet and satin.

Catalogue entry from Gold,London, 2014.

1. Joseph Wilton and Frances Lucas were married 9 June, 1757 at Saint Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London, England.
2. Frances Wilton was born nine months later on 6 March, 1758 in Marylebone. ("England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQT5-GRJ : 5 February 2023), Joseph Wilson in entry for Frances Wilson, 1758.)
3. In 1760, Wilton won a competition to design a monument to Major-General James Wolfe for Westminster Abbey. He served as Sculptor in Ordinary to King George III and Keeper of the Royal Academy.
4. By 1761, to meet the increasing demands on his business, Wilton established extensive workshops on Queen Anne Street East. He occupied a large adjoining house at No. 94 Great Portland Street. There were many facets to his business; he dealt in imported marbles and vases, executed chimneypieces, portrait busts and monuments, and carried out restoration work on antique statues. He had numerous assistants, and took on apprentices in 1764 and 1765.
5. In 1790, Wilton was appointed keeper of the Royal Academy, and moved into a suite of rooms in Somerset House. Despite being an accomplished mason and sculptor, Wilton struggled financially later in his career, and was declared bankrupt in 1793. He died in 1803 and was buried in the graveyard at St Mary Wanstead. -
6. A "George Wilton" was born 23 January, 1761 to Joseph and Francis Wilton and baptized 17 February, 1761 at Marylebone Parish Church in Marylebone, London, England.
7. Frances Wilton married Sir Robert Chambers 8 March, 1774 at Marylebone Parish Church in Marylebone, London, England.

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