William Silver Frith

William Silver Frith (1850–1924) studied at the Lambeth School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools. He taught at the South London Technical School of Art (now City & Guilds of London Art School) from 1880 and lectured at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1892. His students included George Frampton, another craftsman who worked on the creation of Two Temple Place, and many other leading sculptors. He has several works still in existence on the exteriors of buildings around Whitehall, the facade of the V&A Museum, and in the City.

At Two Temple Place, he was responsible for the bronze lamp standards outside the entrance. These playful designs have a very particular iconography combining Astor’s technical, historical, and classical interests. We assume that they had detailed discussions on what Astor wanted in those designs.

Frith is responsible for perhaps the finest carving in Two Temple Place: the paneling of the Library with the muses and putti in finely grained woods. He also carved the very personal and extraordinarily graceful white marble Family Tree fireplace, now in Cliveden (and formerly in the Two Temple Place Library), which would have required detailed input and approval from William Waldorf Astor. He produced fireplaces for Astor at Hever Castle and the stunning tower clock face at Cliveden.

Sadly, most of Frith’s exterior Two Temple Place work is lost due to World War II damage, including his stonework on the portico and the now absent “courtyard” wall.