Details of Sculptor

Surname

Thurlow

Alternative Surname

First Name

Thomas, of Saxmundham

Initial of Surname

T

Year of Birth/Baptism

1813

Flourished

Year of Death

1899

Biographical Details

He is celebrated locally as the creator of memorials in several churches in Suffolk and particularly for the monument with a portrait bust to the poet, George Crabbe (3). He was born on 23 October 1813, the son of John Thurlow, a builder and stonemason of Saxmundham and his wife, Rebecca. Thurlow went to school in nearby Brook Cottage and early showed his manual dexterity. As a teenager he would turn his hand to wood and plaster carving, stone-polishing, and he even made a violin, succeeding at the second attempt. At the age of 23 he left home for London where he was engaged by a monument manufacturer in Regent Street. During his spare time he took lessons in oil painting, something he pursued throughout his life (some of his paintings are in the Moot Hall, Aldeburgh, Suffolk). After a time employed with the London Marble Works, where he gained valuable experience of stone carving, Thurlow returned to Suffolk first opening a business in Halesworth and then settling back in Saxmundham in 1839. He was living with his parents at the time of the 1841 census on the east side of Turnpike Road. He became active in the town being appointed secretary and manager of the Saxmundham gas works. He was an overseer for the parish, was the town surveyor, and in 1847 he acquired the license for photography for the county of Suffolk, which he practised for a time. He is reported to have given ‘penny readings’ in the market hall, reciting from Dickens to packed audiences. In 1881 he and his wife lived in the High Street, Saxmundham, and he described himself as a sculptor in the census records.
His largest monument is the niched statue of Samuel Clouting, which reminded Gunnis of the Duke of Wellington, with its beaky nose and almost military cloak (7). His other monuments are varied in composition. The King has a medallion portrait (1), the Blois is a tablet with standing angels (4), the Gooch has a relief of the three Christian Virtues in classical garb (6), the Garrett, a bust (10) and the Crampin, an elaborate Gothic frame (11).
He is buried with his father and other family members in Saxmundham churchyard.
Literary References: Census records, 1841, 1881; Gunnis 1968, 395; Pevsner, Suffolk, 1974, passim
Website: http://www.saxmundham.org/aboutsax/people.html