About Us
Watts & Co is one of the most remarkable survivals of the Gothic Revival of the nineteenth century: a firm founded in 1874 by three leading late-Victorian church architects, George Frederick Bodley Thomas Garner and George Gilbert Scott , the Younger, to produce furniture and textiles in a style distinctly their own.
The founders of Watts were young men of a new generation of architects who were moving away from the vigorous style of the early Gothic Revival towards a more refined and sensitive understanding of the Gothic style. The motivating force was Bodley, one of the most scholarly and refined architects of his generation, a designer of country houses and responsible for the restoration of castles and bishops' palaces. Bodley also designed the exquisite church of Holy Angels, Hoar Cross and, with his pupil Henry Vaughan, the National Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul, Washington DC.
The designs made by the founders for the firm were among the most original and distinctive of their time, rivaled only by the work of Morris & Co, with whom Watts was in friendly competition. All three were captivated by the ethereal beauty of the late-gothic art of Northern Europe and the sturdy refinement of the English Renaissance House. From such rich sources they produced designs of fertile invention in which the elaboration of detail is controlled by simplicity, strength and restraint, giving their work a timeless quality transcending period limitations.
As well as the original founder architects, others soon began to use Watts for the decoration of their buildings, to such an extent that the Watts' style developed from the avant-garde to become the accepted style of the Church of England and the British Establishment.
The original premises of Watts was No. 30 Baker Street where, as well as the ground floor show room, there was a splendid apartment on the first floor reserved for architects and distinguished visitors. Here rolls of magnificent silks and velvets were displayed as well as splendid hand blocked wallpapers, much Art-Furniture and precious metal work.
There were separate work rooms for the embroideresses and seamstresses and a flat at the top of the building in which Mr J L Davenport lived. He was the director in day-to-day charge of Watts and responsible for much of the work done at this time. Mr Davenport was an important but shadowy figure who played the violin and wore a hat sporting a long tassel. It has been suggested that he was one of the individuals on whom Conan Doyle based the character of Sherlock Holmes.
Although Watts designs were primarily for use in the partners own work, they have always been sold commercially and have been used extensively by many leading architects and designers. Bodley's pupil, Sir Ninian Comper, used Watts' fabrics in his early work and in restorations after the second world war. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Temple Moore and Sir Walter Tapper used Watts exclusively; the American architect, Ralph Adams Cram, imported Watts’ fabrics for many of his noble churches.
From the firm's foundation church embroidery has been in the forefront of their work. Numerous altar frontals, banners, hangings and vestments, some of them amongst the finest ever made, are to be found in cathedrals, churches and chapels throughout the world. Watts are still renowned for their high standard of embroidery and needlework, specialising in traditional methods.
Watts has always been a family firm. Bodley was an uncle of George Gilbert Scott the Younger. From 1951, until her death in 2001, Mrs Elizabeth Hoare, a grand-daughter of George Scott the Younger and great-grand niece of Bodley, was the firm's inspiring Director. Today her children and now grandchildren are still the guardians of the famous Watts name.
But who was Watts? What's in a name? the founders asked, wishing to avoid their family names being associated with trade, thus making a private joke and the prevention of a social solecism, into one of the best known names in nineteenth century decorative design.
Heraldic and ceremonial embroidery has always figured prominently in the work of Watts.
The coronation of a sovereign of Great Britain is one of the most spectacular events in history. The four coronations of the 20th century have been the most magnificent ever staged, reflecting British world importance. Watts has been prominently represented at all four.
The coronation of Edward VII, in 1902, was a positive orgy of magnificence. There had not been a coronation for over sixty years and the ecclesiastical participants were determined not to be outdone. The Archbishop of Canterbury wore a cope by Watts as did the Archbishop of York. A pair of matching copes were also made for the two supporting Bishops of Durham and Bath & Wells, which have been used at all subsequent coronations. The Dean and Canons of Westminster Abbey were robed in new copes of claret red stamped velvet enriched with gold thread, a gift from the King. The High Altar was covered in a magnificent matching frontal.
Many of these robes were used again for King George V's coronation. St Paul Cathedral received a set of copes, designed by Sir Walter Tapper, for use at the Silver Jubilee service for King George V in 1911.
In 1938 new copes were presented to Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King George VI.
In 1953, another set of copes, with the startling embroidery of heraldic lions and unicorns, was presented to Westminster Abbey for the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, together with a frontal designed by Stephen Dykes-Bower.
To celebrate Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee in 2002, Westminster Abbey commissioned Watts to create new vestments and altar palls embroidered with the royal monogram. The fabric used for this commission was originally designed by G F Bodley.
Post War Watts
In the late 1940's the lease on 30 Baker Street ran out and the decision was made to move Watts nearer to the ecclesiastical heart of London. New premises were obtained at Dacre Street “ half way between Westminster Abbey and the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral.
Although traditional, Watts was involved in the radical post war liturgical reform. The new showroom was designed by the well know architects Robert Maguire and Keith Murray using stark white emulsion on light concrete blocks, which must have come as quite a surprise to their more traditional clientele.
n the 1960's Robert Maguire and Keith Murray broke new ground with their pioneering church of St Paul, Bow Common, for which Watts executed the contemporary fittings. The work of Stephen Dykes-Bower in Westminster Abbey, Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and elsewhere, is inextricably linked with Wattstextiles and embroidery.
In 1965 Watts moved again, this time to the classical elegance of Sir Edwin Lutyens' Faith House in Tufton Street. Here, Watts adapted to the changing fashions of the 1960's and 70's. Supported by a faithful group of friends and clients, Mrs Elizabeth Hoare maintained the traditions and standards of Watts and held together their unique collection of 19th century designs. During this period, Mrs Hoare acquired an important collection of 19th and 20th century ecclesiastical embroidery which is now on permanent display in Liverpool Cathedral built by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, her uncle.
Since the 1980's there has been a revival of the traditional Watts style. The original silk damasks were again woven in authentic colours, and embroidery is still produced using traditional techniques made mainly to original designs by David Gazeley joined in 1998 by Katharina Lupnova. A tailoring department was established in 1983 ensuring that clergy and choirs are impeccably dressed. In 1995 a showroom was opened in the fashionable Chelsea Harbour Design Centre, making Watts wallpapers and textiles more readily available to discerning interior decorators, so that they may now be found, once again, in the smartest settings, both in Great Britain and throughout the world.
At the opening of 21st century, Watts remains true to the precedence set by its founders, making objects of great beauty quality and refinement. The tradition of fine handcrafted vestments and furnishings, made with great skill from the very finest materials continue to inspire people everywhere.
