John Ward Knowles
British York-based stained-glass manufacturer (1838–1931)
John Ward Knowles (1838–1931) was a prominent British York-based stained-glass manufacturer, and commentator on local art and music.
Family
Knowles may have been related to the civil engineer George Knowles (c. 1776-1856june23: will 1856aug13, [1] ref PROB 11/2237/206), who designed Scarborough's spa promenade and South Cliff Gardens. His brother was William Knowles (1846nov3-1908sep7).
His son John Alder Knowles (1881-1961) continued the craft traditions but also moved with the times. He spent some time studying glass manufacturing methods in the USA before the First World War. Enthused by the work of Tiffany, he attempted an English version of the famous lamps, but charming though his prototypes were, they lacked the delicacy of the originals and failed to catch on.
Career
After training in art, Knowles dabbled in photography. In 1869 John Ward Knowles took the premises at No.41, (The Star Inn) previously the house of Mr Robinson, Hosier. According to his notes he moved there in 1869 and he is shown there in the 1871 & 1872 Directories.
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This entry incorporates text from “John Ward Knowles” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.