illiam Bainbridge Reynolds (1855–1935) has been described as "a devoted craftsman, who hated mass-production, and took infinite care over all that he did" (Clarke 111). He exhibited many works at the Arts & Crafts Fifth Exhibition at the New Gallery in 1896, including a wrought-iron door knocker executed for C.F.A. Voysey, copper-back and wrought iron fire-dogs of his own design, and a copper eagle (Catalogue 526, 544 and 592), the latter no doubt for a lectern. The best source of information about him is that provided by Rosemary Hill, who explains that he was a devoted High Church Anglican, and that in his work for his own church, the much-admired Grade I listed St Cuthbert's, Philbeach Gardens in Earl's Court, he evolved from "an unconvincing Gothic revivalist to a harbinger of art nouveau." In his screens and other metalwork here, as elsewhere, he proved himself both meticulous and original. Reynolds is not as well known as he might have been because much of his work was for well-known architects of the Arts-and-Crafts period, so that many of his beautifully wrought items are of their design, and quite properly credited to them. That perhaps is the lot of even the most gifted craftsman. Since Reynolds himself is said to have been "by character quiet and so self-effacing that he refused to sign or even mark his work" (Hill), he would probably have been perfectly content with this. All the same, he designed and created many works of his own, and deserves to be remembered as "one of the greatest of Arts & Crafts metalworkers" (Dixon 8). — Jacquleine Banerjee
Metalwork
- Galleon over Lower Ground-floor Window of the Southern Pavilion, at Thames House
- Screen in Walter Tapper's Church of the Ascension, Malvern Link
Work in Another Medium
Bibliography
Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society: Catalogue of the Fifth Exhibition. London: new Gallery, 1896. Internet Archive, from the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum's Art and Design Archives. Web. 3 September 2025.
Brabbs, Derry.
Dixon, John. Malvern's Victorian Churches (and Later). Malvern Civic Society, available here: https://www.malverncivicsociety.org.uk/malvern-civic-society-publications/
Hill, Rosemary. "Reynolds, William Bainbridge (1855–1935)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. Web. 3 September 2025.
Created 3 September 2025