Drake & Sons
Drake & Sons was one of the three leading firms in the south-west, along with Horwood Brothers of Mells and Frome and Fouracre & Son of Plymouth.
The firm was founded by Frederick Drake (1838-1920) who was born in Teignmouth, Devon. He trained with his uncle, Robert Beer (1799-1850), who was the first artist in the west of England to practice stained glass. He founded his own studio in Exeter in the 1860s, having turned down a partnership with Beer, although he would eventually acquire the successor firm of Beer & Driffield in 1897.
Drake’s early manner is close to that of Clayton & Bell, with small, well-composed groups of figures, their faces delicately drawn, but from the 1880s his designs begin to explore larger figure groups often dramatically disposed. He restored, with notable sensitivity, much medieval glass in Devon and in common with so many nineteenth-century glass-painters, he was also a considerable authority on ancient stained glass and, formulated one of the first scholarly interpretations of the history of the Exeter Cathedral east window.
His eldest son, Frederick Morris Drake (1875—1923), followed his father in combining the roles of original designer, scholar, and glass restorer. As Maurice Drake he was also a successful writer. As a novelist his sea stories, in their day, were favourably compared to Joseph Conrad’s. Among his many books and papers about stained glass is A History of English Glass Painting (1912), which is still acclaimed as being one of the best books on the subject. His own glass clearly shows the influence of Arts and Crafts design and Aestheticism, in its palette of olive greens, browns and slate blues. His daughter Daphne (1901-92), also continued the family involvement with stained glass, becoming the first woman to be appointed as Exeter cathedral glazier.
Frederick Drake’s younger son, Wilfred (1879-1948) became one of the leading authorities on stained glass in Britain during the first half of the 20th century, acting as an adviser to the Victoria and Albert Museum and working closely with William Burrell in developing the famous Burrell Collection . Wilfrid Drake was also a founding member of the British Society of Master Glass Painters.
The image opposite shows a detail of the window installed in Exeter Cathedral in 1921 to commemorate Frederick Drake and his businesses’ supervisor, William Bellringer. Frederick is depicted as the Blessed James of Ulm, a fifteenth century Dominican monk and patron of glaziers. When restored after World War II by Daphne Drake, she added dedications to her father and uncle.
Sources:
Stained Glass in the Burrell Collection by Linda Cannon (W & R Chambers ltd, 1991)
The Great East Window of Exeter Cathedral by Chris Brooks and David Evans (University of Exeter, 1988)
The Stained Glass of Exeter Cathedral by Dr Stuart Bird (2021)
Victorian Stained Glass by Martin Harrison (Barrie & Jenkins, 1980)