Powell, John Hardman
John Hardman Powell (1827-95) was the nephew of John Hardman Jr. (1811-67) through his half-sister Lucy and her husband, William Powell, his partner in the metalworking firm of John Hardman & Co.
John Hardman Powell a deeply religious Roman Catholic, was trained as an apprentice by A.W.N. Pugin at The Grange in Ramsgate. A rare privilege given Pugin’s reluctance to employ clerks or take on pupils. The relationship was not easy at first, but Pugin could see his talent and potential as a draughtsman and designer. At the end of his apprenticeship in 1848 Powell moved back to the Hardman company’s base in Birmingham. However, he returned to work in Ramsgate in 1850 upon his marriage to Pugin’s eldest daughter, Anne (1832-97). After Pugin’s death in September 1852 he stepped up as the chief designer of the Hardman business.
The Hardman firm continued to flourish under his leadership, due in part to the individual attention given to commissions and the originality of each design, a contrast to other firms that would often reuse designs numerous times.
Following John Hardman Powell’s death in 1895, his son, Dunstan Powell (1861-1932) took over as chief designer.
Sources:
Hardman of Birmingham, Goldsmith and Glasspainter by Michael Fisher (Landmark Publishing, 2008)
The Stained Glass of John Hardman and Company under the leadership of John Hardman Powell from 1867 to 1895 by Mathé Shepheard, which can be downloaded as a 3 volume PDF
