British sculptor (1887–1973)
Charles d’Orville Pilkington Jackson
Born Charles d'Orville
11 October 1887Died 20 September 1973(1973-09-20) (aged 85)Edinburgh, Scotland
Nationality British Alma mater
Edinburgh College of Art Known for Sculpture
Charles d’Orville Pilkington Jackson
RSA ,
FRBS ,
FRSA (11 October 1887 – 20 September 1973) was a British sculptor prominent in Scotland in the 20th century. Throughout his career he worked closely with the architect Sir
Robert Lorimer . He is most noteworthy for his creation of one of Scotland's most iconic landmarks, the
statue of
Robert the Bruce at
Bannockburn .
Early life
Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson was born at Garlenick near
Grampound ,
Cornwall the son of Ethel Katie D'Orville Smith.
[1] She had married his father on the 3rd May 1886, 22 year old medical student Louis Pilkington Jackson in an irregular marriage at 138 George Street, Glasgow.
[2]
Charles attended the
Edinburgh Institution from 1905 and the newly established
Edinburgh College of Art in 1907, studying design and sculpture.
[3] He graduated in 1910 and received a travelling scholarship of £100, which he used to visit the
British School in Rome . Whilst in Rome he worked with
Giacomo Boni on the rebuilding of the
Arch of Titus .
[3]
Career
Robert the Bruce statue near the
Bannockburn Visitor Centre
In 1911, on his return to Scotland, Jackson established himself in a studio with William MacDonald, a bronze founder. During World War I he served with the
British Army as a
subaltern in the
Royal Field Artillery and the
Intelligence Corps in
Egypt and Palestine , being
Mentioned in Dispatches .
[3]
After the war he received numerous commissions to design
war memorials and these extend across the whole width and breadth of Scotland. He was appointed as "supervising sculptor" for the
Scottish National War Memorial , which was planned and built within
Edinburgh Castle between 1919 and 1927.
[1] He was also commissioned to create numerous memorials to famous Scots, including tableaux at the
David Livingstone Centre , and a memorial to
Elsie Inglis , on which he collaborated with
Sir Frank Mears .
[3] In 1929 he went on holiday to Sweden with
Robert Lorimer
[4] and visited the eminent Swedish sculptor
Carl Milles whom he acknowledged as a great influence on his work.
[3]
In the Second World War, although being far beyond the age of conscription at 52, he again joined the army, this time serving in Scotland as a Gun Operations Room Officer for anti-aircraft guns. He had an extremely long working career leading to his most famous commission, the
statue of
Robert the Bruce being executed in 1964 at the age of 76. The mounted statue of Robert the Bruce forms the focal point of the memorial to the 1314
Battle of Bannockburn , and is sited to face southwards, from which direction the English army approached. The statue and monument are
listed at category A, and are included as one of the 60
DoCoMoMo Key Scottish Monuments of the post-war period.
[5]
[6] A copy of this sculpture stands at the
Alberta College of Art and Design in Canada, and an alternative version of the monument, showing Bruce on a rearing horse, was later installed at the Chivas Brothers Distillery in Paisley.
[1]
Pilkington Jackson exhibited regularly at the
Royal Scottish Academy , and was elected as an academician in 1956. He also served on the
Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland , and taught at Edinburgh College of Art in the late 1920s.
Death
Pilkington died in Edinburgh on the 20 September 1973.
[3] His body was cremated and his ashes were buried at
Lasswade Cemetery, at the North end of the modern section. He designed both his own gravestone (following the death of his wife, Eve Cornish Dening, 1885–1951), and that of his parents, which stands alongside. His son, Richard D'Orville Pilkington Jackson (1921-2009), was interred in the same grave.
Selected public works
Image
Title / subject
Location and coordinates
Date
Type
Material
Dimensions
Designation
Wikidata
Notes
War memorial
Balquhidder , Stirling
1920
Cross
Stone
Category B
Architect,
George Washington Browne
[7]
[8]
Memorial to the 5th Battalion
Royal Scots
St. Giles Cathedral , Edinburgh
1921
Plaque
Brass & green marble
[9]
More images
War memorial
Kelso, Scottish Borders
1921
Cross on platform with statue in niche
Stone & bronze
Category B
Q17844315
Architect,
Sir Robert Lorimer
[10]
[11]
More images
Scottish National War Memorial
Edinburgh Castle
1919-1927
Numerious elements including a relief of
Earl Haig
Stone
Category A
Q7437874
In conjunction with
Sir Robert Lorimer and others
[12]
[13]
[14]
[3]
Memorial to
Elsie Inglis
St Giles' Cathedral , Edinburgh
1922
Plaque
Marble
With
Sir Frank Mears
[12]
[3]
More images
War memorial
Rothesay, Bute
1922
Statue on pedestal
Bronze & stone
Category C
Q114169321
[15]
[16]
War memorial
Edinburgh College of Art , Lauriston Place, Edinburgh
1922
Reliquary on pedestal
Bronze & stone
[17]
[18]
Edinburgh University war memorial
Old College, University of Edinburgh
1923, extended 1952
Panels & surround
Bronze & stone
[19]
[20]
[21]
More images
War memorial
Alloa
1924
Statue group on pedestal
Stone
Category B
Q1777650
In conjunction with
Sir Robert Lorimer
[22]
[23]
[3]
Foam
Greenbank Garden , Clarkston
1938
Statue in fountain
Stone
Commissioned for the
Empire Exhibition in Glasgow
[3]
Memorial to John Charles Fraser Gibson
St. Serfs Church, Ferry Road, Edinburgh
1946
Stone
Gibson was killed in a plane crash in
Mombasa , 1945
[24]
War memorial
Tillicoultry , Clackmannanshire
1949
Statue on pedestal with surround
Stone
Q114169070
[25]
More images
Royal Scots Fusiliers World War II memorial
Ayr
1960
Statue on pedestal
Bronze
Q114168035
[26]
More images
Royal Scots memorial
Princes Street Gardens , Edinburgh
1950
Several standing stones linked by a metal grille
Stone & metal
Category B
Q17795453
With
Sir Frank Mears and others
[12]
[27]
[28]
More images
Statue of
Robert the Bruce
Bannockburn
1964
Equestrian statue on pedestal
Bronze & stone
Category A
Q17568248
[29]
[5]
Other works
Bust of James Clerk Maxwell by Charles d’Orville Pilkington Jackson. Located in Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scotland
Stone font, Holy Trinity Church, Ayr
[30]
Replacement head (in bronze) on the tomb of the 9th
Lord Belhaven and Stenton (originally by
William Birnie Rhind , 1896),
Dean Cemetery (1924)
[31]
War memorial plaques, both in bronze and slate, for the
British Linen Bank (1922) and for the
Royal Bank of Scotland (1923) in
Dundas House ,
St Andrew's Square, Edinburgh
[32]
[33]
Black & green marble war memorial plaque for
Bank of Scotland staff at the
Royal Bank of Scotland , Glasgow Road, Edinburgh (1921)
[34]
Screen with plaques in the
Durham Light Infantry chapel of
Durham Cathedral (1923)
[35]
Painted choir screen, St Serfs Church, Ferry Road, Edinburgh (1926)
[36]
Stone decorations for the chapel at
Stowe School (1927)
[37]
Sculpture of pelican, porch wall,
St Andrew's Garrison Church, Aldershot (1927)
[38]
A series of bronze tableaux depicting the life of
David Livingstone for the
David Livingstone Centre at Blantyre (1929)
[3]
[39]
Sculptural relief, exterior of the Crew Building, University of Edinburgh (1926-1932)
[40]
Series of 82 military statuettes for the United Services Museum in
Edinburgh Castle (1929–33)
Lectern, pulpet and Elders' seats for
Ardgour parish church in the
Scottish Highlands (1930)
[41]
Bust of
Gerard Baldwin Brown ,
Edinburgh University (1931)
[42]
Monument, a life-sized seated statue, to the child author
Marjorie Fleming in
Kirkcaldy Parish Church (1935)
[43]
Memorial to Evelyn, Lady Rayleigh, died 1934, in
Chelmsford Cathedral
[44]
Carved decorative panel on the exterior of Dundee Street Library, Edinburgh (1938)
[45]
Bust of
James Clerk Maxwell for
University of Aberdeen ,
Marischal College (1956); a later copy is displayed at the
James Clerk Maxwell Foundation in Edinburgh
Bronze bust of
Frederick Lugard for
Hong Kong University with a copy in the
National Portrait Gallery, London (1960)
[46]
Fibreglass sculpture of
Robert the Bruce on a rearing horse (a working model not chosen for use on the Bannockburn site) at the Chivas Brothers Distillery in
Paisley (1964)
La Poliche Libre at the
Royal Scottish Academy (1972)
[3]
References
^
a
b
c Nisbet, Gary.
"Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson (1887-1973)" . Glasgow - City of Sculpture . Retrieved 27 February 2014 .
^
"Marriage record of Louis Pinkington Jackson and Ethel Katie D'Orville Smith" . scotlandspeople.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2022 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
"Charles D'Orville Pilkington Jackson ARSA, FRBS, ARBA" . Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951 . University of Glasgow. 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2014 .
^ Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer
^
a
b
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Bannockburn, rotunda, memorial cairn, flagpole and statue of King Robert I (Category A Listed Building) (LB49860)" . Retrieved 28 March 2019 .
^ Glendinning, Miles, ed. (1997). Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-1975 . Tuckwell Press. p. 153.
ISBN
1-898410-33-X .
^
"War Memorials Register: Balquhidder - WW1 Cross" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Balquhidder Parish Church and Churchyard (Category B Listed Building) (LB4157)" . Retrieved 1 January 2023 .
^
"War Memorials Register: 5th Battalion Royal Scots (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles)" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Kelso" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Bridge Street, War Memorial (Category B Listed Building) (LB35736)" . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
a
b
c Patricia R. Andrew (2014). Chism In Time Scottish War Art and Artists in the Twentieth Century . Birlinn Ltd.
ISBN
978-1-78027-190-3 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Scottish National War Memorial" .
Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Edinburgh Castle, Scottish National War Memorial (Category A Listed Building) (LB48229)" . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Men from the Royal Burgh of Rothesay (the Angel)" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Victoria Street, Esplanade Gardens, War Memorial (Category C Listed Building) (LB51842)" . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
"Edinburgh College of Art War Memorial (1923)" . The University of Edinburgh Art Collection . Retrieved 26 December 2022 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Edinburgh College of Art - Reliquary" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 26 December 2021 .
^
"On the trial of Public Art" . The University of Edinburgh . 30 January 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021 .
^
"Old College War Memorial (1923)" . The University of Edinburgh Art Collection . Retrieved 26 December 2022 .
^
"War Memorials Register: University of Edinburgh College Alumni" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 3 January 2023 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"War Memorial, Gusset of Bank Street and Church Street Clackmannshire (Category B Listed Building) (LB20989)" . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Alloa" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 26 December 2021 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Flight Lieutenant JCF Gibson" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
"War Memorials Register: The Men of Devondale Mills" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 4 January 2023 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Royal Scots Fusiliers World War II" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 4 January 2023 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Royal Scots Monument" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"West Princes Street Gardens, Royal Scots Memorial (Category B Listed Building) (LB48253)" . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Battle of Bannockburn" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Fullerton Street, Holy Trinity Church (Scottish Episcopal) including church hall, gatepiers, gates,railings and boundary wall (Category A Listed Building) (LB21586)" . Retrieved 5 January 2023 .
^ Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford McWilliam and Walker
^
"War Memorials Register: British Linen Bank WW1" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
"War Memorials Register: The Royal Bank of Scotland" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 5 January 2023 .
^
"War Memorials Register: National Bank of Scotland - WW1" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 8 July 2021 .
^
"War Memorials Register: Durham Light Infantry - Chapel" . Imperial War Museum . Retrieved 5 January 2023 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Ferry Road, St Serf's Church (Church of Scotland), with boundary wall, gates and gatepiers (Category B Listed Building) (LB27522)" . Retrieved 3 January 2023 .
^ David J Critchley.
"Heaven on Earth: Sir Robert Lorimer and Stowe School Chapel 1926-29" (PDF) .
^ National Library of Scotland Inventory Acc. 7445
^ West, Jean (13 October 2019).
"David Livingstone carvings restored in Scottish museum revamp" . The Sunday Times .
ISSN
0956-1382 . Retrieved 16 October 2019 .
^
"Sculptural Relief Crew Building (1926-1932)" . University of Edinburgh Art Collection . Retrieved 4 January 2023 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Ardgour Parish Church (Church of Scotland) and burial ground (Category B Listed Building) (LB1688)" . Retrieved 5 January 2023 .
^
" "Gerard Baldwin Brown" " . University of Edinburgh Art Collection . Retrieved 4 January 2023 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"Abbotshall Road, Abbotshall Parish Church graveyard with mort-house, boundary walls, gatepiers and gates (Category B Listed Building) (LB45481)" . Retrieved 3 January 2023 .
^
Historic England .
"Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin (1328779)" .
National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 4 January 2023 .
^
Historic Environment Scotland .
"137 Dundee Street, Fountainbridge Public Library (Category B Listed Building) (LB30322)" . Retrieved 5 January 2023 .
^
"Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard" . National Portrait Gallery . Retrieved 3 January 2023 .
External links