The Gimson Family

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Josiah

J. Mentor

Sydney

Ernest William Other family members Other resources

Josiah Gimson (1818-1883)

Josiah Gimson founded a successful engineering company in Leicester. His iron foundry, the Vulcan Works, was on Humberstone Road. For instance the company provided the engines (still to be seen working on occasion) at the Abbey pumping station, now a museum. He lived at 4 Belmont Villas. He was a Liberal and represented West St Mary's Ward on the Town Council. He provided most of the finance for the building of Secular Hall in 1881. He is buried in Welford Road cemetery.

Ned Newitt on Josiah Gimsom in LSS Newsletter, April 2008.

J. Mentor Gimson

Eldest son of Josiah Gimson, was manager of the Leicester Secular Hall Company, which built and owned the Hall prior to its transfer to the Leicester Rationalist Trust.

Sydney Ansell Gimson (1860-1938)

President of Leicester Secular Society from 1883 until shortly before his death. He wrote Random Recollections of the Leicester Secular Society 1932, which is now in the Wigston Records Office. There is an extract below in the section on Ernest Gimson, and others on our William Morris page.

Ernest Gimson was influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris and is still highly regarded as a furniture designer.

The Leicester Arts and Museums Service now has a website devoted to him and his work: Ernest Gimson and the Arts and Crafts Movement in Leicester.

See also: Ernest Gimson as a Designer.

The following passage from Sydney Gimson's Recollections follows on from his account of the lecture on Art and Socialism given in 1884 by William Morris:

In those days of my single life I had a small smoke room adjoining my bedroom, for my mother could not bear smoking in the usual living rooms of our home. There I kept my growing collection of books and there I took visitors for a final chat and smoke before retiring for the night. When Mr. Hopps had left, Morris, my sister Sarah, Ernest, and I, went up there and had a delightful talk which I can never forget. Sarah left after about an hour but the other three of us sat talking until nearly 2 o-clock.

I am sure that one reason for this long sitting was that Morris was particularly interested in Ernest, then 19 years old and articled to the Leicester Architect Isaac Barradale, and saw something of the possibilities in him. At any rate when Ernest was anxious to have some experience in a London Architect's office, some two years later, he, after much hesitation for fear of intrusion, wrote to ask Morris's advice and perheps a letter of introduction to a suitable Architect. At once Morris sent him three letters of introduction. Delighted and excited, Ernest took the three letters up to London, but he only had to present one, to J. D. Sedding, who at once took him into his office where Ernest stayed for two years.

While in London he joined several Societies and Committees with which Morris was actively associated, came continuously under his influence, learnt a great deal from him and was imbued with those ideals which governed the rest of his life. Between his first visit to us in 1884 and Ernest's going to London in 1886, Morris had paid us several visits and had, no doubt, become sure that Ernest would grow to something worth while under the right influence. Ernest went far and was recognised as one of the great craftsmen of his generation. I know that he always felt that he owed his great opportunity to the visits of William Morris to Leicester.

There was another brother, Arthur, and two sisters Sarah and Carry. See the Recollections of G. W. Foote and G. J. Holyoake for other brief references to them and to Mentor.

• The Gimson Family and the Leicester Secular Society from Leicester City Council's Arts and Crafts Movement website.