The Black Country Dying Museum

A beautiful carved stone cross stands in St Bartholomew’s churchyard in Penn, reminiscent of 9th century crosses dotted around the British Isles. The cross is dedicated to Alfred Charles Twentyman (1833-1908) J.P., chairman of Wolverhampton Hospital and international merchant, exporter of iron goods, agricultural items and guns. Alfred’s father was Liverpool-born Lawrence Holme Twentyman (1783-1852) a silversmith by trade in Cape Town.

Alfred and his family lived at the 18th century Castlecroft House (now demolished) not far from Wightwick Manor.

A link to the patent for one of Alfred’s inventions can be found here.

Perhaps even more interestingly Alfred was a member of the National Pig Breeders Association and owned and bred prize winning Middle White pigs, some of which had the delightful monikers: Betty Pringle, Cigarette, Circe, Cinderella, Fatima and Lady Wightwick.

Alfred’s children from his first marriage to Mary Rogers (Alice and Mary), and second marriage to Mattie Howell (Llewellyn, Hilda, Harold, Alan and Phyllis) were a talented bunch. His son Harold Edward Twentyman was a Freeman of the City Of London in the Turner’s Company and became Master of the Company in 1925 (Harold’s maternal uncle Henry Llewelyn Howell was also Freeman of the City of London in the Turners Company in 1904).

Several of Harold’s children are also rather well known, Richard Twentyman (1903-1979) is known for his for modernist architecture including many churches as well as being a gifted artist. There’s a new book about Richard’s church architecture available here, and a great review of the book here.

Richard’s brother Anthony Twentyman (1906-1988) was a painter and sculptor. Several of his works can be seen at Dudmaston Hall in Shropshire.

Bird by A. Twentyman. Dudmaston. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/bird-253951

It is Alfred’s daughters however who are commemorated with him on the remarkable cross at St Bartholomew: Hilda (b.1869), Mary (b.1860) and Alice (b.1859). Of Hilda, a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (and a member of the Little Folk Humane Society – for the purpose of inculcating kindness towards animals) we know a little more about her work, thanks to a sale of one of her paintings by Fielding’s Auctioneers in 2020.

She also entered her work alongside her sister Mary in the Wolverhampton Sketching Club competitions, placing second in the watercolour landscape category in 1895. Mary won first prize in the architectural drawing category. In 1899 Hilda’s work “A Welsh Churchyard” was exhibited in Southampton and considered the strongest piece in the gallery.

Of Alice we know very little, other than she volunteered for the Red Cross during WWI. Was she an artist like her sisters? Hilda passed away in 1900, Mary and Alice in the 1950’s. Phyllis died in 1961.

So back to the cross. Someone out there must know who created it and what inspired the style? Are there any more paintings or sketches out there by the Twentyman sisters? If anyone has any information we’d love to hear from you.