34-461: Thomas Brock (1847–1922) was an English sculptor. Thomas Brock may also refer to: Thomas Brock Sir Thomas Brock KCB RA (1 March 1847 – 22 August 1922) was an English sculptor and medallist , notable for the creation of several large public sculptures and monuments in Britain and abroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His most famous work
68-510: A Joint Select Committee on Stage Plays (Censorship) was established and recommended that the Lord Chamberlain should continue to act as censor but that it could be lawful to perform plays without a licence from the Lord Chamberlain. However, King Edward VII refused to accept these recommendations. The outbreak of both World Wars put an end to any parliamentary initiatives to change the laws regarding theatre censorship for many years. In 1948,
102-465: A commanding authority on London's theatre companies under the Royal Prerogative for many decades already. But by the 1730s the theatre was not controlled by royal patronage anymore. Instead it had become more of a commercial business. Therefore, the fact the Lord Chamberlain still retained censorship authority for the next 200 years gave him uniquely repressive authority during a period where Britain
136-511: A greater emphasis on public relations started. In 1986, he produced a 1,393-page report recommending 188 changes for smoother operations of the Royal Household. The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department of the Royal Household and its day-to-day work is headed by the Comptroller. It is responsible for organizing ceremonial activities including state visits, investitures, garden parties,
170-722: A painter and decorator and attended the Government School of Design in Worcester, after which he undertook an apprenticeship in modelling at the Worcester Royal Porcelain Works . In 1866 he became a pupil of the sculptor John Henry Foley and also enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools , where he won a gold medal for sculpture in 1869. He met and befriended Frederic, Lord Leighton , whose emphasis on realism and naturalism in sculpture led Brock to become part of
204-465: A play of any kind. The first London performance of the musical Hair was actually delayed until the Act was passed after a licence had been refused. The battle regarding the abolition of censorship was largely a political one, fought on principle. Those who opposed the termination of this particular duty of the Lord Chamberlain were mostly concerned about how to protect the reputation of the royal family and
238-898: Is buried at Mayfield, East Sussex . Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom , supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main channel of communication between the Sovereign and the House of Lords . The office organises all ceremonial activity such as garden parties , state visits , royal weddings , and
272-680: Is the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace , London. Other commissions included the redesign of the effigy of Queen Victoria on British coinage, the massive bronze equestrian statue of Edward, the Black Prince , in City Square, Leeds and the completion of the statue of Prince Albert on the Albert Memorial . Brock was born on 1 March 1847 in Worcester . He was the only son of
306-601: Is usually a peer and before 1782 the post was of Cabinet rank . The position was a political one until 1924. The office dates from the Middle Ages when the King's Chamberlain often acted as the King's spokesman in Council and Parliament . The current Lord Chamberlain is The Lord Benyon , who has been in office since 4 November 2024. During the early modern period, the Lord Chamberlain
340-514: The British Library also includes correspondence and administrative documents related to the censorship process. The Lord Chamberlain is the most senior official of the Royal Household and oversees its business, including liaising with the other senior officers of the Household, chairing Heads of Department meetings, and advising in the appointment of senior Household officials. The Lord Chamberlain also undertakes ceremonial duties and serves as
374-752: The Groom of the Stool/Stole ). His department not only furnished the servants and other personnel (such as physicians and bodyguards, the Yeomen of the Guard and Gentlemen Pensioners ) in intimate attendance on the Sovereign but arranged and staffed ceremonies and entertainments for the court. He also had (secular) authority over the Chapel Royal . In 1782, under the terms of the Civil List and Secret Service Money Act (22 Geo. III c.82),
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#1732868970925408-612: The New Sculpture movement and to develop his talent for sympathetic and realistic portraiture. After Foley's sudden death in 1874, Brock finished several of his commissions, including the monument to Daniel O'Connell in Dublin and a large bronze equestrian statue of Lord Canning for Kolkata . It was his completion of Foley's statue of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial which first brought Brock to prominence and secured his position as an establishment sculptor. He also assisted in
442-564: The State Opening of Parliament . They also oversee the Royal Mews and Royal Travel, as well as the ceremony around the awarding of honours. From 1737 to 1968, the Lord Chamberlain had the power to decide which plays would be granted a licence for performance; this meant that he had the capacity to censor theatre at his pleasure. The Lord Chamberlain is always sworn of the Privy Council ,
476-550: The West End . In the case of John Osborne's play A Patriot for Me , the Lord Chamberlain at the time, Lord Cobbold , was irritated that the play was so widely publicized even though he had banned it and therefore pursued legal action. In the end, the play was allowed to continue as it was. At this point, several widely regarded authors had all been censored by the Lord Chamberlain at one time or another, including playwrights Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw . Sometimes censorship
510-878: The Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen. A plaster model for Eve was shown at the Royal Academy in 1898; a marble version (1900) is in the collection of the Tate and Brock also cast some smaller bronze replicas and other imaginative works that mark his development. His portrait works include busts, such as those of Lord Leighton and Queen Victoria , statues, such as Sir Richard Owen and Henry Philpott , bishop of Worcester, and sepulchral monuments such as that of Lord Leighton in St Paul's Cathedral . Brock made statues of Victoria to celebrate her golden and diamond jubilees and also designed
544-510: The Lord Chamberlain took on direct responsibility for items kept and maintained by the Great Wardrobe and the Jewel House (whereby these formerly semi-independent sub-departments were abolished). As other responsibilities of government were devolved to ministers, the ordering of the Royal Household was largely left to the personal taste of the Sovereign. To ensure that the chamber reflected
578-476: The State Opening of Parliament, weddings and funerals. On State and ceremonial occasions, the Lord Chamberlain carries specific symbols that represent his office: a white staff and a key (which is worn at the hip pocket). These insignia are returned to the monarch when the Lord Chamberlain retires from office; but if the monarch dies, the white staff is symbolically broken by the Lord Chamberlain and placed on
612-521: The absolute powers of censorship enjoyed by the Lord Chamberlain but still slightly restricted his powers so that he could only prohibit the performance of plays where he was of the opinion that "it is fitting for the preservation of good manners, decorum or of the public peace so to do". The Act, however, did abolish the monopoly that the patent houses had in London, providing a minor win for playwrights and theatre managers wishing to produce new work. In 1909,
646-522: The casting of Lord Leighton's greatly influential 1877 sculpture An Athlete Wrestling with a Python . Brock was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1883 and became a full member in 1891. He was a founding member, and the first president, of the Society of British Sculptors . Brock's group The Moment of Peril (now in the garden of Leighton House ) was followed by The Genius of Poetry , at
680-513: The channel of communication between the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Under Lord Airlie, the Lord Chamberlain’s ceremonial and non-executive role was altered to that of chief executive. Airlie initiated changes in the early 1990s under the auspices of "The Way Ahead Group". Under these plans the Queen agreed to pay tax, greater transparency for the public subsidy of the monarchy began and
714-733: The coffin of the deceased Sovereign at the end of the State Funeral service. This was last done by the Lord Parker of Minsmere , who broke his staff over the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The Lord Chamberlain is ex-officio the Chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order , having possession of a Badge corresponding to that office. As such, they are often appointed to the said Order either upon appointment as Lord Chamberlain, or later in their career. The Lord Chamberlain also regulates
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#1732868970925748-520: The depiction of her "veiled" or "widowed" head, used on all gold, silver and bronze coinage between 1893 and 1901. In 1901 Brock won the commission to make a colossal equestrian statue of Edward the Black Prince for Leeds City Square . The same year, he was given perhaps his most significant commission, the vast multi-figure Imperial Memorial to Queen Victoria, to be erected in front of Buckingham Palace . The unveiling of this memorial took place on 16 May 1911, and according to legend King George V
782-435: The first British Theatre Conference recommended the termination of theatre censorship with the plan to pursue parliamentary action to ratify this. In the 1960s the debate to abolish theatre censorship rose again as a new generation of young playwrights came on the scene. They gained popularity with their new plays in local establishments, but since many were refused a licence by the Lord Chamberlain, they could not transfer to
816-514: The government instead of controlling obscenity and blasphemy on stage. However, this concern has largely been unfounded. Since the termination of censorship, British drama has flourished and produced several prominent playwrights and new works since. The abolition of censorship opened a floodgate of theatrical creativity. The long standing role of the Lord Chamberlain as theatrical censor resulted in an extensive archive of both licensed and unlicensed play scripts being preserved. The collection held at
850-453: The issue and present a solution. This time the argument largely centered around this issue on the portrayal of living and recently dead individuals, particularly in reference to the monarchy as well as politicians. After much debate, the Theatres Act 1968 was finally passed; it officially abolished the censorship of the stage and repealed the Lord Chamberlain's power to refuse a licence to
884-400: The lack of copyright protection for their work and more importantly that only two patent theatres in London could legitimately perform new plays. After more pressure from playwrights and theatre managers, the findings of the committee were finally presented to Parliament. It was the proposals of this committee that Parliament implemented in the Theatres Act of 1843 . The Act still confirmed
918-497: The royal tastes, the Lord Chamberlain received commands directly from the sovereign to be transmitted to the heads of subordinate departments. In 1594, the Lord Chamberlain, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon , founded the Lord Chamberlain's Men , for which William Shakespeare was a part (and later a shareholder in the company) and for whom he wrote most of his plays during his career. Carey served under Elizabeth I of England at
952-514: The theatre licensing system in England needed an upgrade. Playwrights, instead of representatives of minor theatres, actually initiated the final push for reform as they felt that their livelihoods were being negatively affected by the monopoly the larger theatres had on the industry, backed by the laws in the 1737 Act. A Select Committee was formed in 1832 with the purpose of examining the laws that affected dramatic literature. Their main complaints were
986-428: The theatrical censor. The Licensing Act 1737 gave the Lord Chamberlain the statutory authority to veto the performance of any new plays: he could prevent any new play, or any modification to an existing play, from being performed for any reason, and theatre owners could be prosecuted for staging a play (or part of a play) that had not received prior approval. Historically though, the Lord Chamberlain had been exercising
1020-635: The time and was in charge of all court entertainment, a duty traditionally given to the Master of the Revels , a deputy of the Lord Chamberlain. Later, in 1603, James I of England , elevated the Chamberlain's Men to royal patronage and changed the name to the King's Men . In 1737, Sir Robert Walpole officially introduced statutory censorship with the Licensing Act of 1737 by appointing the Lord Chamberlain to act as
1054-464: Was experiencing "growing political enfranchisement and liberalization". Even further confusion rested in the fact that Members of Parliament could not present changes to the censorship laws because although the Lord Chamberlain exercised his authority under statute law, he was still an official whose authority was derived from the Royal Prerogative. By the 1830s, it started to become clear that
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1088-520: Was one of the three principal officers of the Royal Household, the others being the Lord Steward and the Master of the Horse . The Lord Chamberlain was responsible for the "chamber" or the household "above stairs": that is, the series of rooms used by the Sovereign to receive increasingly select visitors, terminating in the royal bedchamber (although the bedchamber itself came to operate semi-autonomously under
1122-524: Was self-serving. A comedy written for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the early 1960s had, as its plot, a jocular scheme to steal the Crown jewels. The Lord Chamberlain issued a one-line letter requiring the excision of that plot element. As Michael Palin , one of its authors and performers notes, that meant banning the entire production. Another Joint Select Committee was founded to further debate on
1156-641: Was so moved by the excellence of the memorial that he called for a sword and knighted Brock on the spot. In any event, it was on the same day that the Lord Chamberlain ’s Office notified The London Gazette that the king had ordered that Brock be appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath . From 1914 to 1919 Brock returned to the post of president of the Society of British Sculptors. Brock married in 1869 and had eight children. He died in London on 22 August 1922 and
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