Walter Francis Clokey

Maker's mark from c.1925

Walter Francis Clokey (c.1870–1930)[1][2] was a British stained glass artist and manufacturer who resided in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was president of the Belfast Wholesale Merchants and Manufacturers' Association,[3] and councillor of the Belfast City Council. In 1928 he was elected as councillor by the Belfast Corporation into a special committee of six members with extensive powers to reorganize Belfast's civic affairs.[4][5]

Clokey worked for the glass merchants Campbell Brothers of Belfast. In 1904 he went into partnership with his former employer and founded the Clokey Stained Glass Studios.[6][2] His first stained glass artist was Mr. Wren. Francis Ward, founder of Ward and Partners of Belfast, joined the studio in 1925. Other artists who worked for Clokey Studios were Olive Henry, John Blyth, Ronnie Shaw, Daniel Braniff, Jack Calderwood, and James Watson.[6]

He was responsible for most of the early- to mid-twentieth-century ecclesiastical stained glass in Northern Ireland.[citation needed] They were the primary competitors of Ward and Partners of Belfast.

The business of the Clokey Stained Glass Studios continued after his death until c. 1972 under the direction of his son, Harold W. Clokey, who died in 1993.[2][6] A collection of the stained glass window designs of Clokey Studios is preserved by the Northern Ireland Monuments and Buildings Record.[2]

Works

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References

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  1. ^ "The Belfast City Council". Irish Times. Dublin. 30 December 1930. p. 5. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d "CLOKEY, WALTER F." Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720–1940. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  3. ^ "A Belfast View". Irish Times. Dublin. 3 March 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  4. ^ "The Belfast City Council". Irish Times. Dublin. 16 February 1928. p. 11. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  5. ^ "One of the "Big Six"". Irish Times. Dublin. 5 April 1928. p. 4. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b c "Clokey Collection of Stained Glass Window Designs". Queen's University Belfast. 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  7. ^ G. Eric Ferguson, June Cochrane, John Dunbar, Joan Ferguson, Victor Laughlin, Lily Loughlin, Carol McKelvey, eds. “The Changing Years in the Grouped Parishes of Ardstraw, Baronscourt and Badoney Union. (Omagh, County Tyrone: Graham Printers, 2001).
  8. ^ Alistair Rowan. “North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.” Buildings of Ireland Series. (Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979.), p. 442