Joshua Trewinnard – Watchmaker Turned Profilist
The Trewinnards hailed from Cornwall but moved to London during the sixteenth century settling in Bermondsey where they owned a brewery and became multi-generation watch and clock makers.
Joshua Trewinnard Sen. married Jane Stackhouse in 1760 and with her had seven sons, including twins, and one daughter. The boys eventually all turned their hand to watchmaking.
Their eldest son, Joshua Jun., was born in October 1761. Like his brothers, he became a watchmaker even taking on apprentices though where he himself trained is unknown. In 1784 he married Anne Smith at St Pancras Old Church and with her had four daughters – Cecilia (born 1785), Ann Elizabeth (born 1788), Charlotte (born 1790) and Amelia Sophia (born 1806). Anne was a portrait miniature artist and, although her style was somewhat naive, her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy alongside miniatures by more celebrated artists like Samuel Shelley and Andrew Plimer. In 1800 and 1801 she exhibited from 49 Strand, an address also used by her husband in directory entries. One of her RA exhibits in 1804 was a self-portrait. With hindsight this was a poignant choice as she disappears in 1806 perhaps having died following the birth of their fourth daughter that year.
Presumably it was his wife’s influence that led Joshua towards a secondary career as a profilist. The first known mention of him as an artist was in the London City Directory of 1802 where he is listed as a ‘miniature painter’ at 49 Strand. In 1804 the Trewinnards moved to 40 Strand marking the move with a joint trade label.
© Wigs on the Green
Joshua offered profiles in just about every medium whilst Anne continued to offer just portrait miniatures. From extant examples of Joshua’s profiles, he appears to have worked mostly as a copyist. This would have been lucrative for him as it was not unusual for families to commission additional copies of favoured profiles often upon the death of the sitter.
A gentleman after John Miers © Private Collection
Sir Narborough D-Aeth after Buncombe
Throughout the 1810s and 1820s Joshua continued to list in trade directories from 40 Strand, sometimes as a profilist and sometimes as a watchmaker. Following the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Woodger, a widow, in July 1814. The following year they added another daughter, Emma Buckee, to the family. Baby Emma was to have a lucky escape in September 1816 when a maid wilfully set fire to the furniture in the child’s bedroom. A fortune-teller had reportedly told the maid to set fire to the house! The outcome of the court case was not reported but presumably the maid was either committed or imprisoned.
Joshua too had a brief spell in prison when he was unable to stump up the bail payment upon arrest for ‘promoting a riot with horns and whistles’ during a performance at Covent Garden Theatre. The case involved several gentlemen but was soon dismissed by the magistrate.
Sometime around 1808 the miniature painter, John Thomas Mitchell, moved his studio to 40 Strand prompting the need for a new shared trade label. Mitchell worked mostly on ivory in a style that was superior in its draftsmanship to Joshua’s output.
© Wigs on the Green
During the 1830s, another artist – Edward Smith – moved his studio to 40 Strand. Little is known about him though he may have been related to the Trewinnards through Joshua’s first wife. By now Joshua was in his seventies and it’s unlikely that he was still active as an artist. He died in 1837 at the age of 76 whilst living at Grange Road, Bermondsey.