Education
Born in Clapham, Surrey (now part of London), Cheere was apprenticed in 1718 to mason-sculptor Robert Hartshorne, an assistant to William and Edward Stanton.
Born in Clapham, Surrey (now part of London), Cheere was apprenticed in 1718 to mason-sculptor Robert Hartshorne, an assistant to William and Edward Stanton.
By 1726 he had established his own sculptor"s yard near Street Margaret"s, Westminster, was joined by Flemish sculptor Henry Scheemakers (from c1729 until Scheemakers" departure from England c 1733. Scheemakers d 1748) and took on many apprentices. In 1743, Cheere was appointed "Carver" to Westminster Abbey, an appointment which led to his creation of at least nine monuments in the Abbey.
He also purchased more property in the area surrounding the Abbey and took on civic offices including acting as a director of the Westminster Fire Office (in 1745-1747, 1760-1762), Controller of Duties for the Free Fish Market of Westminster (from 1749), Justice of the Peace (c 1750) and deputy lieutenant for the county of Middlesex.
In 1750, he was appointed a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was knighted on 10 December 1760 and created a baronet, of Street Margaret"s, Westminster on 19 July 1766.
Cheere was one of a group who unsuccessfully attempted to promote an English academy of arts (prior to the establishment of the Royal Academy). He retired from business and sold the contents of his workshop in March 1770.
Sir Henry also had a daughter, Charles Cheere (1735–1799).
According to the Pevsner Buildings of England series guides, Henry Cheere was “the first English-born sculptor to match the virtuosity of the continentals” and “formed his style on the small, crisp, curvaceous shapes of the French sculptor, though his monuments never approached Roubiliac’s in ease and inventiveness. Much of his work is unsigned, as is his commonly considered c.1760 masterpiece at Shadoxhurst, Kent.