User:THHC/Harry Hems

Harry Hems Born in 1842, he worked for most of his life in Exeter as a Master Carver & Church Fitting Maker, by the age of 38, he was employing 23 men and 7 boys. In Exeter (where he lived and worked from 1866 until his death in 1916,) he was known as The Indefatigable Mr Hems due to his prolific work. His workshop in Longbrook Street employed 100 workers whom he called his Merry Men, and their work embellishes hundreds of churches throughout the UK, places in Europe and even America. Hems is said to have visited every country in Europe except Turkey and Greece. Harry Hems held an annual Christmas feast for Exeter's poor, and wrote thousands of newspaper articles, which helped him achieve noteriety. Exeter Royal Albert Memorial Museum holds around 500 woodcarvings from the medieval era, purchased from Hems' Studio after his death. Described on the Museum's website as nationally important and as one of the best collections of medieval woodwork in Britain, it includes pieces such as a miserichord and a green man sculpture.