Henry Cheere
Sir Henry Cheere, 1st Baronet (1703 – 15 January 1781) was a renowned English sculptor and monumental mason. He was the older brother of John Cheere, also a notable sculptor. Personal life and career Born in Clapham, Surrey (now part of London), he was the son of Sarah and John Cheere (d.1756). Gunnis suggests he was initially apprenticed to John Nost. 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 St Margaret's, Westminster, was joined by Flemish sculptor Henry Scheemakers (from c.1729 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 purchased property in the area surrounding the Abbey and took on civic offices including acting as a director of the Westminster Fire Office (in 1745–47 and 1760–62), 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 July 1748, Cheere joined William Hogarth and