(We are grateful to Doreen Clark, James Bambridge’s sister for the information provided in this post. She has written to us from Kirk Ella, East-Riding of Yorkshire.) Here then is the Master Builder revisited, Part One.
Jim was born inTooting, a district in south London on February 10, 1928. As a lad he enjoyed swimming and diving, sang soprano in the choir, played the bugle and took up fencing. For pocket money, he and brother Ted would go to Tooting Market and get empty wooden crates. They chopped them into small pieces and sold the bundles door to door in the neighborhood for kindling. When he reached 14 years of age the family decided that he would follow older brother Ted into an apprenticeship at an electrical engineering firm. Jim announced, however, the he was going to Trollope & Colls and gain an apprenticeship there. He also attended evening classes at the Brixton School of Building.
As an apprentice he had to take exams and was delighted as he’d gained a first. The piece was a small headstone with a Celtic cross. He was now a third generation stone mason.
Off To Work
When sister Doreen was 8 or 9 years old, her parents took her to the cinema. “The News” came on first and there on the screen was Salisbury Cathedral. There was a group of 3 or 4 masons and there in front was Jim. She shouted, “Mum look, there’s Jim!” She was so excited to see him.
Jim was happy when he was working, but frustrated that when he applied for a position he got the same answer, you are too young for that job. So, much to his parents surprise he came home one day to tell them he’d bought a ticket on the Queen Mary, and was off to the States.
“Over there you would be given the job, age not considered, not with my credentials”
-James Bambridge
Jim settled in Hamilton, Ontario, married and had plenty of work. He eventually returned to the UK and lived in Putney. His chisel has been applied to the most historic of buildings including:
- Mansion House, London – Home and Office of the Lord Mayor of London
- Lambeth Palace London – Residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury
- Buckingham Palace, London – Repairing war damage
- The Houses of Parliament
- Christopher Wren’s spire on St. Dunstan’s
- St. Johns Cathedral, Newfoundland – Restoration of North America’s oldest cathedral
- Liverpool Cathedral – Ten years at Liverpool, it completed in 1978
- Wells Cathedral
Unknown to him, emissaries from St. John the Divine had sought him out, looked him over, and asked about him. He was busy on the west front of Wells Cathedral when he was invited to travel to New York.
Next Week, the rest of the Master Builder revisited story…