David Holgate obituary

Joyce Dunbar

David Holgate sculpted statues not only for cathedrals, but also for small country churches and churchyards. Photograph: Eastern Daily Press

What finer legacy could any artist wish for than that their work should, in the normal order of things, survive them by hundreds of years? In his statues of St Julian and St Benedict on the west side of Norwich Cathedral, my friend David Holgate, sculptor, letter-carver and musician, who has died aged 75, has surely achieved this. As well as this and other work for Norwich Cathedral and for the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Norwich, many of his hundreds of commissions are to be found in small country churches and churchyards – he paid the same meticulous and respectful attention to every commission, however humble.

David's artistic life began in the mid-50s as apprentice letter-cutter toDavid Kindersley, who in turn had been taught by Eric Gill. Out of the rigorous formality of his training, David developed a unique exuberance, a controlled passion and deep engagement with the work. He went on to train three assistants, inspiring them to discover the skills within themselves, rather than in mere instruction. Philippa Fawcett, his last assistant, seamlessly picked up on the last work David began, to his great satisfaction.

David combined personal humility with deep pride in his work. He had a wry sense of humour, shrugging off with a smile the faux pas of keeping his hat on when presented to the Queen at the cathedral in 2010. (Well, it was very cold.)

Son of Hilda and Ted, David was born in Romford, London, and was sent to live with an aunt in Blackpool during the second world war. His father was a signwriter and jazz pianist, but after the war ran a pub in Cambridge, where David went to Cambridge Central grammar school and became a member of St John's College choir.

Early piano lessons led to an interest in the double bass, and he was soon enlisted in one of the university jazz bands. With the onset of the 60s, he set up a band called the Rainbow People, which toured Europe as well as the UK. He played in jazz gigs to the end of his life, as well as annually with the pit band for the Norwich Christmas pantomime. David contributed to several of the thriving Norfolk arts groups with organisational flair, energy and imagination. As a friend and neighbour, he was generous with his time and knowhow, kind to all-comers.

David is survived by his second wife, Galina; two children, Kate and Matthew, from his first marriage, to Anne, which ended in divorce, and three grandchildren, Felix, Florence and Alice.

At the time of his death, he was working on a statue of St Peter. He had done everything except the face, hands and feet, which were to be modelled on his own features. The plaster casts he took were lying on a bench, in waiting. He had finished the keys of heaven.

http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/aug/06/david-holgate-obituary