Joseph Cribb

Who was Joseph Cribb?

Joseph Cribb was a British sculptor, carver and letter cutter.

Born in Hammersmith, London, in 1892, Joseph Cribb's career as an artist began when he was fourteen. He was recruited by Eric Gill as his assistant in 1906 and was taught letter cutting and masonry skills by his master. He was suggested to Gill by his father Herbert William Cribb's associate the Arts and Crafts printer Emery Walker. His father was a graphic artist, specialising in cartography.

In 1907 he moved with Gill to Ditchling in Sussex. In 1908 Joseph entered a formal apprenticeship with Gill and extended his skills into carving, assisting Gill with many of his early sculptures in Ditchling, then Ditchling Common. Joseph followed Gill into the Roman Catholic church and later also followed him into the Dominican Third Order. He completed his apprenticeship in 1913, but continued working with Gill, particularly on the Westminster Cathedral Stations of the Cross until his army service in France, 1916-1919. During the later part of his service he joined the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries