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Archibald Knox

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Archibald Knox (1864-1933) was a Manx artist and designer born at Cronkbourne, near Tromode, the fifth of seven children in a Scottish family who had emigrated to the Isle of Man. Trained at the Douglas School of Art, where he also taught from 1884, he developed a lifelong fascination with the Island's carved Celtic and Norse stone crosses, studying them on expeditions with the antiquarian Canon John Quine. Together they restored the derelict church of Old Kirk Lonan, and Knox founded the League of St German in 1896 to campaign for the restoration of Peel Cathedral. From 1897 he designed for the Silver Studio and Liberty & Co. in London, producing around 4,000 pieces for the celebrated Cymric silverware and Tudric pewter ranges, work that bridged the Arts and Crafts, Celtic Revival, Art Nouveau, and Modernist movements. Liberty kept their designers anonymous, so Knox's name remained largely unknown during his lifetime despite his designs achieving international recognition. He returned permanently to the Isle of Man in 1913, becoming the Island's lead designer, creating war memorials, gravestones, shop fronts, interiors, furniture, and watercolours. His remodelling of Cadran Cottage in Douglas (c.1910) was listed as a Registered Building in 1996. His illuminated manuscript *The Deer's Cry*, based on St Patrick's Lorica, is held by Manx National Heritage. He was added to the Manx Patriot's Roll of Honour in 2019.

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