Nicholas Eiffler (c.1512–1592), Glazier and Burgess of Warwick and his wife Katherine, Warwick Town Council. Anglo-Flemish School<br /> <br /> The skills needed to produce some of the major innovations in early modern life were on the move, as the middling-status men and women who possessed them travelled across Europe. Nicholas Eyffler and his wife Katherine came to England from Osnabruck in West Phalia (northwestern Germany) in the mid-sixteenth century. Glassmaking was a relatively small-scale and undeveloped craft in England in this period but, as a glassmaker, Eyffler brought his skills to a country that was rapidly expanding the glazing of windows – until this period, most houses did not have glass in their windows, but as skills in its manufacture grew, not only the elite but also the middling began to glaze their houses. Eyffler initially settled in London, but it is thought that he came to Warwick under the patronage of Sir Thomas Lucy, who was building Charlecote Park at the time – Eyffler may have supplied glass for the house, and also for Kenilworth Castle and Baddesley Clinton. His skills were in demand, and they were flexible enough to shape the interiors of a wide social range, from plain glazing to coats of arms painted on the glass. <br /> <br /> Eyffler became a denizen of this country (almost a naturalised citizen, but there were often limitations which restricted the recipient's rights) in March 1562, and left money in his will to convert two barns into four almshouses. He was inspired by the good deeds of previous Warwick resident Thomas Oken, whose charity he helped to administer. Eyffler’s alsmhouses were opened in 1597, providing accommodation for eight single women (plus 1s and a gown each), and the charity still exists today. Eyffler’s growing sense of responsibility for his adopted town ends the story of his economically successful movement around Europe and England due to the demand for his skills.
Portrait of Nicholas Eiffler (Painting), 1573

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Portrait of Nicholas Eiffler

Portrait of Nicholas Eiffler (Painting), 1573

Nicholas Eiffler (c.1512–1592), Glazier and Burgess of Warwick and his wife Katherine, Warwick Town Council. Anglo-Flemish School

The skills needed to produce some of the major innovations in early modern life were on the move, as the middling-status men and women who possessed them travelled across Europe. Nicholas Eyffler and his wife Katherine came to England from Osnabruck in West Phalia (northwestern Germany) in the mid-sixteenth century. Glassmaking was a relatively small-scale and undeveloped craft in England in this period but, as a glassmaker, Eyffler brought his skills to a country that was rapidly expanding the glazing of windows – until this period, most houses did not have glass in their windows, but as skills in its manufacture grew, not only the elite but also the middling began to glaze their houses. Eyffler initially settled in London, but it is thought that he came to Warwick under the patronage of Sir Thomas Lucy, who was building Charlecote Park at the time – Eyffler may have supplied glass for the house, and also for Kenilworth Castle and Baddesley Clinton. His skills were in demand, and they were flexible enough to shape the interiors of a wide social range, from plain glazing to coats of arms painted on the glass.

Eyffler became a denizen of this country (almost a naturalised citizen, but there were often limitations which restricted the recipient's rights) in March 1562, and left money in his will to convert two barns into four almshouses. He was inspired by the good deeds of previous Warwick resident Thomas Oken, whose charity he helped to administer. Eyffler’s alsmhouses were opened in 1597, providing accommodation for eight single women (plus 1s and a gown each), and the charity still exists today. Eyffler’s growing sense of responsibility for his adopted town ends the story of his economically successful movement around Europe and England due to the demand for his skills.

Object Type Painting
Year 1573
Material Oil on panel
Owned By Warwick Town Council
Keywords portrait; making; learning; producing; craftsmanship; consumption; mobility; travel; occupation; trade and exchange; innovation; glass; archaeology; charity; alms
Image Credit Folger Shakespeare Library

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