William Biscombe Gardner
Illustration — Canterbury Cathedral, south side. William Biscombe Gardner (1847 – 23 February 1919, Tunbridge Wells) was a British painter and wood-engraver. William Biscombe Gardner was working in both watercolour and oils, he exhibited widely in London in the late 19th century at venues such as the Royal Academy and the Grosvenor Gallery.
Also recorded as W. Biscambe Gardner · W. Biscombe Gardner
William Biscombe Gardner

William Biscombe Gardner · This file is from the Mechanical Curator collection, a set of over 1 million images scanned from out-of-copyright books and released to Flickr Commons by the British Library. View image on Flickr Vie · Public domain
- Born
- 1847
- Died
- 1919 · Royal Tunbridge Wells.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Occupation
- painter · printmaker · draftsperson · illustrator
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Illustration — Canterbury Cathedral, south side. William Biscombe Gardner (1847 – 23 February 1919, Tunbridge Wells) was a British painter and wood-engraver. William Biscombe Gardner was working in both watercolour and oils, he exhibited widely in London in the late 19th century at venues such as the Royal Academy and the Grosvenor Gallery.
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wikidata · Q8005564 · wikipedia · William Biscombe Gardner
In this article
Illustrated books
• Allen, Grant. Drowning for Liverpool: Lake Vyrnwy and the end of old LLanwyddyn, 1887–89. • Allen, Grant. A submerged village – Llanwddyn (Mar 1890) • Gardner, W. Biscombe. Dickens country – watercolours (London: Adam & Charles Black) • Gardner, W. Biscombe. The garden of England; Kent by brush and Pen (J. Salmon Ltd, 1995). • Morris, J E. The Peak Country (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1914). • Shore, W. Teignmouth. Canterbury (Adam & Charles Black, April 1907). • Shore, W. Teignmouth. Kent (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1907). • Home, Gordon. Canterbury (A & C Black, 1911)

William Biscombe Gardner, ONL (1887) 1.174 - The Temple Fountain
William Biscombe Gardner, after William H. Prior · This file is from the Mechanical Curator collection, a set of over 1 million images scanned from out-of-copyright books and released to Flickr Commons by the British Library. View image on Flickr Vie

William Biscombe Gardner, ONL (1887) 1.252 - The Rebuilding of St Paul's
William Biscombe Gardner / After William Henry Prior · This file is from the Mechanical Curator collection, a set of over 1 million images scanned from out-of-copyright books and released to Flickr Commons by the British Library. View image on Flickr Vie
Selected paintings
From 1896 he lived at Thirlestane Court. He illustrated a number of books featuring the British landscape (see below), notably Kent, Canterbury, and The Peak Country. He also drew scenes from the Welsh Elan Valley in the 1890s, before it was flooded to form the Elan Valley Reservoirs, which appeared in two books by Grant Allen (see "illustrated Books" below). However, it was as a superlative wood-engraver that he was mainly known in his lifetime. He "raised the art of wood-engraving to a very high pitch of excellence" remarked the Kent and Sussex Courier in 1916. His prints (sometimes large) were widely published in many British magazines of the day such as The Pall Mall Gazette, The Illustrated London News, The English Illustrated Magazine and The Magazine of Art. He was a firm advocate of traditional wood-engraving considering it to be the most versatile in comparison to the more conventional methods of engraving and etching, or more recent methods including "process illustration".
• Apple Blossom. • Chiddingstone from the corner of the churchyard. • The Deserted Cottage, Penbury. • A Game of Ball. • Packing the Golden Hops. • The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells. • The Question of the Day. • Their Old Home' Pembury nr Tunbridge Wells.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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