He gained the patronage of William IV for his son George, with the result that the latter was admitted to St Paul's School in 1833 at the request of the monarch.
The family moved to a new house on the Ladbrooke Estate in Notting Hill Gate in 1865 at 15, Clarendon Road where a purpose built studio was constructed.
He made portrait busts of the famous and some heroic statues, but most of his work was more domestic in nature being studies of women and children, often suggesting a story to be told and occasionally veering towards the sentimental.
The reviewer commented: 'Britannia [is] in the act of unveiling the virgin beauties of Australia, who, surprised and pleased, boldly steps out from her native wilds, into the clear open space of civilisation.'
Halse's group was made at about the same time as the Albert Memorial (1863–72), and makes an interesting comparison because his work emphasises the familial caring relationship of Empire.
Halse's many child studies take the form of busts of children laughing or crying, or statues of young girls playing with babies.
A review in The Illustrated London News comments on its 'muscularly inclined Christianity' linking it to Thomas Arnold's ideas on combining physical and moral education.
[10] Halse seemed to go along with these theories, as he set out his vision for youth in his poem The Legend of Sir Juvenis dedicated to the boys of St. Paul's school.