Thomas Milnes (sculptor)

His father, a stonemason, and a cousin of Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton, is said to have "dissipated his means" and neglected his son's education.

Thomas went to London where he worked for a marble mason, and from 1841, recommended by Edward Hodges Baily, he attended the Royal Academy School.

[2][3][6] Titus Salt, founder of the village Saltaire near Bradford, commissioned Milnes in 1856 to create a portait bust of himself.

It is made of Carrara marble, and at the base of the pedestal are an Angora goat and an alpaca.

Titus Salt became interested in the models, and in consultation with his architects Henry Francis Lockwood and William Mawson, the completed sandstone sculptures were placed in Saltaire.