Born in Dorset on 7th May 1909, Robert Goodden studied at Harrow School and despite wanting to be a painter, trained as an architect at the Architectural Association from 1926-32.
It was here that he first experimented with silversmithing, designing the trophy for the Architect’s Golf Society. Having completed his studies, the shortage of work in private practice forced him into industrial design which included working on his own wallpaper range, ‘Asterisk’ and pressed glassware for Chance Brothers. During WWII he was employed designing navy camouflage, his design being adopted for the heavy-cruiser HMS Berwick.
Following the conclusion of the war he continued his involvement in organised industrial design with the postwar ‘homes for the people’ movement, which sought to provide affordable high-quality housing to replace unfit housing or that which had been destroyed by war. Goodden worked on the Utility Furniture Committee, chaired by Cotswold School designer and maker Gordon Russell. This expanded into collaborating on exhibitions in 1946, the ‘Britain Can Make It’ at the V&A, and the Festival of Britain in 1951. For the latter show he and R.D. Russell, Gordon Russell’s brother, designed the Lion and Unicorn Pavillion, which was one of the busiest stands during the Festival.
Having been appointed a Royal Designer for Industry in 1947 Goodden received several commissions, including the ‘Queensway’ floral damask hangings for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 and an electric kettle given by the Duke of Edinburgh as a Christmas present to the Queen in 1956. Further high-profile designs included the ceremonial mace for the University of Exeter and a lead crystal bowl, given by the Royal Shakespeare Company to the Shakespeare Centre on the 400th anniversary of the bard’s birth.
In 1948 he began teaching as a professor of silversmithing and jewellery at the Royal College of Art, as well as overseeing the Department of Industrial glass. Encouraged by the then principle of the RCA, Robin Darwin, Goodden worked to restructure the educational programmes. His task was to regenerate manufacturing in Britain, and the list of future Royal Designers for Industry amongst RCA graduates, including David Mellor, Robert Welch and Gerald Benney, demonstrates the significant role he played in encouraging innovative, modern design. His association with the RCA stretched beyond teaching, as he also co-designed the new Darwin building and from 1967-1974 served as the pro-Rector. Other accolades included being Master of the Royal Designers for Industry, Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths Company, 1976-1977, and Chairman of the Crafts Council from 1977-1982, a man at the apex of his field.
