Arthur William "Billy" Ecclestone (7 January 1901 – 1984) was an English architect and the chief surveyor for the Norfolk brewers Lacons in the first half of the twentieth century. In that capacity, he was responsible for the design of a number of their public houses, two of which are now listed buildings with Historic England. He was also a local councillor, justice of the peace, and historian of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

Early life

Arthur Ecclestone was born in

on 7 January 1901 to Arthur James Eccleston and his wife Alice Mary Ecclestone. He was christened at St Nicholas's parish church, Great Yarmouth.Arthur William Ecclestone England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837–2007.
Family Search. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

Career

Ecclestone was a member of the Society of Architects and from 1925 a licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. From the 1920s to the 1960s he worked for the Lacons brewery in Great Yarmouth for whom he was the chief surveyor and responsible for their pub designs."Dragons Resurgent"
David H. Kennett, ''Information 73'', British Brick Society, February 1998, pp. 2–4 (p. 2). His designs include the Clipper Schooner (1938) in Great Yarmouth with a decorative tiled panel showing a sailing ship that the ''Tile Gazetteer'' described as typical of Ecclestone's practice in his modern pub designs; the Iron Duke in Yarmouth (late 1930s, completed 1948); and the

Never Turn Back The Never Turn Back is a grade II listed public house in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk, England. It was designed by A. W. Ecclestone in the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and ...

in Caister-on-Sea (1957) which he designed in the Art Deco and

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

styles as a memorial to the nine lifeboatmen who died in the Caister lifeboat disaster of 1901. Both the Iron Duke and the Never Turn Back are

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

with Historic England. He also designed the Winter Gardens at Gorleston in 1929 and the Links Hotel in Gorleston, which was demolished in 1999. Outside work, Ecclestone was a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and local councillor.

Death

Ecclestone died in 1984.

Selected publications

Ecclestone was a historian of Great Yarmouth and published a number of articles and books on the town:British Library search, 20 May 2018; WorldCat search, 20 May 2018.

Articles

* "The Victoria Building Company", ''Yarmouth Archaeology'', 1979. * "The Columbia Fleet and Baroness Coutts", ''Yarmouth Archaeology'', 1983.

Books

* ''The Rise of Great Yarmouth. The Story of a Sandbank''. A.W. Ecclestone, Great Yarmouth, 1959. (with John Lewis Ecclestone) * ''Henry Manship's Great Yarmouth''. Great Yarmouth, 1971. (editor) * ''A Yarmouth Miscellany''. A. W. Ecclestone, Great Yarmouth, 1974. (compiler) * ''Yarmouth Haven''. A.W. Ecclestone, Great Yarmouth, 1981. * ''Great Yarmouth 1886–1936''. A. W. Ecclestone, Great Yarmouth. Gorleston. A.W.Eccleston. pub undated. I have a copy!

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecclestone, A. W. Architects from Norfolk English surveyors 1901 births 1984 deaths English justices of the peace People from Great Yarmouth English non-fiction writers Historians of Norfolk Public house architects