Archibald Matthias Dunn

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, JP, (1832 – 17 January 1917) was a British architect. He was, along with his partner

Edward Joseph Hansom Edward Joseph Hansom (22 October 1842 – 27 May 1900) was an English Victorian architect who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings in Gothic Revival style, including many Roman Catholic churches. He was the son of Charles Francis Hansom an ...

, among the foremost

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s in

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. Short biography of Dunn

Biography

Dunn was born in

Wylam Wylam is a village and civil parish in the county of Northumberland. It is located about west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is famous for the being the birthplace of George Stephenson, one of the early railway pioneers. George Stephenson's Birth ...

, Northumberland. His father was

Matthias Dunn Matthias Dunn (bap. 1788, d. 1869) was a British mining engineer and one of the first government inspectors of mines. He was known for encouraging safe practices in mines. Early life Dunn was baptized at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Birtle ...

, a mining engineer and manager and one of the first Government Inspectors of Mines for the North East of England. Archibald Dunn was educated at

Ushaw College Ushaw College (formally St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw), is a former Roman Catholic Church, Catholic seminary near the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, England, which is now a heritage and cultural tourist attraction. The college is known for ...

and

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

. He then went to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

to be apprenticed to architect

Charles Francis Hansom Charles Francis Hansom (27 July 1817 – 30 November 1888) was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style. Career He was born of a Roman Catholic family in York. He was the brother of Jose ...

, the younger brother of

Joseph Aloysius Hansom Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, ''The Builder'', in 1843. Career H ...

, the inventor of the

Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, ...

and founder of ''

The Builder ''Building'' is one of the United Kingdom's oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as ''The Builder'' in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed ''Bu ...

''. It was here that Dunn met his future partner

, the son of his employer. Their principal works in North East England include the tower and spire of St Mary’s Cathedral in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, and the church of St. Michael in

Elswick, Tyne and Wear Elswick ( ) is a district and electoral ward of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 1.9 miles west of the city centre, bordering the River Tyne. Historically in Northumberland, Elswick became part of Newcastle upo ...

. Dunn was also a prominent local landowner. Across the valley from

Prudhoe Prudhoe ( ) is a town in south Northumberland, England, about west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and just south of the River Tyne. Situated on a steep, north-facing hill in the Tyne valley, Prudhoe had a population of 11,675 at the 201 ...

is Castle Hill House (1878–9), which he designed and built as his own home in Wylam. Previously he had lived in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, where he was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and 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 ...

for County Durham. In 1870 Dunn was President of the Northern Architectural Association. In 1862 Dunn married Sara Armstrong, an author. They both enjoyed travel, and in 1886 Dunn published a book entitled ''Notes and Sketches of an Architect'', which was a collection of sketches made in France, Germany, Spain and England. Dunn's son, Archibald Manuel Dunn, was taken into partnership of the firm in 1887, and it became Dunn, Hansom & Dunn. In 1894, W. Ellison Fenwicke also became a partner in the firm. In 1903, the younger Dunn withdrew. Fenwicke continued to run the firm with various partners and under various styles, the final practice being Dunn Hansom & Fenwicke although Fenwicke by then was the only active partner. Dunn retired between 1883 and 1887. In 1901 the Dunns moved to Wood House, Branksome Park, in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, where he died on 17 January 1917 aged 85.

Buildings designed by Dunn

1854 Saint Mary’s RC Church, Blackhill 1858 National School, Blyth 1858 St. Andrew’s Cemetery, Hexham 1858 St. Joseph’s RC Church, Gateshead 1860 St Anthony of Padua RC Church, Walker, Newcastle 1858 Our Lady and St Wilfrid RC Church, Blyth 1869 St George’s RC Church, Bells Close, Lemington 1873 Saint Dominic’s RC Church, Newcastle 18?? St. Nicholas’ Cemetery, Newcastle. 1868 Prudhoe Hall, Prudhoe 1868 Mining Institute/Wood Memorial Hall, Newcastle 1869–1873

St Dominic's Church, Newcastle St Dominic's Church, formerly St Dominic's Priory Church, is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It was built from 1869 and opened in 1873. It was founded by the Dominican Order. It is located on New Bridge Street, east of Manor ...

1878 Castle Hill House, Wylam.

Dunn & Hansom

1860 Spire of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle 1873–1882 Transepts and base of tower,

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both t ...

, Somerset 1876 Saint Matthew’s School (mainly Hansom), South Road, Prudhoe 1882 Alterations to Pugin’s Chapel, Ushaw 1888 Lady Chapel, Downside Abbey

Dunn, Hansom & Dunn

1885

Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Cambridge The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs, also known as the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs (OLEM), is an English Roman Catholic parish church located at the junction of Hills Road and Lensfield Road in southeas ...

Wilkins, P. S. 'The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Cambridge' 1st edn. Cambridge University Press (1955) 1887 Medical School, Northumberland Road, Newcastle 1887-1937 Durham University College of Medicine; housed the Dental School of the University of Durham 1945-78; and from 1978, the Law School of the University of Northumbria 1888–1889 St Benet's Church, Sunderland 1891 St Michael’s RC Church, Westmorland Rd, Newcastle 1891 Our Lady and St Cuthbert RC Church, Prudhoe 1893

Our Lady and St Joseph's Church, Carlisle Our Lady and St Joseph's Church, is a Roman Catholic church in Carlisle, Cumbria. The church is one of seven churches that make up the city and district parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Carlisle. It was built from 1891 to 1893. It is situate ...

1893 St Joseph’s Church, Hartlepool

References

Bibliography

Johnson, Michael A., 'The architecture of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle' (Newcastle upon Tyne: University of Northumbria, MA Dissertation, 2003) Johnson, Michael A., 'Architects to a Diocese: Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle' in Northern Catholic History, No.49, 2008, pp3–17. Johnson, Michael A., ‘English Gothic, Early Perpendicular Style’ in Zeilinski, P. (2007) The Church That Moved. Hebburn: Smith Bros.

External links

Dunn on Parks and Gardens UKDunn and The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Cambridge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Archibald Matthias 1832 births 1917 deaths 19th-century English architects Gothic Revival architects English ecclesiastical architects Architects of Roman Catholic churches Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects English Roman Catholics People from Wylam People educated at Stonyhurst College Architects of cathedrals Alumni of Ushaw College Architects from Northumberland