George John Skipper (1856–1948) was a leading

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

-based

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 ...

of the late Victorian and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

period. Writer and poet,

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture ...

said of him "he is altogether remarkable and original. He was to Norwich what Gaudi was to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

" He is regarded as an important

Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) The Modern Style is a style of architecture, art, and design that first emerged in the United Kingdom in the mid-1880s. It is the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of the Arts and Crafts movement which was native ...

architect.

Life

Skipper was born in the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

market town of

East Dereham Dereham (), also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the Breckland District of the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about 15 miles (25 km) west of the city of Norwich and 25 miles (40&n ...

, the son of Robert Skipper a carpenter and builder. Skipper was educated at Bracondale School, Norwich and later went on to attend the Norwich School of Art for one year. He trained as an architect in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and returned to work in his father's firm of builders in Norwich. After setting up his own business in 1879 he was commissioned to design the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

and, subsequently, several seaside hotels in the town.Evening News article
Retrieved 12 December 2013 Much of his best work, dating from around the beginning of the twentieth century, is in Norwich. At this time Skipper, along with his rival

Edward Boardman Edward Boardman (1833–1910) was a Norwich born architect. He succeeded John Brown as the most successful Norwich architect in the second half of the 19th century.Jarrolds The Jarrold Group is a Norwich–based company, founded as ''Jarrold & Sons Ltd'', in 1770, by John Jarrold, at Woodbridge, Suffolk, before relocating to Norfolk in 1823. ''The Jarrold Group'' still involves members of the Jarrold family. Fami ...

departmental store, has a red brick facade, with a frieze featuring scenes of architects and builders. It is faced with a locally-made type of

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...

called ''Cosseyware'', made at

Costessey Costessey ( ) is a civil parish centred WNW of Norwich in Norfolk, England. Three centres of population exist: the long-established town/village of Costessey (now commonly Old Costessey) (2011 population 7,265); New Costessey of similar popu ...

(pronounced "Cossey") near Norwich by the firm of Guntons. In 1899 he designed the

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

style Royal Arcade in the city. His design for the

Norwich Union Norwich Union was the name of insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. On 29 April 2008, Aviva ...

headquarters in Surrey Street was completed in 1903–4. The building features the noted Marble Hall.

Personal life

His first two wives died and he married again in 1913. His son, Edward (1918–2005) (by his 3rd wife Elizabeth Alice Charter, née Roberts), himself an important local architect, worked with him while studying architecture. Skipper died in 1948 and is buried in the Earlham Road Cemetery, Norwich.

Works

;Norwich *

Jarrolds The Jarrold Group is a Norwich–based company, founded as ''Jarrold & Sons Ltd'', in 1770, by John Jarrold, at Woodbridge, Suffolk, before relocating to Norfolk in 1823. ''The Jarrold Group'' still involves members of the Jarrold family. Fami ...

departmental store, Exchange Street and London Street. (1903–05). * Skipper's office at 7, London Street now part of the above store (1896). * Additions and extensions to 9–11 London Street (1897). * The Royal Arcade (1898–99). * Norfolk Daily Standard offices, St Giles' Street (1899–1900). * Haymarket Chambers, (1901–03). *

, headquarters Surrey Street (1901–06). * Commercial Chambers, Red Lion Street (1901–03). *

London and Provincial Bank The London and Provincial Bank, originally known as the Provincial Banking Corporation, was established in 1864. It took over Day, Nicholson and Stone in 1864, and the Bank of Wales in 1865. It was reorganised in 1870 and became the London and Pr ...

(1907). * Norfolk and London Accident Assurance offices, 41–43 St Giles' Street (1906), later a Telephone Exchange. Now (2010), a luxury hotel. ;Cromer Cliftonville Hotel Cromer

* Cliftonville Hotel * Cromer Town Hall (1890), Extant. *

Hotel de Paris A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

. Extensively remodelled in 1895–96. * Hotel Metropole, (1893). Demolished. * Grand Hotel, (1891). Demolished. * Sandcliff Hotel (1895) ;

East Harling East Harling is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village forms the principal settlement in the civil parish of Harling, and is located east of Thetford and south-west of the city of NorwichOrdnance Survey (1999). ''OS Explorer ...

* The Crescent - experimental council housing built with clay lump (1919-1920) ;

Guist Guist () is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 242 in 102 households at the 2001 census, including Twyford and increasing slightly to a population of 250 in 110 househol ...

* Sennowe Hall, was redesigned by Skipper between (1904–11). ;

Hunstanton Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunst ...

* Hunstanton Town Hall ;

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club The Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club is a private yacht club based in Lowestoft in Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; ...

clubhouse (1903)Royal Norfolk and Suffolk yacht club
Retrieved 22 March 2010 ;

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

*Crispin Hall,

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of di ...

(1885) *

Sexey's School Sexey's School is a Church of England, co-educational state boarding and day school in Bruton, Somerset, England for 11-18 year olds. Sexey's School is named after Hugh Sexey who, in 1599, was appointed as a Royal auditor to Elizabeth I and l ...

Bruton Bruton ( ) is a market town, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, 10 ...

(1882-1891) *

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding schoo ...

(1888-1889)

References

External links

Flickr group Skipper of NorwichOxford Dictionary Of National Biographies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skipper, George 1856 births 1948 deaths People from Dereham 19th-century English architects Architects from Norfolk Art Nouveau architects 20th-century English architects

Life

Personal life

Works

References

Further reading

External links