Thomas Atkinson (1729–1798) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

architect, best remembered for remodelling

Bishopthorpe Palace Bishopthorpe Palace is a historic house at Bishopthorpe, to the south of York, in the City of York unitary authority and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Ouse and is the official residence of the Arc ...

in the Gothic Revival style.

Life

Atkinson was born at York, the son of Thomas and Jane Marshall Atkinson. His father was a mason. He worked with his father and later developed an architectural practice based in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. The house that he built there for himself in about 1780 still stands at 20 St Andrewgate in the city centre. He was the leading Yorkshire-based architect of the second half of the 18th century. Atkinson converted to Roman Catholicism; he received a number of commissions from the Yorkshire Catholic gentry. He was commissioned to design a new chapel for Bar Convent. The dome was concealed beneath a slate roof, so that it was hidden from view. Atkinson also built eight different escape routes into the Chapel, to ensure that if the building was stormed, the worshippers would be able to escape. In 1776, he produced designs for a planned development of the city of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

which never came to pass.

Selected buildings

- remodelled the facade and the gatehouse in the 1760s. * Sutton Park,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

- Atkinson is believed to have designed the house, which was completed in 1764. *

Bar Convent The Convent of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin at Micklegate Bar, York, better known as The Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, is the oldest surviving Catholic convent in England, established in 1686. The laws of England at this time proh ...

, York - built the chapel (1765-9) and the main front (1787-9), also other alterations between 1778 and 1793. *

Carlton Towers Carlton Towers in the civil parish of Carlton, south-east of Selby, North Yorkshire, England, is a very large Grade I listed country house, in the Victorian Gothic-revival style, and is surrounded by a 250-acre park. The house was re-bui ...

, Selby - added long East Wing in 1765. * Houghton Hall, Sancton, North Yorkshire - built country house 1765-8 for Philip Langdale. * Dalton Hall (Beverley) - built in 1771-6 for Sir Charles Hotham, 8th Baronet *

Terregles House Terregles House was a late 18th-century country house, located near Terregles, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire around 2 miles west of Dumfries in Scotland. It replaced an earlier tower house, which had served as the seat of the ...

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative count ...

, Scotland - built 1788 for W H Maxwell Constable.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Thomas 18th-century English architects British neoclassical architects 1729 births 1798 deaths Architects from Yorkshire