William Atkins (c.1811–1887) was an Irish architect of 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 ...

. He was born in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, and was reputedly apprenticed to architect (and his uncle by marriage)

George Richard Pain George Richard Pain (1793 – 26 December 1838) was born into a family of English architects. His grandfather was William Pain, his father James Pain and his brother also James Pain, James. George Richard served as an apprentice architect to Jo ...

Works

In 1846 Atkins received one of the largest public commissions in Cork city, to build the Cork City and County Asylum. This commission, commonly and latterly known as Our Lady's Hospital, Cork, was received from the Board of Works. It was being angled for, at the time, by the more established Cork architect

Thomas Deane Sir Thomas Deane (Cork, 1792 – Dublin, 1871) was an Irish architect. He was the father of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane, and grandfather of Sir Thomas Manly Deane, who were also architects. Life Thomas Deane was born in Cork, the eldest son of A ...

who was then engaged in the building of

Queen's College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1 ...

. Built in a revival Gothic style between 1846 and 1853, this is popularly held to have the longest corridor in all of Europe. The building was partly converted into an apartment development known as "Atkin's Hall". Atkins' other works include: *Funerary Chapel (1845) at

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

Dublin, the first Puginian Gothic church in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. * St Mary's Priory in Cork (1850), which is in a Ruskinian neo-Romanesque style. *Oak Park (1857–60), a private dwelling house near Tralee, County Kerry. * Muckross Estate (1857) additions of a

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; , late 17th century, literally 'coach gateway'; plural: porte-cochères, portes-cochères) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like ...

, gatehouse and other works on the estate. *Father Mathew Statue (1864); base designed by Atkins, statue itself by

John Henry Foley John Henry Foley (24 May 1818 – 27 August 1874), often referred to as J. H. Foley, was an Irish sculptor, working in London. he is best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell in Dublin, and of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial in Londo ...

. * Holy Trinity Church (1867) in East Ferry, County Cork. *St. Michael and All Angels church (1881), in Corkbeg parish,

Whitegate, County Cork Whitegate () is a small village in East Cork on the eastern shore of Cork Harbour in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies within the townlands of Ballincarroonig and Corkbeg. Whitegate is within the Cork East (Dáil constituency), ...

. He also received the first prize for a design for a new town hall for Cork in 1851, although this was never built.

References

1811 births 1887 deaths Structural engineers 19th-century Irish architects {{Architect-stub

Works

See also

References