Robert Atkinson (1 August 1883 – 26 December 1952) 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 id ...

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 ...

primarily working in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

style.

Life

Atkinson was born in

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just outside the Lake District in the borough of Allerdale. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells a ...

in Cumberland and studied at University College Nottingham, and afterwards in Paris, Italy and America. He was a talented draughtsman and worked for

C. E. Mallows Charles Edward Mallows FRIBA (5 May 1864 – 2 June 1915), often known as C. E. Mallows, was an English architect and landscape architect. He is considered to be part of the Arts and Craft movement in British art. Biography Mallows was b ...

from 1905. In turn he illustrated many of the town planning and garden designs of Thomas Hayton Mawson, included in the latter's books ''The Art and Craft of Garden Making'', and ''Civic Art'' (1911), to which he contributed a number of skilled perspective views. Atkinson experimented with various styles, including the American Beaux-Arts and oriental, in search of a new modern style. He is known for his cinema designs in English cities, including the 3,000 seat Regent Cinema, Brighton (built 1919–1923; demolished 1974). Described as the "first luxury cinema on the American model", it was really a recreation centre, in which one could also "take tea", eat or dance. Atkinson is also well known for the art deco interior of the Daily Express Building, London, in 1931–2, which has been described as the "best surviving art deco interior in Britain". Atkinson did a lot of work in the Art Deco style, but found that commercial considerations meant that he had to forgo his artistic aspirations. Much of his work is not remembered or not well regarded including the government rehousing scheme built in 1946 to 1950 in Gibraltar and government offices in

Marsham Street Marsham Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is approximately one mile in length and runs south from Great Peter Street near Victoria Street and Parliament Square. Description Marsham Street bisects Horseferry ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

, which were actually not built as he intended, as the design was changed after he died. Atkinson was appointed an OBE in 1951, shortly before his death.

Partial list of works

The following is a selection of Atkinson's works: * All Hallows Twickenham (incorporating portions moved from

All Hallows Lombard Street All Hallows Lombard Street, also seen with descriptor Gracechurch Street, was a parish church in the City of London. It stood behind thin buildings fronting both streets, in Langbourn Ward, The west and south sides faced into Ball Alley. Of ...

) *

Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert A ...

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

(

RIBA 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 ...

Bronze Medal, 1946) *

Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital The Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, was a civilian hospital and a centre for research into rheumatism in children until its closure in 1985. History War time origins In 1914, during the First World War, th ...

, Taplow, Bucks (in grounds of

Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern ...

) * Cannon Royal Cinema,

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction ...

, London *

City Hall, Norwich Norwich City Hall is an Art Deco building completed in 1938 which houses the city hall for the city of Norwich, East Anglia, in Eastern England. It is one of the Norwich 12, a collection of twelve heritage buildings in Norwich deemed of partic ...

(site plan) * Croydon 'B' power station * Oslo Court,

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west fr ...

, London * Daily Express Building, London (lobby interior) * Eros Cinema,

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly C ...

, London (demolished) *

Gresham Hotel Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin, formerly The Gresham Hotel, is a historic four-star hotel on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland. It is a Dublin institution and landmark building which was refurbished in the early 2000s. History Hotel foun ...

and Clerys department store O'Connell Street, Dublin * 30 Horniman Drive,

Forest Hill, London Forest Hill is a district of the London Borough of Lewisham in south east London, England, on the South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum. History Like much of London, Forest Hill was only sparsely populated until the mi ...

(private residence) * Regent Cinema, Brighton (demolished) * Ridgehanger, 7 Hillcrest Road,

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was hi ...

, London. Grade II listed detached private residence * Stockleigh Hall, Regent's Park Estate, Camden Borough, London (

Bronze Medal, 1937) * Wallington Town Hall

References

External links

*
Gresham Hotel
at Irish-architecture.com
List of closed and/or demolished cinemas by Atkinson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Robert 1883 births 1952 deaths People from Wigton Architects from Cumbria 20th-century English architects Officers of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects

Life

Partial list of works

References

Further reading

External links