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Atkinson, Robert
(b Wigton, Cumbria, 1 Aug 1883; d London, 26 Dec 1952). English architect. A builder’s son, he was articled in Newcastle upon Tyne and studied at University College and School of Art, Nottingham, before working in the London offices of John Belcher and Charles Edward Mallows (1864–1915) and R. Frank Atkinson (1871–1923), for whom in 1907 he designed a competition entry for County Hall (see The Builder, xciv, 1908, opp. p. 606), London. After returning from travel in Italy in 1904 Atkinson was in demand as a draughtsman and perspectivist; he ‘ghosted’ work for the landscape architect Thomas Hayton Mawson (1861–1933) and assisted R. Frank Atkinson in designing the Midland Adelphi Hotel (1912), Liverpool. As Headmaster of the Architectural Association School (1913–20), London, and Director of Education (1920–29), Atkinson helped to spread the Beaux-Arts style. His own work encompassed a simple Arts and Crafts style, neo-Georgian and even a Modernist style. His decorative skill was seen in the eclectic Regent Cinema (1922–4; destr.; see Ison), Brighton, with its vivid colouring. St Catharine’s Church (1923; destr.; see exh. cat., pp. 28–9), Hammersmith, London, was a simple but effective arcaded structure. Other works include the Gresham Hotel (1927), O’Connell Street, Dublin, the Art Deco foyer of the Daily Express building (1932), London, Beddington and Wallington Town Hall (1935), Surrey, and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts (1939), Birmingham. Atkinson was influential both in the development of architectural education and as an assessor for several major competitions of the 1930s, including the RIBA building in London and Norwich City Hall.
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