Frederick Thomas Pilkington was born in 1832, probably in Stamford. He was born into a family with long-standing building connections. His grandfather, Jonathan Pilkington, a Stamford parson (d.1844) came of building and carpenter stock. His father Thomas, born c.1799, married Jane Butterworth in 1830. She belonged to an ardent Methodist family. Thomas set up architectural practice in Stamford but was burnt out in 1838 and moved elsewhere in the town by 1842; by 1849 he was in Bourne with his own brickworks. Frederick Thomas first trained with his father and was then articled in London for one year and returned to his father's firm thereafter.
The family moved to Edinburgh in 1854, apparently because of a lawsuit. Thomas opened an office at 10 Dundas Street and set up house at 9 South-East Circus Place. The firm exhibited designs at the RSA in that year under the name of T Pilkington & Son but Frederick's younger brother, James, returned to Stamford c.1857 after two years at the University of Edinburgh. Frederick studied mathematics under Professor Kelland, passed his exams in 1858 and was Hamilton prizewinner in Logic, but did not bother to graduate. He signed the University Matriculation Register 1856/7 as of Stamford. In 1858 he married with a house at Mary Cottage, Trinity and in 1859 he built Inchglas, Broich Terrace, Crieff (as a weekend house?). He never lived there but his father was living there in 1860. About 1859-60 the practice was based at 6 North Charlotte Street which was his father's house and office, but in the latter year house and office were moved to 24 George Street. In or about the same year, Frederick became friendly with John Cowan, the paper-maker of Penicuik, whose diary records a continental tour undertaken with Pilkington in the early 1860s.
On 10 March 1861 Pilkington's first wife died in childbirth, and he married Elizabeth Cropley from Ely five months later, first with a house at 27 St Bernard Crescent and then at 14 Cumin Place later in the same year.
By that date Pilkington had progressed from exhibiting at the RSA to actually building a series of ambitious geometrically planned churches, mostly with tall lucarned spires, boldly scaled naturalistic sculpture, and sometimes polychrome masonry, all of Ruskinian inspiration; in Venetian Romanesque form the style extended into his domestic practice in a series of large houses in Edinburgh, Port Glasgow, Penicuik and Walkerburn.
In 1863 Pilkington's parents moved to Kelso, Frederick transferring his office to 2 Hill Street. Frederick and his family moved to 6 Eton Terrace at the turn of 1864/5, but by that date they were already building Egremont in Dick Place for their own occupation, remaining there until 1873 when they moved to 17 Carlton Terrace. Frederick's partner John Murray Bell (1839-77) began practice as a surveyor in the same office building at 2 Hill Street in 1863, their practice being merged as Pilkington & Bell in 1867; Bell had previously acted as surveyor for the Pilkingtons at the Kelso Church in 1864. Thomas gave up the Kelso practice in 1874, moving first to 2 Abercorn Villas, Joppa and then in 1878 to Bourne, Lincolnshire. By that date the younger son James was postmaster in Assam.
In the earlier 1870s Pilkington began to experiment with a remarkably bold Second Empire style, but after Bell died on 31 May 1877, Frederick's interest in the Scottish business declined and with the commission for the Army and Navy Hotel, London (completed 1882), the family and the practice were moved to Russell Square, London, his sons already being educated at Westminster. He died at Orchardleigh, Pinner, on 18 September 1898, leaving £6609 (Probate November 1899).
Pilkington is said to have worked as inspiration came to him, often getting up in the middle of the night to sketch ideas. He had a taste for music and fine furniture. His family comprised Ernest born 1864, architect, died during the First World War, Maud Elizabeth; Ethel Mary; Mabel Jane; and Frederick Percy, born 1874. Maud Elizabeth was a miniaturist. A granddaughter, Miss Doris Fraser, lived at Ash Tree, Leiston, Suffolk until the 1970s.
Edward Calvert was a pupil. There is a reference to a Calvert in the Cowan diaries 23 June 1861.