Architects

Name:

W & T R Milburn

Designation :

Architectural practice

Date of Birth:

OR (2 Years Selected)

Exact DOB:

15/05/1926

Year of Birth :

Circa Year of Birth :

Date of Birth Before (Year):

Date of Birth After (Year):

DOB (1st 'Or' Year):

1896

DOB (2nd 'Or' Year):

1897

Date of Death:

Year Only

Exact DOD:

15/05/1926

Year of Death:

1990

Circa Year of Death:

Date of Death Before (Year):

Date of Death After (Year):

DOD (1st 'Or' Year):

DOD (2nd 'Or' Year):

Town of Birth :

Bio Notes :

William and Thomas Milburn were the sons of Captain William Milburn, a shipowner and shipping surveyor in Sunderland.

William Milburn was born in 1858. He was articled to John Tillman of Sunderland and remained as assistant, studying at Sunderland School of Art. He commenced independent practice in Sunderland in 1879 at the early age of twenty-one, but appears from his nomination form to have taken what was probably a short career break to study at the South Kensington Schools in 1880.

Thomas Ridley Milburn was born in 1861 (1862 in Earl & Sell) and articled to John Tillman in 1877. He remained as assistant after the end of his articles but spent some time with Liverpool Corporation before setting up in practice in Sunderland in 1884 independently of his brother. Throughout his time with Tillman and at Liverpool he studied in 'various science and art classes' and passed the qualifying exam in 1886, being admitted ARIBA on 18 April 1887. His proposers were Tillman, Joseph Hall Morton of South Shields and Thomas Oliver of Sunderland, with whose firm he was shortly to become connected. In 1893 Thomas designed the first of his theatres, the Olympia in Newcastle upon Tyne, in association with Oliver & Leeson, and in 1896-97 William and Thomas merged their practices as W & T R Milburn. In the same year they began their association with the Moss Empires circuit by designing the South Shields Empire Palace for which Frank Matcham was consultant, the experience gained there making them the premier theatre firm in the north of England. On 4 January 1904 William and Thomas were both admitted FRIBA, their proposers being William Henry Knowles of Newcastle, John Gibson, also of Newcastle and Alfred William Stephens Cross of London.

The practice was Valuer to the Board of Guardians; Valuer to the Rating and Assessment Committee of Sunderland Corporation and architect to the Sunderland Co-operative Society.

In the following year, 1905, William's son William Junior, born 1885 (1886 in Earl & Sell) was admitted as an apprentice, having previously attended Armstrong College at Newcastle upon Tyne, 1902-05. While an apprentice he studied at the Sunderland Schools of Art & Technology, won the Saxon Snell prize in 1908, passed the qualifying in 1909 and was admitted ARIBA on 28 February 1910, his proposers being William Alfred Pite of London, George Thomas Brown of Sunderland and John Hall also of Sunderland. He won the Godwin bursary in 1910. By that date he had already travelled in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

William's younger brother, Stanley Wayman Milburn, born 1888, was educated at Durham University and apprenticed to his father and uncle, 1904-09 and remained as an assistant until 1912 when he became a partner. During that period he studied at the Sunderland Schools of Art and Technology and passed the qualifying exam, being admitted ARIBA on 3 March 1913, his proposers being George Thomas Brown of Sunderland, Henry Clement Charlewood of Newcastle upon Tyne and Hugh Taylor Decimus Hedley if Sunderland.

William Milburn Senior retired about 1931. He died in 1935, his brother Thomas on 5 December 1943. By that date the theatre side of the practice had come to an end with the Southampton Empire in 1929 and major alterations to the South Shields Empire in 1929 and at the Glasgow Empire in 1931 and the New (Apollo) Theatre in Oxford (with T P Bennett) in 1933. Thereafter the Milburns specialised in cinema design but they also had a large general practice. The firm divided in 1947 when Stanley left with one of the firm's assistants, William Eric Dow, to set up his own practice, S W Milburn & Partners. William Junior died in 1953 and Stanley in 1961.

The practice closed in 1990.

Bio Notes continued...

Additional Notes

The following private or business addresses are associated with this person:

Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date From Type	Date To	Date To Type	Notes
20 Fawcett Street Sunderland County Durham England	Business	1904
17-18 Fawcett Street Sunderland County Durham England	Business	Before 1932		After 1937

row(s) 1 - 2 of 2

The following individuals were employed or trained by this person (click on an item to view details):

Employees or Pupils2 classic

Name	Name Link	Date From	Date To	Position	Notes
William Milburn	202771	1896 or 1897	c. 1931	Partner
Thomas Ridley Milburn	202772	1896 or 1897		Partner
Alexander Robert Meldrum	202006	1900/05/14	1900/10/12	Assistant
Stanley Wayman Milburn	202775	In year 1904	In year 1909	Apprentice
William Milburn (junior)	202774	In year 1905		Apprentice
Stanley Wayman Milburn	202775	In year 1909	In year 1912	Assistant
Stanley Wayman Milburn	202775	In year 1912	In year 1947	Partner
Thomas Ruddiman Wood	100451	In year 1925	Before 1939	Assistant
William Eric Dow	204977	In year 1927	1947/01	Assistant
Alastair Stewart Foster	100539	In year 1936	After 1937	Assistant	For 8 months
William Milburn (junior)	202774	c. 1920		Partner

row(s) 1 - 11 of 11

This person was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):

Buildings and Designs2 classic

Building Name	Date Started	Town, District or Village	City or County	Country	Notes
Union Mill	In year 1921	Montrose	Angus	Scotland	Conversion
Coliseum Theatre	In year 1922		Glasgow	Scotland	Alterations
Empire Palace Theatre	In year 1927		Edinburgh	Scotland	Rebuilding of Matcham's theatre
Empire Theatre	In year 1928		Glasgow	Scotland	Internal rebuilding of Matcham's theatre on larger scale and alterations to exterior

row(s) 1 - 4 of 4

The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Part	Notes
British Architectural Library, RIBA	Directory of British Architects 1834-1914	2001
Johnson, Michael and Potts, Graham	The Architecture of Sunderland 1700-1914	2014	The History Press

row(s) 1 - 2 of 2

The following archives hold material relating to this person:

Arc ref classic

Archive Name	Source	Source Cat No	Building Id	Item Name	Notes
Milburn Papers DT.TRM	Tyne & Weir Archive	200766
Inventory of office drawings	National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS	200041			Information per Graham Potts

row(s) 1 - 2 of 2

Basic Biographic Details

Addresses

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

Employees or Pupils

Employees or Pupils2 classic

Buildings and Designs

Buildings and Designs2 classic

References

Bibliographic References

Bib ref classic

Archive References

Arc ref classic