Architects

Name:

Richard Barry Parker

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

Exact Date

Exact DOB:

18/11/1867

Year of Birth :

Circa Year of Birth :

Date of Birth Before (Year):

Date of Birth After (Year):

DOB (1st 'Or' Year):

DOB (2nd 'Or' Year):

Date of Death:

Exact Date

Exact DOD:

21/02/1947

Year of Death:

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 :

Richard Barry Parker was born in Chesterfield on 18 November 1867, the son of Robert Parker, a bank manager. He was educated at Park Hurst, Buxton and studied at T C Simmonds Atelier of Art, Derby 1887-89 from which he took external examinations of the South Kensington Schools, moving to London and spending some three months there. In the latter year he was articled to George Faulkner Armitage of Altrincham whose studio embraced furniture and textile workshops as well as architecture. In 1891 Parker's father was transferred to Buxton for health reasons. Parker joined him there, designing for him three large houses in Buxton while acting as clerk of works at Brockhampton Court, Herefordshire and Caerleon, Monmouthshire. In 1894 Parker commenced practice from home at one of these newly built houses, the Park at Buxton.

In 1896 Parker went into partnership with his older half cousin Raymond Unwin, born at Whiston, Rotherham on 2 November 1863, the son of William Unwin, a tutor at Bailliol College, Oxford. He was also Parker's brother-in-law, having married his sister Ethel in 1893.

The early work of the practice consisted mainly of large houses influenced by Voysey, Baillie Scott and the American Gustav Stickley of which Balnagowan, Edinburgh is one of the best examples. Unwin became convinced that arts and crafts principles should be applied to working-class housing, and in 1898-99 they published designs for co-operative housing and Unwin wrote an important paper 'Co-operation in Building'. This was followed by a more developed paper by Unwin given at the Garden City Association conference in Bournville in September 1901 which brought the commission for the garden village of Earswick from the Quaker cocoa refiners Joseph and Seebohm Rowntree.

In 1903 the founder of the Garden City Movement, Ebeneezer Howard invited Parker & Unwin to advise on the site for Letchworth and in February 1904 Unwin won the limited competition for its layout. This in turn brought the commission for Hampstead Garden Suburb from Henrietta Barnett in February 1905 in which they worked in association with Edwin Landseer Lutyens.

Unwin became incresingly busy with public sector work. Although these activities brought the partnership much new business, they left Parker almost wholly responsible for its management and the first steps towards dissolution were taken in 1914. The practice became Parker’s in May of the following year, Unwin having been appointed Town Planning Adviser to the Central Government Board in December 1914. Nevertheless in addition to a large general practice which included the enlargement of New Earswick in the 1920s Parker had a continuing town planning practice, advising on Oporto, Portugal in 1915 and Sao Paolo, Brazil in 1917-1919 and from 1927 Manchester City Council on the development of Wythenshawe where he had a continuing role until 1941. He died at Letchworth on 21 February 1947.

Bio Notes continued...

Additional Notes

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

Private Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From Char	Date From Type	Date To Char	Date To Type	Notes
Moorlands Buxton Derbyshire England	Private/business
Norton Way Letchworth Hertfordshire England	Private/business
Crabby Corner Letchworth Hertfordshire England	Private/business

row(s) 1 - 3 of 3

Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date To
Moorlands Buxton Derbyshire England	Private/business	1896
Norton Way Letchworth Hertfordshire England	Private/business	Before 1913	After 1914
Crabby Corner Letchworth Hertfordshire England	Private/business	Before 1913	After 1914
Wyldes North End Hampstead London England	Business	Before 1913	After 1914

row(s) 1 - 4 of 4

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

Employers2 classic

Name	Name Link	Date From	Date To	Position	Notes
George Faulkner Armitage	202213	In year 1889	In year 1891	Assistant	or apprentice?
Parker & Unwin	202214	In year 1896	In year 1915	Partner

row(s) 1 - 2 of 2

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	Island	City or County	Country	Notes
Balnagowan	In year 1906	Murrayfield		Edinburgh	Scotland

row(s) 1 - 1 of 1

The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher
Miller, M	Letchworth the First Garden City	1989
British Architectural Library, RIBA	Directory of British Architects 1834-1914	2001
Miller, M	Raymond Unwin: Garden Cities and Town Planning	1992
New DNB	New Dictionary of National Biography
Grove Dictionary of Art	Grove Dictionary of Art
Jackson, Frank	Sir Raymond Unwin, Architect Planner and Visionary	1985	London

row(s) 1 - 6 of 6

The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Publisher	Date Circ	Edition	Notes
RIBA Journal		1947/03	v54	p286 - obituary

row(s) 1 - 1 of 1

Basic Biographic Details

Addresses

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

Employment and Training

Employers2 classic

Buildings and Designs

Buildings and Designs2 classic

References

Bibliographic References

Bib ref classic

Periodical References

Period ref classic