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Basic Biographic Details

Philip Stanley Cocker
Exact Date
Date Not Known
06/06/1926
Philip Stanley Cocker was born on 29 May 1928 in Bolton, Lancashire, and was educated at the County Grammar School from 1939. On completion of his schooling in 1944 he was articled to T E Smith & Son of Bolton, and while serving his articles he studied part-time at Manchester School of Art. In Smith’s office he was involved in projects for factories, public houses, private houses, surveying and drafting.

On completion of his apprenticeship in 1948 he secured an appointment as an assistant in Manchester City Architects Office, where he worked on a residence for unmarried pregnant girls and also saw the construction of the first building to his own designs - a block of public toilets with a tapered concrete flat roof. After two years in that office he was appointed Assistant Architect to the Housing Architects Office in the same city, where he was personally responsible for the design of flats, sheltered cottages and groups of shops with maisonettes above, as well as being involved in the planning and layout for the main programme of 3000 dwellings per year.

Cocker was admitted ARIBA in 1952. The following year he secured the post of Senior Architect in Middlesbrough Town Council’s Chief Architects Office. While in this post he was lead architect for a programme of some 1000 houses per annum, and carried out personal design work on three small district shopping centres with housing above. At the same time, he was studying Town and Country Planning as an external student at Manchester University, where he received his diploma in 1955; he became an Associate of the MTPI in the same year.

He moved to Scotland in 1956 to join the Chief Architects Office at Glenrothes New Town Development Corporation as an architect/planner. Here he focused on the design of residential districts, (his initials appear on a drawing of houses at Woodside), green landscaping and exhibitions, while spending his evenings working on architectural competitions and furniture construction. In 1960 he won the competition for the District Shopping Centre and adjacent housing at Grangemouth, as a result of which he set up his own practice there in the same year under the practice title Philip Cocker & Associates. It was also in 1960 that he became an Associate of the RIAS.

In 1962 Cocker was an active founder member of Link Housing Association who were among the pioneers of the Housing Association movement in Scotland, and in 2014 manage 6000 houses for rent. Later, in 1981, he was a founder of Jamaica Street Ltd, a non profit-making house development company who built over 500 houses and flats on seven sites. Unfortunately the housing slump of 1992 rendered the unsubsidised financial model unsupportable.

He was admitted FRIAS in 1966 and FRIBA in 1968, proposed by George W Robertson, John Mclachlan and Kenneth Donald. In 1971 he took John McLachlan and Kenneth Donald into partnership, the firm being known thereafter as Philip Cocker & Partners. Peter McAlister joined the partnership in 1979 and Fred Gibson in 1987. Supporting staff architects within the practice included Colin Forest, Denholm Christie, Nick Curry, Michael Good, Thomas Bryan Michie, Howard Fox, Laurence Robertson, Brian McAlister, Gordon Fraser, John Shaw, Alan McLay, Alan Scott and Graham Wilson.

Cocker was involved in architectural education as well as practice, being a visiting lecturer at Middlesbrough School of Art from 1954 to 1956 and at Glasgow School of Art from 1963 to 1966. He was also active in professional organisations, serving as President of the Stirling Chapter of Architects from 1969 to 1971; as an RIAS Council member from 1969 to 1978; as Convenor of the RIAS Housing & Town Planning Committee from 1975 to 1978; as a member of the Construction Industry Advisory Panel from 1974 to 1978; and as Scottish Representative of the Association of Consultant Architects from 1978 to 1982.

Cocker retired and resigned his RIBA membership in 1992, and the practice closed; of the partners, only Kenneth Donald had left the firm prior to that date, in 1987.

Cocker spent retirement in the last of the ten houses he had lived in. This was one of three built for himself and is an eclectic cottage overlooking the beach at Gullane. He says he has learned a little from each one! In retirement he designs furniture and has written a detailed account of the work of the practice, and has published a study of the early buildings of Gullane.

'Biography authored by the Dictionary of Scottish Architects Compilation Team.'

Addresses

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

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From CharDate From TypeDate To CharDate To TypeNotes
Bolton Lancashire EnglandPrivateplace of birth
Shoreways Sandyloan Gullane East Lothian ScotlandPrivate

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From Date From TypeDate ToDate To TypeNotes
66 Lumley Street Grangemouth Stirlingshire ScotlandBusiness1960After 1970main office to 1970; branch office thereafter.
44 Charlotte Square Edinburgh ScotlandBusiness19681970branch office
11 Wemyss Place Edinburgh ScotlandBusiness19701992main office
4 Park Terrace Glasgow ScotlandBusiness19711992branch office

Employment and Training

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

Employers2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
T E Smith & Son403828In year 1944In year 1948Apprentice
Manchester City Architect's Department202488In year 1948In year 1950Assistant
Manchester City Council Housing Architects Office403829In year 1950In year 1953Assistant Architect
Middlesbrough Town Council Chief Architects Office403830In year 1953In year 1956Senior ArchitectLead architect for housing programme
Glenrothes Development Corporation (or Glenrothes New Town Development Corporation)400644In year 1956In year 1960ArchitectArchitect/Planner
Philip Cocker & Associates402147In year 1960In year 1971Proprietor
Philip Cocker & Partners400782In year 1971In year 1992Senior Partner

RIBA Proposers

The following individuals proposed this person for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):

RIBA PROPOSERS2 classic

ProposerProposer LinkDate ProposedNotes
George William Robertson2044111968/10/02For Fellowship
John McLachlan4014791968/10/02For Fellowship
Kenneth Donald4014771968/10/02For Fellowship

Buildings and Designs

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 NameDate StartedTown, District or VillageIslandCity or CountyCountryNotes
Garage and showroom, Bury RoadIn year 1952BoltonLancashireEnglandIn his own practice.
3 Point FlatsIn year 1952WithenshaweManchesterEnglandas assistant architect in Manchester City Council Housing Architects Office
Two shopping parades of 8 shops and 16 flatsIn year 1953MiddletonManchesterEnglandPresumably begun while he was working as assistant architect in Manchester City Council Housing Architects Office, and completed after he had left
Berwick Hills Baptist ChurchIn year 1956MiddlesbroughYorkshireEnglandIn his own practice.
13 shops and 18 flats, Park EndIn year 1956MiddlesbroughYorkshireEnglandas Senior Architect for Middlesbrough Town Council Chief Architects Department
Offices for Bovis1960sEdinburghScotlandDate uncertain
Offices for Thomson McLintock1960sEdinburghScotlandReconstruction
District Shopping CentreIn year 1960GrangemouthStirlingshireScotlandWon open competition to secure job.
Kersiebank Avenue Housing and Shopping Centre, Grangemouth1960/02/26GrangemouthStirlingshireScotlandhis Design No. 2 awarded 1st prize
The Scores HotelIn year 1961St AndrewsFifeScotlandnew bar
Avongrange Arms, TheIn year 1961GrangemouthStirlingshireScotland
Competition design for housing siteIn year 1962BlackburnWest LothianScotlandWinning competition design.
House, 3 Saltcoats DriveIn year 1962GrangemouthStirlingshireScotland
Airfield Housing Scheme, 24 housesIn year 1962GrangemouthStirlingshireScotland
District Shopping Centre, betting shopIn year 1962GrangemouthStirlingshireScotland

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

AuthorTitleDatePublisherPartNotes
Willis, PeterNew architecture in Scotland1977p14-15 Fair-a-Far, Cramond
Glendinning, M, MacInnes, R and MacKechnie, AA History of Scottish Architecture1996p562

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical NamePublisherDate CircEditionNotes
Building1966/04/15p.195

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this person:

Arc ref classic

Archive NameSourceSource Cat NoBuilding IdItem NameNotes
RIBA Nomination PapersRIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum100005F no 5339 (Combined Box 133)
Records of membershipRIAS, Rutland Square201006
Information sent via DSA website, November 2009Courtesy of Philip Cocker201042Biography and job list. Further biographical details sent August 2014.