Frank Tugwell
Frank Alfred Tugwell | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 1861 Scarborough, England |
| Died | 20 March 1940 (aged 78) |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Harrogate Theatre (1900) York Theatre Royal (1902) Savoy Theatre, London (1929) Scarborough Spa ballroom (1925) |
Frank Alfred Tugwell (July 1861 – 20 March 1940) was a British architect.
Background
Born in Scarborough, Tugwell attended the Scarborough High School for Boys. He then studied architecture under John Hall, while also attending the Scarborough School of Art.[1][2] He died at home at 40, Esplanade, Scarborough,[3] following a five-year retirement from architecture.[4] He left £19,858 gross (equivalent to £2,211,987.4 in 2023).[5][3]
Career
According to the Yorkshire Post, Tugwell practised as an architect in Scarborough and London for almost fifty years.[4] He next became an assistant to E. R Robson, and in 1886 became an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He returned to Scarborough and entered into partnership with Hall. Together, they designed numerous houses in the town and also renovated many of its pubs. He built 4–6 Holbeck in 1895 as his own house, but soon moved elsewhere.[1][2]
Between 1896 and 1898, Tugwell worked with W. E. Barry and Sydney Tugwell, his younger brother. He then worked on his own, mostly in the arts and crafts style, and also became known for designing theatres,[1][2] in Harrogate, Manchester, London and other areas.[4] The Yorkshire Post suggested that the Shaftesbury Theatre in London in 1911 was "his work", although that building is credited to Bertie Crewe in 1911. It is possible that Tugwell renovated or extended the 1888 Shaftesbury Theatre in 1911. He did, however, rebuild the Savoy Theatre in 1929.[4]
Institutions and civic duty
Tugwell was active in the Conservative Party and served on the North Riding County Council (NRCC) from 1900 until 1928.[4] He was an original member of the Higher Education Committee from 1903, and its chairman between 1929 and 1940,[1][2] taking a "keen interest in higher education" according to the Yorkshire Post. In this role in 1939, he "played a leading part in the provision of the New Girls' High School buildings just after the outbreak of war".[4] He was elected as representative of Scarborough for the NRCC on 19 June 1900,[6] and nominated for the same position on 24 February 1919.[7] He also served as president of Old Scarborians RUFC.[1][2] On 8 March 1926, his name was added to the Commission of the Peace for Scarborough, as a magistrate.[8] Tugwell was a traveller, antiquary and archaeologist in his spare time.[4]
Legacy
When the Damask Room at Temple Newsam was renovated in 1940, Tugwell's wife donated in her husband's memory a bureau cabinet, described by the Yorkshire Post as a "grandiose" mahogany office desk, "evidently by the same cabinet-maker" of the Castletown Bureau at Castletown House.[9]
"Touchstone" of the Harrogate Advertiser commented that:[10]
At a time when England was slowly and for the most part reluctantly throwing off the shackles of the Victorian age, Mr Tugwell was always mercifully ahead of the times, and his work still looks refreshingly modern and up-to-date even in these stream-lined days.[10]
Works
Tugwell's work includes:
- West Pier Sales Offices (1886)[1]
- Gladstone Road Schools (1890)[1]
- Brookholme (1894)[1]
- Normanton Rise (1894)[1]
- Yew Court extension, Scalby (1895)[1]
- Newcastle Packet (1898–1899)[11]
- Harrogate Theatre (1898–1900)[1]
- Manor Road Cemetery Lodge and Chapel (1901)[1]
- Tyneholme (1902)[1]
- York Theatre Royal rebuilding (1902)[1]
- Nags Head, Scalby (1904)[1]
- Wesleyan Methodist Church (1905)[1]
- Homegreen (1907)[1]
- George V Coronation Clock (1911)[1]
- Futurist Theatre (1921)[12]
- Hawkwood Court (1924)[1]
- Scarborough Spa ballroom (1925)[1]
- Savoy Theatre, London (1929)[1][4]
- Hole in the Wall pub[1]
- National Provincial Bank[1]
- St Aubyns and Coppins, Scalby[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Armstrong, Barrie; Armstrong, Wendy (2013). The Arts and Crafts Movement in Yorkshire. Wetherby: Oblong Creative. ISBN 9780957599215.
- ^ a b c d e "Tugwell, Frank Alfred 1861 - 1940". Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Architects 1800-1950. AHRnet. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ a b "To-day's wills". Yorkshire Evening Post. 3 July 1940. p. 5 col.5. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary: Mr F.A. Tugwell". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 21 March 1940. p. 8 col.3. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ UK Consumer Price Index inflation figures from 1209–2024 based on data from "Inflation calculator". Bank of England. London: Bank of England. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ "North Country news". Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough. 20 June 1900. p. 3 col.5. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Nominations for Scarboro' and Malton". Leeds Mercury. 25 February 1919. p. 7 col.2. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Yorkshire: twelve new magistrates". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 9 March 1926. p. 4 col.1. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Temple Newsam". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 1 August 1940. p. 2 col.5. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b Touchstone (30 March 1940). "Here and There". Harrogate Advertiser and Weekly List of the Visitors. p. 8 cols 4,5. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Historic England. "Newcastle Packet Inn, Scarborough (1272912)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ^ "Futurist Theatre in Scarborough, GB – Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 6 June 2023.