GEORGE SKIPPER THE FINE CITY’S FINEST ARCHITECT?


Written by Pete Goodrum


I am indebted to my mother in law, Gloria Dickson, for the suggestion to write about George Skipper. He was born in East Dereham, where Gloria and her husband John live. Much has been written about Skipper, including ’Artist Exuberant’, published in 1975, and a centenary celebration printed by Jarrolds in 1980, and contributed to by his son. There are also countless references to him in other works. Drawing on those many references, I’ve tried here to write a concise history of the man and his direct links to our ‘Fine City’.


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Skipper was born in 1856. He began his education in East Dereham, and then continued learning at Bracondale School in Norwich. From there he went on to the Norwich School of Art, as it then was, to study art and architecture. After that he went to London where he acquired further training before becoming articled to John Lee. Lee was a well respected architect based in Bedford Row in London.


Skipper’s father, Robert, was a builder, and George returned to Norfolk in 1876 to work for him. He did not see working in an East Dereham building company as in any way beneath him; on the contrary, he soaked up the experience of commercial and business methods. By 1879, and


any architects have contributed to the Norwich skyline, but George Skipper has left an indelible and stylish contribution to our city.


Arcade Interior by Richard Thomas


still only twenty-three, George Skipper set up on his own as an architect, in East Dereham.


It would appear, although accounts differ, that he was moderately successful from the outset. It’s true that he was able to raise his profile after winning a competition to design a hospital at Shepton Mallet, but history often overlooks the fact that even without this commission he had a full order book, comprised of significant contracts in Norfolk. His business continued to grow.


Meanwhile, Shepton Mallet had opened doors for him in Somerset. It was there that he gained the patronage of William Clark. William had taken over his family’s famous shoe business in 1863, and it seems an odd coincidence that George, from Norfolk, famous for shoe making, should attract the attention of a shoe manufacturer in Somerset.


Skipper was to work on a model village project for Clark in the company’s home town of Street. This work lasted until 1890. Long before then, in the Summer of 1880, George had moved his business to offices in Norwich. He was based in Opie Street.


His work in Somerset continued, and he would also design another hospital, in Butleigh.


In fact, just before the Street project came to an end, George Skipper had a very important year. In 1889 he not only changed his business by going into partnership with his brother, Frederick, but he was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society


20 Fine City Magazine 2011 of British Architects.


An indication of his growing reputation is the impressive list of proposers he had for his Fellowship. These included HH Statham and JB Pearce, both of whom were prominent architects of the period.


WATCHING THE GEORGE SKIPPER PRACTICE, AND LOCAL BUSINESS PEOPLE IN PARTICULAR WANTED MORE OF HIS WORK


THE WORLD WAS


The 1890s proved to be an important decade for George Skipper. The seaside had become the new craze. People wanted to take holidays by the coast. Norfolk was quick to grasp this new trade. One of the


jewels in the county’s seaside crown was Cromer. Business here had been booming since the railway line reached it in 1889. ‘What better than to support local talent?’ must have been the attitude as George gained serious amounts of work in the area. He designed Cromer Town Hall, as well as that in Hunstanton. Just as lucratively, he built several hotels in Cromer, including the Metropole, the Grand and the, still standing, but much altered, Hotel de Paris.


It didn’t stop there. He acquired contracts to build private villas in the area


as well as hotels in Sheringham, Lowestoft and Gorleston.


The world was watching the George Skipper practice, and local business people in particular wanted more of his work. It’s not surprising that this man, now almost forty, should decide to make a more visible, and more personal, statement about his success. He designed new offices for himself, and he did it in grand style.


To advertise call 01362 288084


Arcade Entrance by Nick Garrod


Skipper’s Offices (Jarrolds) by Julia Webb


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