Thomas Prosser (architect)
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox architect
| name = Thomas Prosser
| birth_date = c. 1817
| birth_place = London
| death_date = 2 March 1888
| death_place = Hardwicke Place, Gateshead
| nationality = British
| parents = Thomas Prosser (Father)
| practice = North East Railway Company
| significant_buildings = York Railway Station
| significant_projects = Newcastle Central Station
}}
Thomas Prosser (c. 1817–1888) was the company architect of the North Eastern Railway Company, the first to hold the position.{{Cite web|url=http://www.railwayarchitecture.org.uk/People/architects/Thomas%20Prosser/Thomas%20Prosser.htm|title=Thomas Prosser|website=Railway Architecture of North East England|accessdate=31 January 2018}}
Early life
Thomas Prosser spent his early years at Wynyard Park. It was here that his father, also Thomas, had been commissioned as architect in the rebuilding of Wynyard Park.
Career
Prosser began his training in the office of architect Ignatius Bonomi (1787-1870) in Durham. It was Bonomi who was one of the designers of the Skerne Railway Bridge for the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The bridge is one of the oldest railway bridges in the world and the oldest still in use.{{NHLE|num=1002331|desc=Skerne Railway Bridge, 320m south east of Darlington Railway Museum|accessdate=31 January 2018}}
File:Newcastle Central station (6419229235).jpg
Prosser then went to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to work at the firm of John Dobson at the Newcastle Central Station project. It was Prosser who did some of the preparatory architectural drawings before going on to become the clerk of works. It was Prosser who drew up the plans for the station portico as a revision to the original design.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/newcastle-central-station-anniversary-spotlight-9926113|title=Newcastle Central Station in anniversary spotlight with new exhibition and book|website=Chronicle Live|accessdate=31 January 2018}}
York Railway Station is another of Prosser's major works, with the train-shed regarded as ‘one of the great cathedrals of the Railway Age’.{{Cite web|url=https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/our-destinations/trains-to-york/near-york-station/|title=Fabulous food, drink and stuff to do near York Station|website=Virgin Trains East Coast|accessdate=31 January 2018}} Prosser worked on the station in partnership with engineer Thomas Elliot Harrison.{{Cite web|url=http://www.blueplaqueplaces.co.uk/york-railway-station-thomas-prosser-and-thomas-elliot-harrison-blue-plaque-in-york-9056#.WnGieDG7JPY|title=York Railway Station, Thomas Prosser, and Thomas Elliot Harrison blue plaque in York|website=Blue Plaque Places|accessdate=31 January 2018}}
File:York Railway Station Restoration Work Plaque.jpg
Suffering with ill heath Prosser retired in May 1874.
{{Blockquote|text="I ought perhaps to have taken this step sooner but I have hoped from day to day to recover so as to perform satisfactorily the duties to which I am so much attached."|sign=Thomas Prosser – Letter of Resignation [1]|source=}}
In recognition of his service the railway company granted Prosser a £300 a year allowance. These payments ran until June 1884 when they were transferred to his brother Robert, whom he was living with after his condition worsened.
Thomas Prosser died at his brothers home at Hardwicke Place, Gateshead on March 2, 1888. He never married.{{Cite web|url=http://www.builderindex.org/?q=node/2036|title=obituary for Thomas Prosser, architect, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, d. 1888|website=The Building News|accessdate=31 January 2018}}
Other notable works
- Former Sculcoates Goods Station{{NHLE|num=1219995|desc=Former Sculcoates Goods Station|accessdate=31 January 2018}} – Kingston upon Hull
- North York Moors Railway, Goathland Station - Goathland (Credited to the Office of Thomas Prosser){{NHLE|num=1295785|desc=North York Moors Railway Goathland Station|accessdate=31 January 2018}}
- Former Immigrant Station and Railway Platform{{NHLE|num=1207714|desc=Former Immigrant Station and Railway Platform|accessdate=31 January 2018}} – Kingston upon Hull
This is particularly interesting as part of the history of immigration to the United States of America. The Hull facility was for the exclusive use by immigrants heading to America from north west Europe. They would sail to Hull and from there by train to Liverpool where they would sail for America. For reasons of health amongst others immigrants were kept separate from other travellers. The station had waiting facilities where immigrants could meet their ticket agents, wash and use the toilet as well as take shelter from the weather. It is estimated that 2.2. million people (mainly from Scandinavia and the Baltic) passed through here between 1836 and 1914.
- Hexham Railway Station – Hexham (Prosser worked on extensions to the building){{NHLE|num=1370815|desc=Hexham Railway Station|accessdate=31 January 2018}}
- Royal York Hotel and Area Railings Attached at Side and Rear{{NHLE|num=1256559|desc=Royal York Hotel and Area Railings Attached at Side and Rear|accessdate=31 January 2018}} – York
- Royal Station Hotel{{NHLE|num=1104900|desc=Royal Station Hotel|accessdate=31 January 2018}} – Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
References
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Category:Architects from County Durham
Category:British railway architects
Category:British railway pioneers