John Dobson

John Dobson (9 November 17878 January 1865) was a 19th-century English neoclassical architect. During his life, he was the most noted architect in Northern England. He designed more than 50 churches and 100 private houses, but he is best known for designing Newcastle railway station and his work with Richard Grainger developing the neoclassical centre of Newcastle. Other notable structures include Nunnykirk Hall, Meldon Park, Mitford Hall, Lilburn Tower, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn, Northumberland, and Beaufront Castle. Early life Dobson was born on 9 December 1787 in High Chirton, North Shields, in a building which is now the site of The Pineapple Inn. He was the son of an affluent market gardener, John Dobson, and his wife Margaret. Educated in Newcastle, he had an exceptional gift for drawing as a young child. Aged 11, he took the role of Hournary Draftsman for a well-renowned local damask weaver producing designs and sketches. At 15, he was placed as a pupil with David Stephenson, the leading architect-builder in Newcastle and the designer of All Saints' Church and the original Theatre Royal on Mosley Street. Dobson completed his studies in 1810, when he was 23. He left Newcastle to study art in London as a pupil of the watercolourist John Varley. At first, Varley refused the offer of Dobson studying under him, saying he could not spare the time. However, upon seeing his disappointment, he agreed to give him lessons and quickly developed a mutual rapport. During his time in London, he formed lasting friendships with the likes of J. M. W. Turner, William H. Hunt, William Mulready and Robert Smirke. His Friends strongly encouraged him to stay and work in London, but he was back in Newcastle by 1811 assisting Sir Charles Monck design Belsay Hall. Monck, a passionate devotee of Grecian art and architecture, is thought to have strongly influenced Dobson, who adopted that architectural style in many of his future works. At the time, Dobson and Ignatius Bonomi in County Durham were the only practising architects between York and Edinburgh. The first building Dobson designed is unclear, but his daughter maintained it was North Seaton Hall, near Ashington, built in 1813 and demolished in 1960.