Name

Thomas Rickman

Designation
Architect
Born
1776
Place of Birth
Miaidenhead
Location
Liverpool Birmingham
Died
1841

  • Born      8 June 1776 Maidenhead Berkshire, Englan
  • Died       4 January 1841 (aged 64) Birmingham, England

Thomas Rickman was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture (1817), which established the basic chronological classification and terminology that are still in widespread use for the different styles of English medieval ecclesiastical architecture.

Thomas Rickman was a Quaker who had come to Liverpool where he found employment with an accountant. One of his hobbies, which was later to become his chosen career, was architecture. He had no formal training in architecture but he was to become a leading authority on the subject and especially on Gothic. It was while working as a book keeper in Liverpool that he met John Cragg, the proprietor of the Mersey Foundry in Tithebarn Street. John Cragg was keen to develop and glorify the use of his iron. The two men found their chance to put their interests into practice when St. George's Church at Everton was erected.  The church was built in the Gothic style using Rickman's designs and Cragg's beloved cast iron.