Robert Burns Dick was born in Stirling, Scotland on 9 May 1868 and was articled to William Lister Newcombe (1848-1929) from 1883 to 1888. He then worked as an assistant to Charles Francis Armstrong (1850-1943) from 1888 to 1893 when he commenced independent practice as an architect in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. From 1898 [or 1900 - sources differ] he was in partnership with James Thorburn Cackett (1860-1928) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne as Cackett & Burns Dick. In 1923 Robert Norman Houghton MacKellar (1890-1973) joined the partnership and by 1928 the practice had been renamed Cackett, Burns Dick & McKellar. Dick was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1906. He was also a member of the Northern Architectural Association and its President from 1914 to 1918.
His address was given as 9 Rock Street, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1871; 93 Gloucester Street, Elswick, Northumberland in 1881; and 1891 ; 13 Chester Crescent, St. Andrew, Northumberland in 1901; Grainger Street West, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1900 and 1906; Roseworth Lawn, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1906; Millmount, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1911 and 1914; Pilgrim House, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1914 and 1928; "Millmount", Fenham, Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1926; and 21 Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne in in 1930 and 1939.
In 1919 and 1937 he visited the USA. In the 1930s he also visited Japan. He retired from practice in 1940 and moved to Esher, Surrey. He died in Surrey on 11 December 1954.
In conjunction with Mr. Jas. T. Cackett, many large buildings, including Laing Art Gallery, Pilgrim House, Cross House, Northern Conservative Club, Newcastle ; Messrs. Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Co.'s Naval Shipyard at Walker-on-Tyne; Messrs. Short Bros.' Naval Aircraft Works, Cardington, Bedford, and Seaplane Works, Rochester; extensions to works for Messrs. A. Reyrolle and Co., Hebburn-on-Tyne; Union Building, Armstrong College, Newcastle, etc., etc. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1923]
Armstrong, Barrie and Armstrong, Wendy. The Arts and Crafts movement in the North East of England: a handbook. Wetherby, England: Oblong, 2013
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 187, 17 December 1954 p. 976
'Obituary'. RIBA Journal January 1955 p. 131
Who's Who in Architecture 1923. Edited by Frederick Chatterton. London: Architectural Press, 1923