Frank Brookhouse Dunkerley was born in Timperley, Cheshire, England on 28 December 1868. He was articled to Edward Potts (1839-1909) and William Dixon (1854-1935) of Potts, Pickup & Dixon in Manchester from 1886 to 1890. He was an improver and draughtsman with John Douglas (1830-1911) of Douglas & Fordham in Chester from 1890 to 1894. He then worked as an assistant to Thomas Roger Smith (1830-1903) in 1894. He qualified as an architect in 1894 and in 1897 he set up his own independent practice as an architect in Manchester.
In 1900 Dunkerley merged his practice with Waddingon & Son, a practice formed in 1877 by William Waddington (1816-1895) and his son, William Angelo Waddington (1848-1907) which specialised in the design of Wesleyan churches. The new practice was called Waddington, Son & Dunkerley and had an office St Ann’s Square, Manchester.
During its short existence, Waddington, Son & Dunkerley designed several Wesleyan churches and numerous schools in the Manchester area. They also designed the Northern Assurance Building at 9-12 Princess Street, Manchester (1902-03); Northcliffe House on Deansgate, Manchester (1904); branches of the Manchester and County Bank, in Nelson and Brierfield, Lancashire; and the Grand Clothing Hall, in Bridge Street, Warrington, Cheshire (1905).
The partnership between Dunkerley and Waddington was dissolved in 1906. Dunkerley then practised alone. From c.1914 he shared an office with Isaac Taylor (1871-1948). Although they collaborated on occasion on projects they appear not to have had a formal partnership until 1922 when they formed the partnership Dunkerley, Taylor & Young with Cecil Young (1889-1977) who had previously worked as an assistant to Taylor. This partnership was dissolved in 1927.
Dunkerley was an architect with a social conscience who was involved in various working-class housing schemes. He designed a number of buildings for the Manchester and Salford Refuges and Homes including the Children’s Shelter on Chatham Street, Manchester in 1910, the Belmont Homes (Crossley, Gaddum, Hayes and Shaw) 1923-1925 and, with Taylor and Young, the Sanatorium Children's Village in Belmont, Cheadle, Cheshire, 1927. In 1940 Dunkerley was appointed President of the District Provident and Charity Organisation Society
Dunkerley was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1897 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1907. He was also a member of the Manchester Society of Architects and its President from 1914 to 1916. He died in Bucklow, Cheshire on 24 September 1951.
Private houses at Altrlngham, Hale, Knutsford, Chapel-le-Frith, Manchester, Windermere, Ac.; Assembly Room, Altringham Hospital, Altringham. In conjunction with former partner, late W. Angelo Waddington, "Daily Mail" Offices; Star Assurance Offices; and various banks, schools, warehouses, &c., in Manchester and district. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1914]
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See also Architects of Greater Manchester 1800-1940 [links below]
Armstrong, Barrie and Armstrong, Wendy. The Arts and Crafts movement in the North West of England: a handbook. Wetherby, England: Oblong Creative Ltd., 2006
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
Hyde, Matthew and Whittaker, Esmé. Arts and Crafts houses in the Lake District. London: Francis Lincoln Limited, 2014
‘Obituary’. Manchester Guardian 9 October 1951 p. 5
‘Obituary’. RIBA Journal vol. 58, 1951 p.482
Modern Small Country Houses. Edited by Roger Smithells London: Country Life, 1936 pp. 142-145
Who's Who in Architecture 1914. London: Technical Journals Ltd., 1914.