Gilbert Henry Jenkins [also known as Gilbert H. Jenkins, and as Gilbert Jenkins] was born in Torquay, Devon, England on 22 July 1875 and was articled to John Watson in Torquay for four years. He subsequently moved to London where he worked as an assistant to Douglass Matthews (1838-1923) and Frank Selby. He also attended the Architectural Association Schools in London and, from 1900 to 1903, at the Royal Academy Schools in London.
Jenkins was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911. He commenced independent practice in London in 1897 and from 1911 to 1940 was in partnership with William Henry Romaine-Walker (1854-1940) in the London-based architectural firm Romaine-Walker & Jenkins. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1923
Jenkins was vice-president of the Architectural Association in the 1920s, and the fourth president of the Landscape Institute from 1935 to 1937. He wrote articles on garden design for the A.A. Journal and The Architectural Review. Following Romaine-Walker's retirement in 1939, Jenkins continued to run the practice alone retaining Romaine-Walker & Jenkins as the name of the practice.
Jenkins' address was given as 6, Old Bond Street, London in 1912 and 1939; and 24 Daleham Gardens, Hampstead in 1950. He died in Hampstead, London on 24 May 1957.
A biographical file on Gilbert Henry Jenkins is available on request from the Enquiry Desk, Royal Institute of British Architects, London.
Turner and Duveen Wings to Tate Gallery, London; Eton College war memorial; Emmet memorial chapel, Kensal Green; 34, Park Street, London; 40-41, Conduit Street, London; studios and fiats, Logan Place, London; Exbury, Hampshire; Grianaig, Killay, Swansea, Wales; Rectory, Coulsdon, Surrey. Gardens at: — Knowsley, Luton Hoo, Buckland, Great Fosters, Exbury, Moreton Paddox and Oroszvar Castle. Restorations, additions and decorations: — Derby House, London; 48, Park Street, London; 68, Grosvenor Street, London: 2, Scamore Place, London; 1, Upper Brook Street, London; Haymarket Theatre, London; Somories Chapel, Luton, Bedfordshire; Lady Chapel, Church of the Sacred Heart, Bournemouth, Hampshire [now Dorset]; Community Chapel, Preston, Lancashire; Knowsley Hall, Knowsley, Lancashire; Holme Lacy, Hereford; Buckland, Berkshire; Great Fosters, Surrey; Chatsworth;, Derbyshire; High Elms, Kent; Kingsgate Castle, Kent; Stanley House, Newmarket, Suffolk; and Oroszvar Castle, Hungary [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1926]
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. 92, 31 May 1957, pp. 1001, 1043
Robinson, John Marin. ‘Transformation and rescue: Buckland House, Berkshire, part 2’. [Discusses the transformation of Buckland House, near Oxford in Oxfordshire by Romaine-Walker & Jenkins] Country Life vol. 205, no. 20, 18 May 2011 pp. 74-79
Who’s Who in Architecture 1923. Edited by Frederick Chatterton. London: Architectural Publications, 1923
Who’s Who in Architecture 1926. Edited by Frederick Chatterton. London: Architectural Publications, 1926