Richard John Leeson was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England in January 1850 and appears to have been articled to a London architect. He was in partnership in Thomas Oliver (1824-1902) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1879, and with William Henry Wood (1859-c.1941) from 1898 as Oliver Leeson & Wood. Oliver died in 1902, but the name of the company remained unchanged for some years.
A drawing and a plan for a country house designed by Oliver, Leeson & Wood are illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1907 (p.37) and a drawing and ground- and first-floor plans of a house in Northumberland designed by Oliver Leeson & Wood are illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1910 (p.64). The partnership was dissolved in 1911. Leeson was a member of the Northern Architectural Association and the Northumberland Handicrafts Guild. He died in Lacock, Wiltshire 7 January 1914. His obituary appeared in The Builder 16 January 1914 p.85.
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 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. vol. 106, 16 January 1914 p. 85