Arthur Southcombe Parker [also known as Arthur Southcombe-Parker] was born in Exeter, Devon, England on 28 May 1865 and was articled to James Crocker (1850-1922) from 1880 to 1884. He also attended Exeter School of Art from 1879 to 1884. After completing his articles he worked as an assistant to Frederick G. Cooke (1858-1938) in Eastbourne, Sussex, and in architectural offices in Derby, Leicester, Newcstle-upon-Tyne, and Marlborough. Parker qualified as an architect in 1888 and from 1891 to 1896 was employed as the personal assistant of Henry John Snell (c.1843-1924).
Parker commenced independent practice as an architect in Plymouth, Devon in 1896. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1889 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1903. He was a founder member of the Devon & Exeter Architectural Society and its President in 1903.
Throughout his career as an architect Parker had an office in Plymouth, Devon. He died in Plymouth on 17 April 1945.
A biographical file on Arthur Southcombe Park is available on request at the Enquiry Desk, Royal Institute of British Architects, London
In 1901, with Alfred Briscoe Drury, Parker designed a monument at Satltash, Cornwall to Sir William Penn Symons who was killed in action in Natal, South Africa in 1899, during the Anglo- Boer War.
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.168, 4 May 1945, p.355