Francis Anthony Baring Pollen [commonly known as Francis Pollen] was born in London, England on 7 December 1926. His early interest in architecture was inspired by his acquaintance with the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens. Lutyens was a family friend and had designed a summerhouse for Lambay Island, owned by his maternal grandfather, Cecil Baring, third Baron Revelstoke. In autumn 1944 Pollen spent time as an assistant at Lutyens' office in London.
From 1945 to 1948 Pollen served in the Army. He then studied architecture at Trinity College, Cambridge. After leaving Cambridge, he practised as an architect in London. For a period he was in partnership with Philip Jebb (1927–1995), In 1959 he formed a partnership with the architect–town planner Lionel Brett, later Lord Esher (1913-2004). They were soon joined in the partnership by Harry Sheridan Teggin (1932-?)
Up until his partnership with Brett, Pollen designed "accomplished traditional buildings" [Alan Powers, DNB], however, under the influence of the older Brett, he began to accept the modern style and to appreciate the aesthetic value if the New Brutalism.
The Pollen, Brett, Teggin partnership was dissolved in 1971 and Poillen moved his office to Cray Clearing, his house in Harpsden, Harpsden Wood, Oxfordshire, where he subsequently worked on local domestic projects. Pollen was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1954, and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1968. He died at Cray Clearing on 4 November 1987.
For much of his his career Pollen concentrated primarily on designing buildings for the Roman Catholic faith. These included the Assumption of Our Lady and St Therese, a small Carmelite chapel at Presteigne, Radnorshire (1954); Convent of Jesus and Mary in London (1955; Our Lady Help of Christians church in Hurst Green, Sussex (1959), now a community shop; St John Bosco in Reading, Berkshire (1966); St John Bosco in Reading, Berkshire (1967); extension to St Peter in Marlow, Buckinghamshire (1973, originalldesigned by A.W.N. Pugin in 1845; Our Lady Help of Christians in Crawley, Sussex (1975); and St Aldhelm in Radstock, Somerset (1976). From the mid-1960s he worked at Downside Abbey, where he designed extensions to the monastery and a library (1966–70).
Other projects by Pollen included three branches of Barclays Bank, in Hungerford, Newbury, and Chesham; an office building for Urenco in Marlow, Buckinghamshire (1976); and two houses for members of his his family: the Walled Garden at Henley-on-Thames (1958), and the Lake House, at Northington, Hampshire (1975)
Powers, Alan. Francis Pollen: Architect, 1926-1987. Oxford: Robert Dugdale, 1999 [ISBN10 0946976090]