Francis John Potter [also known as Frank John Potter; and as Frank J. Potter] was born Hampstead, Middlesex [now London], England in 1871 and was articled to Horace Field (1861-1948) from 1888 to 1892 during which time he attended classes at the Architectural Association in London. He then worked as an assistant to Field until 1893, and, briefly to Paxton Hood Watson. He returned to Field in June 1894.
Potter qualified as an architect in 1894 and commenced practice as an architect in London in 1897. In the early 1930s he was in partnership with Edward Felix Goldsmith (1903-1976) and Humphrey Hugh Goldsmith (1904-1979) as Frank Potter and F. & H. Goldsmith.
Potter was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) the in 1895 He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1911.
Among positions he held was Architect to Guardians of the Poor in Hampstead; Architect to the Dairy Supply Co. Ltd.; Surveyor to the Boot Trades Benevolent Society; and Surveyor to the Trustees of Wells and Campden Charity
Potter's address was given as 44 Great Russell Street, London in 1907; 2 Denning Road, Hampstead, London in 1909; 39 Bloomsbury Square, London in 1909 and 1914; 34 Bloomsbury Square, London and 24 Gaylen Road, London in 1911; 24, John Street, Bedford Row, London in 1923 and 1930; "The Rook", North End, Hampstead, London in 1928 and 1930; 1 Verulam Buildings, Gray's Inn, London in 1935 and 1939; and 1 Holly Hill, Hampstead, London in 1948. He died at The Rook, Sandy Road, Hampstead on 30 April 1948
Milk Depot, Ponder's End; Dairy Utensil Factory, Park Royal, Middlesex : Cheese Factory, Wootton Bassett, Wilts; Bakery, Hampstead; private houses at Elstree, Herts; Chalfont, Bucks; Hampstead Garden Suburb; Hampstead; &c, &c.; alterations to 30, Harley Street, Heathbrow, Hampstead; &c, &c. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1914]
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Private houses: Ivy Bank Estate, Hampstead; Wyldesmead, Morland Close, Hampstead, for E. V. Fleming, Esq.; the Bungalow, Wellgarth Road, Hampstead Garden Suburb; Saunders House, South Way, Hampstead Garden Suburb; Stowe March, Elstree, Herts. Alterations to houses: Heathbrow, Hampstead; Grove Lodge, Hampstead: Bay Tree Lodge, Hampstead, for Sir William Robertson Nicoll; The Gables, Hemsby, Norfolk, for Sir Thomas Horder, Bart.; 30, Harley Street, W., for Sir John Charlton Briscoe, Bart Factories and Business Premises: The Hampstead Brewery Co., Stables and Bottling Stores; Bakery, Hampstead, for Messrs. Rumbold and Sons; Factories at Park Royal, Ponders End and Wootton Bassett, Wilts, for the Dairy Supply Co., Ltd.; Carlton Tavern, Kilburn, for Messrs. Charrington; numerous depots and refreshment rooms for the Express Dairy Co., Ltd. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1923]
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’. Architect & Building News vol. 193, 7 May 1948 p.407
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 174, 7 May 1948 p. 564
‘Obituary’. RIBA Journal vol. 55, 1948 p. 373