Arthur Fred Wickenden was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England on 10 November 1881 and was articled to William Harmer, near Tunbridge Wells from 1899 to 1901. He also attended Tunbridge Wells Technical College, Hull Technical College, and Goldsmith College at New Cross, London. He worked as an assistant to George F. Carter from 1901 to 1903; to A. E. White in 1903-04; and to Frederick William Ruck (1854-1936) and Albert William Smith (?-1855) from 1904. Wickenden qualified as an architect in 1906 and subsequently held appointments with various municipal authorities including Croydon and Hull Corporations, Kent County Council, Ilford Council and Birmingham City Surveyor. He was also Professor of Architecture at the Royal College of Engineering in Cairo, Egypt.
Wickenden was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1907 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1926. He was awarded the Order of the Nile in 1937. His address was given as Radwell, Florence Road, Maidstone, Kent in 1907; Town Hall, Ilford, Essex and 186, Coventry Road, Ilford, Essex in 1914; 34 Overstrand Mansions, Battersea Park, London in 1920; 56 Burbage Road, Herne Hill, London in 1926. From the late 1920s until at least the late 1930s he lived in Cairo, Egypt. His address was given as 18 Station Road, East Grinstead, Sussex in 1939. In the 1950s he moved to Australia and died in Manly, New South Wales on 23 September 1956
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