John Thomas Micklethwaite


John Thomas Micklethwaite was an English architect.
He was born at Rishworth House, Bond Street, Wakefield, Yorkshire to James Micklethwaite of Hopton, Mirfield, a worsted spinner and colliery owner, and his wife, Sarah Eliza Stanway of Manchester. He grew up in the Micklethwaite family’s ancestral home at Hopton Hall and was educated in Tadcaster and Wakefield. After moving to London where he attended King’s College, he was apprenticed, in 1862, to George Gilbert Scott, commencing independent practice in London in 1869.
By 1876 Micklethwaite had entered partnership with Somers Clarke, his lifelong friend and fellow pupil of Scott. His work as an architect consisted mainly of small-scale ecclesiastical commissions. He also designed furnishings for many churches, and throughout his career devoted himself to archaeological studies and wrote widely about church architecture, sculpture and ornament. In 1893 he served as Master of the Art Workers' Guild.
From 1898 until his death in 1906, aged 63, Micklethwaite served as Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, where he is buried in the West Cloister.

Notable works