Arthur Hiscoe (born Arthur Hiscox; 17 June 1848 – 22 November 1912) was an English architect based in Leeds, who created his most noted works in Harrogate in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was described by historian Malcolm Neesam as one of the "most eminent local architects" of Harrogate, where he created some major buildings. Most of his public buildings have been destroyed or suffered change of use, although his villas survive in the suburbs of the town. He remodelled the Promenade Room, which later became the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate. It is now a Grade II listed building.
The height of Hiscoe's career was in the 1870s and 1880s when he produced religious and civic buildings in Harrogate, including the former Primitive Methodist Chapel (uninhabited as of 2026) in Mount Parade, the former Wesleyan Day and Sunday Schools (now Jinnah restaurant), the Station Hotel in Station Parade (now Zizzi restaurant), and the former St James' Hall building (since demolished) in Station Parade, where the Victoria Shopping Centre now stands. His greatest public moment was 28 February 1874 when the foundation stone of Harrogate's former Public Market, or Old Market Buildings, was laid by the chairman of the Harrogate Improvement Commissioners (HIC). On that day, as the celebrated architect of the building, he took part in the civic procession which marched from Harrogate Town Hall to the market site, was photographed alongside Harrogate's great men of the day, presented the chairman with the traditional silver trowel for the laying of the foundation stone, and was invited to the HIC celebration dinner afterwards.
In the 1890s, after experiencing a shortage of commissions, Hiscoe suffered two bankruptcies, and moved house many times, mostly in Leeds. He was imprisoned for seven days at HM Prison Wakefield for drunkenness in 1906. He continued to work until 1912 when he died of alcohol poisoning at home in the presence of his family, after being carried home by friends.
Background
Hiscoe's father and siblings used the surname "Hiscox", and Hiscoe himself used the name, "Hiscox", at least until his marriage. Most of his children were registered with the name, "Hiscox". However he used the name, "Hiscoe", professionally and he and his wife were using that name in later life. Hiscoe's father was cloth finisher and property owner John Hiscox. Between at least 1869 and his death in January 1875, John Hiscox owned Holyrood House, "a commodious, handsome residence" in Harrogate. He also erected and ran the former Station Hotel, Harrogate in 1873, and owned other plots of land. Hiscoe's mother was Elizabeth Hudson. They were married on 22 December 1834 at St Peter's Church, Leeds, and had eight children, of whom Arthur Hiscox was the fifth, and the younger of two sons.
Hiscoe was born on 17 June 1848 at Low Barr, Whitehall Road, Wortley, Leeds. His mother, as the informant on his birth certificate, signed with an "X", revealing her illiteracy at that time. Hiscoe was baptised on 16 July 1848 at St John the Evangelist Church in Wortley. The 1851 Census finds him living with his parents and five of his siblings. His elder brother, then aged 15, was working, like their father, as a cloth dresser in a textile mill. Hiscoe achieved standard 4 at school, so his schooling probably ended when he was around 11 years old.
On 25 March 1869, Hiscoe married by licence Sarah Elizabeth Sykes, daughter of farmer John Coleman Sykes, at St Oswald's Church, Methley. Hiscoe's address at the time of his marriage was his parents' residence: Holyrood House, Harrogate. They had fourteen children surnamed Hiscox, of whom four had died by 1911. The couple moved house at least nine times during their married life. By 1871 the couple were living at Beech Grove Terrace, Starbeck, with their one-year-old son, Ernest Coulman Hiscox, and a servant. By 1885 Hiscoe had a drawing office at 4, Albert Avenue, Starbeck. From at least 1881 he lived at Grosvenor Chambers, or Grosvenor House, East Parade, Harrogate, with his wife, six of his children, and a servant, and he had an office at 11 Albert Street, Starbeck. By 1891, following his first bankruptcy, he, his wife and nine of his children were living at 15 Greenmount Terrace in Hunslet, Leeds, and he was working from home. Between 1891 and 1893 he and his family lived at Harlow Terrace, Harrogate, and various Leeds addresses, including Linden Road, 9 Camberley Street, 9 Sunbeam Street and 12 Sunbeam Avenue. The 1901 census finds Hiscoe, his wife, and seven of his children, living at 57 Holdforth Street, Wortley. From at least 1911 until his death, his home address was 1 West View, Beeston Hill, Leeds, where the 1911 census finds him with his wife, two of his daughters, and a grandchild.
Career
Hiscoe was an architect, surveyor, and photographer. According to the historian Malcolm Neesam, he was one of the "most eminent local architects" of Harrogate, the others being William Perkin, H. E. and A. Bown, and John Henry Hirst. Their designs were employed by the Victoria Park Company to construct much of central Harrogate in the mid 19th century.
The New Victoria Baths building was first discussed as a project in 1870 by Harrogate Borough Council, following the expansion of the town. In due course designs by Hiscoe, H. E. and A. Bown with Messrs Nelson of Leeds, and the brothers R. and H. Dyson were received and awarded premiums. However the council chose to appoint its surveyor James Richardson as architect. According to Malcolm Neesam, "an odour of shabby behaviour clings to the whole affair, as it was rumoured that Richardson had copied the best ideas from each design". The baths were opened on 26 August 1871, and Richardson was credited for the work. The building was later converted for use as Harrogate Borough Council's offices, then was sold for commercial use after the council moved to new premises. In 2010, the council associated Hiscoe with the design.
In March 1871, still under the name Hiscox, he was calling for tenders for a new school at Doghouse, Heckmondwike, in association with the Upper Chapel Schools in the same area. In April of that year he was celebrating at the Royal Hotel, Harrogate, with his contractors and workmen, the erection of "four handsome villas" in Station Parade, Harrogate, which he had designed for Mrs Pearson.
Hiscoe designed the South Park Hydro in South Park Road in 1872, although that venture did not survive for long as a business. In 1874 he was calling for builders' tenders for two villas in Lofthouse, West Yorkshire, for the Leeds and Yorkshire Cooperative Mining Company. In 1875 he designed a large riding school on East Park Road, Harrogate, for Charles Burgess, and two semi-detached villas for James Lomas in Victoria Park. In 1878 he designed six residences for the Alexandra Park estate, Harrogate.
Hiscoe ran a drawing office at 4 Albert Street, Harrogate, from at least September 1873. By 1874 he was also using a second office at 6 Station Crescent, Harrogate. He became bankrupt in 1885. He moved from Harrogate to Leeds around 1888, and according to the Harrogate Advertiser he "had plenty of work until the beginning of 1891". Thereafter, less work was available to him, and in 1893 he was bankrupted again – due, he said, to "inability to obtain work and to sickness in his family". By that time he had no assets, and his liabilities were £107 5s 2d (). but he continued to work afterwards.
Designs Former Wesleyan Day School, Ripon, 1871
Hiscoe, at 22 years old and still under the name Hiscox, was working on his own account from an office in James Street, Harrogate, from at least 9 July 1870, when he was calling for tenders for the Ripon Wesleyan School building. This "substantial" school building at 1 St Wilfrid's Road, was erected opposite The Old Chapel, Ripon on Coltsgate Hill. The school was opened on 2 June 1871. The occasion was celebrated with a sermon by Rev. Peter McKenzie of Sunderland, a public tea in the schoolroom, and an evening lecture on David to raise funds for the building. The school was closed in 1934 by West Riding Education Committee, and in due course was converted into flats. Of Hiscoe's design, only the façade and part of one side wall were retained.
Former Primitive Methodist Chapel, Mount Parade, Harrogate, 1872
The Primitive Methodist Chapel on the corner of Cheltenham Parade and Mount Street in Harrogate was designed by Hiscoe. John Spoor of Bebside laid the foundation stone on 28 September 1871. The chapel was opened on 1 October 1872, on land which then belonged to the Victoria Park Company. Malcolm Neesam describes it as a "strong, box-shaped structure with overtones of the Italian Renaissance beloved of the architect". The chapel was built for a congregation of 450. Besides the main hall, it included a chapel-keeper's house, a minister's vestry and a schoolroom. The Primitive Methodists later moved to Dragon Parade Church, which was opened on 18 September 1900. In 1910 the Mount Parade chapel was converted into the Empire Theatre, a music hall run by the puppeteer Thomas Holden junior until 1931. It was a cinema in the 1930s. In the 1950s it was a pram shop, run by Fridel Dalling-Hay née Meyer. From the 1970s it has been a restaurant, converted again in 1986-1987 for Pinocchio's. It was fire-damaged in 1994, but reopened the same year. It was occupied by the restaurant Cardamom Black until 2026, when it closed. Of Hiscoe's original front and side elevations, only the façades of the top storeys remain.
Former Wesleyan Day and Sunday Schools, Harrogate, 1873
The foundation stone of the Wesleyan Day and Sunday Schools (also known as the Wesley Chapel School Room) on the corner of Cheltenham Parade and Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, was laid by William Farrar Smith of Leeds on 25 June 1873, attended by a "large and fashionable gathering".. A commemorative bottle containing a document relating the proceedings was laid under the stone. It named the trustees, including the merchant Samuel Sugden, George Dawson, and Hiscoe (spelled as "Hiscox") the architect of the schools. Farrar Smith described the building as "a protest against cry that was being made to exclude the Bible from the [secular] day schools". This Gothic Revival building was designed for 300 children, and to include a large, main school room with a gable wing at each end. One wing was to accommodate the teacher, and the other contained a kitchen, classroom and basement for the boiler. Also included were two more ground-floor classrooms, with an infants' classroom above. The exterior was built of pitch-faced Birk Crag wall-stone, and the windows had gothic arches of red and white stone. Outside was an iron-fenced playground. The total cost of the school was about £6,233 (). The building was opened on 1 May 1874. As of 2026, the building was occupied by the Jinnah restaurant.
Former Station Hotel, Harrogate, 1873
The former Station Hotel was originally a commercial hotel, designed for commercial travellers who required short stays. It is situated at 1 Station Square, on the corner of James Street and Station Parade, Harrogate, and was designed by Hiscoe for his father John Hiscoe, the proprietor, at a cost of £9,000 (). It was topped out in October 1873, when Hiscoe was 24 years old. The building was described in the Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale Herald as follows: