Thomas Prosser (c. 1817–1888) was the company architect of the

North Eastern Railway Company The North Eastern Railway (NER) was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854 by the combination of several existing railway companies. Later, it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Eastern Railwa ...

, the first to hold the position.

Early life

Thomas Prosser spent his early years at Wynyard Park. It was here that his father, also Thomas, had been commissioned as architect in the rebuilding of Wynyard Park.

Career

Prosser began his training in the office of architect

Ignatius Bonomi Ignatius Bonomi (1787–1870) was an English architect and surveyor, with Italian origins by his father, strongly associated with Durham in north-east England. Life He was the son of an architect and draughtsman, Joseph Bonomi (1739&ndash ...

(1787-1870) in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

. It was Bonomi who was one of the designers of the Skerne Railway Bridge for the

Stockton and Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near with ...

. The bridge is one of the oldest railway bridges in the world and the oldest still in use. Prosser then went to

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

to work at the firm of John Dobson at the Newcastle Central Station project. It was Prosser who did some of the preparatory architectural drawings before going on to become the clerk of works. It was Prosser who drew up the plans for the station

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

as a revision to the original design.

York Railway Station York railway station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) serving the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is north of and, on the main line, it is situated between to the south and to the north. , the sta ...

is another of Prosser's major works, with the train-shed regarded as ‘one of the great cathedrals of the Railway Age’. Prosser worked on the station in partnership with engineer

Thomas Elliot Harrison Thomas Elliot Harrison (4 April 1808 – 20 March 1888) was an English engineer. Born in Fulham, London, he was raised in the north east of England, where his father was a promoter of early railway companies; after an apprenticeship under Willi ...

York Railway Station Restoration Work Plaque

Suffering with ill heath Prosser retired in May 1874. In recognition of his service the railway company granted Prosser a £300 a year allowance. These payments ran until June 1884 when they were transferred to his brother Robert, whom he was living with after his condition worsened. Thomas Prosser died at his brothers home at Hardwicke Place,

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

on March 2, 1888. He never married.

Other notable works

* Former Sculcoates Goods Station –

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

North York Moors Railway The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Georg ...

, Goathland Station - Goathland (Credited to the Office of Thomas Prosser) * Former Immigrant Station and Railway Platform – Kingston upon Hull This is particularly interesting as part of the history of immigration to the United States of America. The Hull facility was for the exclusive use by immigrants heading to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from north west

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. They would sail to Hull and from there by train to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

where they would sail for America. For reasons of health amongst others immigrants were kept separate from other travellers. The station had waiting facilities where immigrants could meet their ticket agents, wash and use the toilet as well as take shelter from the weather. It is estimated that 2.2. million people (mainly from

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

) passed through here between 1836 and 1914. *

Hexham Railway Station Hexham is a railway station on the Tyne Valley Line, which runs between and via Hexham. The station, situated west of Newcastle, serves the market town of Hexham in Northumberland, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Norther ...

–

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

(Prosser worked on extensions to the building) * Royal York Hotel and Area Railings Attached at Side and Rear –

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

* Royal Station Hotel – Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prosser, Thomas 1810s births 1888 deaths Architects from County Durham British railway architects British railway pioneers North Eastern Railway (United Kingdom) people 19th-century British businesspeople