Archibald Hurley Robinson (14 June 1883''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 24 February 1953)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a prolific English

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

s prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Robinson was born in Handsworth,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. After serving in the Royal Air Force in the First World War, he set up his own practice which was initially called ''Hurley Robinson & Sons'' and then renamed ''Hurley Robinson & Partners'', which were both based in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. His work on cinemas was mainly during the 1930s. His cinemas were mainly of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style that was popularly used by Oscar Deutsch for his

Odeon Cinemas Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsi ...

. A lot of Robinson's work was commissioned in the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

area of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Hurley Robinson remodelled the Salters' Hall in

Droitwich Spa Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. T ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

to become a cinema in 1933. This was again altered to become a library in 1982. He also designed the Ritz Cinema in

Bordesley Green Bordesley Green is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England about two miles east of the city centre. It also contains a road of the same name. It is in the Bordesley Green Ward which also covers some of Small Heath and Little Bromwich. Borde ...

, Birmingham. A pre-World War II work by Robinson was the Lee Longlands furniture store on

Broad Street, Birmingham Broad Street is a major thoroughfare and popular nightspot centre in Central Birmingham, England. Traditionally, Broad Street was considered to be outside Birmingham City Centre, but as the city centre expanded with the removal of the Inner R ...

. This was completed in 1931, and is a rare example of a building that was not a cinema by Robinson before the war. The building was extended in 1939. Another example of a pre-World War II work by Hurley Robinson is the Kent Street Baths in Birmingham which was built between 1931 and 1933. The Art Deco baths survived, unused, until September 2009. His Sparkhill Baths, from the same era, still stand. Hurley Robinson also designed the Dudley Hippodrome theatre, which was built in 1938. Following World War II, the cinema business deteriorated and Robinson's work was less concentrated on this aspect of construction. In 1959, Robinson was commissioned to design an extension to a factory used by Rootes Motor Parts Limited on the Coventry Road in Birmingham. Also in 1959, construction of Norfolk House on Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham was completed. The bow-fronted building was originally intended to be a warehouse, however it later incorporated offices and retail units and is now locally listed. The façade is clad in stone and there is a wavy shell concrete canopy above the street level.

Cinemas

Cinemas designed by Robinson include:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Archibald Hurley Architects from Staffordshire 1883 births 1953 deaths People from Handsworth, West Midlands Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects