James A. Roberts (29 April 1922 – 28 June 2019) was an English architect, best known for the Rotunda in Birmingham, from which he ran James A. Roberts Associates. His grandson is the acclaimed

British Indian British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...

actor of

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

profession Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. Roberts was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham. He was the son of Ernest S. Roberts (d.1945), a Birmingham-based architect responsible for many cinema designs. James Roberts was educated at Stanley House School, Edgbaston, later studying at the Birmingham School of Architecture where he became a senior lecturer. He set up on his own account in Edgbaston in 1952 and eventually had a large practice in the Rotunda, a grade II listed cylindrical office building, that was designed by him, located in the city centre of Birmingham. He himself took the top two floors of the building. Like many similar concerns James A. Roberts Associates suffered from the building recessions of the 1970s though in a reduced form, it was able to continue up to 1981.The London Gazette, 28 October 1981, issue 44778, p.13684 He was also responsible for other structures in Birmingham's postwar regeneration including: The

Ringway Centre Ringway Centre is a Grade B locally listed building located on Smallbrook Queensway in the city centre of Birmingham, England. The six-storey, long building was designed by architect James Roberts as part of the Inner Ring Road scheme in the ...

and the former Albany Hotel. Projects include The Belfry Hotel and Golf Centre, in Warwickshire, spiritual home of the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

; Solihull Library and Police Station; St John's Beacon, (now known as the Radio City Building) Liverpool, known for its revolving restaurant at the top; and the Mander Shopping Centre (1968), in Wolverhampton city centre, home to the iconic Dame

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

sculpture, "Rock Form". He was a member of the

Civic Trust Association Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

and was responsible for the conservation and restoration of notable old buildings resulting in him receiving several

Civic Trust Awards The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. As the longest standing built environment awards scheme in Europe, since 1959, more than 7000 projects have ...

, notably for restoration of the 16th-century manor house,

Madeley Court Madeley Court is a 16th-century country house in Madeley, Shropshire, England which was originally built as a grange to the medieval Wenlock Priory. It has since been restored as a hotel. The house is ashlar built in two storeys to an L-shap ...

, Telford, into a prestigious hotel, and

West Bromwich Manor House Bromwich Hall - The Manor House Museum is an important, Grade I listed, medieval domestic building (a hall house) built by Richard de Marnham around 1270 as the centre of his agricultural estate in West Bromwich. Only the Great Hall survive ...

, which is an important,

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, medieval domestic building built in the late 13th century by the de Marnham family, latterly a hotel and public house in the 1960s post restoration, and now belongs to the

Sandwell Borough Museums Trust Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. According to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, t ...

and used as a historical education site for schools and other community groups. Roberts later lived in Lymington, Hampshire.

References

1922 births 2019 deaths 20th-century English architects Architects from Birmingham, West Midlands {{England-architect-stub