The Atkinson is a building on the east side of Lord Street extending round the corner into Eastbank Street,

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, Sefton,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England. The building is a combination of two former buildings, the original Atkinson Art Gallery and Library that opened in 1878, and the adjacent Manchester and Liverpool District Bank that was built in 1879. These were combined in 1923–24 and the interiors have been integrated. The original building is in Neoclassical style, and the former bank is in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style. The art gallery and library has been integrated with the Southport Arts Centre and is now known as The Atkinson. The two former buildings are each recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as designated Grade II

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

History

The Atkinson was built following a donation of £6,000 in 1875 by William Atkinson, a cotton manufacturer from

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, and a frequent visitor to Southport. The building was designed by Waddington and Son of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and opened in 1878. The total cost, donated by Atkinson, was £15,000. In 1923–24 the building was extended by incorporating an adjacent bank on the corner of Eastbank Street, that had been built for the Manchester and Liverpool District Bank in 1879. The interior of the combined building was remodeled in the late 20th century, and the interiors were internally integrated. As of 2014 the organisation of the library and art gallery is integrated with the Southport Arts Centre and it is known as The Atkinson.

Architecture

Original building

The original building is constructed in

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

with a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roof in Neoclassical style. It is in three storeys and has a symmetrical three-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

front. The central bay projects forward and contains a square-headed doorway above which is a roundel and a band of three panels. It is flanked by pairs of engaged Corinthian columns, above which is an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

with a

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

inscribed with "ATKINSON FREE LIBRARY" and a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

. The roundel includes a carving of a female bust representing Thought. The tympanum of the pediment contains carved personifications of Art, Science, Literature, Inspiration, and Commerce. The outer bays each incorporate a foundation stone in the

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

, a three-light window in an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

in the lower floor, and carved panels in the upper floor. The panels are carved with allegories including Painting, Drama and Science. All the carvings were executed by G. W. Seale.

Former bank

The former bank is built in sandstone

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

with a slate roof in

style. It has three storeys and an attic, each floor diminishing upwards in size. There are three bays on the Lord Street front and seven bays on Eastbank Street. In the ground floor, separating and flanking the bays, are channelled

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s with

crocket A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the Old French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of a crocket to a bishop's Shepherd's crook, ...

ed caps, a

and a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. Above these, on both floors are pairs of colonnettes with foliated caps, a frieze and a cornice. Along the top of the building is a

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

, and a pedimented attic window in the central bay of each side. In the left bay of the Lord Street face and in the central bay of the Eastbank Street face is a round-headed doorway with a moulded head, a keystone and carved

spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...

s. The other bays on Lord Street and the first three bays on Eastbank Street contain tall pilastered two-light windows; the last three bays on Eastbank Street have inserted shop fronts. In the middle floor each bay contains two round-headed two-light windows with moulded heads and keystones and are flanked by pilasters. The top floor has two segmental-headed two-light windows with moulded architraves in each bay. Internally the former banking hall has retained its plastered

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...

ed ceiling and a Gothic fireplace.

Present day

The ground floor of the former bank is used as a public library. In the floors above are a museum and an exhibition space. These house collections of

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

, decorative art, historical items, and exhibitions of items relating to

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

. The arts centre forms part of the complex known as The Atkinson.

Appraisal

Both of the buildings are recorded in the

as designated Grade II

. The original Atkinson Art Gallery and Library building was designated on 15 November 1972, and the former bank was designated on 29 July 1999. Grade II is the lowest of the three grades of listing and is applied to buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest". The Atkinson Art Gallery and Library forms a group with other Grade II listed buildings nearby, Southport Town Hall and the Southport Arts Centre.

Gallery

File:John Collier - In the Venusberg Tannhauser - c 1901.jpg, ''In the Venusberg Tannhauser'' (c. 1901)

John Collier John Collier may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Collier (caricaturist) (1708–1786), English caricaturist and satirical poet *John Payne Collier (1789–1883), English Shakespearian critic and forger *John Collier (painter) (1850–1934) ...

References

External links

Paintings in the Gallery collectionThe Atkinson exhibitionsThe Atkinson
{{Authority control Grade II listed buildings in Merseyside Buildings and structures in Southport Museums in Merseyside Art museums and galleries in Merseyside