Buxton Local History Society

“Blue Plaques.”

4. Frank Matcham, 1854 – 1920.

Frank Matcham was born in Newton Abbot, Devon, in 1854. The son of a publican and brewer he was raised in nearby Torquay. In 1868 he entered an apprenticeship with local architect, Christopher Bridgeman. His first responsibility as ‘job architect’ was Oldway Mansion in Paignton for sewing machine inventor, Isaac Singer. Oldway incorporated a small theatre, which, sadly, no longer exists. Singer was flamboyant and insisted on doing things his own way, perhaps explaining why Matcham’s theatres were exuberant and eclectic both inside and out.

In the mid-1870s he moved on to London, where he became assistant to J T Robinson, one of the leading theatre designers of the time. In 1877 he made what might be described as an astute career move when he married the boss’s daughter. Robinson died the following year, and Matcham took over his current contracts, under the name of Frank Matcham & Co.

By the time he designed Buxton Opera House in 1903 he was at the height of his career. The same year saw the opening of the London Coliseum, probably his most prestigious project. Responsibility for day-to-day design and construction was handed over to job architect Francis Chancellor, assisted by structural engineer, Alexander Briggs, and ornamental plasterwork specialist Felix de Jong.
Matcham retired in 1912, handing over to Chancellor. When he died in 1920, Chancellor and de Jong were executors. Frank Matcham carried on, with Chancellor at the helm, designing and building theatres and cinemas through the twenties and thirties. Matcham’s legacy is in the 40 or so theatres that survive out of around 150 that he is credited with designing. The London Coliseum may be one of his largest and most prestigious, but Buxton’s Opera House must surely be one of his finest.