Frank Berridge Cooper was born on 20 August 1870, the second son of Edgar Franklin Cooper. At the age of 15 he was articled to architects Goddard and Paget of Leicester, staying with them from 1886 to 1891. In March 1886 he also enrolled at Leicester School of Art to study architecture and building construction. His studies were successful, earning him several national prizes such as the Queen’s Prize for Architectural Design (1888), Bronze Medal for design for a town house (1890), Queen’s Prize for furniture design (1891) and Queen’s Prize for Architectural Studies (1892). He also won several College awards including two free studentships (1890 and 1891).
In 1892 he completed his studies and was promoted to Assistant at Goddard and Paget. He then worked as Assistant to William Douglas Caroe (1892-1894) and Bradshaw and Gass (1894-1895) before passing the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) qualifying exam in 1894. He was made ARIBA (Associate of RIBA) on 11 March 1895, proposed by Paget, Caroe and Bradshaw. In 1895 his design for a town house was exhibited at the Royal Academy.
He subsequently went into private practice in Leicester, designing for example the Branch Police and Fire Station in North Evington. He died in April 1936.
From the guide to the Architecture photographs collected by F B Cooper, 1892, (De Montfort University Archives and Special Collections)
