Frederick Foster

• Born                      July-September 1850.
• Died                       Jan-March 1904

Frederick Foster was born in Manchester in 1850, the son of George Foster, baker. By 1881 he was married with three young children living in Sale, Cheshire, describing himself as an architect in the Census of that year. However, nothing is yet known of his education and training, or much of his professional career at this period. He is not listed in the Trades and Professions section of Slater's Directory for Manchester and Salford until he commenced independent practice in central Manchester about 1895.  In Slater's Directory of 1896, Foster is listed with an office in Arcade Buildings, St Mary's Gate, the building where W R Sharp's architectural practice had been established for a number of years. However, subsequent directories give no indication that any formal partnership existed between the two men before 1902. Over the next few years Foster and Sharp are listed separately, first at St Mary's Gate and later at 11 Mawson Chambers, 28 Deansgate, where they both removed in the same year. That some less formal arrangement existed is certain, although details will probably remain obscure. It may be that Sharp and Foster's joint efforts were limited to collaboration on the entries to architectural competitions, which could be individually time-consuming, and to the sharing of the costs of maintaining an office in Manchester. (Compare Edgar Wood and J H Sellers’s slightly later arrangements in Cross Street).

In 1871 he married Amelia Geake and had issue – three daughters and five sons.

Address
1882        Frederick Foster Queens Buildings Ridgefield John Dalton Street
1896-1897    Frederick Foster, architect, 45, Arcade Chambers, St Mary’s Gate, Manchester
1898-1904     Frederick Foster, architect, 11, Mawson Chambers, 28, Deansgate, Manchester

Residence
1881        Baguley Road, Sale, Cheshire (Census)
1891-1896    22 Beech Road Sale
1897-1904    59 Withington Road, Whalley Range