John Cocker

• Birth date            1883 at Tyldesley near Leigh.
• Death date          14 August 1960 at Windlehurst Nursing Home Altrincham

John Cocker* was born at Tyldesley near Leigh in 1883, the son of John and Ellen Cocker. By 1901, the year in which John Cocker became a Probationer of the RIBA, the family had moved to Timperley. He was articled to John Thomas Ashton of Altrincham and studied at the Manchester School of Art. In 1903 John Cocker became a Student Member of the RIBA, passing the qualifying examination in November 1905 and was elected an Associate of the RIBA in February 1906. He commenced independent practice at Altrincham in 1905 and later collaborated with his fellow Altrincham architect Thomas Harold Hill in various cottage competitions, but there is no evidence of a formal partnership having existed.   Various commentators have detected in Cocker’s early buildings the influence of Edgar Wood – the two men would certainly have known each other from the Manchester Society of Architects, and they both designed craftwork for Christ Church in Timperley. Cocker’s son, John Charles Cocker (1921-1994), trained as an architect and worked with his father, and at some stage Arnold Percy Clews (1916-1996) joined the practice, which then traded as “Cocker, Clews and Cocker”. [Richard Fletcher]

* Various sources give him a middle initial of “N,” but no supporting evidence has been found for this.

Address
1905        John Cocker, Stamford Chambers, Stamford New Road, Altrincham.
1910        John Cocker ARIBA. Mossburn Buildings, Stamford New Road, Altrincham
1914        John Cocker 21 Station Buildings, Stamford New Road, Altrincham
1927        J Cocker ARIBA 7 Market Street, Altrincham

Residence
1902             Mrs Cocker, “Oakwood,” Park Road, Timperley
1904-1916    John Cocker ARIBA “Oakwood,” Park Road, Timperley
1919-1936    John Cocker ARIBA “Beech Holme,” Woodlands Park Timperley
1960             John Cocker ARIBA “Beech Holm,” Wellington Road Timperley (probate)