George Dale Oliver

• Birth date            11 January 1851 at Sunderland
• Christening         5 December 1851 at Bishop Wearmouth, Co Durham
• Marriage              25 February 1878 to Charlotte Annie Crook (1855-1931) at Altrincham, Cheshire
• Death date          10 April 1928 at his residence, Carlisle

George Dale Oliver was born in 1851 at Sunderland, the son of Thomas Oliver, architect, and his wife Elizabeth (nee Dale). He was articled to his father in 1867 and in 1871 moved to London to gain wider experience as an improver and latterly assistant in the office of George Edmund Street. He was subsequently assistant to Joseph Crosby Hetherington in Carlisle, who took him into partnership in 1876. He was awarded the RIBA Silver Medal (Drawings) 1874. [Builder 20 June 1874 page 515]. George Dale Oliver continued to practice in Carlisle following the dissolution of the partnership with Hetherington, opening a branch office in Workington in 1882. About 1892 he was appointed County Architect for Cumberland, a post which he held until 1919. The post allowed him to pursue commissions unconnected with his official work and in 1893 he was joined by J H Sellars of Oldham (qv) as Assistant County architect. Sellars also “ghosted” a number of banks on his behalf. In 1898 he was joined in partnership by Edward J Dodgsun, which continued until Dodgsun’s retirement through ill-health. Their firm known as Oliver and Dodgshun had offices in Carlisle and Leeds.

He was elected ARIBA on 28 May 1877: proposed by G E Street, R J Johnson, T Oliver, (Nomination Papers A v5 plS8) and Fellow of the RIBA on 7 March 1892: proposed by T E Collcutt, T Oliver, J Brooks; (F v11 p93). Retired Fellow 1921.

George Dale Oliver entered the list of Retired Fellows in 1921 and died from pneumonia on 10 April 1928, shortly after his return from a visit to the South of France.

Assistants
William Henry Allan Munro (1856-1915). In 1882 he was In charge of the branch office of George Dale Oliver at Workington before emigrating to Queensland by 1886.
John Henry Sellars worked as Assistant County architect in Carlisle before returning to Manchester

Address
1877        Bank Chambers, Carlisle, Cumberland
1882        Branch Office, Workington.
1894        G Dale Oliver FRIBA, County Architect, Bank Chambers, Bank Street, Carlisle (Kelly 1894)    
1898-1900    5, Lowther Street, Carlisle, Cumberland      
1911-1921    68, Lowther Street, Carlisle, Cumberland

Residence
1851        Villier Street, Sunderland (census)
1881        Chiswick Street     Rickergate, Cumberland (census)
1883        5 Lismore Terace, Carlisle
1922-1928    18, Howard Place, Carlisle, Cumberland    

Obituary        Newcastle Journal, Wednesday 11 April 1928
Obituary        Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Wednesday 11 April 1928
Obituary        Builder v 134, 11I May 1928, page 820
Obituary        RIBA Journal v35, 1928, page 427

Reference    Carlisle Journal  Friday 26 May 1882
Reference    Carlisle Journal  Friday 9 June 1882 – branch office at 44 Pow Street Workington